VOL. XXIV. NO. 162.
,r: WILMINGTON, NORTON CiWOLINA; 'THURSDAY ' EINS"; JUNE 20; 1918.
TEN PAGES
FIVE CENTS
SUITCASES
PRESSUIL
1
RECONSTRUCTING OUR DISABLED SOLDIERS
MESSAGES
Oopyriffht: 1918 : Br John T. McCutcheoo.1
N FRONT "
WEAKER
Poal Officials Arl-est Agents
of Western Union Co.
Ship With Cargo of Nitrate of
. , , . - ' ' ' i"-' .
AUSmiAN
E
CAROLINA FARMERS
DEALT HEAVY BLOW:
, ' r -- ' : ' r
a
ON ITALIA
m-mowim
- - - ii '"
Soda Sunk by Sub .
PRACTICE LONG TIME
Facts Discovered Will Be Pre
sented to -the Federal
Grand Jury
SUMMONED TO EXPLAIN
Sent Night Letters by Train
Some Day Letters Report
ed to Have Been Sent
the Same"-Way
Washington, June 20 Postal inspec
tors today arrested a number of trav
eling agents of the Western Union
Telegraph company on trains between
Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Bal
timore and Washington and seized
suitcases they were carrying filled
with messages filed for transmission
by telegraph. .u
This practice, which is said to have
been in operations -by the telegraph
compaay for some time, is: considered
a violation of postal Iawsfxirbiddlng
persons not connected with thepostal
service from conducting a traffic In
communications over ' regular post
road."
The facts discovered will be pre
sented to grand juries and officials
of the telegraph company will be sum
moned to explain the practice. The
penalty for violation of the postal law
is a fine of not more than $500, or six
monies imprisonment.
Postal authorities for several
weeks have been investigating reports
that the telegraph company was send
ing night letters and other messages
by train rather than by wire, and de
livering them the following'day with
ail the marks of telegraph transmis
sion. The practice was reported to
have extended even to some day mes
sages, intended for immediate trans
mission. "
Owing to the extreme rush of tele
graph message business in recent
nonths, the company found . it impos
sble to transmit all messages, offered
Vjwire, it is said, and resorted to the
. issenger system,'? using .fast .trains
liisclosed by - postal - authorities, , the
ys:env was not used extensively In
other parts of the country, although
investigation will be made to 'deter
mine its extent.
The .number of agents taken today
iras not announced by the postoffice
department. It was intimated, how
ever, that the men had been followed
in their tnpa from city to city for
some time, and their schedules of de
livery had been carefully worked out.
The routes and schedules had been
systematized, it Is said, so that often
the messages wejpe delivered about as
quickly as if they had been sent by
wire, particularly considering the de
lay caused by rapid increase in tele
graph traffic due to the war.
The raids on the" train agents were
planned for this morning and all were
made simultaneously. Definite charges
have not been "made against some of
the men, it wa sexplained, pending
determination of the extent of their
knowledge of what they were about.
Whether any high officials of the
Western Union company were famil
iar with the practice and ' sanctioned
it, was not disclosed by postal au
thorities. It is certain, however, that
they will be called on to explain.
Later the postoffice department an
nounced that five men had been caught
but that a number of others were en
gaged in the traffic.
Messages from Washington for New
York Avere carried by a messenger
leaving Washington on a midnight
train. He was met at Baltimore by an
other agent, who turned over a brief
case or suit-case full of messages, and
this also was done at Philadelphia, so
that a batch of telegrms from each
ty was delivered in New York the
net morning. Messengers also
came from New York in the same way.
More than 1,500 messages were
seized today. The postal inspectors
immediately notified the Western
Union offices at the cities where the
Messengers were taken and the com
pany was permitted to copy the tele
grams and to deliver these to the ad
dresses. The messages are said to have been
typed on receiving blank forms at the
riginatin- -:-es, and bore fictitious
Marks, ; rng .the hour when the
telegram: supposed to have been
received L operator at the desti
nation and Vi- -iperators' marks.
Infonnatir- -ncerning the practice
pl De turner. vsr to the department
justice t - -ertain whether prose
cutions also i-ht be made under
Jther statu ce.-. uch as that punishing
gaining m?i:y under false pretenses.
nis action, however, would have to
e undertaken by the states.
Prevent Wheat Congestion.
cop mgton' June To prevent
tl ..-Sestion of whs at at the. seaboard,
Hon farvest- the railroad administra
tes preDarinS in wheat growing
Car y t0 move the "crop Promptly,
om ?ave been side-tracked through
W Producing territory and are
adfd rJs3led t0 parts as soa as
Since Sunday Enemy Held in
Check on Piave" Line
OVER9
Repeated EaferiD
Are Repulsectiiinar- "
ly by ItaH V
RIVER RISES SULNLY
4
internal Condition in Austria,
- Over Food, Causing Trou
ble Food at Lowest Ebb
Since-1914
Austrian Pressure on the front from
Lake Gardato.the Adriatic Is growing
weaker, although the fighting is still
strenuous along the Piave front from
Montello to the sea. '
Sinoe Sunday the enemy has been
held almost; completely in check "On
the Piave line and has made no gains
on the, fountain front, while his loss
in prisoners alone has risen to 9000.
Repeated efforts to debouch from, the
western bank of the river between
Montello and San Dona Di Piave" have
been repulsed sanguinarily by the Ital
ians and only around Capo Sile have
the Autrians made any progress.
From Capo Sile the Austrians have
advanced to the Fossette canal which
parallels the lowlands along the sea
coast to Mestre, a suburb of Venice.
Vienna claims that the canal has been
crossed at some points southeast of
Meolo but Rome reports that the ene
my advances have been repulsed.
Heavy fighting continues around the
Montello . plateau, 'xne Austrians ap
parently have not yet gained control
of this dominating height nor . have
they apparently had any success in
attempting to debouch onto the lower
ground at So villa, south of Nervosa.
The waters of. the Piave have come
to the aid ; of the ".strongly resisting
Persius, Berlin Naval Critic,
Admits Effectiveness of
Allies on Increase
London, June 20. The German U
boats are unequal to the warfare
against them is the virtual admission
of Captain Persius, the naval critic
of the Berliner Tageblatt, says a Rot
terdam dspatch to the Daily Tele
graph. Captain Persius writes:
"Every layman knows that U-boat
losses are unavoidable owing to the
continually increasing sharpness and
effectiveness, of the defense measures
of the enemy which, perhaps, will fur
ther increase as the war progresses.
"It is scarcely to be denied that our
enemies are both carrying on the war
and living and that it will be possible
for. them to defend themselves against
tonnage. needs for a long time at any
rate. -
"From the beginning of the U-boat
war, it was a mistake, often committed
amongst us to under-estimate the re
sources of our enemies."
OF
Bonar Law Tells the House of
Commons Mistake Has
Been Made
London, .Wednesday, June 19.
Chancellor Bonar-Law in the house
of commons and Earl Curzon in the
house of iords today gave explana
tions of a report that another cabinet
for home affairs was to be created.
Mr. Bonar-Law said the report was
.vi entire mistake. It was simply 'in
tended to appoint a committee to deal
with definite sets of questions and the
ultimate authority would be the war
cabinet. .
Earl Curzon was more explicit. He
said a committee on home affairs
would be appomted. It would consist
of members connected with the prin
cipal home departments and would
meet, under the presidency of the
home secretary at least once a week.
All domestic questions requiring the
co-operation of more than one depart
ment would be referred to the com
mittee which would be empowered
reach decisions on behalf of the cabi
nt. But the larger questions of policy,
he added, would be referred, at .the
chairm an's direction, to the war cabi
net. ....... .... . - - . : .v '---t
U-DUH 0.I1UI LUUML IU
WARFARE AG AINST THEM
BOTH
mm
ANOTHER
CABINET
Italians and the- British official ' state
ment on the fighting says that the
river had risen suddenly.- The rise
has been sufficient to carry away many
of the bridges the Austrians had
thrown across the stream.
Emperor Charles, fearful that the
Austrians by themselves will not be
able to emulate the Austro-German
success of last fall on the Izonso line,
personally is urging his troops for
ward. The emperor is said to desire
still greater efforts before calling on
Germany for help.
Meanwhile, internal conditions in
Austria, especially as regards food,
are causing trouble. The city council
of Vienna has protested against re
duction of the bread ration and the
labor organizations in the Austrian
capital for "the speediest general
peace." The food supplies in Austria
are reported at the lowest ebb since
1914.
The German crown prince hasoiot
repeated his attacks against 'the de
fenses of Rheims, before which 40,000
of his troops were repulsed with heavy
losses in a fight Tuesday. The front
there again is quiet and the French
maintain their positions. . Berlin says
the effort was more an artillery and
mine thrower bombardment than an
infantry attack, but all other accounts
agree that the effort was in great force
and that it was broken up in desperate
fighting in front of the French line.
Elsewhere on th western front
4here has been only minor raiding
activity.
East of Chateau Thierry, American
patrols have crossed the Marne in
boats and bested enemy patrols in
encounters. In addition to killing a
large number of Germans the raiders
brought back prisoners. American
bombing airplanes again have bom
barded ConflanB, a railroad junction
midway between Verdun and Metz,
dropping 38 bombs.
-German aggression in the Ukraine
IsTbeginning to reap the whirlwind, ac
cording to reports from Moscow. A
revolt on a large scale has broken
out In Kiev, the Ukrainian capital,
and there has been much street fight
ing. Forty thousand armed peasants
have risen and the revolt has spread
to the proTince of Tchernigov and Poltava,
FttGfMtA
IK OF
Crew of Sunk British Steamer
Are Cast Adrift in
Row Boats
London, June 20. A new and flag
rant example of German submarine
barbarity is reported by the newspa
pers. A U-boat first torpedoed without
warning and then shelled a British
steamer. When the officers and crew
of the damaged vessel took to the
boats they were ordered alongside the
submarine and forced to go on its
deck, the captain being taken below
as a prisoner. As the steamer had not
sunk the captain ordered some of the
British to row one of their two boats
back to her with a German prize crew,
which rifled the steamer systematical
ly and then sunk her with three
bombs.
After having been employed for
nearly five hours in tB work the
British were given some provisions
and cast adrift. The same treatment
was dealt out to the others of the
crew, numbering 28.
Of the 28 men In the second boat
only five survived until she "was picked
up four days later. The occupants of
the first boat were picked up in a
very critical condition on the fifth
day by an American steamer.
WILSON DECLINES TO
Senate Leaders . Predict Jones
Amendment Will Be
Favorably Reported
Washington, June 20. Refusal of
President. Wilson to oppose actively,
for the present, at least, the Jones
amendment to the 11,000,000 emer
gency agricultural appropriation vbilll
. . - . t '
providing ror a Done ury- naiiops xor
the period of thewar caused sate
leaders today to - predict that $ie.
amendment would be favorably rfc
ported by the' senate agriculture com
mittee, which hoped t'o complete .the
hearings on the amendment and reach
a vote late today. ,
Few senators would express, an opin
ion as to the probability of the amend
ments being passed by the senate , for
the reason that President Wilson' is
understood to have, told Senator Smith
of South Carolina, acting chairman of
the agriculture committee, yesterday,
his declination to oppose the amend
ment depended on whethgr discussion
of it holds up important legislation. -
w
mm
OPPOSE
DRY
NATION
AHmr th$dvn Wor th govmrnmmnt goo thm ditabUJ oUir a pmwv maid - Thanhs and Cood-By,"
and then ft ttfm worry along through htm thm bmst way thmy could.
Thm prmsmnt program mm more
if thmy cotnm tontm dUabimd thm government will employ mrnrnry mmanm known to modern science and surgery)
to reconstruct them physically, as
The will be equipped to become
Failure of Austrian Drive Is
Spurring Allies On
-,1 " - "" '
ON MONTELLO PLATEAU
French People See Defeat Cer
tain For -Teuton-Armies
f
on Italian Front
GREAT DOUBLE VICTORY
Emperor Charles and von
Hoetzendorff. Assured von
Hindenburg the Drive
Would Be Success
Italian Headquarters, Wednesday,
June 19. Realization that the Aus
trian offensive has failed is spurring
the Italian troops to a desperate re
sistance along the Piave. Heavy
fighting continued today around the
Montello plateau on the north and
near San Dona Di Piave on the south.
On -Montello, which is hilly and
wooded, the opposing forces frequent
ly stumbled upon eacli other unexpect
edly. Such meetings always result in
sharp encounters, i
The spirit of thw Italian troops Is
at high pitch desplt: wounds, loss of
sleep and constant moyenjente made
necessary by the conditions of the
terrain at several points.
Defeat Is Certain.
Paris, June 20. The splendid re
sistance of the Italians arid their
Franco-British allies leads the French,
press tp conclude that the Austrians
cannot avoid defeat, especially, as.
well directed cqunter attacks have re
sulted in the capture of thousands 6f
prisoners and much war material. A
Havas dispatch from Rome says that
Italy has achieved a great double vic
tory, referring to the recent naval ex
ploit in the Adriatic and the present
checking of the -Austrians.
Late in March, says the Echo de
Paris, Field Marshal von Hindenburg
demanded that Austrian divisions be
sent to the French front. Field Mar
shal Conrad von- Koetzendorff, sup
ported byEmperor Charles, . assured
tVta norman lp.adeT that an Austrian
offensive against Italy would have aj
great chance 01 success ana wouia De
received Joyfully by the dual mon
archy. This point of view was finally ac
cepted, by the German supreme com
mand. ! v -t -''r- J """ y-
! S- - . - '";.
" r ' ". ' i" ; .
mnUghtmnmd. Thm man who now go
well as train them in some . useful vernation suited to their capabilities
useful citwns, instead of helpless pensioner.
" ' BE IU MARSHAL
Friends Predict His Appoint
ment Maxwell and Dunn
Are Abo in Race
George A. Bellamy, "The Duke of
Brunswick," who is in the city today
looking after matters pertaining to
the internal revenue, bureau, says he
is very much in the race for the posi
tion of United States marshal to suc
ceed Col. W. T. Dortch of Goldsboro,
should ."the latter decide to resign.
ColoneitDortch appears to have been
nominated for congress from the third
congressional district, but he has not
yet tendered his resignation, so far as
any one here knows, but he may dc
so -between now and March 4, 1919,
unless he - congressional inquiry de
cides against him.
The duke says he haseen indorsed
by hundreds 6f people in the state and
he confidently expects to be appoint
ed, if, as said, before, Colonel Dortch
resigns. Senators Simmons aiid
Overman and Representative Godwin
have been asked by-some of the most
prominent' democrats Jn Easicrr.
North Carolina to give the place to
Bellamy and many Wilmington people
believe he has a goffd chance of being
appointed.
The question of selecting, a man to
succeed Colonel Dortch will - rest with
Senator Simmons and Representative
Godwin. In fact the place .is senator
rial patronage but, of course. Senate
Simmons will not name a m&lt.to the
place who is objectionable to ' Mr.
Godwin. It is understood that GtKiwia
favors Bellamy's appointment and if
his friends can get the senior senator
in the same frame of mind there sp
pears to be little question about' the
place being given to the sixth congresr
sional 'district.
While the duke has rendered valu
able service to the democratic partjy
he told The Dispatch today that the
democratic party noes not owe mm a
thing and that he is making his canx
paign solely upon his ability to fill the
job to the entiresatisfaction, of the
state and the Washington government.
"Bellamy is at -present employed by
the commissioner of. internal revenue
as a special agent. He has made a
remarkable record in this work and
his friends in eastern Carolina say he
will, if appointed, serve his country
well as United States marshal.
A. J. Maxwell, who for the past year
! or more has been filling the position as
member or tne corporation commas
sion, and Owen Dunn, 'of New Bern,
are said to be in the race forJDortch's
job. It is not' believed, however, that
Maxwell wants the place, so it appears
that the real contest-is between Bel
lamy and Dunn.
to fight for thmir country hnow that,
f5S
Concluding Session 'of Con
vention Held Today
OLD OFFICERS ELECTED
Vote Was by Acclamation, As
(organization Is Pleased
With Work Done
BARRING PRO-GERMANS
Adopt a Resolution Agreeing
Not to Buy From Firms
Not One Hundred Per
Cent American
.Suspension of the rules and re-election
of all old officers by acclamation,
Adoption of a resolution looking to
ward complete ostracization of all
firms whose loyalty is questioned and
decision to discontinue business rela
tions with all persons who are not 100
per cent American, together with de
cision to leave the selection of next
year's convention city and date of
meeting with the officers, featured the
concluding session of the sixteenth
annual convention of the North Caro
lina Merchants association, which was
adjourned with the singing of "God
Be With You 'Til We Meet Again,"
this afternoon at 1 o'clock in the as
sembly hall of the Seashore hotel,
Wrig'htsville Beach. . The concluding
session, was perhaps the most Inter
esting of the several held and because
of the vast amount of work machinery
convention was keptron the high gear
throughout the morning. -
The officers re-elected are: J. Frank
Morris, Winston-Salem, president; B.
F. Roarks Charlotte vice-president; J.
Paul Leonard, Statesville, - secretary;
J. Li. Davis, Concord, treasurer; A. B.
Justice, Charlotte, attorney. The di
rectors, of course, will "be elected by
ike officers and the committees named
by the president.
In adopting a resolution looking to
ward ostracization Of pro-German
firms and business houses, the asso
ciation made it plain that it did not
mean to give aid -and comfort'' to the
enemy 'in any manner. Considerable
time was consumed in drafting the
proper resolution' and a number were
rejected before one that appealed to
all was finally drawn. The resolution
adopted reads: '
"The North Carolina Merchants as
sociation hereby goes on record
against the sale of made in Germany
articles'; as , well as goods manufac
tured . by : pTO-German firms, and fur
ther requests its .members not to. pat-
(Continued jon- Page Nine.)'
REPORTED TOTAL LOSS
Godwin, Small and Robinson
Untiring in Their Efforts
For the Farmers .
A SERIOUS HANDICAP
Will Urge North Carolina
Coast When Aerial Coast
. Patrol Stations Are
Being Located
v-
- (Special to The Dispatch.)
Washington, June 20. North Caro
lina farmers', especially those in the :
eastern . section of the state, were hit .
hard today when the department of
agrlcultyre notified Senators Simmons
and Overman and Representative God- h
win that the ship Redondo, loaded
with nitrate of soda for southern farm
ers, had been sunk off the -;oast of -Cuba
and that the vessel and 'cargo is
a total loss. ,
Members of congress, especially
Congressmen Godwin, Small and Rob
inson, have been untiring in their ef--r
forts to secure nitrate of &od for
Carolina farmers. They were ably as
slsted in this work by Representative ;
Lever, of South Carolina. The loss of
the vessel and cargo is a serious han- -dicap
to the farmers of the state, be
cause in many instances they will be .
unable to secure' the 'fertilizer frqmv
private concerns even at a higher
price than the government had -contracted
to supply their demands.
Both Representatives John H. Small
and Hannibal L. Godwin 1 announced .
today their intention to urge upon the
war department the strategic impor-r
tance of the coast section of North
Carolina when the department begins
the location of additional aerial csst
patrol and aviation stations on the
Atlantic seaboard. -
Secretary Baker in a recent conn.,
munication .to the house- committee
appropriations disclosed the purpose
of fchewar dejpartmenkto .construct JS
new aviation patrottationaiui.tlia"-At-
lan tic coastr ' The visit of GermanT"
U-boats was partly responsible for this ,
plan, and hereafter the war and navy
departments intend to co-operate in n
patrol that will embrace the aid and
tb.0 w3ftr
With a shipbuilding plant at Wil-
mlngton the coast of North Carolina
becomes doubly Important from the
standpoint of protection. Representa
tive Small said today that the coast
line of the state is of sufficient im
portance and length to justify the lo- -cation
of two Of the new stations. In
North Carolina and that one at least
should be located there. Representa;
tive Godwin, whose district also com
prises coast territory, will apply to the
war department for consideration of
North Carolina claims; and Represen
tative Hood, now ill, will probably pre-
sent, the claims of his district by lefr
ter. . - .'' .
The new patrols will cost more than
$1,000,000 each, but only about six
to eight weeks is required for ,con-.
(Continued on Page Nine.)
IS REPORTED OFF COAST
ANOTHER
SUBMARN
; . ; "
Steamer Claims She . Waa .
Chased Off Sandy Hook ?
by a U-Boat
An Atlantic Port, June 20. An
Ameican steamer arriving nere today
from a Central American port, report
ed that at 4 p , m . yesterday afternoon -180
to 200 miles south of Sandy Hook
she sighted a submarine and was pur- . "
sued by the U-boat.
The captain said that he put on full 't -peed,
zigzagged and escaped by out
distancing the U-boat. His ship car-
led 57 passengers. ' -: .
This is the first report of the'ap
pearance of a Germ an raider so far.J
north since ships were unk by sub-- -marine
attacks off the Jersey coat in
the latter part of May. , -
Off South Carolina.
A Gulf Port, June 20. A coastwise
passenger steamship which arrived
here late yesterday, encountered a
German submarine at 1:35 p. m. last
Saturday off the coast of South Caro- .
lina, it' was learned today, but made. y,
good her escape because of superior '
speed and her wireless calls fo help, f -
wnicn apparently forced the submers
ible to give up the chase. " -
Officers of the steamer sighted the -submarine
as it came tothe surface - '
less than a mile off the port" bow. ' It
started full speed for the ship, at the'
same time diving. The steamer im
mediately was put on a r rig-sag course
and when the submarine came to the
surface again it was nearer but for"
some reason did not fire. Wireless ,
calls for -help were being- sent out
rapidly and . the U-bpat quickly gave V
up the chase, apparently fearing the ,
appearance of patrol vessels. ' V-
Only : two passenges were' aboard -the
steamer. :rl:ri.
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