Newspapers / Polk County News and … / May 24, 1918, edition 1 / Page 2
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POLK COUNTY NEWS, TRVON, N, C. aaaa Mi 1 - - i H i IMPORTANT NEWS THE WORLD OVER IMPORTANT HAPPENINGS OF THI8 : AND OTHER NATIONS FOR SEVEN DAYS GIVEN THE NEWS 0F fHE SOUTH What I Taking Place In The South land Will Be Found In w. Brief Paragraphs Domestic. . Almost a mutiny broke out among the 2,200 interned Germans at Hot Springs, N. C, when they learned " of the government's plan to move them before July 1 to army posts at Forts Oglethorpe and McPherson, Georgia. Many of the aliens had invested their . savings in improvements on their cot tages to make them more comfortable and this is given as the reason for the dissatisfaction. - Porto Rican labor is to be trans ported to the United States wHhin a month for farms in the Southern states, in shipyards and other war industries along the Atlantic coast. It is stated by the L'Homme Libre, a Paris, France, daily newspaper, that the United States has promised to have a million and a half fighting men in France by the end of 1918. There will . be with them at least two million spe cialists, workers, men in the quarter master's department and others. , A dispatch from London, England, recites that American preparation on the western front is amazing in its in tensity, and that plans are being made to carry, not less than five million Americans over there. The report goes on to say that if the Germans do not give in the number of Americans will be increased to any amount nec essary. All persons and firms engaged in the importation, manufacture, storage and distribution of farm machinery and equipment of farm machinery and equipment except those specifically ex empted by the food control act, will be placed under license next June 20 by proclamation of the president. The' shipping, board has decided to proceed immediately on a large scale with the building of concrete ships. It is announced that 58 concrete ves sels will be ordered by the govern ment as soon as sites for the four new government yards are chosen. Aerial mail service in the United States is an accomplished fact. Pilot ed by army aviators, airplanes carried consignments of mail from New York and Philadelphia to Washingtorf and from Philadelphia to New Yoi Plans- had been made in 1914 for a revolution of Germans in the United States in case this country should be drawn into the European war, accord ing to testimony at the state attor ney general's investigation of reports of hidden munitions in New York City. Women of the Southern Baptist de nomination were granted full and 'equal rights with men in the conven tion of the churches by an overwhelm ing vote of the sixty-third session of the Southern Baptist convention at Hot Springs, Ark. The body of James Gordon Bennett, proprietor of the New York Herald, who died in France, where he had lived fcr many years, will be interred in Paris, in accordance with his ex pressed wish before he died. Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia were called upon by Pro vost Marshal General Crowder to fur nish for the national army 51,600 more men qualified for general military service. The movement of drafted men un der the next call is to extend over two periods from May 20 to 24 and from May 29 to June 2. In the wet or dry election held in Duval county, Florida, twenty-five pre fints out of thirty-six give a total of 3,024 dry and 2,320 wet. Jacksonville is in this county. Washington. The 'long fight in congress over the Overman bill, empowering the presi dent to reorganize government de partments and agencies, ended with the passage of the measure unamend ed by the house. It then went to the president for his signature. Falling through the clouds, an American airplane crashed to earth two kilometers behind the American lines in the Toul sector in France, killing both the pilot and the observer. t An American patrol in Picardy met and routed a German patrol of 2C men. In this part of the front the Germans are using searchlights and ; trench mortars occasionally, although the artillery fire is under normal. The war department has asked con gress for an appropriation of approx imately six billion dollars for heavy ordnance. This is in addition to the estimates of fifteen billion dollars put before the house military committee by Secretary Baker. Just how effective has been the war against the U-boats is shown by fig ures on destruction of allied shipping to the naval committee of the French chamber of deputies, which reveal that sinkings, of merchantmen have fallen off to the point where new construc tion is exceeding the destruction even now before American yards are in full Bwing. A London dispatch says that all the German prisoners captured in France say . that Field Marshal von Hinden burg is dead, and that General von Mackensen will be placed at the head l the German army. Divisions on the western front where American units are brigaded with the British and French, will fight under American commanders when ever American troops predominate. It Is stated in advices from oversea that Genjeral Pershing may soon be placed in command of British and French units, as well as his own Amer icans. A Moscow dispatch to the state de partment says Germany has given as surance to the Russian soviete govern ment that German armies will advance no farther into Russian territory. The American steamer Neches, a cargo carrier of 7,175 tons, was tor pedoed and sunk on the night of May 14 or in the early morning hours of May 15, without loss of life, the navy department announces. The vessel was returning from abroad without a cargo. The steamship Zaanland, one of the Dutch vessels requisitioned by the United States government, was sunk in a collision at sea May 13. All on board were rescued and will be re According to a dispatch from Switz erland the Berlin newspapers indicate that the basis of a new treaty of al liance agreed upon at the recent con ference between the German and Aus trian emperors contemplates fixing 25 years as the period for the duration of the falHance, the imposition of stricter military obligations upon each nation and the regulation of economic relations so as to realize the Mittel EuroDa plan. Railroads in the first three months this year earned $71,705,000, as com pared with $179,431,000 in the same period last year, making a loss to the government under the system of com mon operat'on of about one hundred and nine million- A report from the American Army 'n France savs that. American aviators ipvp pht down three German planes in the Toul sector. Five American aviators were later decorated with the French war cross. In a letter to Senator Martin of Virgin'a, Democratic leader in the sen ate, President Wilson de'clared that he would regard passage of the Chamber lain resolution calling for, an investiga tion of aircraft and other war activi ties as a "direct vote of want of confidence in the administration," and an attempt bv congress to take over the condiict of the war. President Wilson has summonei Charles B. Hushes, who onnosed him in the last pef'dential election, to act when Attorney General Gregory in the invest eaffon of criminal charges that were made in connection with aircraft production. 1 Secretary McAdoo has authorized lotans of two ..6 ..6 . .6 ..6. .6.. loans of two hundred million dollars to Great Britain, one hundred milllion t,o France and one hundred million dollars to Italy. The total third Liberty Loan is $4,- 70,019.650, an oversubscription of 39 pelt cent above the three billion mini mum sought. The number of subscribers to the third Liberty Loan was about seven teen million. . "The masses of the Ruseians are not satisfied with peace under German dominat'on, says Prof. Thomas Gar rieme Masaryk, Bohemian educator and political leader, in an interviev in Washington. The German commission appointed to ex?mme the decline in the b'"rth rate in Germany, ha reported a rec ommendation for th compulsory mar riage of German? before their twen tieth year is oa.ssed, according to a 'London dispatch. It is stated that in Germany mar ried couple who remain , childless will be punished. M. Duval, who was director of the suppressed Germanophile newspaper. Bonnet Rouere. was condemned to death by courtmartial in Par's for treason. The six other defendants were sentenced to imprisonment for terms ransr'"ng from two to ten years. Russian naval officials blew un thfir four American submarines before re treating from Hango in southwestern Finland last April. Seven British submarines were de stroyed when the German naval forc es and transoorta. approached Hansro vetwopn Anril 3 and April 8 last. But the Russian commander declined tp block the harbor. American troops are awaiting the time when they will be thrown into battle on an entirely new part of the battlefields in France. Arthur P. Balfour, British secretary for fore' gn affairs, says England, has never made any effort to discuss peace with the central powers, but that "if any representative of any belligerent country desires seriously to lay before England any proposals England is ready to listen to them." Americans are now located east of Luneville. northwest of Toul. north of St. Mihiel and on the heights of the Meuse and in the Montdidier sec tion, in addition to the new point in the English lines, as yet unknown. It is stated that somewhere along the line from Merville to Ypres is the point where General Pershing's men will once more strike the Germans. An Austrian battleship was torpe doed by Italian naval forces in Pola harbor, it is officially announced from Rome, Italy. The battleship was a 20,000 ton vessel. It is stated that Americans will be briagded with the English army when the next. German stroke comes. The announcement that the Stars and Stripes are waving with the Brit ish Union Jack and the French Tri color on a new battlefield, says that the Ameircans are "completing their training in the area occupied by the troops which are blocking the path of the Germans to the channel ports r-4 1-French cavalrymen escorting the Thirty-sixth division, National the big observation balloons that are NEWS REVIEW OF THE m WEEK Preparations Made by Teutons for Renewal of Drives in France and Italy. HUN NAVY IS CONCENTRATED Wilhelm and Charles Renew Austro German Treaty Russia Writhing Under Kaiser's Oppression President Names Hughes to Investigate Aircraft Production Charges. v By EDWARD W. PICKARD. Operations of last week in the war zones led to the prediction that the central powers ;vere preparing to strike hard and soon on two fronts in France and Italy with some pros pects of a great naval battle in the North sea. It was admitted by the Germans that their tremendous losses were largely responsible for the delay in resuming their drive on the west front. They were very busy reorgan izing their forces and bringing up fresh troops who have not yet been engaged In the fighting there. Rain and mud, ably seconded by the allied aviators, made difficult the moving of supplies by the Huns, but they kept at the task doggedly. Meanwhile their artillery ceaselessly pounded away at various important salients held by the allies. In return the latter gave more than they received. There were many Infantry opera tions that must be classed as small because of the magnitude of the war fare, but which resulted in the recov ery of valuable positions by the allies. In one or two instances the Germans also gained footholds in the lines but counter-attacks always drove them out promptly and they invariably suf fered heavy casualties. The kaiser's armies, however, showed no especial signs of weakening, and no competent observer doubts that they are still capable of tremendous efforts and will make them. General Foch and, indeed, all the allied commanders, await the renewal of the offensive with confi dence that their men can withstand it. : fe The same confidence prevails on the Italian front, where also General Foch is in supreme command. The Aus trians have been concentrating great forces there. Including much artillery they have had on the French front, and they were expected to deliver their blow between the Stelvio pass and Monte Grappa, just east of the Brenta, in the hope of breaking through to Brescia and Milan. The Austrian positions In that sector are admittedly better than those of the Italians. To repel the expected drive the Italians have the assistance of British, French and Americans in number at least equal to the Italian forces sent to France and Flanders. Early Tuesday Italian naval units succeeded in stealing into Pola harbor and torpedoing an' Austrian dread naught of the Viribus Unitis class. At the same time Italian seaplanes en gaged and routed the Austrian battle planes over Pola. The prediction of a naval battle in the North sea was based on the fact that the entire German Baltic fleet, excepting a few light cruisers, was re called to Kiel, and great activity at that base was "reported. The German navy probably feels a bit humiliated over the second British raid on Os tend, in which the old cruiser Vindic tive, laden with concrete, was sunk at the entrance of the channel, blocking it to all large vessels. tei Participation in the fighting on the west front by the Americans brigaded with the British and French is increas ing daily, and it is now made known that whenever American troops pre dominate in the brigade divisions these divisions will be put under com mand of General Pershing. This, it is believed, will bring larger numbers of our boys to the battle line" rapidly and contrfbute greatly tothe spirit of unity and concerted eff pit. The war depart T-oo,. aftor n yJZrr:LZ.C army, irom umy ouie, mu of so mucn neiy iu unev.-1.111s me ment explains that the brigading plan in operation Is temporary, adopted to meet the emergency In which It is de sirable to send over as many Ameri cans as possible without waiting for their arras and ammunition. Later they will return to the American army and will be using American equipment. It is gratifsing to note that General Pershing now Issues daily official com muniques on the doings of the Ameri can forces, following the system of the other allies. fa The continuous battle for suprem acy In the air raged with increasing Intensity all through the week and offi cial reports led to the belief that the flyers of the allied armies generally had the best of it American aviators won several notable victories. Gener al Pershing reported the commission ing of nearly 1,000 student aviators. The French have delivered to his army 500 battle planes and 900 training planes, and the Haviland battle planes made In America are beginning to ar rive. te . On Sunday Emperor Charles visited the kaiser at great headquarters and made plans for a renewal of the Aus-tro-German alliance, to last twenty years. The news of this of course was received with rejoicing by the pan Germans of Austria-Hungary, but, equally of course, the treaty is bitterly opposed by the Slavs and other anti German elements In Charles' realm. The people there as a whole are more and more desirous of peace and there Is fear that the agreement will Prus sianize their army and compel even greater efforts in the war. By some the preparations for an offensive in Italy are looked on as a direct result of the conference. According to Co penhagen reports, the two emperors selected kings for Lithuania, Courland, Esthonia and Poland, but the men chosen were not. named. The meeting of the rulers was at tended by the kings of Bavaria and Saxony, who, though not invited, sought to maintain the importance of their kingdoms as parts of the German empire and not leave Prussia the "sole arbiter of German destinies." That sounds big, but the fact remains that Prussia Is as much the boss of the German empire as ever. fe The kaiser Is treating Russia just as a thoroughly defeated enemy might expect to be treated by him. despite the peace treaty of Brest-Litovsk. His demands are exorbitant and enforced by; arms, and in an address to the town council of Aix-le-Chapelle he an nounces that "Sebastopol has been ciptured with a big, richly laden fleet there." More than that, he is prepar ing to call on the Baltic provinces that were a part of Russia to supply men for the German armies. No other con struction can be placed on his procla mation recognizing the independence of Lithuania, in which he says: "We assume that Lithuania will participate In the war burdens of Germany which secured her liberation." As Lithuania has neither money nor munitions to contribute, the kaiser must mean men, gnd the Lithuanian national council says the country will not consent to have its citizens dragooned into the ranks of the kaiser. In the Caucasus the Germans under took to gain control of the grain, coal, oil and iron districts by the capture of Rostov-on-Don, but they held the city only one day, when the Russians re captured Itv There are several power ful groups of Russians operating in the Don region, and others all through south Russia, and Germany has pro claimed war at Ekaterinoslav, Odessa and Poltava and mined the entrance into the Sea of Asov. In the Ukraine tae anti-German movement increases Gaily, the people being very bitter. In' Luropean Russia, says a dispatch from Samara, less than half the arable land usually cultivated will be tilled this year, owing to the shortage of seed, horses and implements and the unsettled condition brought about by the land division. Well posted Britons are urging that the allied continue to lelp Russia in the work of reconstruc tion In order to balk the efforts of Ger ' nany. It is recognized by ajl that Ger many's peace hopes now lie wholly in the east and that if she is permitted to realize them she will have won the war regardless of the conditions im posed on her in the west. Lenine professes to see signs of a counter-revolution in Russia and on fiirht nn the Somme. 2 Review or oC" nnninS pairing one of - t Mondnv he Issued a call fori help to prevent It. The family of the late czar has been removed to Kiev ana is m the hands of the Germans. Near the Mongolian-Siberian border General Semenoff continues to wage successrui war on the bolshevik forces. The Finnish White guard seems 'to have gained almost complete control of the country, celebrating the capture of Tammerfors by massacring 500 Russians and Great Britain has offered to recognize the Finnish republic on certain conditions. The trouble there may not be over, however, for late re ports say a great number of Russians are massed on the border of Finland and a big battle Is imminent fc President Wilson and the senate military affairs committee conflicted again last week when Chairman Cham berlain proposed a resolution that would permit the committee to Inquire Into the conduct of the war, though the initial purpose was merely to in vestigate the aircraft production col lapse and consequent charges of dis honesty. Mr. Wilson declared une quivocally that he would consider the adoption of the resolution as a deo laration of want of confidence In the administration. and a restrictive amendment by Senator Thompson of Kansas did not remove his objections to it. On. Wednesday the president announced the appointment of Charles E. Hughes to act with the j attorney general in the aircraft investigation and the choice was received with gen eral approval. The former justice of ( the Supreme court made a great rec ord in the New York Insurance investi gation, and It Is believed the criminal charges in the aircraft production matter will be thoroughly gone Into by him without fear or favor. -a- . ! Under the able leadership of Mr. Schwab the shipbuilding forces of the United States are going ahead with their work at a great rate. The big concrete steamer Faith, built at San Francisco, underwent trial runs that were altogether satisfactory, and the steel vessel Tucknhoe was declared ready to sail from Philadelphia just 37 days after the keel was laid. The shipping board decided Thursday to build 14 concrete tank steamers, with a total capacity of 105,000 tons, and four concrete cargo vessels. The board also prepared to let contracts for 200 more wooden ships of 4,700 tons each, in addition to 2(K) recently authorized, in order to keep the ways occupied un til the end of the war. Thus the ship ping problem Is gradually being solved, and while America and Great Britain are building vessels their navies are sinking the German submarines In in creasing numbers. There were reports last week that Germany was ftbout to put into commission some j U-boats larger than any yet seen, but the allied naval commanders said they were ready for those, too. To further re strict the activities of the undersea craft the British have laid a great mine field in tr? North sea, covering about 22.000 square miles. The mari ners are growing more and more skill ful In evading the submarines, as is shown by the fact that in the first four months of this year 172 British vessels were attacked by them and escaped uninjured. .. a The Overman co-ordination bill finally was passed by the house by a vote of 21)5 to 2. Representatives Sterling of Illinois and Gillett of Massachusetts casting the only negative votes. All attempts to amnd It were voted down The house'passed the conference re port on the bill! requiring the register ing of youths who have reached the age of tvreuty-one years since June 5 last. Their names are to go at the bottom of the lists. With the appointment of Felix Frankfurter as administrator i of war labor activities the government put into operation Its plan for controlling and directing the labor supply,! his du ties being administrative as contrast ed with the judicial and legislate functions of the war labor board head ed by Mr. TafL jsa Appealing to the people of smtii means, the government last week launched a War Savings stamp cam paign that brought excellent results all over the country. Elaborate plans were also completed for the campaign to raise 'the second Red Cross war fun i of $100,000,000. PRESIDENT COMPLETES rEor ZATION OF TU: A1R wJRVICE OF ARMY. OVERMAN k Executive Order Directs That Air Service Be - Wholly Divorced From Signal Corps. Washington. Reorganization of the army air service has been .ouipielfcJ by President Wson' as his a, t under the new law permitting him to readjust government department for the war. In an executive ordtr, hQ directed that the air service be wholly divorced from the signal corps and also that the functions cf proluca and operating aircraft of all kinds m the military service be separated. The order formally creates a bu. reau of aircraft production, described as an executive agency whch shal exercisej full, complete and exclusive jurisdiction and control over the pT0. duction of airplanes, airplane engines and aircraft equipment for the use of p the army," undt;r a director of air raft' production who shall also be chair man of the aircraft board. This gives full legal status and power to John' D. Ryan, recently appointed dire,tor of aircraft production who shall al?o be chairman of he aircraft board, and the order transfers to him all funds, lands, buildings and personnel of the signal corps having to do with aircraft production. Similarly, the position of director of military aeronautics now held by Ma-' jor General William L. Kenly is for mally established and all funds, du ties, equipment and personnel of the signal corps connected with the opera tion of aircraft and balloons and with the training of aviators placed undei his direction. . The signal corps re verts to its old functions having to do only with army signalling and the transmission of military informaiion. In connection with the reorgaivza tion, made at a .time when the de partment of Justice is undertaking at the direction of the President an in vestigation of charges brought against the honesty and loyalty of me.i here tofore in full control of the ar pro gram, Secretary Baker uirectel that Cols. R. L. Montgomery, 1J. A. Deeds and S. D. Waldon, ofy the signal corps be detached from all other duties and assigned to assistythe attorney general in his inquiry. As the men are direct ly in charge of production, the thre officers have personal knowledge of every phase of the subject. GOVERNMENT CONTROLLED PRESS ALSO PESSIMISTIC Washington. Announcement that the bread ration is to be reduc 3d on June 15 has caused grave apprehen sion throughout Germany. An official dispatch from Switzerland says t':.at even the governmental press has adopted a tone no less pessimistic than that of - the socialist papers, which foresee a great dim'nishing ct the physical and general force which helps in supporting the hardships of the fourth yea? of the war. Even more critical than the -German food situation is that in Aur-.ria An f ficial dispatch from France Quotes Austro-German newspapers as say.-n? 'that at a recent conference in Vienna on tha situation it developed that food supplies to be requisitioned sufficient only to feed Hungary a:?J the army and that Austria could ex pect nothing but its own harvest. Germany's purpose in anonunc;ng tc the world through its official wir ier the reduction of the bread rancr.i -fcr its population was widely disc;i:r here. Some offcials 'conclude that tne German government, knowing t'" eventually the news would reach enemies, decided to anticipate it wa. the purpose of showing the wiilingn of the German people to make any sac rifices to win the war. SINN FEIN DELEGATE ASSAILS AMERICANS nn tVio AmeTron miaRinn. reO" -5 L !' " the American labor delegation r.ov.' in England, endeavored to crea. scene in the hotel lobby by de-larin-loudly that Americans were not treat ing the Sinn Fein fairly. The mem bers of the American mission rephe that they would be glad to listen t all sides and that they proposed view the Irish question without prej dice. CITY OF WILMINGTON DESTROYED BY ACClDENi Norfolk, Va. The explosion and which destroyed the oil tank CUV Wilmington at sea on April 8 was e tirely accidental, declared H. c- ' Ilvaine, first, assistant engineer, arived in Norfolk with his brother. Mcllvaine, third engineer, both whom were survivors of the disas They declared they were present wn -the oil explosion that was folowed -tre occurred. They told an mtere In story of hardships endured-
Polk County News and The Tryon Bee (Tryon, N.C.)
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May 24, 1918, edition 1
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