North Carolina Newspapers

death Rate in Under German Occupation, III . Treatment arid Poor Food Kill Thousands. WORSE THAN AN EPIDEMIC Mortality In Civil Life Greater Than on Battlefield Situation Can On ly Be Worse, Says Legation v One Execution Daily. Washington. The existing death rate in Belgium is as high as at the time of the most terrible epidemics and greater than that on the battle field, due to the extremities to which German occupation has reduced the country. In addition, at least one Bel gian daily is executed by the German authorities, according to a statement . made public by the Belgian legation. The statement came from Havre and read as follows: "Not taking into account the losses on the , field of battle Belgium has suf fered heavily in Its civilian population through the 'Invasion and occupation of its territory by the Germans. "1. Civilians killed during the In vasion, August-September, 1914 Al though we are not yet in possession of a complete list of the civilians killed by the Germans during those fateful days, we know the number of victims to be well over 5,000. For the follow ing provinces we have approximate . estimates : Namur, more than 1,800 ; Luxembourg about 1,200; Liege, more than 1,000; Brabant, 897; Halnaut, about 300. Most of these victims fell in the towns where, under pretext of the existence of sharpshooters, Ger man fury knew no limits. Dina'ht counted 606 victims ; Ahdenne, more than 200; Tamines, more than 400; Louvaln, 210; Aerschot. about 1,50; Namur. about 75 Deportees' Death Rate High. 442. Among the deportees the mor tality resulting from privations, 111 treatment, underfeeding, etc., exceeds largely the normal percentage' of deaths. Some, too, have met death on the battle fields, where the Germans forced them to do auxiliary work. If we possess ample Information about Individual places and undeniable tes timony on the broken health of the re turned deportees in general, we are, however, unable to quote figures. "3. The electrified wire which makes the Belgians prisoners in their own country accounts for a great number of victims, especially among young people, who try to escape In order to join the army, or among couriers, who try to smuggle news in or out of Bel gium. 'In less than a year, between August, 1916,fand July, .1917, 160 per sons w)r$ electrocuted. ; Since then the average number of victims has In - creased, owing loathe strengthening of the guards and the putting up of new wires. "4. The death penalty, pronounced by the German, military courts for crimes of patriotism, levies a heavy toll on the population. It is estimated that each day one Belgian at least suf fers the supreme penalty. "The unsatisfactory food situation, due to the requisition of the home grown foodstuffs and the sinking of many relief ships, the use of unsuit able substitutes, the lack of fuel, as a result of the exploitation by Germany for her own consumption, and for ex portation, of the Belgian coal fields, has dangerously increased the death rate. "Deaths from hunger and cold are not unusual, but It Is mostly indirectly that the underfeeding of the popula tion causes numerous premature deaths, for, through lack of physical strength, many people are subject to rickets or pretuberculosis, and so be- come unable to resist, slight Illness which, under normal conditions, would not prove fatal. As to the bad effect of unsuitable substitutes, It will suf U. S. ENGINEERS EXTEND TRENCH LINES 'W " '-8 ft ; .v merlcan engineers are doing splendid work in extending and perfecting the trench system in the American sector In France. Demolished walls and ruined buildings are considered especially valuable for. the establishment of Intermediate depots and posts. This American engineer Is converting a tun nel Into a post command by the quick methods known to arayconstroctow. Belgium is high fice to recall the diseases contracted by the deportees through the use of raw rutabagas and the paralysis of the brain and of the marrow or the special kind of Jaundice provoked by the use of lupin seeds as a substitute for coffee berries. White Plague Prevalent. "The death rate all over Belgiunv but especially In the large towns, is as high as at the time of the most terrible epidemics. ABrussels paper, appearing with the consent-of the Ger-i man censorship, admits that 'there are more civilian dead from lack of suf ficient food than Belgian soldiers fall en on the battlefield.' On the other hand, a report on the 'Work of the War Orphans' In Belgium shows that In 1917 there were fewer orphans of soldiers fallen in the war than of civ ilians killed during the same period and of deportees dead in consequence of their deportation. "Cardiac affections and cerebral hemorrhages account for the greater part of the deaths, tuberculosis, espe cially under the form of tubercular meningitis, for almost as many. Ty phoid fever, caused by the occupying army, has occasionally levied a heavy toll on the civilian population. "The situation in 1918 can only grow worse; it is undeniable that the phy sical standard of the nation is lower ing dangerously and that the effects of the German occupation on the health of the people will make them selves felt for a long time after the war." SCRATCHED RASPUTIN'S FACE Mile. Vera Smlrnova is known to every Russian who has been In Petro grad within the last five years. Her marvelous contralto voice had won for her the most enviable position In court life. She was the lioness of the most ex clusive set of all of Russia, and she was the idol of the peasants of that Ill-fated country. Her rendition of the Russian gypsy songs endeared her to all. Traveling in the set she did, she was bound to come, sooner or later, to the notice' of that famed mystic of all mystics Rasputia, the Holy One of Russia. For a long time the man who domi nated Russia even more than the czar himself,, had cast covetous eyes on the charming singer. Finally, the mo Famine Stalks Hams at $300 Each,- Eggs 75 'I, Cents Each Are Examples of Food Scarcity. BRITISH COLONY SUFFERING Its 500 Members Appeal to Foreign Office to Send Supplies Relatives Rob Each Other of Food. London. -A dispatch to the London Times from Petrograd says : "The famine in Petrograd is becom ing positively alarming. There is prac tically no food In the. markets or In the shops. Two-thirds, If not more, of the latter are permanently closed for want of goods of all kinds besides food stuffs. There is no flour, no sugar, no potatoes, cheese, or milk, no grain or groats, and very little meat. All Is under control unless accidentally or nrivntelv nhtninpd. Th nrlnHnnl npk. essaries of life have to be got when possible through friends and chance acquaintances at enormous cost if you have money to pay for them, or as meager rations doled out by the au ' ' ! J ment he had 'long wished for came during an entertainment held In the home of a grand -duchess. On the. plea, that he desired to talk with her on spiritual things, she went with him into the conservatory. When she realized his plans, she forgot that she was the guest of the grand duch ess, forgot what the result might be, forgot her surroundings completely and almost tore Into shreds the face of the Holy One. When Rasputin was ques tioned as to the cause of his scars, he replied that he had been wrestling with the spirits of evil controlling the fair Mile. Vera. Prince Youssoupov .and his wife, Princess Irene, were the Intimate friends of Mile. Smlrnova. Naturally she told her story of the encounter with Rasputin to them. The prince, already worked up to a pitch over a similar insult by Rasputin to Princess Irene, vowed that within 48 hours she would be revenged. Almost to the minute the body of Rasputin was found. Mile. Smlrnova Is now In this coun try, where she is helping to swell the coffers of the Red Cross fund by sing ing her loved gypsy songs to the peo ple of her own country, In the lan guage they understand. in Petrograd : i ' thorities, and absolutely Inadequate for subsistence. ' The present ration of indigestible black bread, half baked, with as much moisture as possible left In It to Increase ' Its weight. Is one eighth of a pound per day, and often that is not forthcoming on account of the hopeless disorder and universal thieving habit. Rob Without Compunction. 'Relatives and dependents rob one another of food .without compunction. Hunger has no conscience. If a morsel of anything Is left on the plate for later consumption It will disappear as soon as you turn your back. Every scrap has to be put under lock and key after each meal. In my own case, the house committee which receives flour from the town authorities for distribu tion to us tenants could not account for nine poods (324 pounds) of flour, so that we all had to go without any bread for two days. "In spite of special commissions and stringent measures against hoarding and speculation, profiteering goes on to a great extent among all classes. In fact, food Is a far more valuable commodity than paper money and se cretly circulates instead of it. All con versation Indoors and out Is about food and how to get it. Half the working day Is wasted In pursuit of sufficient to eat. "As an Illustration of how far dis organization and greed can go, I may mention the fact that no fewer than fifteen carloads of rotten hares were recently brought Into town and several attempts made to foist them on the municipal executives; but they were finally rejected and condemned. Good hares are being sold at 2 10 shillings apiece (nearly $12.50, according to the rate of exchange before the war.) Hams at $300 Each, "Prices of other articles are quite fabulous. Hams are offered at 40 and 6Q each. Butter costs 42 shillings a pound ; ' cheese, 3. shillings a pound: white flour, 30 shillings a pound ; eggs. 3 shillings apiece; carrots, 5 shillings a pound ; potatoes, 6 shillings a pound. With the exception of occasional lim ited sales most of these articles can only be obtained privately. "In these circumstances the British community In Petrograd, which is now reduced perhaps to about 500 persons wno are unable for various reasons to leave Russia, felt-, obliged to Induce the British consul and the Incumbent of the English chuch to wire to Lon don for a few edible supplies to help us tide over this serious crisis. I am told that a telegram to this effect ha been sent to the foreign office, but so far no assistance is forthcoming !; do' not want luxuries,! but a few cases i of crushed oats, for example. -some sugar, margarine, and flour, woulf' be a god-send. t "There has been no essential' im provement of internal affairs here. On the contrary, the situation In many respects has been going from bad to worse. IMPORTANT NEWS Ti WORLD OVER i IMPORTANT HAPPENINGS OF THIO ANJD OTHER NATIONS FOR IsEVEN DAYS GIVElN THE JlEWS OF THE SOUTH nr What l Taking ?Flace In- The 8outh land Will Be Found In - Brief Paragraphs 'ft: Domestic. Henrj Ford, Detroit automobile man ufacture, who has been mentioned as Republican candidate for United t States, senator to succeed William Al- den SmJth, has been endorsed by tne Michigan Democrats in conference and urged 'o become our candidate, al though lie is not within our fold." At th behest of President Wilson, the Postal-Cable Telegraph company has decided to permit its employes to form a anion. At a Meeting of the may.or and coun cil of tt-e town of. Berlin, Iowa, the name o the town was changed to Lincoln, sand the postoffice department so notifi?ds. "Prussfanism and the idea of endur ing peacS among nations can never .be brought ;into harmony; compromise can't evei be considered," Secretary of State Lapsing declared at Schenecta dy, N. Pi, in an address as honorary chancelhijr of Union college for 1918. Sentences of life imprisonment were imposed pj a courtmartial at San An tonia upon 45 "conscientious objec tors" who had refused to wear' army uniforms! The sentence was reduced to 25 years' each by Brig. Gen. J. P. O'Neil, who reviewed the record. The i "objector?" belong to the Mennonite faith. SurriTcrs of the American freighter Pinar delfRio, arriving at Norfolk, Va from Maijteo, N. C, say the German submarinl which sank their vessels 110 mile; northeast of Cape Henry, was accompanied by a large steamer which thy believed to be a "mother ship." Tfiey also asserted that two sailing vessels were sent to the bot tom immediately after the sinking of the Pinargdel Rio. The Florida state board of control, holding supervision of the state insti tutions higher learning, has discontin ued the use pf the' German language in Florid colleges. Washington. Modifications of the recent freight rate 4nCre.se order, announced by Di rector General McAdoo, provide thai the"" plan. ;by "which Intrastate rates shall te rescinded; that the minimum charge of $15 a car shall not apply to local switching movements nor to heavy articles such as brick, sand, lumber, oe and coal; and that the in crease of Jl5 cents a hundred pounds on cotton :;is to apply to any quantity instead- of 'only to car loads. Two Norwegian steamships, the Vin deggen an$ Henrtk Lund, were sunk by a German submarine when about two hundred niiles east of Cape Charles, Va. Thistbrings the total of vessels sunk by lJ-boats sinoe they began their campaign in these waters to eigh teen. , . ' President Wilson has approved a nation-wide compulsory work movement to supplement Provost Marshal Gene ral CrowdeVs "work or fight" regula tion. In a letter addressed to Gov ernor Harrington of Maryland, made public in Washington, the president endorsed adoption by other states of the Maryland compulsory work law under whiQfa the "work or fight" prin ciple io mae applicable to all men be tween the figes of 18 and 50. An arrangement by -which army offi cers may i rchase their uniforms fiom the quarterinitster department at cost has been announced by the war de partment. I Heretofore officers have had to purchase their own clothing outside, an;d .many complaints have been made hat the dealers have taken advantage pf this fact to raise prices beyond a reasonable level. Members ; of the house ways and means committee have given expres sion to grooving impatience over the fact that most of the witnesses ap pearing to discuss the new revenue legislation -have come with pleas for exemption from war taxation. That the war department will ask modification! of the select service law so as to include all men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five or forty-nine is tjie forecast of well-informed congressional leaders. In the crushing of Germanism in the United States the Koelnlsche Volks Zeitung see a disaster in a measure balancing the Teutonic military sue cess. : ; Under anagreement among all the allies., it is stated in Washington, it J is unuMsiooa that the military service a,jes ot all the allied nations are to be made uniform To check further industrial conges tion In the already overburdened east, the tvernment has prescribed a dis trict in whih it will permit no in crease in the" volume of war orders nor in the number of plants handling them. j; 5 For the first time in more than thirty years the granaries of the Mor mon churches are being swept clean, i More inan a quarter of a million bushels of wheat have been turned oVer to the food administrator from the Mormon! wheat storehouses in Utah .P. Nearly complete reports to the pro vost marshal general' offlqe jhow that 744,865 young Americans register ed for military service on June 6. V A St. John, N. F., dispatch reports that the Cunard line steamship Ascania ran upon a rock shore in a dense tog about two o'clock in the morning, and that the "ship was abandoned, as it was seen that she would be soon torn to pieces. ' A report from "An Atlantic Port" tells of an all-day fignt with a Ger man submarine off the Virginia capes by the British steamship Author. The raider did no damage and gave up the chase 70 miles off the Virginia capes, apparently fearing to brave the coast patrol. The senate requested information of Secretary .McAdoo regarding what steps were being taken to stabilize the American dollar abroad, but the sec retary, acting at the instance of . Presi dent Wilson, declined to give out any thing whatever, further than to say that some neutral European cousin and South American sister were at tending to the matter, and that there need be no concern, . , Members of the senate foreign rela tions committee opine that the ratiilca tion of the treaty with Great Britain and Canada will impose a moral obli gation on the United States to raise the service age. There is strong sentiment in con gress in favor of raising the service age and considerable opposition also. In view of what has been happening during the past few days, officials in Washington are inclined to regard as a bit of grim humor the report from Berlin via Holland that the German government 'is about to declare the eastern American coast a danger zone and to warn neutral shipping of its purposes. The frank declaration of President Wilson, in his address to the Mexican editors, will lead the world to an era of peace, says the Santiago, Chile,: Mercurio, in an editorial, expressing approval of the president's words. Until the end of the present critical, shortage of wheat flour federal food administrators will discourage the! opening of new commercial bakeries, the United States food administration has announced. Those intending to enter the business of baking bread and rolls are rvequested not to apply for licenses until after August 1. A baker who desires to surrender his license must satisfy his local food administrator that he is no longer in business, and. turn over his license to him. When selling his business, a baker is not permitted to transfer his license; '. The license of the seller must be surrendered to therXood administra tor, and the purchaser must apply for a new license. European. The drive of the German crown prince to Paris has been checked def initely. The maneuvers of the German com manders for the past two weeks ap parently has gained them nothing but severe losses in men and supplies, and the only gain has been on the Noyon salient and the capture of a few un important positions southwest of Sols sons. The feeling still prevails on the western' front that the main effort of the Germans is yet to be launched and whether it will be for Paris or the channel ports is purely speculative. Scouting patrols report that the Ger man armies on the west have been largely reinforced by! the men who have been operating on the Russian front. The heroism of the veteran troops of the allied armies who in these last days have inflicted such terrific losses on the flower of the German army has given the foe a rude shock. Considerable artillery activity is re ported in the Hangard wood, south of the Aisne and in the sector between Villers-Cotterets and Chateau Thierry. There seems no doubt that the cen tral powers will make one more ef fort to capture Paris before the Amer icans arrive in sufficient numbers to stop them. The central powers are showing the utmost concern about the numerical strength of the American troops ar riving on the western front, and seem to be taking no interest whatever in what happens to the Bulgarian front on the Grecian border. British casualties reported for the week ending June 14 totalled 34,171 officers and men. . In a recent memorandum issued by the Austrian f Men's Democratic League, "the Immediate opening of peace negotiations in a neutral coun try" is demanded. Sir Joseph Jonas,, lord mayor of Sheffield, in 1900, and a steel man ufacturer, was in' the Bow street, Lon don, police court on the charge that with various other i persons, whose names were not ' known, he "did ob tain and communicate certain infor mation prejudicial to the interests of the state and information useful to the enemy and information relating to pro hibited places and things therein." Sir Jonas was born in Germany and was naturalized in 1876. j One Austrian dreadnaught was de stroyed and a second one damaged in the torpedo attack made by Italian tor pedo boats upon the Austrian naval di vision near the Dalmatian islands, it, is officially stated in j Venice. 5 The German admiralty, says a Lon don dispatch, intends to declare the eastern coast of the United States, from Mexico to Canadian waters, a danger zone, and will 'warn neutral shipping.--' ,v" " j I?. - A majority of the Japanese nation does not believe that Japan and Ger many wtll become allies oter th pre ent war Vk - f - . - : HARD FIGH Til 15 STILL IN PR(tts$ SPIRITED AGGRESSIVE S BE HOTLY PRESSED BY ITALIAN AND THEIR ALLIES. LOST GROUND IS REGAINEB Important Sectors Lost in Initial Co fllct Wrested From Enemy jn and Furious Fighting. Not alone are the Italians and their British and FrerrV ----- - w""tues-in.a. UUldn OffpT! oitg cnuuf, iu si can;! part 1 1 1 ill m . of the loo. uie rep'fin southeast of Trent to the Adriatic but they themselves have turned gressors on some of the more impog mue uanie irorr rrnm tu , m LUp tain regions. vuu- . Counter-attacks in the hill countrv on the north at several Points have resulted in the occupation by the al lies oi grouna won rrom them in the initial onslaught and the rectification of their lines, while a stiffening of the front along the Piave river has made impossible, for the time being at least further fording of the stream by the. enemy. Hard fighting still is in progress,' however, with the Austrians bringing the strongest kind of pressure to bear against the allied -armies on both northern and eastern parts of the bat tlefield in an. endeavor to reach the lines and gain access in force to the plains The strokes of the enemy are par ticularly violent on the Montello pla teau, the highest bit of ground along the middle reaches of the Piave, the capture of which would give him com mand of the roads leading through Treviso to Venice and a fairway west ward through the province of Tre viso. The Italians are inflictin? heavy casualties on the troops of Emperor Charles which, crossed the river at this point. To the south from St. Andrea to Fossalata, respectively, the northern and southern flanks of the famous Zenson loop, where last year the Aus trians effected a crossing of the Piave, only later to be driven back with sanguinary losses, and from Fossa lata to San Dona di Piave the fighting also is of a violent character, with the Italians heroically and successfully according to - the Rome war office, holding the line of the river. Between Chandelu and the Zenson loop where the Austrians crossed the Piave in Saturday's fighting, the Ital ians have driven them back to the river bank and are endeavoring to push them across the stream. The latest Austrian official communication records the gain Of additional ground west of San Dona di Piave and the capture of the village of Capo SileP on the eastern edge of the Lagoon region in the provinces of Venetia and about 20 miles from the city of Venice itself. GAS BEING USED BY GERMANS IN MUCH LARGER PROPORTIONS With the American Forces on the Marnel The Germans have begun using gas to a greater extent along this front than they have done here tofore. The Bois de Belleau came in for its share, but notwithstanding the heavy gas and other shelling the American lines remain intact. An American patrol crossed the , River Marne last night east of Cha- t inn.. J X T WlfcViafY icou xuierr yauu at once esiatma" contact with the Germans. After an exchange of shots the Americans re crossed the river safely by means of boats. To the west the Germans have taken to drenching certain localities with mustard gas. One of these places is Belleau wood, the Germans appar ently thinking that this was the only way to drive the American troops cut. But it was not, for they are still hold ing their positions and at the same time are giving the enemy clouds of American gas to worry about. STRUGGLE WITH DEATH BY CREW OF SUBMARINE j London. Harrowing details of the destruction of one of the largest and more recently constructed German submarines are given in a dispatch from a neutral correspondent. The U-boat struck a mine and out of the crew of 40 only two survived on reaching the surface after a terrible struggle with death for an hour and a half, twenty, fathoms below the sur face. Some of the crew committed suicide having lost all hope.. IMMENSE ESTATE 6V WEALTHY WIDOW SEIZED Washington. The entire estate m this country of Mrs. Mily Busclu widow of Adolphus Busch, late mil lionaire brewer of St. Louis, Mo., has been taken over by the government under the alien property law. This fact became known in connec tion' with the -eturn to America oi Mrs. Busch, who has been living Germany for several years. The go ernment has not yet appraised tn property.