North Carolina Newspapers

VOLUME 36 SMITHFIELD, N. C., TUESDAY, AUGUST 7, 1917. Number 44 KNEW AUSTRIA'S INTENTION. Germany Received Austria's Ultima tum Fourteen Hours Before It Was Delivered to Belgrade. Zimmer mann's Admission Sets at Naught the German Government' Repeated Denials. Washington, Aug. 3. ? Germany had possession of Austria's ultima tum to Serbia fourteen hours before it was delivered to Belgrade, accord ing to positive information which has. reached officials here and which was made public today for the first time. It was stated that former Foreign Secretary Zimmermann admitted this himself, when pressed very closely as to Germany's foreknowledge of the action of her ally which precipitated the European war. Germany has maintained consist ently in all her public documents that s?he was not consulted by Austria as to the ultimatum which practically denied Serbia's independence and that she did not even have knowledge of the step. Foreign Secretary Zimmcrmann's admission, however, is interpreted here to show that Germany had full knowledge of the note in time to stop action on it if she felt it essential. Iler inaction, however, is felt to have proved her an accomplice of Austria, whom she had already told she would support in any decision she might make. The admission was stated here to have been made when Zimmermann was pressed very closely as to Ger many's knowledge of the Austrian ultimatum. For a considerable time, it was stated, he maintained Ger many had known nothing at all about it. MEN EXAMINED IN CHARLOTTE. Thirty-four of Ninety-two Summoned for Saturday Absent. Of Fifty-eight Men Examined Saturday Forty-Six Passed. Of the First 197 Men Ex amined 42 Failed to Pass Physical ly. The third lot of men called by the Charlotte exemption board for the new national army were examined during Saturday in the gymnasium of the Young Men's Christian Associa tion. Of the ninety-two summoned to appear yesterday for the examination thirty-four failed to report, leaving fifty-eight to be examined. Forty-six of those examined passed the physi cal examination, while twelve failed. The fact that so many men have failed to report for the examination, when they have been mailed notices to appear, is causing the city board trouble. Members of the board said last night that they hoped that it would not be necessary to resort to un pleasant means to bring the delin quents before them. , Of the thirty-four men failing to appeal, nineteen were white and fif teen colored. The twelve men failing to pass the physical examination were white, all the negroes examined passing. Thir ty-five white men passed the exam ination and eleven negroes. Only eleven negroes were examined. The city board has now examined 197 men, forty-two of whom have failed to pass the physical examina tion, leaving 155 men who have pass ed and are therefore liable for mil itary duty should they have no claims for exemption. Seventy-one have failed to appear before the board, although notices were mailed them to report during last week. A Moonlight Picnic. % Kenly, Aug. 3. ? A delightful moon light picnic was given Wednesday evening by Misses Clyde and Agnes Watson of Kenly, in honor of their guests, Miss Bedia McCaskcy, of Kinston, N. C., and Miss Celestia Gul ley. At four o'clock the party motored out to Sasser's Pond. Boating and swimming were enjoyed, but the lunch was especially enjoyed. Those present were: Misses Bedia McCaskcy, Celestia Gulley, Elizabeth Farmer, Inez Edgerton, Adna Lee Bailey, Nellie Hardison, Eunice Je rome, Sadie Morris, Clyde, Agnes and Myrtle Watson. v Messrs. Rudolph Kirby, Dobbin Bailey, Ulysses Hardison, Hal Gil breath, James Kirby", Robert Jerome, Claude Edgerton, Donald Kirby and Viron Edgerton. Chaperones, Mr. and Mrs. T. M. Aycock. MANY CIIRL SOLDIERS KILLED. Only 53 Remain Unhurt In the Heavy Casualties for Russia's Legion of Death. All Wounded Determined to Return to Battle Line. Only fifty-fiv.1 of thf wholi' battal ion of women in Russia's Legion of Death came through their first battle unscratched. But the wounded as well as those who escaped are going back to the front. Mme. Bctchkneva, commandcr of the legion, suffered from shell shock in a hospital, near Petrograd, proudly told the heroic story of her unit's fighting and made this statement. Half a dozen other wounded girls in the same hospital gave instant cor roboration. "We have fought with rfien and with women," Commander Botch knev declured, "and one is as good as the other if he or she loves the fath-4 erland. "My girls had been divided before the battle. One-half remained a unit, under my command, and the other half was distributed in small detr.ch mcnts of six or ten to various com panies. These small units were to act as ammunition carriers only. My half was an active fighting force. 1 led them into the charge myself. "Out of all cur legion, just fifty five of the girls were uninjured." "Why should women anywhere in the world be surprised at our fight ing?" interjected Evodkia Minenkova, formerly a stewardess in the trans atlantic steamship service, who spoke good English. "I know American women pretty well. If they knew the facts I would not be surprised to see them do the same thing." I asked all the wounded girls to tell me exactly why they fought. "Russia needed me, so I quit high school," promptly responded pretty Minnie Golubieva, 18. "Because my husband is also in the army," said Mrs. Anna Konovaliva. "My husband was killed in fighting early in the war, and I joined to avenge his death," responded Mrs. Irene Perchurina, salesgirl. Natally Svanzinger, former chauf feuse, declared: "Because driving a car did not make a sufficient dent in the enemy, I pre ferred a rifle." "I'm a 'papa's girl,' " laughed pretty Mary Bialokurova, round-faced and blue-eyed. "They used to say I went to school instead of working. Well, here I am, and I've been working." "We are all going back to the front," one of the girls declared. The whole roomful of wounded legionaires chorused instant approval. "The German girls we captured carried a sign, 'Send us your women; we will pay them well,' " declared one of the girl soldiers. "They sent us, but we carried bay onets," she added. ? Petrograd Special to Now York Evening Sun. Iredell's Tallest Man Exempt. The Iredell County Exemption Board had the first called men before it Wednesday and Thursday of last week. One of the men before the board Thursday was over 6 1-2 feet tall. Friday's Str.tesville Landmark says: "Of the .50 who appeared yesterday for examination James Burley Wil cox, New Hope, 'took the cake.' He stood 79 1-4 inchcc flat-footed and is entitled to exemption on the grounds of excessive height, the government not accepting men in excess of 6 feet and 6 inches unless they are otherwise exceptional. A local wag remarked that if Wilcox was acccpted they would have to dig him a well to stand in instead of the ordinary army trench. He weighs 145 pounds." ORDERS SLACKERS REPORTED. President Wilson Says All Delin quents Will Be Certified Into National Army. Washington, Aug. 2. ? President Wilson to-day ordered all "slackers" who failed to appear for draft exam ination be reported to the Department of Justice and certified into the na tional army by the Adjutant-Gener- i al of the State. Should these men fail to report to 1 the Adjutant-General within five days after notification of their certification into the army they will be reported to the Adjutant-General of the army i for his action. \ FRIDAY'S WAR NEWS IN BRIEF. Political Troubles Iireak Out Anew In I'etrojrrad. While the Russian Armies Still Retreat. Haig's Men Re-Kstablish Themselves in Town of St. Julien. (Associated Press War Summary.) Political troubles in Petrograd, the ' continuance of the Russian retreat j and a further advance by the British in Flanders stand out from the gen- i eral war news. Norther st of Ypres on Friday thi I troops of Field Marshal Haig re-es tablished themselves in the town of St. Julien, captured by them on Tues day, but from which they were driven by the Germans on Wednesday. Additional ground was gained south of HoJlebcke, near the center of the line on which Entente allied attacks j were launched early this week. Brit- j ish artillery dispersed German forces preparing to attack near Ypres and I forestalled any attempt by the Teu tons to charge against the British lines. On Tuesday, the first day of the allied advance, (5,122 Germans were made prisoner by the Anglo French forces. Near Monchy le Preux, southeast of Arras, the Germans on Thursday night entered British front line trenches at two points. Desperate fighting ensued and the British dur ing Friday re-took most of the ele ments. Except for the repulse of a German attack on a 1,500 yard front near Cerny, on the Aisne front, there has been only raids and artillery duels on the rest of the Western front. With apparently no let-up in the Ivussian retreat along the line from i arnopol to the Rumanian border, there came advices of a new political process in Petrograd. Premier and War Minister Kerensky and his fel low cabinet members, except one, re signed, but later, with the exception of M. Terestchenko, the foreign min ister, withdrew their resignations. To defend himself along charges that he had been connected with the German general staff, M. Tchernoff. the socialist minister of agriculture, has resigned. Efforts to strengthen the Russian cabinet by the inclusion <>f constitutional democrats seeming ly have failed, and Premier Kerensky will attempt to rule the country with aides from the radicals and socialists. General Erdelli, recently appointed military governor of Petrograd, is re ported to have been assassinated. The line of the river Xbroz, at its confluence with the Dneister, has been given up at several places by the Russians, who, however, fought stub bornly to hold back the Austro-Ger mans. Between the Denter and the Pruth the Russians have not halted in the retreat toward the border. Bukowina is almost entirely in the hands of the Teutons apain. Czerno witz, the capital, has been occupied by the Germans, and Kimpolung, an im portant town several miles south of the Rumanian border, has been evac uated by the Russians. The German advance in Galicia and Bukowina seemingly is aimed at Kamenctzpodol sky, a fortified city north of the Dneister and in the direction of Odessa, Russia's great port on the Black Sea. AVIATION INSPECTOR DEAD. Capt. Ralph L. Taylor Falls to Earth While Making a Flight at Mineola, N. Y. Mineola, N. Y., Aug. 2. ? Capt. Ralph L. Taylor, in command of the training section of the aviation signal corps here, lost control of his airplane today and plunged 800 feet to his death. Sergt. Thomas Pell, who was in the machine with him, suffered a broken jaw and internal injuries. Captain Taylor had been in com mand of the instructors and students about two months and was an expert flier. He was married two months ago. His home was in Stamford, Conn. The Bags Used by Oil Mills. The latest quotations of which we have heard on bags used by the oil mills are as follows: Inside coffee bags $182.50 per thousand f. o. b. place of shipment. Second hand cotton-seed meal bags 11% cent" each, freight prepaid. Hull bags arc 12% cents each and new fertilizer bagi are $220.00 per thousand. < CRUEL ACT OF A SUBMARINE. Thirty-Eight Sailors From the British Steamer Belgian Prince Mustered on Deck of U -Boat Which Later Submeiged, Leaving the Men to the Mmy of the Seas. A British Port, August 3. ? Thirty eight member of the jrrew of the British steamship Belgian Prince wore drowned deliberately by the German submarine which sank her, according to the account given by sur vivors who have reached British shores. The chief engineer, who many times after the steamer was torpe doed wr.s near drowning, gave the following narrative of his expe riences: "About eight o'clock on Tuesday evening when we were two hundred miles off land I saw the wake of an approaching topedo. The vessel gave a lurch as she hit and I was thrown to the deck among the debris. The vessel listed heavily and all of us took to the boats. "The submarine approached and shelled the vessel and then Ordered the small boats alongside the subma rine. The skipper was summoned and taken inside. The others were mus tered on the deck of the submarine. "The Germans removed the life belts and the outer clothing of all ex cept eight of us, smashed the life boats with axes, and then re-entered the submarine and closed the hatches, leaving us on deck. The submarine went about two miles and then sub merged. "I had a life belt. Near me was an apprentice boy of 16, shouting for help. I went to him and held him up until midnight, but he became un conscious and died of exposure. At day light I saw the Belgian Prince afloat. I was picked up after 11 hours in the water by a patrol boat." The second engineer also was a survivor, and succeeded in reaching the Belgian Prince before she blew up. The Germans came on board and looted her, he reported. He was in hiding, but finally jumped into the sea and kept afloat on the wreckage. The only other known survivor is too ill in a hospital to tell his story. OKLAHOMA MEN IN TROUBLE. Two Hundred Who Resisted and De fied the Selective Draft Now Un der Arrest Charged With Treason. Attorney to Ask for Death Penalty. There has been trouble in some sections in Oklahoma among those who have banded together to resist the JJraft Law. The United States government officials have been right after them and the following dispatch in this morning's News and Observer tells the story: Oklahoma, City, Okla., Aug. (5. ? Without waiting for a conclusion of the state's campaign against organ ized resistance to the selective draft in central Oklahoma, the United States government today moved lo punish the 200 men under arrest in connection with armed opposition to military service. Warants charging treason were served on the prisoners who were taken to the penitentiary at McAlester or the jail at Muskogee to await trial at which United States District Attorney McGinnis will ask that the death penalty be imposed. Announcement that extreme punish ment would be asked was expected to aid materially in bringing to terms the few resisters still sheltered in the hills. Posses in three counties ? Semi nole, Hughes and Potti watomie ? re ported tonight that isolated groups refused to surrender, but that they apparently were discouraged and seeking to avoid an encounter. Determination of the possemon to run down all of the leaders was strengthened today by confiscation of half a freight car of dynamite which had been run on a siding southeast of Sasakwa, in Seminole County. An in vestigation is being made to establish ownership. The car was unaccompa nied. Clashes between the resisters and posses have cost three lives and nu merous injuries. Two objectors to the draft have been killed and a traveler was shot when he failed to heed a posse's warning to halt. Development of the causes of the outbreak and of the force-; behind it is expected preliminary hearings to morrow when the men in custody arc arraigned before a United States commissioner at McAlester. SATURDAY IN THE WOULD WAR. Germans iiive Rack Slowly Under ( Tremendous Entente Pressure on West Front. In the East, They Con tinue to Drive Russians, Rut in Face of Increased Resistance. The teutonic armies, still advanc ing. although against increased re sistance, on the eastern front, are slowly being forced hack by the pres sure of the entente masses in the west. Gains made by the British on the Flanders front on Friday, when the village of St. Julien was re-entered, were followed by an advance by the French on their front Friday night. Notwithstanding the continuing in clement weather, French forces drove in beyond the Kortekeer Cabinet, moving their lines forward, while their pctrola pushed back German outposts and explored considerable areas in advance of the French posi tions. Berlin announces an increase in the artillery fire to great violence at times on the Flanders front. Appar ently the renewal of the great battle in all its fury is only awaiting the return of fairly good weather. The London war office makes it clear that no shifting of British troops was found necessary to cope \\i;h the situation created by the Ger man diversion of Thursday night near Monchy le Preux, on the Arras battle front, through which inroads were made upon the British position on In fantry hill. Attacks carried out the following day and night by the troops on the spot, the official statement an nounces, forced the Germans out and completely restored the position. The situation on the Russian front, from northern Galicia to the Car pathians, continues favorable to the armies of the central powers, but the Russians, although symptoms of con tinuing low morale are still noted, ap pear on the whole to be offering a stiffer defense, particularly along the eastern Galician border. At one point, an energetic operation cleared the Austro-German forces from a sector of the east bank of the Zbrocz, the river forming the boundary line. At another point on this line, near Skala. the teutonic troops were driven out of two villages. The Russians continue to yield ground in Bukowina and in the Car-, pathians. They are engaged in a stiff battle with the enemy northeast of Kimpolung, however. Below Kimpo lung, the Russian forces are falling back on the Moldavia aid have yield ed the town of Watra, on that river, to the Austro-German advance. Berlin sums up the campaign of the last fourteen days in the east as having cleared all Galicia of the Rus sians, with the exception of a small strip of territory extending southeast from Brody. On the Austro-Italian front there is somewhat more activity. The Ital ian airmen are notably busy. They rapidly followed up their recent raid on Pola, carrying out a second air at tack in which great damage is report ed to have been done this Austrian naval base.? Associated Press Sum mary. Weather Summary for Cotton States. Now Orleans, La., Aug. 6. ? Tefti peratures generally near the season al average except maximum tempera tures ninety-four to one hundred and four in Oklahoma, northern and con tral Texas Saturday and Sunday, and cool weather with maxima seventy four to eighty-two in Georgia Sun day. Heavy rains Sunday in southern Georgia and north central Florida, and light to moderate showers in southern portion of South Carolina, Alabama, and in southeastern Louisia na. General rains Monday in Georgia, northern Florida, and Alabama; local showers in southeastern Louisiana, central Oklahoma, and northwestern cast Texrs. Heavy Rains ? Monday, Georgia, Dublin, 1.04; Wnycoss, 1.54; Eastman, 1.46; Glcnnvilje, 1.30; West Point, 1.40; Newman, 1.10. Alabama, Ozark, 2.04; Anniston, 1.58; Eufaula, 3.32; Goodwater, 2.80; Opelika, 1.28. Texas, Henrietta, 2.20; Weatherford, 2.-r>4. Heavy Rains- Sunday, Georgia, Way cross, 1.54; Glennville, 1.42. Alabama, 2.80; Albany, 1.30; Daindridge, 2.00; Valdosta, 1.90; Quitman, 3.04. Florid?, Tallahassee, 4.24; Marianna, 1.20. Louisiana, CUfiton, 1.60; Lafayette, 2.50; Schriever, 1.40. A BETTER VIEW OF THE WAR. Only One Man in Four Will Ever Get in Fight. Statistics Show That Comparatively Few Are Wounded and Killed. War danger and war mortality among the men who will go to Eu rope in the American conscripted ar my will not be unduly heavy in the opinion of Babson's Statistical organ ization, which has just issued a state ment on the subjcct, based upon the most accurate information obtainable as to mortality ratios since the war began. The men now being drafted, says this statistical authority, stand only one chance to four of seeing actual fighting, and even if they take part in hard fighting, statistics are in their favor and conditions are im proving. It is brought out that according to the most reliable statistics, which are difficult to obtain, about sixty men per 1,000 are being killed in the war and aboijt 150 men per 1;000 are be ing wounded. Most of the wounded later return to the front. The normal death rate in peace times of men within the age limits of the soldiers now fighting is only eight per 1,000, but that is a yearly rate, while the figure of sixty per 1, 000 covers the period of enlistment and in some cases is for a period of three years. The loss of life from disease, which has been one of the deadly life-takers of other wars, is declared to be in large measure eliminated, - ? ? . j. The mortality is ??id to be less to day than it wuh at the start of the war. Gas attacks are being well handled, and with reasonable precau tions men are not in very great dan ger from that form of attack. They are exposed to the most danger when a charge is made. At -other times wounds are mostly in the shoulders or arms and easily treated. Skull wounds are rather fiequent, however, and are naturally serious. But the amputation of limbs is less than in previous conflicts. Different branches of the service show different degrees of mortality. In the heavy artillery the danger is said to be about equal to the danger of railroading in civil life. The mor tality among certain classes of of ficers, including lieutenants, sergeants and corporals, is found to have been greater than among privates. "We believe," says Babson's Sta tistical organization, "that the draft ed man who goes as an ordinary sol dier, taking his judgment with him and leaving his enthusiasm at home is not only most effective, but is fair ly sure to return in better physical condition than when he left. Of course during the one or more days a month tjiat it is his turn to charge he is subject to great danger, but the rest of the time, with reasonable precau tions, he is, statistically, almost as well off as in the streets of New York." WHOLE COST OF THE DRAFT. Total Expense Is Put at $8,660,480 by Secretary Baker. ^ * * Washington, Aug. 3. ? The cost of drafting America's first great Nation al Army ? from registration to en rollment ? was placed by Secretary Baker today at $8,660,480 in his esti mates to congress. This amount includes all overhead expense of registration, examination ? and selection. It is based on regis tration of 10,000,000, examination of approximately 5,000,000 and enroll ment of 1,187,000. "On a tentative estimate that the generous system of exemptions and discharges will result in a necessity for examining four registrants to produce one soldier," said Secretary Baker, "it is apparent that the sys tem must be capable of examining 5,000,000 during the year. "For this task the organization in cludes a personnel of more than 18, 000 persons." Air Raid Fatalities in London. Since the beginning of hostilities 366 persons have been killed and 1, 092 injured by air raids in the Lon don metropolitan area, according to a statement by Sir George Cave, the British Home Secretary, in the House of Commons. During the sr.me period, the Secretary noted, 2,412 persons were killed and 7,863 injured in or dinary street accidents in the same territory.