North Carolina Newspapers

PRESIDENT CALLS FOB THANKS. Sets Apart Thursday, November, 21', As a National Thanksgiving Diy and Calls on the People to Ceas^ from Their Usual Labors for One Day and Worship God. While \ve Bender Thanks " Let Us Pray Al mighty God that in All Humbleness* of Spirit We May Look Always to Him for Guidance." / President Wilson has set apar1 Thusrday, November 29, as a day of National Thanksgiving in the follow ing proclamation issued last Wcdnes. day : "It has long been the honored cus tom of our people to turn in the fruit ful autum to the y?ar in praise and thanksgiving to Almighty God for His many blessings and mercies to us as a nation. That custom we can follow even new in the midst of the tragedy of a world shaken by war and im measurable disaster, in the midst of sorrow and great peril, because even amidst the darkness that hrs gathered about us we can see the great "bless ings God has bestowed upcn us, bles sings tha* arc better than mere peace of mind and prosperity of enterprise. ' We have been given the opportun ity to serve mankind as we once served ourselves in the great day of our Dec laration of Independence, by taking up arms against a tyranny that threaten ed to master and debase men every where and joined with other free peo ples in demanding for all the nations of the world what we then demanded and obtained for ourselves. In this day of the revelation of our duty rot only to defend our own rights as a na tion but to defend also the rights of free m-n throughout the world, there has been vouchsafed U3 in full and in spiring me'asure the resolution and spirit of united action. We have been brought to one mind and purpose. A new vigor of common counsel and com mon action has been revealed in us. We should especially thank God ?hat in such circumstnces, in the midst of the greatest enterprise the spirits of men have entered upon, we have, if we but observe a reasonable and prac ticable economy, abundance with which to supply the needs of those associate 1 with us as well as our own. A new light shines about us. The great dut'es of a new day awaken a new and great er national spirit in us. We shall never again be divided or wonder what stuff we are made of. "And while we render thanks for those things let us pray Almighty God that in all humbleness of spirit we may look always to Him for guidance; that we may be kept constant in the spirit and purpose of service; that by His grace our minds may be directed ( and our hands strengthened, and that in His good time liberty and security and peace and the comradeship of a common justice may be vouchsafed all the nations of the earth. "Wherefore, I, Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate Thurs day, the twenty-ninth day of Novem ber, next, as a day of thanksgiving and prayer and invite the people throughout the land to cease upon that day from their ordinary occupa tions ind in their several homes and placts of worship "to render thanks to God, the great ruler of nations. "In witness thereof, I have hereunto set my hand and causcd the seal of the United States to be affixed. " Done in the Distinct of Columbi a this 7th day of November, in the year of our Lord, one thousand nine hun dred and seventeen, and of the inde pendence of the United States of America the one hundred and forty second WOODROW WILSON. "By the President: "Robert Lansing, Secreary of State." Get Your Wood Soon. The winter is drawing niph nnd there is a scr.rcity of coal. There is not a scarcity of wood in this section, but at the present time everybody is busy and it is hard to pet the labor to cut and haul the wood to market. Now is the time to make a special effort to pet the winter's wood supply. The man or family who waits until the cold weather is hero to pet his wood may have to pay more than he oupht. Thrt r< al value of the wood will be no more when a'bip snow or freeze comes than it is now, but it will b? more difficult to pet it cut and haulnd then and those who are so unfortunntt as not to have a wood supply will have to pay more for it. russia Anxious for peace. I'owers Now in Control of Petrograd Issue Proclamation to Propose Im mediate Peace, Says Semi-Oflicial Russian News Agency. London, Nov. 8. ? The Maximalists have obtained control of Petrograd and Issued a proclamation saying that the government will propose immedi ate peace, the semi-official Russian news agency announces. The Maximalists weix* assisted by the Petrograd garrison, which made possible a coup d'etat without blood shed. s Leon Trotsky, president of the cen tral executive committee of the Petro grad Council of Soldiers' and Work men's delegates issued a declaration to the effect that the provisional gov ernment was no longer in existence and that some of its members had been arrested. The preliminary par liament has been dissolved. Hylan Is Elected Mayor New York New York, Nev. 6, ? John F. Hylai-, a county judge of Kings county, was elected mayor of New York today by a plurality of more than 100,000. lie carried with him the entire democratic city ticket, including Chas. L. Ota r for comptroller; Alfred E. Smith, now sheriff of New York county, for presi dent of the board of alderman and Edward Swann for District attorney. The indications are that the demo crats will have a majority in the bcr.rd of estimate, which controls the expen diture of the city funds. Mayor John P. Mitchcl, who south' re-election as a fusion candidate, al though not formally nominated by any party, was a poor second in the race. His vote in 1,996 districts out of 2,008 in the city was 145,996, compared with 288,435 for Hylan. AMxiKIl ANs KEAUl f UK A 1 I AC K Enemy's Shells Fall Thick and Fast Over the Line Held by Pershing's Men. They are Eager for Ilaid. With the American Army in France, . .ov. 7 (By The Associated Press.) ? The German artillery was very active all last night and today, shells of vari ous calibers raining around the Ameri can soldiers. So thickly did they cone at one time during the early hours this morning it was thought another bar rage was about to be placed for a sec ond raid on the American trench??. ! The Americans were ready for the Boche and hoping he would try an other raid. But none developed. The American rrtillcry gave the Germans back shell for shell and added a few for good measure, pound ing tin enemy battery position ard breaking shrapnel over their trenches. Rain has continued for days and vast seas of mud now extend in every direction. At some points the water i running down the mountainous hills has flooded into the dugouts, the oc cupants being forced to pump repeat edly in order that the dugouts might ! remain tinable. I U. S. LETS FIVE MORE SHIPS HELP GET SUPPLIES TO ITALY. Five ships with about 25,000 toil nape thus far have been placed by <ho American government at the disposr.l of Italy for the transport of supplies. Before the month is over another 75, 000 tons will have been turned over. The Italians are chiefly in need of coal, steel and grain, and the first ships given them arc carrying coal Later an arrangement probably will be worked out by which Italy's coh! lequirements will be furbished by Great Britain. Under this plan some six thousand miles of transportation would ba saved. While America is shipping coal to Italy, Great Britain is sending it to South American countries and the ves sels thus are crossing each other and going twice through the submarine zone. ? Washington Post. Colored Woman a Patriot. Fllon Sturdivant, a colored woman of Wndosboro, has set a fine example. When subscriptions were being taken for the Red Cr6ss, she subscribed r nd paid $5.00. Then she volunteered her services to launder shirts free for the sewing room, and she laundered. Now she has subscribed for a $100 Liberty Bond rnd she will pay, too. That's helping the government win the war and she can enjoy the sweet conscious ness of having- done her part. ? Wadea boro Ansonian. Y. M. C. A. MEETING SUNDAY. ( Will lie Hold in Methodist Church 1 Sunday Afternoon at Three O'clock. ' Plans Are to lie Made to Raise the I Sum of $3,500 for This Great Work From Johnston County. The Call for Money Is Urfent and the Need Is Great. Ccine to Smithiicld Sunday and Hear the Matter Explained. A meeting of gr -,t importance is "j planned to be held in the Smiihfield j Methodist Church Sunday Afternoon ] for the purpose op organizing' Juhn- j ston County for the campaign to raise j a fund for the Y. M. C. A. work. . ? 1 The present great .war has made ? demands on us that we must meet. We . * have got to fight the war to a finish. . We have to take care of our people. Every agency must be called into play ] to carry on the great work the nation , is engaged in. Military efficiency , must be carried to its highest point. ( This the Government is doing as rap idly as possible. The sick and wound- . t * ed soldiers must be ministered to and ] cared for. This is the work of the Red 1 Cross. Hut there is another and equal- ' ly important side of the war that >ve 1 cannot ufford to neglect. That is the 1 mor.il and spiritual side cT the sol- 1 dier's life. This is the work that falls i to the lot of the Young Men's Chris- ; tian Association. ; America is planning at the present time to raise the sum of $35,000,000 < for the Y. M. C. A. Army work. North ? Carolina has been asked to raine i $300,000 of this sum. The Fourth l)ij trict composed of the countics of ; Wake, Johnston, Franklin, Vance and Warren, has been asked to raise $30, 000 of this fund, and Johnston County is given the task of raising $3,500. We i are expected to raise this money and < raise it at once. The campaign begins i on Monday, the 12th of November, and closes Monday, the 19th. i Mr. V. 0. Parker, of Raleigh, is Chairmnn of this District. He hfu named N. E. Edgerton, of Selma, Chairman; T. J. Lassiter, of Smith field, Secretary, and T. C. Evans, of Smithfiold, Treasurer, for Johnston County. They are to have charge of organizing the work and raising the sum the county is asked to give. In order that the work may be or ganized as quickly as possible a meet ing has been appointed to be held in the Methodist church in Smithfieid next Sunday, November 11, at 3:00 P. M. The County committee has named local committees for the sever I al towns and communities, and hopes to have their hearty co-operation in the great work of raising the money to carry on the Y. M. C. A. work in the Camps and Cantonments. Letters are being mailed to these men today asking them to accept a place in the work and inviting them to come to the Smithfieid meeting Sunday after noon. Speakers from Raleigh arc ex pected to be present to explain the work and assist in perfecting the county organization. Not only are those who will receive leters asked to come but every man nad women in 1 the county interested in this pre it ( work is invited to come. ! The life of the soldier in the cZJmps < is a monotonous one. He is kept busy 1 for severr.l hours with his military ' work. But what to do with his leisure i is thovgreat problem. Here is one of the places where the Y. M. C. A. can ' be of great service. Through it he is ' furnished amusement and recreation. ? The Y. M. C. XA. has its educational 1 department, its physical training de partment, its moral and its religious ! work. All these are important. But how are they to be carried on? The government provides no fund for this. True, it has its army chaplains. But 1 not hc.lf enough to meet the spiritual ( needs of the thousands of men. So s this great work under the govern- i ment's plans naturally falls to the Y. < M. C. A. And to provide the work re- < quires funds to employ the secreta ries and other workers. And this is the < work we are trying to do now. It is i very important and it is hoped that the people of Johnston will rise to the situation and do this full part. Envious Pa. Youn<* Johnny had been reading the evening paper, and paused contempla tively for a few moments. "Father," said he, "what is 'inertia'?" "Well," replied the father, "if I* have it, it's pure laziness, but if your mother has it, it is nervous prostration." ? Tit Bits. OINTY FAIR GREAT SUCCESS. rhe Biggest Crowd of People Ever Seen In Smithfield Was Here Thurs day To See the Fair. The Airplane Man Made a Fine Flight to the De light of Thousands. The Exhibits Fine. The Midway the Liveliest Ever Seen Here. Good Racing. The biggest crowd of folks ever seen in the town of Smithficld was lere yesterday to attend the County Fair. There was a good attendance iere on the opening day with a num. jer of school children in line. But the people at large waited for "yesterday, ?nd they were here from every nook ind corner of the county and the lurrounding counties. Hundreds of people were here who lad never seen an airplane, and there nere some here who did not believe :he thing would fly. But they were :onvinced. They saw it ascend with ?nge under the perfect control of the aviator. Up, up he went until the peo ple began to wonder how high he was. He circled round and round and then Dcgan to gradually come down and ivhen he neared the ground many of :he people began to scatter for fear he ivas going to land on them. His fly ng was the admiration of the thous tnds who witnessed his stunts in the *ir. The racing was good, the ciqual of he races seen anywhere. Thousands >f people come to the Fair to see the races and those who were here yester lay and Wednesday were not disap pointed. The exhibits in all the department* vere pood. The ladies' departments ivere thronged all the time with peo ple who were admiring the fancy work, the art work and the pantry supplies. Thse livestock and the farm cxhib ts weBe all good, as was the poultry exhibits. They wore as good as those neon at the Raleigh Fair. There were lot so many of them however. The machinery exhibits were fine, rhe biggest display of machinery ev >r soon here was the display' made by he Roberts-Atkinson Company, of 3elma, of which we shall have more to my in another issue. Then there was he exhibit of the "New Way" engines shown by the Cotter-Hardware Com pany, of Smithfield. All people who aassed through the Floral Hall were lelighted with the good music dis pensed by thoSe who had charge of he exhibit of musical instruments of he Thornton Music House. Mr. C. A. Sorbctt, of Selma, was here with his Briscoe, the automobile with the 'half nillion dollar motor." Another very nteresting exhibit was that of the Smithfield Garage and Machins Com pany, J. H. Kirkman, manager. The nany electrical devices and appliances shown here attracted the attention of nany. And then the midway! How the people did like that. The Dorman & Krause shows did a thriving business. Hundreds went in to see the educated pony and the acting dogs. The Merry Go-Round, the Whip ,the Ferris Wheel and the many other things kept the crowds entertained and there was not a dull hour from the time the gates apened until the late hours last night. Today the Fair will close. While the crowds will not be as big as they ivere yesterday it is expected that a large number of people will be here today. SLAYER OF SWEETHEART SAVED FROM THE CHAIR. Raleigh, Nov. 5. ? Because he be lieved the police conscience of North Carolina does not demand the life of a nineteon-year.old boy for his first and only crime, committed in a frenzy jf despair, Gov<*rnor Bickett commut ed the death sentence of Charles Walker to life imprisonment. His leath sentence was for killing his sweetheart, Florence Sutphin, in Cald well County. Up to the time that he shot the girl to death he had borne a good repu tation and the killing was the out pome of a wild impulse stirred by the persistent refusal of the girl to re sume erstwhile sweetheart relations with him, the governor says. The statement of reasons make* three closoly typewritten pages. The governor does not believe the condi tions under which the killing occurred could constitute the deliberation nec essary to make first degree murder. Second Liberty I.oan Oversubscribe*!. Washington, Nov. 7. ? Americans respond to the call for a second Liber ty war loan by subscribing $4,617, 532,300, an oversubscription of 51 per cent of the $ {,000,000,000 asked, and only $383,000,000 less th in the $5,000, 000,000 maximum fix>d by the treas ury. Tabulations completed tonight, elev en days after the close of tho nation wide bond-selling campaign, showed that every federal reservo district ex ceeded its quota and 9,400,000 persons subscribed in the big war financing operation, which Secretary McAaeo described asf the greatest ever at tempted by any government. Half of the over-subscribed sum will be accepted, making the actual tot rl of bonds to be issued $3,808,766,150 Ninety-nine per cent of the subscrib ers will reccive the amount for which they bargained, ell subscriptions for $50,00 or less being allotted in full and those above thit amount being pa*ed down in carying proportions, ranging from a DO per cent allowance on subscriptions between $50,000 an 1 $100,000 to 40 per cent for tho largest single subscription of $50,000. WEDNESDAY'S WAR NEWS. The Italian armies are continuing their retreat westward over the Vene tian pl.iin from the Tagliamento river, and southward fiom the Dolomites and Carnic Alps region toward 'he plain. The retreat is declared 1 >y the Italian war officer to be an ordinary one, with the rear guards on both fighing fronts holding back the enemy and with airplanes also playing an important part in harassing the in vaders, destroying bridges that have been thrown over the Tagliamcnto and bombing troops trying to -roes the stream. Although the Berlin ofTcial commu nication asserts that the Germans have reached the Livenza river on the Venetian plains along which it had been expected Gen. Cadorna would fight a retarding action, it is believed that this greater portion of General Von Below's forces still is negotiating a passage to the Tagliamento or working its way westword over the flat country harassed by the Italian cavalry. *There has been no indication as to where the line of Italians retreating from the hills southward has reached. Nor is there any information concern ing where General Cadorna, reinforc ed by the British and French, wi'.l make his stand, but the belief still prevails that the Piave river will he chosen for this purpose. That a:d f>y the allies is required ? and in no unstained measure ? has been asserted in semi-official quarters in Rome. The Teutons are declared to have staked everything on their attempt to crush Italy and the allies must rush up assistance with the up most speed if Cadorna is to check the enemy. Thus far since the retre.it from the Taglinmeiito and tho north began it s evident that the invaders have not come in close contact with tho main Italian forces, for the Berlin war of fice tells of no great battle having been fought anywhere and does not dilate on large numbers of prisoners having been taken, merely saying that several thousand troops have fallen into Teuton hands. Of groat significance to the Italian situation and to that of the allies gen erally is the announced arrived in a British port of the American represen tatives to the inter-allied conference which is to discuss and lay plans for the successful carrying on of the war Col. E. M. House, long known as Pres ident Wilson's confidential adviser, heads the mission. On none of the oth^r fronts than the Italians have there been any engage ments of great importance. The Cana dians are holding their gains of Tues day before Passchaendale without the Germans offering serious interferer.ee. On the greater portion of the remin der of the western front there h^ve been only small encounters, in which the French obtained the advantage over the Germans. Gaza, on the Me li terranean const in Palestine, has oeen captured by the British and the col umn operating north of Beersheba his made an additional advance of eleven miles. , Twelve British merchant vessels sunk by mines of submarines last week marks the minimum losses for any week since Germany began her unrestricted campaign last February Y. M. C. A. ARMY WORK WEEK. Governor liickett ftl.ts Issued a Procla mation Setting Apart Next Week tor the Raising ol? North Carolina's I'art ot the Big Sum for V. M. C. \. Work in the Army Camps. The leaders in the Y. M. C. A. work ha\o planned to raise the sum of $35,000,000 for the V. M. C. A. war work. The committee has asked that North Carolina raise $300,000 ox this amount. Next week is the week for the campaign to raise this money in every section of the United States. Governor Bickett has given official recognition of the work by issuing *he following proclamation: "The people of North Carolina fc&ve been callcd upon to contribute $300, 000 to the national fund of $36,000, 000 for the support of the Young Men's Christian Association in the work it is doing among our soldiers at home and abroad. " In view of the service being ren dered by the army and navy war work council for the moral and military efficiency of the soldiers and sailors of our country, in training camp and at the front, and among our allies in the great struggle for world-wide democ racy; " Now, therefore, I, Thomas Walter Bickett, Governor of North Carolina, 1 do hereby set apart and proclaim November 11th to 19th, 1!)17, as Army Y. M. C. A. War Work Campaign Week. During this period I earnestly urge and request that every citizen do his duty by contributing liberally to this cause of safeguarding and giving happiness to the nation's >ou?h in arms. I especially urge all pastors and church leaders and members of churches of all denominations and of all creeds to cooperate in this cam paign. I also earnestly request that all people who are not members of any church, I ut who believe in the cause for Which America is fighting, devote their best energies to this campaign to the end that North Carolina may do its full share of the work that must be done in order that the ra tional fund may be raised." PRICES SHOULD BE LOWER. The Food Administration Is Hoping for Patriotic Co-operation of Re tailers and Stabilizing Prices. Raleigh, Nov. 7. ? According to ofii cials of the U. S. Food Administra tion the effect of the new License Sys tem should be felt immediately in lowering prices in many stores 0.1 canned corn7 tomatoes, peas, and oth er food products. It is stated that many lines of canned goods were bought by dealers at low prices last spring ca future contract. These goods are now being delivered, the canning season being at an end. If dealers take only a rea sonable margin of profit on these goods, the prices to the consumer should be correspondingly low. It is expected that goods which the wholesalers still have on hand and which were bought early will be sold on a lower margin under the licensing regulations than has prevailed up to the present, and also in accordance with voluntary assurances given by them to the Food Administration. In the present movement for rea sonable profits on staple foods the re tail groccr will find many opportuni ties for readjusting his prices on the odd-penny basis. Sales of groceries have been hampered for ye'ars by the so-called round prices; that is, prices in even nickels and dimes. Odd-penny prices have been used to build up sales of department stores and mail-order houses and are just as effective for the retail stores. The Food Administration is hopeful of the patriotic co-operation of retail ers in its work of reducing and stabil izing prices of food products to the consumer. Representatives of the re tail grocery trade have adopted reso lution sendorsing the work of bh?? Food Administration and pledging their hearty support. However, it is expected that there will be retailers in some places who have taken advantage of conditions and may attempt to con tinue the practice of exacting exhor bitant profits from their cus^omdra. That such" dealers as this will receive the merited attention of the Food Ad ministration is assured. Woman suffrage was defeated in 1 Ohio. The prohibition cause in Ohio, ? which on first report seemed victori ous. appears to have been defeated. "* % '?