11X9 Ymt ki Advance
FOR GOD, FOR COUNTRY AMD FOR TRUTH."
tingl 0iea, f Cones.
VOL. XXVIII.
PLYMOUTH, H. C, FMDAY, MARCH 22, 1918
NO. 33.
ALLIES THREATEN
SERGT. MA J. FLORA SANOES
STRONG RAID IDE
UPON AMERICANS
GEN. SIR WILLIAM ROBERTSON
HAVE PEACE TERMS
GOME TO BRITAIN?
JESSE BOWDEfi TO
OFFENSIVE M
DIE III THE GRAIR
DIE
1
SPIRITED ACTION MARK PRACTI
CALLY EVERY SECTOR OF THE
WESTERN FRONT.
AIR FORCES APE VERY ACTIVE
America and Allies Control Entire
Western Front Superior in Guns,
Men, Shells, and Planes.
As the allied world has, day after
day, read the official reports from the
allied and Teuton war offices in the
hope that some inkling of the real sit
uation would present itself, the reali
zation has come home that the Ameri
cans, French, British, Belgian and
Portguese troops are maintaining
their control over the front running
from the North Sea to Switzerland.
Artillery fire, at some points growing
in intensity, is reported, but the allies
have held their own and their raiding
parties , are everywhere busy . in the
enemy's trenches. The long expected
and confidently awaited German drive
has not materialized and the allies
threaten to start an offensive of their
own at various points against the Teu
tonic legions.
There is hardly a sector on the
western battle line which is not being
marked by spirited actions, but Ver
dun and the Vosge3 regions are ap-
. parently storm centers where big
events may develop. At Yerduo the
opposing aritlleries have been thun-
derlng fop several days, .especially on
the right., bank of the Meuse.
In the Vosges mountains, the artil
lery fighting is reported to be very
heavy, although no infantry actions
have been mentioned in the war office
statements issued at Paris and Berlin.
One of the most encouraging fea
tures of the war news may be found
in the fact that the Belgian army, re
organized and ready for battle, has
taken over the important coast sector
in Flanders. This part of the western
front has heretofore been held.by the
French, although British troops have
made their apppearance there at va
rious periods. That .the Belgian army, I
which is said to be excellent in morale,
has freed the French and British
forces for action elsewhere on the
front demonstrates that the past win
ter has been one of constructive work
on the part of the Belgian and allied
army staffs. The latest official report
said that attacks by German shock
troops have been repulsed by the Bel
gians. 100 AIRPLANES IN ACTION
ALL DRIVEN BY AMERICANS.
In the headquarters of one of the
American aviation centers. Secretary
Baker inquired if all of the host of
aviators sent first from America were
first to complete their training in
France and if all of them had been
commissioned. The chief bf the avia
tion told the secretary that all of them
had not yet, because of reasons which
he explained, had no chance to take
their final training.
When the secretary's train come
into the aviation region, the sky was
darkly overcast and the clouds were
of a blue gray color, which the avia
tion observers say constitutes the
finest background for seeing air work.
Many monoplanes and bi-planes
awaited the secretary's arrival upon
the field; then with a rush one after
another took the air until toward the
end of the morning, a hundred ma
chines were .in flight and every ma
chine was driven by an American. In
dividual aviators practiced maneuvers
used in combat, such as reversing the
director of the flight by turning edge
wise upon one wing, or spinning in
nose-dives. Then there were evolu
tions in flotilla formation of fives,
after that in squadrons Of 15.
"With all these machines in the
sir," remarked a French officer, "we
see no more than a tenth of what
America has In this one school. You
will soon have no more need for
French instruction."
"THE FINISHED MYSTERY"
HAS FOUND ITS FINISH
Washington. Because "The Finish
ed Mystery," a Bible study textbook,
described patriotism a3 "a certain de
lusion" and a "narrow-minded hatred
of other peoples" and war as "a work
of satan," distribution of the book
was forbidden by the department of
justice, acting under the espionage
act. Thousands of copies of the book
lave been seized in many states, but
t was not until recently that th g
artment prohibited its distribution
f ' jl
fg. If ii'liliiPhVt7'by4MMMM, J
Sergt. MaJ. Flora Sandea, who was
'wounded whllo fighting In the Serbian
army, receiving therefor the Serbian
V. C. medal, photographed while soil
ing program at the war exhibition at
Burlington houeo, London, In aid of
the British Red Cross,
DUTCH SHIPS JWE TAKEN OVER
VESSELS WERE TAKEN OVER
MONDAY, MARCH 18, UNDER
INTERNATIONAL LAW.
Her Plea of Germany's Submarine
Menace Availed Her Nothing
According to Law.
One million tons of Dutch shipping
which will be used in sending supplies
o the armies of the allies or in trans
porting troops to the war zones, were
taken over by the United States
ind Great Britain Monday, March 18,
:hus relieving In. great measure a dire
aeed of the countries', at war with the
reutonic allies.
Holland's hesitancy to come into an
Agreement with the United States and
Gireat Britain which would permit of
:he use of ships flying her flag, many
af which are now lying in American
and allied ports, no longer is to be
tolerated, and next Monday, whether
she be willing or not, the vessels will
be taken over under the provisions of
international lanw and put into uses
which are highly essential to the suc
cess of the allied cause.
Holland yet has time to acquiesce
in the demands of the United States
and Great Britain and sanction the
use of her shipping, but her plea of
Germany's menace no longer will
avail, and there is to be no modifica
tion in the decision of the United
States and the allies to seize all Dutch
vessels in their respective ports
throughout the world and use them.
Liberal compensation is to be awarded
owners of the vessels and all their
rights will be safeguarded. In addi
tion the export of foodstuffs to Hol
land will be permitted and coal by
which Holland may resume her inter
rupted trade with her colonies will be
guaranteed.
Washington (deleted). A million
tons of Dutch ships., now held In ports
the world over, through Holland's fear
of Germany's threat to sink them if
they venture out, will be brought into
the service of the United States and
Great Britain on March IS.
Unless the Netherlands government
braves the menace of Germany's
pressure and voluntarily accepts an
agreement under which the ships
would be put in trade, the United
States and Great Britain will take
them over under international law,
availing themselves of a sovereign
right which Germany herself has hith
erto exercised under the same author
ity. GAS PROJECTILES ARE
BLOWN TO PIECES
Four groups of German gas projectors
in addition to the group of 200 project
ors already discovered and likewise
blown to pieces by the American artil
lery. Probable German plans for gas
attack on a comparatively large scale
against the American positions north
west of Toul have thus been upset.
The new group of projectors were
iiscovered from aerial photographs
taken by American observers in
""rench airplanes. The effective action
aken against them was due to the
uick work of the observers, the-Intel-'encf
officers and the artillerists in
PERMISSION NOT GIVEN TO PUB
LISH THE NUMBER OF
CASUALTIES.
APPARENTLY AFTER PRISONERS
Purpose of Raid Was Quickly Accom
plished: Was After Information -from
Captured Americans;.
After a terrific artillery preparation
large numbers of the enemy crossed
No-man's-Land on the extreme right
of the American sector, northwest of
Toul. Apparently the purpose of the
raid was quickly accomplished and
only a comparatively small number
entered our lines. Permission has not
been given to mention the number of
casualties.
This raid, like most of the others
carried out all the way, from the sea
to Switzerland, was designed to gather
information by means of taking pris
oners.
East of Luneville our patrols have
explored part of the German trench
which our artillery forced the enemy
to abandon. Patrols proceeded later
ally until they established contact
with the Germans. Our reconnais
sance and wire patrols found snipers'
posts, listening and neatssVom which
machine guns had been firing on our
lines. The artillery attended to all
:hee , posts. - The QawBait - positions
have been 30 ; uncomfortable. atr sev
eral places that . they. jow; are trying
to regain a foothold by connection
shell holes. Our troops have been
subject to an extraordinary heavy ar
tillery fire. More than " 240 shells,
which make craters 20 feet deep and
30 feet in diameter, fell in one sec
tion of the line. In another section
btateries have been shelled . heavily.
More gas shells have fallen in both
the Toul and Luneville sectors, but
the larger .number in the former.
500 ARMY HORSES OUT OF
726 WERE POISONED
Ten Thousand People Join in Remark
able Demonstration.
Covington, Ky. A crowd estimated
at 10,000, which included men, women
and children here, participated in a
markable demonstration of patriotic
protest against what is believed to be
pro-German propaganda in Covington
as exemplified by the poisoning of 500
of 720 government artillery horses
shipped from Camp Grant, Illinois for
an Atlantic seaport.
Ten thousand others were unable
to get near the field outside of the
stockade of the Covington stockyards
where lay the carcasses of hundreds
of animals and the steadily diminish
ing number of survivors of the poison
plot.
Emotions of the throng had been
aroused to a high pitchvof patriotic
fervor when an interruption from a
man giving the name of Richard
Schmidt, 23 years old, nearly brought
about his lynching. As It was, he
was severly beaten before police lock
ed him up,, The mass meeting of pro
test was held under the auspices of the
Citizens'. Patriotic League of Coving
ton. The meeting decided to send a
memorial to congress calling upon the
congressional law-makers' to enact a
law interning every enemy alien with
in the borders of the United States and
making more stringent the laws gov
erning all seditious and traitorous
acts.
An investigation of the poisoning of
the horses is being conducted by fed
eral agents.
Acquire Egyptian Cotton.
London. The British and Egyptian
governments have decided jointly to
acquire the entire Egyptian cotton
crop beginning next August. A com
mission has been appointed to take
control of the regulations.
MESSAGE CABLED FROM
THE HAGUE TO LONDON.
The Hague. After a cabinet coun
cil lasfing into the night, the govern
ment cabled to London a message
which, according to reliable Informa
tion, probably will lead to a satisfac
tory conclusion of the shipping diffi
culty. An Amsterdam dispatch said
it had been learned on excellent auth
ority that the Dutch government had
accepted the demand of the entente
alli6s relating to the use of Dutch
ships In the danger zone.
1
1 Jin . ,u P I ri
Gen. Sir WIIMam Robertson, who re
signed as chief of the British general
staff, ha boon given tfce rather unim
portant commend of the eastern part
of England.
PLAHES HAVE LIBERTY MOTOR
FIRST ONES THUS EaUIPPER ARE
TRIED OUT AND ACCEPTED '
BY DEPARTMENT.
Advance Guard of New Craft Being De
livered or Use in Submarine .
Hunting.
Washington. America's first fight
ing seaplane equipped With Liberty
motors has been tried out and accept
ed, it was learned, and a number of
the craft are now being delivered for
the use of the naval air service
They are the advance guard of a big
fleet which will be added to the forces
engaged in submarine hunting in the
war zone.
A second type of fighting plane for
the American army known as "the
Bristol model" also las now reached
the production stage and a consid
erable number will become available
during the present month. Still an
other type, a two-seated machine, also
is being manufactured. 0
Construction details of these planes
have never been published. It is
known, however, that the seaplanes
are substantially similar to the Brit
ish flying boats and are equipped with
two Liberty motors, which provide ap
proximately 700 horsepower to :-lve
the ship. This is understood t c
much in excess of the power used0
similar British craft and their per
formance is expected to be propor
tionately better.
In this connection, it was learned
that engineers of the aircraft VTJ
now have overcome the last minW
defect of the Liberty motors, having
to do with the lubricating system. A
number of motors taken haphazard
from the quantity production supply
have been operated continuously for
many hours without any trouble de
veloping.
Officials in close touch with prog
ress being made on production of
fighting planes in this country are still
satisfied that the output will tax ship
ping facilities before July.
BOLSHEVIKI CREW IS
MENACE TO VESSEL
Norfolk, Va. Bolshevikism struck
Norfolk in the shape of the crew of
the Russian steamship Omsk and it
raged with more or less intensity from
11 o'clock in the morning In and out of
federal offices back and forth from
ship to shore until finally at a late
hour the whole crowd of malcontents,
to the number of 49, were taken into
custody by a force of 35 Norfolk po
lice acting under the personal direction
of Major Ford and marched from ,the
steamer to police headquarters where
they were locked up.
BALLOON FALLS 3,200
FEET; THREE INJURED
Temple. Texas. Capt. B. H. Four
nier, of San Antonio, suffered a severe
scalp wound. Cadet G. W. Adams, re
ceived a broken leg and Cadet E. M.
Hawley sustained a sprained back
when the balloon in which thev were
making a trial flight from San Antonio 1
fell from an altitude of 3.200 feet near j
Killeen, this county. Something went j
wrong with the valve in the top of j
the bag. It was said. i
LORD CECIL SAYS THAT NO SUCH
PROPOSALS ARE BEING
"CONSIDERED."
PEACE IS OFFERED SERBIA
Holland in "Perilous" Situation, en
Account of Allied Nations Taking
Over Her Ships.
That peace terms have been offered
Great Britain by Germany may possi
bly be inferred from several signifi
cant statements given out.
Lord Robert Cecil, British minister
of blockade, when asked if proposals
"had been received for a peace at the
expense of Russia" answered that "no
such proposals are being considered
or will be considered."
A little earlier an Amsterdam dis
patch quoted Field Marshal von Hin
denburg as saying that "the entente
has shown an unresponsive attitude
toward Germany's peace intentions
and the great German offensive must
therefore go on."
Later General von Ludendorff, the
German quartermaster general, was
reported as saying: "Since the enemy
is not Inclined to make peace, we will
have to fight, and this fight will, of
course, be the most tremendous of the
whole war."
Ludendorff Boasts Strength.
General von Ludendorff continued:
"We are stronger than the enemy as
regards . men, material, aerial forces,
tanks. Sverything, in fact, of which
he boasted is standing in readiness
on our side in the greatest abund
ance. The treaty of peace submitted by
Germany to Russia at Brest-Litovsk,
which makes Russia an outpost of
the central empires, has either beea
ratified by the all-Russian congress
of soviets or its ratification apparently
is imminent. . '
Reports from Moscow are not clear
on the situation, but it seems certain
that the bolshevik element has voted
by a large majority to affirm the
treaty. As this element dominates the
congress, the hard terms will doubt
less be .accepted, notwithstanding re
ports that Leon Trotzky, the mouth
piece of the bolsheviki, is opposed to
their provisions and is willing to try
to reorganize the Russian army to
fight the German invaders.
Holland stands In a perilous situa
tion, according to the German news
papers, which are printing editorials.
evidently inspired, on the taking over
of Dutch ships by the United States
and Great Britain. "Drastic measures"
are advocated If Holland "give way"
to the allies.
FIFTY HORSES ARE DEAD;
RESULT OF GERMAN HAND
Covington, Ky. Fifty horses are
dead of poisoning in Covington and
many more are expected to die out of
a government shipment of 728 horses
from Camp Grant, Rockford, 111., con
signed to Newport News, Va. Dr. L.
E. Crisler, veterinary surgeon, Cov
ington, pronounced the death of the
animals to be due to belladona and
croton oil poisoning.
The consignment of horses .reached
Covington in charge of Lieut. Frank
Lilley and 16 soldiers. Doctor Crisler
said he believed the poison had beea
placed in water given to the horses
in Covington. Government authori
ties were notified. An agent of the
department of justice began an inves
tigation. Deaths of the horses gen
erally are said to be ramifications of
German plots.
Bow to Germany's Will.
Washington. The decision of the
allRussian congress of Soviets at Moj
cow to ratify the German peace terms,
announced in press cables was reach
ed after receipt of President Wilson's
message to the Russian people assur
ing them that America would take the
first opportunity to help -them regain
their complete sovereignty and inde
pendence. .
TROOPS ENJOY SUNSHINE
AFTER WEEKS OF RAIN
After weeks of rain, snow, wind and
murky weather there came to the
American front its first bath of gen'al
spring sunshine. The skies were
cloudless, and in the moderate temper
ature that prevailed sweaters were
discarded by the men for the first timo
since last summer, while in the vil
lager where they are billeted and In
the cantonments in the training area,
the camps were decorated witn rolls
of beddln.r being given an airing-
CONVICTED OF FIRST DEGREE
BURGLARY IN CRAVEN
COUNTY LAST FALL.
UPHELD BY SUPREME COURT
Bewden Says He and Another Negro
Started Out to "Have a Little
Fun" Will Get It
Raleigh. Jesse Bowden, a Craves
county negro, must die in the electric
chair for the crime of first degree bur
glary, the Supreme court handing
down a deoision affirming his convic
tion in the Superior court of Craves
county.
The crime was committed last A
guBt Lee Perkins and Jesse Bowden,
both negroes, broke into the home of
Mr. W. A. Wilson, near the town of
Dover, Bowden entering a room oc
cupied by two daughters of Mr. Wil
son and Perkins going into a room
occupied by another daughter. The
tatter was awakened and cried oat.
and at the noise the Bowden negro
crawled under the bed on which tho
two girls were asleep and was found
there by the father a little later. la
his defense he maintained that he was)
drunk and that ho did not know wher
he was at the time or what he was
doing there, further than that he had
started oat with the Perkins negro to
"hare a little fun." Both the negroes
were convicted of first degree bar
glary, and Bowden appealed. The Su
preme court finds no error in the trial
below, at which Judge Thomas H. Cat
vert presided.
Wandering Child NeaHy Starved.
Washington. After having bee
missing for two days, Sarah QriJfla.
the nine-year-old daughter of Mr. aad
Mrs. William Griffin, of Thempsea'a
Creek, was found almost starved ta
death and completely exhausted, seres
miles from home in the woods.
Sarah wandered away from homo
while at play. She strayed off into the
woods, looking for violets. Paying ho
attention to where she was going, she
lost all sense of direction and soon
found herself completely at a loss as
to the location of her home. She ran
until completely exhausted and at last
fell down and slept at the foot of - a
tree. The next morning she contin
ued her search for homo. She weat
all day without a thing to eat. al
though she managed to secare water
from the shallow place in the wood
where the rain had made puddles. The
second night was also spent la the
woods.. When the searching party of
ten men found her the next morning
she was in a pitiable condition. It is
believed that she would have died bo
fore nightfall. She was taken hem
and medical attention summoned,-
Prominent Man Drowns Self.
Salisbury. J. N. Ledford, aged 45,
tiving in the northern part of Rowaa
county and manager of the Irvin Mill
Company's large store at Cooleeme
committed suicide by drowaing in the
mill race at Cooleemee. He left a cos
pie of notes, in one of which he told
where his body would be found. Ia
another note, addressed to his brother-in-law,
J. B. Ivey, of Charlotte, he told
where his money was and asked Mr.
Ivey to act as his administrator. No
motive for the deed has been die
closed. To be sure of a successful Job, Mr.
Ledford tied an iron weight about hts
neck. A widow and six children ssr
vlve. '
Get 20 Per Cent Increase.
Monroe. The teachers In the Mon
roe graded schools have been allowed
an increase of 20 per cent in salary.
This matter had been ap for consider
ation before the aldermen not long'
ago. The increase was not allowed
then, the aldermen claiming that the
city did not have the necessary funds.
At the last meeting of the aldermen
the teachers' demand for higher pay
was again taken up and this time an
Increase of 20 per cent was allowed.
A New Gun Sight. .
Monroe. I. S. Noles, a young mam
f Indian Trail in this county, has In
dented what he claims is an improved
machine .jrun sight. He has been
working on it for the past 18 months.
This improved sight as planned by him
will enable the man who is firing the
run to do hia own sighting and win
-Ibq make the gun more effective at
fhort range. The invention has wen
he consideration of the national coun
II of defense and the war department.
Notes has forwarded one ! his sights
'o tftam. 4
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