North Carolina Newspapers

1 t!"' , . . - - - , ,.i ; v --. , . '. - - - j WEATHER. j '"TT-Xr'Tf1'" " "" ' ' ? -- ' - - V ' . ... -lr-r , . -rrrr-r-n 1 VOL. XXIV.- NO. 161. - , ; , ;. ' ,, WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA, WEDNESDAY: EVENING. JUNE- 19. 1918. 7s' v FIVE CENTS ARMNEAM Fighting Has Been Extended Five Miles From City STRAIGHTEN OUT LINES Fierce Attacks Made fey Aus trians to Overcome Re sistance of Italians . DISASTROUS CHECK MET In Mountains the Invading Hordes of Teutons Have Been Placed on Defensive and Thrown Back Standing firmly before the war stricken city of Rheims, the French have checked a new German "drlye launched last night,: five days after the offensive on the- Montdidier-Noyon line came to a halt. In the fighting the active battle front has been ex tended to a point five miles southeast of the cathedral city. At 6 o'clock Tuesday evening the German artillery began a heavy bom bardment between Vrigny, ""west ot Rheims, to the villege of La Pom pelle, on the north bank of the Vesle river east of that city. Three hours later the Teutonic infantry stormed out of their trenches to begin the as sault. According to the official state ment issued at Iaris the Germans mere nowhere successful in their at tempts to enter the French lines, be ing repulsed with heavy losses. The front, oyr which the new at tack was launched, is approximately 14 miles in length. It has been ex pected that the Germans would sooner or later attempt to straighten out their lines in this region because the close of the Aisne offensive left the allies in a favorable position along the front, east of Chateau Thierry. to the region north of Chalons. Having . interior lines, they are able to quickly ascentrate their- forces on either of tfc side aaglefaavtcg 4ts apex at Rheims. - , The ground over which the Germans sre attacking west of Rheims is rather nigh and irregular. To the north of the city it is more level and to the east the French, being between the enemy and the Vesle river, would be operating at & disadvantage were it not for wooded hills which they hold Tm each side of the village' of La Pom pelle. The connection betwewen this as sault and the one delivered between Montdidier and Noyon last week is rather difficult to trace,' except that a straightening of the line would be of advantage to the foe. Raiding operations are reported from the British fronts in theSomme and Lys sectors. ' Fierce attacks are being made by the Austrians to overcome the Italian resistance along the Piave but the de fensive iine still holds. Apparently the enemy sees his only hope ot suc cess in enlarging his gains across the Piave, having been giving a disastrous check in the mountains from west of (Continued on Page Nine.) I INTENDED SEAMEN IS RECTED Hundreds of Thousands of Pounds, From Chicago, in Bad Condition New York, June 19. Hundreds of thousands of pounds of meat intended IQr use on American hattlpshfns fnr- aished by Wilson and company, Chi- so packers, has been rejected be cause not in good, condition. Cantain S. Williams, of the navy, testified my at the inquiry by the federal ade commission into charges that p met is being furnished the navy. Captain Williams, when asked if he ever rejected any meat from Wil jjn and company, offered for the navy Apartment, replied: Yes, I have rejected a great many Jndred thousands of pounds. One lot consisted of 300,000 pounds, of smoked am " The reason It was rejected, J-aptain Williams said, was because it wa sour and smeary." I2snnnadded furtb-er that an item of clin J pounds of meat had been de Un So and that 011 another, occasion ljat;78 Pounds of ham shipped to the Luesiup Missouri, after delivery had "cen found "une,, j j . Hev Vt uujecuou oi me auor- fttept fi, Wilson and . company to :, he ed tv whe nthe meat was accept? ceaSfl r0esPnsibility of the firm had C ?aptaIu Wilams testified the Bonrf rPed by the firm for the Mis- any on en guaranteed to keep in 3w umiate for four montha and thn ".til ii I . i test 3 had faIled to stand the I IB FOR KM AN- DRWR FFF 4RFNTS APPFAP I m I ItHDiiiiMnfiPiii ' . , ; n-biiuunv ill i u l t PURnMASKS 7 I ii iiiiii i 11111 i it it 1 1 BYFRENCH NERVES OF PARIS TLY RELAXED German Failures on Both Fronts Cause Delight EVERYBODY CONFIDENT Cynical Comment on Report Capital Will Be Victim of Shelling CITY NOT THREATENED Have Same Chance to Enter Paris, Says Working Girl, As She Has of Entering Home of DuBarry Paris, June 19. News of the Aus trian, repulse on the Italian front, the comparative quiet on the French and British lines, silence on the part of the long range guns for six days, and the inability of the Gothas to cross last three attempts to reach Paris, onl. one German having succeeded in flying' over the city, have caused the taut nerves of Paris to relax. The city has assumed an appearance nearer that of before the war than at any time since the opening of hostili ties. , With the Germans 50 miles from Paris the sole topic of conversation is the victorious stand the Italian armies are making and. their successful coun ter attacks which .causes-keen delight here. . The announcement in Swiss newspa- iLerW .thj4nsicatlQn i the German- general staff, predicting that Paris will be subjected to an in tense bombardment within a few days, are meeting with cynical comment un tinged by any touch of perturbation. "The Germans have as -much chance to enter Paris as I have -to oc cupy Du Barry's apartments or the Versailles chateaux," was the remark Lof a girl worker, giving an Indication of the temper of the rank and file. "But if the Germans should get within - bombarding distance of Paris, and shell the city, would you go?" the young woman was asked. "Yes; go to work as usual," she re plied. A, somewhat different view of even tualities is taken by Luis Peuch, a Paris deputy, who is taking a promi nent part1 in the work of the commit tee of deputies for the defense of Paris. He writes to the Matin, ad vocating the taking of certain precau tionary measures. "The capital is no more threatened today than it was three months ago. says the deputy .1 Js article, "tfubcdy qi!f?'tibns the so.'Jdlty of the frj:t nor fears a fresh withdrawal." But we must exercise, foresight which w too often have failed to do in the past." M. Peuch argues that guns -with greatly increased range may some day hold Paris and its suburbs under fire, wwhen panic and' serious disorders might develop among the millions of Inhabitants, while there would certain ly be a considerable destruction of supplies and valuables in the city, the material wealth Of which runs into many billions. The exodus from Paris would imme diately become general If Paris be came the target for an Intense bom bardment, the deputy predicts, and It has been decided in that event to make transportation available for every one and to extend it without cost to those unable to pay. Persons to ,the number of 50,000 could be taken out daily and measures have been taken to raise the number to 150,000 daily in case of emergency. The accumulated wealth of the cap ital, the deputy adds, would be re moved progressively with everything affecting the national defense taken first and then all things affecting the national interest otherwise, such as art ocllections. Private property raw materials, tools and merchandise would follow. ATTEMPT 14 RAIDS; 278 MACHINES FAIL Paris, June 19. The Germans have attempted 14 air raids upon Paris since January 31, but only 22 of the more than 300 machines which took part In them havesucceeded in flying over the city, according to a record of the enemy efforts; published in the Excelsior today. The newspaper comments upon the effectiveness of the aerial defenses of Paris thus indicated.? Nine of . the 2? machines which penetrated the bar rier, it .adds., were brought down .by the French defenders of the capital.' RHMMS I II 1U LL.I1ILI1U I I rZ I III 1 llll lllll IIIIMill Explain Their Operations in Unearthed Graft System BEEN VERy EXTENSIVE Admit They Have Sub - Let Contracts Innocent of Breaking Law 1 NO SINISTER INFLUENCE Corps of Lawyers Working on Reports on Raids 'Made on Manufacturers Find New Evidence Washington, June .19. Many self- acknowledged contingent fee agents appeared today at the department of Justice to explain their operations and to ask leniency in any action the de partment may take to break up the exposed system of defrauding contrac tors and the government out oT mil lions of dollars. - Many of these agents heretofore had been unknown to the department, and this fact promoted the impression that the system of making commis sions; out of war orders is even more extensive than officials had believed. Hundreds of letters, telegrams and personal calls) came to Attorney Gen eral Gregory ' and Assistant Attorney General Thompson, in direct charge of the campaign against contingent fee system, inquiring concerning the legal status of contracts already made or the legality of maintaining representatives in Washington. Some admitted they had sub-let contracts, not knowing that this was a violation of the law. Although no formal statement of policy was made by the department of justice, officials Intimated that leniency-would be shown in all cases where It was apparent that the con-? tractor or -the commission agent neither pretended to use nor actually did employ any sinister influence in obtaining orders. X ! .;v . A corps of lawyers, working, today in the: mass of reports on raids made o-anufaeturers offices, fooucU con siderable new evidence of improper, if not illegal, practices in connection with the soliciting of government war contracts. In many cases, it Is under stood, manufacturers have written to army officers who formerly held posi tions with them or with allied con cerns, asking them to use influence in getting contracts. All documents shedlng any light on the awarding of contracts for airplanes or parts found in these papers were referred t9 Charles E. Hughes, who is conducting a special inquiry into air craft production. Lieutenant James C. Staley, under arrest in New York on charges of ac cepting a bribe from a raincoat com pany for' his influence on the com pany's behalf, will be tried immedi ately by a courtmartlal, and the infor mation he has furnished regarding other improper practices, will be used to run down persons implicated. Department of . justice officials today declined to say whether any further arrests are in contemplation. A bill to prohibit "cost plus" con tracts and annul government contracts secured by payment of promises of a commission or use of influence was introduced today by Senator Poindex ter of Washington, and referred to a senate judiciary sub-committee. RAILWAY EMPLOYES PUT IN CLASS ONE ..Washington, June 19. Railroad ad ministration reports show that a large proportion of railway employes within the draft ages without dependents have been placed in class one, despite the suggestions of railway executives that their men should be given de ferred classification on the ground that they are engaged in an essential industry. No formal attempt will be made by the railroad administration to change the ranking of these employes, but railroad executives are expected in many cases, to act on their own ini tiative to ask that men not be draft ed immediately. SACK AMERICAN HOSPITAL Washington, June 19. Sacking of the American hospital at Tabriz, Persia, and of Vie seizure of British consulates by Invading Turkish troops, was reported to the state department today by the American minister at Teheran. -If the report as it reached the minister is officially confirmed, the outrages may be considered an act of war, and settle the long pending question of whether the Ottoman allies of Germany should be formal y listed among America's enemies. According to today's dispatch the Turks sacked the hospital over the protest of the Spanish consul in charge as representative of Ameri can' Interests and in defiance of the Spanish flag flying over-the build-. YOUNG DELIVERED POWERFUL ADDRESS Value of Hre Prevention Urged on Merchants WAR SAVINGS FEATURES Report of Secretary Was of An Exhaustive and In teresting Nature SCORE TRADING STAMPS Greensboro Man Talked on Training Sales Forse -Training Sales Force tee Reports Addresses by State Insurance Com missioner James R. Young on fire pre vention as a war conservation meas ure, John Li. liiimer, or Winston-Salem, on the state war savings campaign, and an interesting talkr by William T. Kelly, of Greensboro, on training the sales force which was filled with.? com mon sense suggestions, together with the filing of several reports , and a sharp attack on" the once popular trad Ing stamp and a hint that the secre tary's salary must of necessity; be in creased featured this morning's ses sion of the sixteenth annual conven tion of the North Carolina Merchants' association which was convened in the assembly ha!L of the -Seashore hotel, Wrightsville Beach, last night at 8:30 o'clock,., and which will in all rpoba bility conclude its sessions tomorrow morning although the advisability, of speeding up the machinery and finish ing all business matters this evening was discussed by officers and dele gates in attendance. In his address on fire prevention Colonel Young sought to impress upon his audience that the country is at war to bring home the realization to all that there is a part for the indi vidual one to play in winning ths war and that actionals ' the one thing needed. There is too little sacrific ing and too much talk of patriotism in the opinion of the commissioner, declaring that none had even bought liberty bonds and war stamps, al though good investments, to the point of sacrifice. The surplus . money is being used and while the plea of the Red Cross and the Y. M. C. A. has been met in a splendid manner Col-j onel Young does not believe that many have actually deprived them selves of the things they wanted in! order to further these causes.' y He dwelt at length upon t the vast amount of food and foodstuffs that are destroyed by fires that might have been prevented and he urged that con servation was useless and that there was little need in maiming manufac turing plants by putting them on war orders if the food conserved and the products manufactured were to be de-j 1 (Continued on Page Nine.) L UETHENTHAL LOST HIS L IFE IN A IR BATTLE According, to messages ' received vto day by the tamUy, Arthur vBluethn thal, of Wilmington member Qfthe aviation ' service in the FrenchFo eign Legion, lost his life in an 'air fight over the German lines June 7, and was buried June 8. ' " " , For several days past New York and Philadelphia newspapers have carried stories of the death of Arthur "Bloom ingthal," of Wilmington, N. C.,1 which was reported to have occurred -daring a bombing exhibition behind the Ger man lines, and it was then believed that the victim was Arthur Bluethen thal, of this city. However, as the days passed and there was no" confirmation. of the reports, the family and friends began to take hope that it was not the Wilmington boy who had been lost. This morning L. Bluethenthal, fath er of Arthur, received a message stat. ing that the International News Serv ice had received a cable from its Paris office annotpicing . definitely that Ar thur Bluethenthal had lost his life. This was given further confirmation by a message from Morgan. Hartje company, Paris representatives of J. P. Morgan & company, stating that young Bluethenthal had been seen to fall to his death behind the American lines followfng a fight with the enemy while on a bombing expedition. With the receipt of the messages, the family abandoned all hbp of the young avia-, tor being alive, anf today there was a constant streamtjof callers at the resi dence, corner of Fifth ejid-vDock; streets,-who came to, offer comfort to the grief stricken family. : . ; Mayor P. C. Moore promptly or dered all flags on the city hall, fire stations and other - city buildings, at half mast in honor of the memory of the first Wilmington man to give his life" in the great world war against Prussianism, and' the business houses are requested to show a like respect. As a further honor, Mayor Moore, has issued a proclamation asking all busi ness in the city to suspend tomorrow between the hours of 12 and 1 o'clock, and that the people assemble at the Academy of Music at 12:30, ' where To the People of T : iington PROCLAMATION BY THE MAYOR . -. fc- . Wilmington has given , much' to the gfreat cause in which we are na tionally engaged. Time and -Service ant money have; been freely lav ished. And now comes the supreme sacfice. One of 'herbravest and best has laid his life on the altar of his country. Death has made his first demand on our community. ' :' .The news that flashes along the wires' that Arthur-Bluethenthal has fallen in conflict brings sorrow and desoIaUon to a happy and loving home and awakens an answering spark 5 of- sympathy fa- the' hearts of, friends, acquaintances arid a pub''' ?M-'t0 respond to" the manliness which 'has dared all, done, all and given all. The people of Wilmington gri. .tll mose near ari4 dear to him. That they may give expression to ,tbeir sorrow and' sympathy a meet ing of our people is called at the Academy of Music for Thursday, June 20th, at 12:30 o'clock p. m., and all business hoiises and -offices are re quested to close their places between It amf ! o'clock as a. mark of re spect and to enable the . attendance- of ' their employes. -liet us pause a moment and do honor to one who has died for us, died in the Xull strength of young manhood, died ia fthfei conflict; of i battle, and dying, emphasizes for us the .creed of the soldier, "better a grave in France than' 7 they, may give public utterance tothe esteem in, rwhich4 young ; Bluethenthal waB held. '. v ' v Arthur Blaethenthafras 27 years of age. He graduated at' Princeton uni versity in 1913, and was known throughout the country, for his prowess Ion thff football gridiron. He played center on the famous Tiger team in T911, 1912 and 1913, and was honored by Walter Camp, the great football ex pert, by being placed as center on the ail-American football team. Following his graduation, he return ed-:to-XWnmington.-'Ma"1915 he was called to the University of North Caro lina, to xoach football, and there en deared hmself to all Carolina men. In 1916,he could not further resist the. call of 2war, so, he enlisted in the American ambulance,, and was sent abroad. He saw service, in France and on the Salonica front,, a medal being conferred upon him for bravery shown during the fighting before Salonica. Returning from the Macedonian bat tlefields, he in September,- last year, joined, the. f oreign legion. la Jthe avia tion services of the French aray, and at once . wentjnto training, aji-j, pilot of airplanes. Completing his training, he was granted .a furlough, and spent several weeks last winter -in Wil mingtont.with his parents; Ho return ed to the front, and since has been actively engaged in air aerations on the side ot.. tie -allies.- . The statement in one of ;the reports, that, lie fell on the American' front v would indicate L that he hadf beeh' detailed Jto aid the American airnien in. their traialngi Nearly two wjeeks. ago- according to unofficial f rportJSp1ie with , two other crews; went on bombing.; expedition,' and it: was in ths that he is believed to have lost; his- life.. No details of the fight have -been' received, bat nb doubt when theydo "arrive they will show that he met: deathi -fighting- like a man. He was always cool under serious difficulties, quick to take in a situation, and it was this that made him the great" football star that he ( ontinued on Page Ten.) QIUNCE MpORE, Mayor.; ON JUNE i 5 British Seaplanes Win Over ; 1 9 German Seaplanes - . O-, ONE DOWNED INFLAMES Two Americans, Eaton and Keyes, Were in North Sea Patrol IN BATTLf, FORMATION After a Fight of Seven Hours the Enemy Machines Were j Driven Out of Control and Defeated London, June 19. In the fight off .l"v the Dutch coast on June 4 five British ; seaplanes of the largest type outfought ; " 19 German seaplanes. One of the en-, ; ' ,; emy machines was sent down in ;;:t.:- ' flames and another drlvn down out'.--;-: of control, according to a description of the fight written for the Associated Fress by Ensign K. B. Keyes, a United "States naval aviator. Previous- to the encounter one of the British machines had descended to make re- pairs and the Germans set upon the ' four machines protecting the injured ,; one. Ensign Joseph Eaton, another American aviator, was on the injured ' machine and he was subsequently . in- terned In Holland. ; ; "Ensign Eaton and I were two Americans among the crews of five 5 flying boats on a North sea patrol," says Ensign Keyes. i - i " h "West of Terschelling, Elton's ma chine had to alight on the surface ow- ing to engine trouble. We stood by, circling in the air and waiUng for him to repair the damage. "Soon five German airplanes hove in sight. We took battle formation and went for them. I was in the front cockpit with one gun and 400 rounds of ammunition. In the stern : .' , were three more guns and their po-; . . ' erators. The Germans fled at our ap-V . proach, but I-had the satisfaction of' getting several rounds into them, al . hxtoghit is impssible-to: suy whethMr mere were' any enecuve nits.; 'tAfter- a time the j6nemy came clr- cling back, but instead of five, ma- ' ; Lchines there were only four, one small ... " scout having been sent landward, pre- .. "Soon afterward we discovered 10 I; hostile-machines coming up from an opposite direction. They were not ;t" high in the air, but were near the water, and were joined almost tome- diately by five more, making 19 in all. . ;y The enemy scouts were painted black while the two-seated were sea green ; ' and very hard to be distinguished ; -' from the water. ',;,-'.. "We swung into battle formation again and charged in the middle of . the enemy fleet. When we were near- v ly within range, four planes on tho port side and five on the starboard rose to - our level, while two of tho -enemy machines passed directly be- ' neath us, shooting upward. " -.' '; "The firing was ncessant from the beginning and the - air was blue .with ' " tracer bulleLsmoke and, the Germans used. exploslve bullets. "I devoted my time to the port side, ' where four planes offered fine targtti, m -Once I looked around I noticelmr - . commander was in a stooping position : I thought nothing of It until, a, few . minutes laterwhenll looked again and S saw he was still in the same posIUosl- Then the truth dawned on me that he t had been hit and, looking closer, I dls- - , ; covered his head was in a pool of ; -blood but for the moment I could not. 4 mi 1 ' 1 1 ; 1 ' a - - (Continued on Page Nine.) OF ZEEBRUGGE BLOCKED. SAY AVIATORS Airmen Each Night Demolish Work of Germans to Clear a Way x Amsterdam, June 19. The entrance to the harbor of Zeebrugge is blocked, according to Lieuts. George Coward and John Read, of the British royal air force, who landed in the province HARBOR of Zeeland Monday and are to be in terned at The Hague. In au interview . published in the Telegraaf they say the Germans are working day and s night to clear the passage, but each I night British aviators demolish ;! the ' Germans progress. i ; . ; The cement ships sunk in the har- I bor are still there and the Germans " are afraid to blow them up for fear they will also destroy the sluices. The lieutenants assert that " no submarinee ; . can enter or leave Zeebrugge. The blockade of Ostend is not so complete," , but the Germans are having great trouble there. " . : r ' - The motor of the seaplane carrying v Coward and Read failed . while ' they were bombing-Zeebrugge. ' German aviators' attacked their machine, but they .managed to reach Holland to ea- f cape capture by the Germans. - I'' i 1 y ! f ' ... '. . i ' . 1. " - - v "i. :- - ;