North Carolina Newspapers

WEATHER. - ! North and South Care ISPATOl ,iina: Fair tonight and i i Thursday. VOL. XXIV. NO, 154. .WILMINGTON, NQRTH- CAROLINA;?"- 'WEDNESDAY EVENING, JUNE 1 2, 1918. FIVE CENTS WOW STEIN CLAMS i AVARINfe BATTUEFIELDS 191: F0CH RESERVE ARMY l NO LONGER EXISTS- ;:K;.'- 'ES IS VSSTJSBSSBTSTSaiS. I' ME W:I ''editionII IP s nffnn7 n . i r - jtitiH mrn fTrt i r- Sr Sob T. McCttk&aon. ALLl Important Ground Has Been Regained by French Forces RESISTANCE VERY STERN ; Battle Front Between Aisne and Marne Has Again Flamed Up SERIOUS BOCHE THREAT French Still Hold Left Bank i of Oise, ThoughTheir Lines i in Northern Sections May Have Been Readjusted German efforts to batter down the French defenses between Montdidier and the Oise, began on Sunday, seems to have been checked on the third day of the struggle. On the western end of the battle line th French have counter attacked and regained important ground, while on the center and right repeated ef forts by the enemy to exploit hid earlier successes have been met with stem resistance from the French, who claim that the Germans are held. At the moment when the plunge of the foe west of the Oise appears to have met with a reverse the front to the southeast between the Aisne and the Marne has again flamed up. Strik ing the allied line southwest of Sols sons, in the neighborhood of Dom miers, Cutry and south of Ambleny, the Germans have begun what may be a very serious threat to the security ef the allies north of the Oise. "TTie attack would seem for the moment to V almost equal in importance to that at of Montdidier. It appears to be btffort on the part of the enemy to or in south of Compeign forest, out- fimHng the ench. to JhenprtjEi compelling tneir retirement and a re location of the whole allied line from Hoztdidier to Chateau Thierry. Eicept for the fact that heavy fight tag is in progress nothing is known of events on this new battle area, but the struggle there wil be watched with some concern until the magnitude of the Gerrnan thrust is developed. The French still hold the left bank of the Oise, although they may have read- lusted their line3 in the northern sec tions of the Ourscamp and Carlepont forests. Their positions there, how ever, will become awkward should the Germans drive west of Soissons and aiake considerable ground. The success of French counter at tack along the western wing of the battle front has forced the Germans into a sort of pocket bounded on the easu by the Oise river and on the west ir the high grounr lying west of the Uatz. Squarely in front of this "edge the French appear to be hold ing the foe, for the present, nt least. Although there has been a belief that the German drive east of Mont diilier was claimed at least in Dart 'r the purpose of drawing allied re aves from tbfi battlefields of Picardy a"d Flanders nnMiinsr has vt. nnr.urred to indicate that the Germans contem- P-ata an immediate attack at Amiens r toward the channel ports. Only raiding operations are reported by the :sa war office. Melloy. Genlis wood to the south, &d the heights between Courcelles snd Monomer were re-taken by the -nca. The Germans battled stub- Ornly anr! KiTffprofl noaw InsRP.H The F-"enca also took 1,000 prisoners and several guns. Heaw fiehtiner is tak- H place around Cherrincourt and theuil. This 1 th renter of the rULan arnr.no and t-Vi a Wranoh Viold wights tothe east, south and north west. , Berlin, in its statement nf Tnesdav 'igllt, reports the rennl.qe nf French stacks southwest nf Xovon and ':a'ms n0 progress. -3"he earlier Ger- ffian COmmilTii'pii n1A nf rn raninra 1 wore than 10.000 nrtaoners. brine: flll1 .-: rt-r n r AAA iris remains ennfldnnr in the nnt- 0a2s, while military observers in Jjndon 1ew the latest enemy attempt a diversion preparatory to a great- DlOW 'virthoT. i.n-tV. TTio riaT-manQ " 13 field tho-o Vo-,r. mal4a all the between Montdidier and Noy- 011 taey had hoped to make. Aortbwee: cf Chateau Thierry, niericau marines have driven the nflan3 entire"iy from Belleau wood. Cl has added-300 prisoners to the afte- 4,uesda"3 victory came right tho n aivaDce of Monday when e uermans w era forced back to the tort fringe of the wood- Sfcrlin's W Bii renewed atacks broe bR af7 losses, 'rnere has mv. 'yurtani acuvitv on tne are l8f.ctors aere American troops) mm FEATURE Will y An Important Role tat Peace Comes . - U. S. JLDS WHIP HAND i Berlin Papers Begin to Admit Their Failure to Get Deliveries MEANS ECONOMIC RUIN Germany Cannot Stop Fight ing Until Some Agreement Has Been Effected With Her Enemies By FRANK P. MORSE. Washington, D. C, June 12. Raw materials will play the dominant role in the conferences between the nations when the question of peace reaches a final discussion. And the United States, as a result of big plans that are now under way, will hold the whip hand at the council table. The moral effect that is being exerted by America in the war will be dwarfed by the tremendous influence this coun try will be able to exert In the inter ests of humanity and for the protec tion of weaker governments in the period of reconstruction. It is significant that Berlin news papers are beginning to admit that failure to obtain immediate deliveries of raw materials at the conclusion of hostilities would mean the economic ruin of Germany. They might add that Germany cannot stop fighting until she effects some agreement wither enemies that will jrive her definite guarantees thatxaw materials vrli; Si IIHasM t"h o nnwftp'a train f wTink -ft oir. are now directing -a last, frantic ofn f ensive. v . The United States' now controls a big percentage of the world's raw, ma terials. America owns the most im portant copper, steel, iron and coal mines In two hemispheres. American cotton 1b indispensable to the looms and fatories of Europe. A dozen other essential commodities are numbered among the great resources of this country. The possession of these treasures is, however, merely the be ginning of American strength. A very Important point was made night by Chairman Hurley, of the ship ping board, in his speech at South Bend, when he touched on the weapon which her fast-growing merchant ma rine would place in the hands of the United States. This was the first ut terance by a government official on a subject that is gripping the attention of statesmen in every allied country. The vessels now being turned out, and which will be turned out in the next few years by the 819 American shipways that are rapidly n earing comletion, will give the American government an instrument for the con trol of raw materials that is under stood and thoroughly appreciated by every alert government. This country will soon be in a position to enter into partnerships with nations that have an abundance of raw materials and, by absolute control of the greatest merchant marine in history, practical ly dictate the distribution of the com modities. It would be in the power of the United States, for exmple, in an other two or three years, to wreck the German nation by excluding her from a share in the supplies that will sus tain her national existence. Without the cotton, wool and leather that can be supplied only by the United States, or the countries with which she is certain to form partner ships, Germany would be barred from industries that gave her a generous share of the world's trade before the war. Germany cannot restore her ship ping to the seas, or repair the wear and tear on her railroads and railway equipment, until the raw materials is supplied by America, or countries closely associated with America. De pried of metals, she could not revi talize the toy industry that was once an absolute German monopoly. Great Britain is keeniy alive to the advantage which the American mer chant marine will give the United States. The English government is quietly sounding men of affairs in this country as to the possibility of enter ing into a three-cornered arrangement, which would combine the shipping of the two Anglo-Saxon nations and make them co-partners in arrangements with the countries that possess vast stores of raw materials but which lack the capital to develop the possibilities and the ships to market the output of mines, ranches and factories. It is same to say that President Wilson thoroughly appreciates the great power in the possession of the United States, at which OhairuMn Hur ley merely hinted. The wise states- Continued or: Page, exen. I "FROM THE HALLS OF UOHTZZUUA TO THE SHORES OF TRIPOLI WE FIGHT OUR COUaTRTS BATTLES ON THE LAND AS ON THE SEA; FIRST TO FIGHT FOR RIGHT AND FREEDOSI AND. TO KEEP OUR HONOR CLEAN, US ARB PROUD TO CLAIU THE TITLE OF UNITED t STATES UARINET L.- . 10PR cv : " Germans Soon r md Them- selyes' Without Cover in Open Valley UNDER FIRE OF ALLIES Great Work Done by African Forces in Retaking " LaPorte Farm WILL RETIRE TO VALLEY If Huns Get Into Oise Valley Far As Ribecourt Allied Troops Will Be Be tween Three Fires London, June 12. Among the no table feats of arms during Monday night, says Reuter's correspondent at French headquarters, was the magnifi cent counter attack of native African troops supported by tanks, which en abled the French to retake LePorte farm on a crest 370 feet high just west of the Compaigne road, together with the high ground north of it. Dis cussing the situation Tuesday the cor respondent adds: "Checked on their right and cen ter, the Germans have thrown fresh masses of troops in the battle on their left wing with a view of reaching the Oise. The country here is a mass of little hills, separated by deep ravines, running mainly south or oast, and lends itself readily to the enemy's fa vorite tactic of enfiltration in small detachments. The allied . troops are operating in a narrow belt on the left between the enemy's advancing line and the Oise. With no bridges in the rear they run- the risk of being cut off by the enemy should he reach the river bank south of them,-and accord ingly they are being withdrawn grad ually to the river, whence the enemy is pursuing them. The Germans soon will find themselves without-cover in an open valley under the fire of the allied artillery and machine- guns." Ribecourt Is now in the enemy's front line- This village is about a mile and a half from the bank of the Oise. The French retirement to the river, valley was inevitable. The mass of forests, including d'Ourscamp wood, Carlepont forest and Montagne wood, which we now hold on the east bank, is enclosed by the Oise on the north and the west by the Ger man lines, which skirt the edge of the woods on the east. Enghth German Loan. Amsterdam, June 12 Subscriptions from the army to the eighth German war loan brought the total of the loan np to 15,001,425,000 marks, according to. Berlin. dispatches-today. : : FRESRJVIASSES OF WHERE THE NEWS IS THICKEST. ONE FAYETTEVILLE BOY Large Number From South Are Included in the Casualty List - Washington, June 12. The army casualty list today contained 126 names, divided as follows: Killed in action 15 Died of wounds 9 Died of airplane accident 1 Died of accident and other causes. 17 Died of disease . V 18 Wounded severely 59 Wounded,' degree undetermined. ... 6 Missing in action 1 Officers named were: Killed In action: Lieutenants Wil mer Bodenstab, Yonkers, N. Y.; Max C. Buchanan, Brockton, Mass., and Malcolm M. Johnstone, Arlington, Wash. Died of disease: Captain Leonard K. Hart, Shawnee, O. Died of airplane accident: Lieuten ant Richard B. Reed, Van Wert, O. Severly wounded: Captain Don L. Caldwell, Greenfield, Ohio; Lieuten ants Albert E. Billing, Brooklyn, N. Y.; George E. Butler, Arkansas City, Kan., and Wayne William Schmidt, Martinsville, Ind. The list contained . the folowing from Southern states: , Killed in action: Privates Cyrus F. Adcox, Fayetteville, N. C; David H. Dobbs, Mathison, Miss.; Daniel Har der, Almyra, Ark.; Leslie Venters, Shelmerdine, N. C. Died of wounds: Privates Justin O. Lyell, Nashville, Tenn.; John B. Mc Dermit, Collins, Miss. Died of disease: Privates Tony Baughton, Rayville, La.; Gordon Hayes, Nichols, S. C.; William A. Mc Gulre, Mountain Home, Ark.; Emmett Segrays, Hampton, Ga.; Eddie C. Smith, Forala, Ala. Severly wounded: Sergeant Fred W. Corsine, Concord, N.'C; Privates Sam A. Conley, Hiawassee, Ga.; Jessie Green, Delhi, La.; Edwin C. Head, Needmore, Ga.; Gentry Hunnicutt, Greenville, S. C; Arthur H. Johnson, Lakeland, Fla.; Henry W. Kennedy, Waycross, Ga.; Maurice W. Watson, Greensburg, La. ONE TAR HEEL KILLED WITH MARINE CORPS Washington, June 12. A marine corps casualty list of 17 names, made public today, carries the names of 11 men killed in action, two who died of wounds and four severely wounded. Captain John Blanchfield, of Brook lyn, died of wounds received in action. The list includes Killed in action: Privates Warren Findley Hoyle, Box 26, Shelby N. C. ; George Dallas Murphy, Hampton Drive, Spartanburg, S. C.; Fred Lo max, Hohenwald,-Tenn. 4i ImLll1 IN ACIIlJNIpnMMAMn rifcn m PLEA FOR UNIFIED Hurd Calls For Centralization of Allies in Mediterranean SEVEN NAVIES THERE Looks For Russian Ships to Sail Soon Under Trained German Crews A FORMIDABLE FORCE Allies Must Be Prepared For New and Dramatic Devel- ments and Remedy Is a Complete Unity London, June 12. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Archibald S. Hurd, the widely known naval authority,- pleads urgently for a unified command for the allied fleets in the Mediterra nean, especially in view of the prob able accession to the strength of the navies, of the neutral puvrerw through the acquisition by Germany of the bulk of the ships belonging to the former Russian Black "sea fleet. The naval command in the Medit errarean, Mr. Hurd points out, rests wit the French, and in the Adriatic with the Italians. The British naval forces in both .these seas are acting under the French and Italian admi rals, while the American and Japan ese navies also are operating there and Greek and Brazilian naval partic ipation is impending. Thus seven navies represented in the Mediterra nean would be under divided com mand. .. It . is - possible, the writer thinks, that eight capital ships of the Rus sian navy, in addition to sevral cruis ers, destroyers and submarines, will be equipped with trained German crews and issue from the Dardanelles at a moment selected by the enemy. These vessels,. added to Austria's con siderable fleet, would comprise a for midable force. "In the light of these statements," continues Mr. Hurd, "the allies must be prepared for new and dramatic de velopments and the proper remedy is to promote complete unity in the command of their naval forces. Something more is needed than the spirit of comradeship and mutuD help." Mr. Hurd notes a recent statement by . Franklin D. Roosevelt, assistant secretary of the navy, to a French newspaper that the "British, Ameri can, French and Italian fleets in th Mediterranean had to a certain extent adopted the principle of combining and brigading together the various units of their fleets,' and emphasizing i '. ouif immiu ui i lief the words to a certain extent, he con- morning in a fruitless attempt to re tends that this is not enough. 1 capture the village. GREATEST STROKE IS STILL TO E German High Command Says Objects of Offensive Gained HUN THRUST IS ENDED Ciaiih Smaller Drives Only to Keep Franco-British Forces Busy ARE RESTORING LINE Exponents Say Plenty of Fresh Divisions For Fray and Austria's Power Is Still Unused London, June 12. Tuesday's Ger man official statement would seem to bear the interpretation that the Ger man high command considers that the objects of its latest offensive already have been attained and that now the French are making successful coun ter attacks, the thrust will not be pur sued further. The great question to military crit ics here is whether General Luden dorff's plans yet are fully revealed, and if the foregoing interoretation is correct it would bear out tne view held by many military experts that the great stroke of the central powers on the western front is still to come. The theory advanced by these crit ics is that the big offensives of March 23and May 27 both developed suc cess far surpassing the anticipation OM tuwvTOmlygunlmB UPi33iiiy at ine morDent wnen me uermaa veloped much further than originally intended, and that the smaller offen sives of April 9 on the Ypres front and the present thrust on the Noyon-Mont-didier front were engaged lh diver sions to keep the Franc6-British forces engaged and to prevent them from making counter offensives, while the Germans were restoring and con solidating their lines, repairing the confusion and disorder prodnced by the unexpected depth of their ad vances and completing preparedness for their main blow. The exponents of this theory point to the fact that the Germans still have a large number of fresh divi sions ready to throw into the gigantic struggle and that Austria's power is still unused. The opinion is advanced that it will not be long before the heaviest attack yet seen will be launched by the Germans and prob ably against the British front with the object of again attempting to di vide the allied forces and reach the channel ports. E SHIPWAY BEADY IN JULY Building of Vessels Will Start Immediately, Is State ment of Wig (Special to The Dispatch) Washington D. C, June 11. The first concrete shipway at Wilmington will be completed early in July and the building of concrete vessels will start immediately thereafter, accord ing to an announcement today by R. J. Wig, chief engineer of the division of ship construction. The statement adds that the Liberty Shipbuilding company has been awarded a contract for the supervision of the construction of all concrete vessels at Wilmington. It was further announced that the big concrete ship Faith sailed last Saturday from Vancouver, B. C, with out cargo, for Seattle. She will take on a full load in Seattle for a return voyage to San Francisco, from which port she will soon clear for a trans Pacific cruise to Australia. AMERICAN THRUST IS TAKEN SERIOUSLY London, June 12. "The Germans are taking seriously the American thrust at the apex of their line in the Clignon valley (northwest of Chateau Thierry) and thus - far ' have used five divisions in attempting to counter it, but entirely without success," Reuter correspondent at French headquarters telegraphs under Tuesday's date. Two fresh divisions were thrown at the American's center at Bouresches this WILMINGTON S CONCRET Prussian War Minister Say Entente Suffered Defeat i LOSSES IN MATERIALS Strength of Americans Far Be low Reports That Are Spread Abroad -1 j DENIED AT WASHINGTON Plan Worked Out For Pooling of 800,000 Troops UrtdexJ Foch, the Master Strategist When Attack Began .1 Amsterdam, June 12 ."A great part y of the French army has been beaten, -General von Stein, the Prussian war minister, declared in a speech to th.--'.. reichstag, according to Berlin advices : 7 ' "The so-called Foch reserve army -no longer exists," the minister asseru v ed. The success of the crown prince's v ' carefully prepared attacks against the ; r v French and British on the Chemea Des, ; Dames front on May 27 inflicted one ;- ' of the gravest defeats the .entente ha - suffered during the entire yar. ' General von Stein made these state ments in a review of the militant y situation at the front at the secondly;:, reading of the army budget in the',!;.; reichstag yesterdayik- ' .' S? "Besides his losses in men,: -piw- r tinued General von Stein, "the enemj;:; . suffered an enormous loss in war ma? - terials and equipment Immense stores j, ' of ammunition which were heaped up , , along the lines of communication be;; C hind the front of the defeated French, army likewise fell into our hands Just -r. as previously we captured enormous stores from the British army. j General von Stein said tha tthe nnm ';f: ber and strength of the American troops up to the present wa sfar below what reports spread by thev entente had led Germany to expect;-' He said' the American- troops had made' they; flt appearancBiutiefiJEfl:a?ut: advance had come to a halt on the Marne. "They, too, like, the French re- serves," he declared, ' iwere thrown into the battle in vain counter attacks and suffered the same fate." Other American troops, the minister said, are on quiet sections of the, front. What Washington Says. Washington, June 12. Announce . ment by the Prussian war minister to the reichstag that "the so-called Foch. reserve army no longer existn," Is be lieved by officials here to be a design to create a misapprehension of the facts in the minds of General von Stein's hearers. To some extent it is regarded as an admission by the Ger man military rulers that they must say something to encourage the civil population if they are to continue with the great offensive'' In the west that has thus far brougnt them no nearer a German-made peace, despite its enormous cost of lives. If the Prussian war minister intend ed to convey the impression that the allied reserve power had been ex hausted by the German assault the actual situation at the front stands . ' as a flat contradiction. His owrds, however, might mean a wholly differ-' ent thing, although designed to be construed as the announcement of a great victory. Before the German .attack was madd, the supreme war council at Versailles y had worked out a program for limitejr ' pooling of forces under General Foch as supreme strategist, which would have commanded a mobile force of some 800,000 men, composed of 200, 000 French, 200,000 British, 200,000; Americans and 200,000 Italian troops. Each of the commanders would have contributed from his mobile reserves his portion of the inter-allied reserve army which was to have been em ployed mainly to support offensive op- ' erations on front selected by the Ver sailles council. , The organization of this army wask never completed, however, the emer- -gency created by the German off en- - sive causing a wholly new pooling agreement under which General Foch became supreme commander. He -now directs the employment of all active as well as reserve armies. No army now exists which could be called "the Foch reserve army, because af supreme commander that officer haf under him all of the forces facing the. German onslaught. t - The Prussian war ministers state-. ment, however, admittedly touches the . very heart of the problem facing Gen- . eral Foch. The fact that although un der unceasing attack since March 21 ; the allied and American forces have not struck back in anything approach- . ing a major operation is regarded as ' conclusive proof that the x supreme commander, backed by the supreme war council, is striving by every means : in his power to stem the German rush and exhaust its offensive power with out depleting his own reserve forces. If he is successful and there to now7 every confidence both here and abroa4 (Continued on Page Sevea . 4 'VI if : i I II '- ' - ". ' if , . . i -i - - - . C '