North Carolina Newspapers

SCBL!NDE0 FIGHTERS - n VOCATIONAL INSTRUCTION AND REHABILITATION AT HOSPITAL IN BALTIMORE. MEN TAUGHT USEFUL TRADES Soldiers in Field and Camp Get Many Books Secretary Wilson Explains General Mobilization of Labor for War Industries. (From Committee on Public Information.) Washington Returning federal sol diers, sailors and marines are being received now for vocational instruc tion and rehabilitation at Hospital Training School, General Hospital No. 7, the former home of Mrs. T. Har rison Garrett, at Baltimore, Md. The hospital is outfitted to accommodate 250 men and has large recreation fields and an extensive acreage in gar dens. Col. James-Bordley of the surgeon general's office In charge of the re education of the blind, has announced the appointment of O. H. Burrltt of the Pennsylvania Institute for the In struction of the Blind as the educa tional director of this army hospital training school, with Miss Jenny A. Turner, former designer for the Mas sachusetts commission for the blind, as a reconstruction aide. Miss Turner has been working with the returned wounded soldiers at the Walter Reed hospital, Washington. The blinded soldiers from overseas will be discharged from the hospital after they have been taught a practi cal self-supporting trade, have been put In good physical condition, and taught to -read standard printing In raised type. The men will be sent to their own home communities and placed In the trades for which they have been trained. Red Cross- work ers will watch after their welfare. Co-operating with the army medical department, the Red Cross Institute for the Blind Is now making a national survey of Industries open to blinded soldiers. Instructions will be made to conform with preparations for these Industries. The federal board for vocational education is arranging a j plan for the economic and social su pervision of all wounded and maimed soldiers. The war service committee of the American Library association reports that 435,000 books were shipped to American soldiers In France up to July 1. The books went in tonnage space granted at the request of Gen eral Pershing on the decks of trans ports, where they were : used by the men on the voyage and unpacked for use in France; in naval vessels for naval bases abroad; and in Red Cross tonnage for the hospitals in France and England. A total of more than 2,500,000 books have been supplied by the American Library association to the camps and stations in the United States and over seas. Approximately 500,000 of these books were purchased, others having come as gifts from the American peo ple through the public libraries of the country. Nearly 40 library buildings have been erected, and 600 camps in America, alone, have received collec tions of books. Two hundred librarians, including leaders in their profession in this coun try, are giving their time to library war service. Most of these are serv ing as camp librarians, assistants, and organizers in the field ; others are in dispatch offices for the shipment of books to France. Methods of thrift now enforced in the army quartermaster general's of fice, including . the repair of clothing and shoes, where possible, have cut down the issue of new clothing and shoes from 30 to 40 pet cent in some instances. The plants where the mending Is done are run in connection with forts and camps by the camp quartermaster. When a soldier tears or rips a gar ment he turns it in to his supply offi cer. When the soles of his shoes wear out or the heel runs down, the shoes go hack to the same officer. These garments and shoes are taken to the repair shops managed by the conser vation and reclamation officer. When repaired and put in order they are re turned to the- original owner If pos sible, and if the original owner cannot be located they serve some other sol dier. Hundreds of women are being em ployed by the war department in the work of repairing the garments of sol diers and in the laundries at camps and cantonments. Preference in this employment is given the wives, sisters, and mothers of men In the service. By paying $1 a month a soldier is entitled to a weekly bundle of laundry in which the number of articles is not limited. Do not waste Ice. snva tv,n tti States food administration. Do not use as a mxury to serve with salads, fruits, and sea foods nnd more than Is necessary in glasses of wnicr, ieu, ana otner drinks. There is y be no curtailment on the use of ice as a nprMsi k should be used carefully in localities uere snortage Is indicated. It V " uocu lU "Civ- iooa ana in administering comfort, and every reasonable effort I will be made to see that fominc T- ""'llO Hi C uwuwi witn their legitimate needs. 'Secretary of Labor Wilson makes this explanation of the general mobiliz ation of labor for war Industries, recruiting for which is to begin Aug ust 1 under direction of the United States employment service: "Beginning with common labor, this service will gradually take charge of the mobilizing and placing of all la bor for war Industries employing 100 or more workers. This will profound ly affect all other industries and all other workers. It will correct the abuses and troubles growing out of the large labor turnover with the conse quent disruption of regular work. "Every safeguard must be taken to protect the standard of living and the morale of the wage earners. . Espe cially must great care be taken to keep the age limit of those who enter Industry at a high level, lest we rob our future citizenship of its right to growth and time for education. We must also take knowledge of the dan gers attendant upon the large entrance of women into heavy and hazardous industries. "The exigencies of war times should not be made the occasion for the break ing down of those standards of hours, wages, and conditions of work which are designed to protect the childhood, the womanhood, and the motherhood of the present and the future. ' "Experts tell us It takes from six to ten workers at home to keep one soldier on the firing line in Europe. Whatever, therefore, helps to mobilize distribute and energize those who do the work of our war Industries has become as important a factor in win ning the war as the prowess of our armies in the field or our navy on the seas." The war department has established five central officers' training camps, at which civilians and enlisted men will be trained for commissions In the of ficers' reserve corps. Infantry train ing camps are located at Camp Lee, Petersburg, Va. ; Camp Gordon, Atlan ta, Ga., and Camp Pike, Little Rock, Ark.; field artillery at Camp Taylor, Louisville, Ky., and machine gun at Camp Hancock, Augusta, Ga. These training schools will be run continuously, a new class being admit ted monthly. The course of training will be four months at the Infantry and machine-gun schools and three months at the field artillery school. The schools are open to qualified en listed men In all branches of the serv ice except coast artillery, signal corps and labor units. The number-of civil ians admitted will be limited. To be eligible for admission candi dates must be between twenty years, eight juonths and forty years ; citizens j of the United States, and not born in anv of the countries with which the United States is at war or allies of such countries. Enlisted men must have the moral, educational and phy sical qualifications required of an of ficer. Civilians must be graduates of a high- school or have pursued an equivalent course of Instruction, be of good moral character, and have the re quired physical qualifications. In addition to the above qualifica tions, candidates for the field artillery must possess a thorough understanding and working knowledge of arithmetic. and plane geometry. Trained civil, me chanical, electrical, mining and archi tectural engineers are desired. Civilian applicants will be certified by the army officer on duty as professor of military science and tactics at the educational institution nearest the residence of the applicant. A children's recreation drive Is on to continue during July and August, under the auspices of the children's bureau, department of labor, and the woman's committee of the council of national defense. It will culminate ; in "patriotic play week," September 1-7, in which the work of 11,000,000 women in organizing recreation in 10,000 communities will come to an end. "To be strong for victory the na tion must let her children play," said Charles Frederick Wejler, associate secretary of the Playgrounds and Rec reation Association of America. No time nor money can be spared from war-winning activities, but the win ning of the war. depends on man pow er, and man power cannot be sustain ed in any nation without health and wholesomeness in the children. Far worse than exhausting Ameri ca's financial capital would be the ex haustion of child life, which is man power capital. "England and France began as the United States has been tempted to be gin by letting the children pay too heavily for the war in child labor, In creased delinquency, overtaxed nerves, weakened bodies, and premature deaths, but England and France turned to lift war burdens from the children by giving them a chance to play. There Is urgent need to give our boys and girls an American square deal their safety valve of play." The postal censorship board, post of fice department, announces that trans lators of Spanish are in demand at New York and other port cities. These positions are open to women who can translate accurately and quickly. Mrs. Stanley McCormick, in charge of the department of food production and home economics of the woman's committee, council of defense, jives this advice to farmerettes : "Watch your feet. Don't ignore footwear. You must have a good spinal column to keep up with a good Job. The condi tion of the spinal column depends greatly on the feet. Be picturesque If you wish, but be sensible. Wear good stout boots to preserve, heal th." . , Paper thread is a Denmark war sub stitue for use in binder twine. POLK COUNTY NEWS, TRYU1M, n. u. MMMillSSSSSSBlW'B","B i " "" liX ' 'W' fW f ' 1 w Wmt iB w i Hit (fii . jt? op 3 g 4 1 ' 1 British tank moving to the their number having been killed, if in TTninn sou are. New York. NEWS REVIEW OF THE PAST WEEK Fifth German Offensive, ofTlfie Marne, Quickly Checked by French and Yankees. START DRIVE OF THEIR OWN Lin North of Chateau Thierry Pushed Eastward Huns Lose Heavily In Fierce Fighting East and West of Reims. By EDWARD W. PICKARD. Up to the hour of writing, Germany's 'supreme aTort" to win a Teutonic victory by smashing through the al lies' lines has been a dismal and costly failure. The Huns had gained nothing worth mentioning, and had lost perhaps 100,000 men. More than that, it ap peared they had lost their last chance to demolish the defenses of the allies, and had sustained a defeat that would play havoc with the morale of their troops and with the support of the civilian population of Germany. As soon as the German offensive seemed safely checked. General Foch took the Initiative and put on a drive of his own that sent a thrill through all the allied countries. French and American troops, secretly and careful ly concentrated, were launched In a great attack on a twenty-five mile front between Belleau wood and the Aisne river. The enemy was taken completely by surprlseafand the allies, following a tremendous rolling bar rage, advanced swiftly taking on the first day more than twenty towns and villages, many cannon and large num bers of prisoners. They then were close to Soissons, commanding it with their guns, and were in the outskirts of Neullly St. Front. Culchy, the key to the Chateau Thierry sector, was threatened; many of the railways and" roads of supply for the German armies In the south were cut or under shell fire, and It appeared that Ludendorff would have to act quickly and power fully or be driven entirely out of the Chateau Thierry salient If not back to the Alsne. As this is written the battle in that region Is stlir going on, with the Ger man resistance stiffened by the bring ing up of fresh troops. The Franco American drive at least served to les sen the Hun pressure on the defensive lines about Reims, though it was pre mature to say that the ancient cathe dral city would not have to be evacu ated, or that the Germans in the Marne district had been beaten to a standstill. Severe as was their check, they still had great forces in reserve. This latest German drive, directed by Ludendorff, opened early Monday with -a tremendous attack at nearly all points along a 65-mile front from Chateau-Thierry to Main de Massiges, east of Reims. The immediate defenses of Reims were not assaulted, but It seemed to be the intention of the Huns to squeeze the allies out of that city and to eliminate the sali ent there, and then to force their way on to Epernay and Chalons. The onrush of the first day bent back the allied line in places, but nowhere was it broken; much of the lost ground was speedily regained, and when the second day came to a close It was considered that the offensive had been definitely stopped. None of Its ob jectives had been attained, though the German commanders employed, about 750,000 men In their fierce attacks. Von Bernhardi, the famous Prussian strategist, once said an offensive which is brought to a standstill is a con quered offensive, and the allies took that view of the situation. 1 With pride and gratification Amer ica learned of the splendid part played by Its soldiers in this third battle of the Marne. Some 250,000 of them were involved, holding especially the sectors Just west and east of Chateau Thierry, and they acquitted them selves in a manner that 'won the un qualified praise of the. French com manders' In the first place; they sus Jl.Lw.. D,oii.0,nt villus. 2 aunt 1111 uu" ' " 3 - Mmbers of the Women's Camouflage 1- tained ,a powerful assault on Vaux, .wes of Chateau Thierry, and though -'forced out of that village momentarily, thvy regained possession of it by a , brflliant counter-attack. Then, far ther to the east, at the Jauigonne befid of the Marne, they were called oni to check a tremendous rush of Hins across the river. Their advanced line fell back, the guns all the time siajughtering the Germans who were trjlrig to get over with pontoons and cajVas boats. Then the main line of defense came into action, changed ltsilf into a line of offense, and swept th) enemy back across or Into the river, killing great numbers and cap tuiing about 1,500, including a com plete brigade staff. The fighting In thtj sector continued with great in tensity; but the Americans command ed! the river front at the bend. ' ; : ! )n Tuesday the Americans, In co operation with the French, launched heiivy attacks between St. Agnan and Lfe Chapelle-Montlrodon, southeast of Jauigonne, where the Germans had succeeded in getting considerable forces across the river. The enemy wfiis! driven back steadily and both thjse villages, as well as others, were, recaptured. From Dormans, north ward toward Reims, In a sector held by Franco-Italian forces, the Huns at first advanced two or three miles, but occupied no positions of impor tance and were unable to disorganize Iiihe least the defensive line of the allies. By -.Wednesday the Germans were making their greatest effort in this sector, trying to force thj??ir way toward Epernay. But by j this time the French were manifestly holding the upper hand, anld-i they counter-attacked eagerly and spiritedly, retaking every piece of ground which the Germans occupied byjthelr desperate efforts. Nearly ev er attempt of the enemy to advance was, j repulsed almost before it started. ! .i to . ' f he swiftest and most complete chc,k sustained by the Germans was eat! of Reims, between Pompelle fort an Main de Massiges. Expecting an eayj victory there, they met with a crushing defeat at the hands of the French troops under General Gouraud. Tlils gallant commander, who lost an arm I at the Dardanelles, had disposed hl4 men with the utmost cleverness. Wjen the German bombardment be-ga-jj one of the most terrific ever knvpwn. the French, except for machine gupi j crews In blockhouses, retired to shelter. Then the observers announ ce jthat the advance was starting, and inftkntly the enemy was swept by ii devastating fire from cannon, machine guis !and' rifles. The blockhouses re tatded the Huns, large numbers ol wlvjom were killed, and the charging troops never entered the French lin of jprslstance, coming to a standstill at th I wire entanglements, which wert loaded with dead bodies. Ahe Huns engaged in this attack wre fifteen elite divisions, with ten ,dlti$Ions supporting. Less than one third as many Frenchmen defeated tht-m, and the French casualties were aoiilshingly few. The attacking Ger nisfhj divisions had to be relieved, but thff j French staid In their positions, hkjppy and cheerful and more confl- than ever. Tl)e morale of all the allied troops, indeed, was of the highest, in strong contrast to that of the enemy as re vealed by the words and actions of prisoners. The spirit of the Americans enrajged was shown vividly by two ln citepts worth recording. On the first daJwhen a certain force of Yankees haijbeen compelled to give ground, th(lf commander was advised by a French general to let his men rest, as th? .retirement could have no serious consequences. The American respond ed;,; that he could not accept the coun sel and was going to counter-attack atSonce. This he did, regaining the losHterrain and half a mile more to ttQotj ' Another commander, in report InJthe recapture of a number of tons, wired to headquarters: "Met Bclche on his line of defense. Sharp fig$ng. Boche turned tail and ran like (h pursued by our troops. HoDe f to thave more prisoners." There were numerous instances or valor and nerve ine desperate fighting in which the Aiyjericans took part. These are the troops which the German papers as sent i are flabby, without enthusiasm anil unfit for serious operations, iftlie French soldiers displayed their French patrol fighting the Huns, one of tha lflnfl wtleshlD Re- corps painting the land battleship He- customary gallantry and determina tion, and the Italians on that front were not behind them in this. If more stress is laid on the bravery of the Americans, it is only because the oth ers have proved themselves ' times without number in the last four years. All the latest reports of the allies state that the situation Is entirely sat isfactory and Improving hourly. At first It was thought by many that Ludendorffs offensive in the , Marne region was not intended to be his main effort but masked a plan to attack elsewhere, perhaps in Flanders. At the end of the week there were still some observers who believed this, but it" seemed very doubtful. At the same time, It was hard to figure oujt now he could expect to derive any great bene fit from success where he attacked. Even if he had attained his supposed objectives and ! captured Epernay, Chalons, the Mountain of Reims and Mont-Mirail, he would be no nearer a decisive victory than before, and was certain to lose an enormous number of men. Instead of turning westward to ward Paris, he was attempting to move to the east and south and the road to the capital would still be closed to him. If LYidendorff really plans an offen sive in Flanders, the British there are getting ready to meet it. Several times last week they advanced their lines, taking possession of positions that ma terially strengthened their defenses. The British airmen were especially ac tive and there were numerous f bomb ing raids over territory held by the Germans and on German towns. The Franco-Italian troops in Albania continued their victorious progress last week and made their way well to the north and east, threatening the flank of the enemy in Macedonia. The political effect of this offensive already Is becoming apparent in Austria-Hungary. fe The Chinese government has decid ed to send a force to Vladivostok to co-operate with the allies, but it Is probable nothing more will be done now except to protect the frontiers of China. Japan was much excited last week over. the proposition to send a great expedition Into Siberia. The press insisted the United States had submitted to Japan a proposal for such action, though this was not officially confirmed. The provisional government of Si beria, located at Harbin, Is growing in strength, but may be reorganized soon owing to dissatisfaction with General Horvath, who put himself at its. head. It is said the Czecho-Slovaks have agreed to co-operate with Horvath. These troops have driven the bolshe vikl entirely out of Irkutsk and a large force of them was reported to be approaching Kransnoyarsk. It was revealed that a considerable number of Americans have been sent to the Murmansk; coast to help guard the supplies there. Lenlne is enraged because those forces are in Russia and has ordered them removed. There is a chance that he will declare war on the allies, a course which, naturally enough, is strongly urged by the Ger man press. In this connection It is to be noted that Prof. Paul Milukoff, leader of the constitutional democrats, has gone over to the Germans, saying he would prefer a united Russia un der German protection to a country broken up into imany governments. In Ukraine new revolts of the peas ants are reported every few days. The people are well armed and have aban doned their farms to fight the Germans ad the rada which is controlled by them. , Food, Administrator Hoover made public his plan for wheat and flour con trol through "the purchase of wheat by 'the government grain corporation. The corporation will buy at stated prices wheat graded according to the department of Agriculture grafle revi sion, which has Just gone into effect. The farmer can protect himself, says Mr. Hoover, by the study ofc the pri mary prices, deducting intermediate charges, or he can-ship to the 'grain corporation, or he may ship to a com mission merchant at a terminal mar ket and through him secure the bene fit of competitive ! buying. j Haytl has declared war on Germany, being' the twenty-second pJ)on t tkr this' action.; - j ; BATTLESlN EAST I GERMANS MAKING DESPERAT EFFORTS TO SQUEEZE oUT OF POCKET. GREAT NUMBER OF UMlll There Are Strong Indications That German Defeat May Result in Disastrous Rout. The German high command appar ently is making desperate efforts to hold open the base of the salient b tween Soissons and Rh?ims until troops far down the center' of the great, pocket toward the .Marne can be withdrawn. With French and American troops hammering away from the east, and French. British and Italian forces battering at the west flank of the German position, it was still far from certain that the enemv would be able to get his force oat of the southern end of the salient with out terrific losses. Already great numbers of prisoners and guns have been taken by the American and allied forces. The only estimate from official sources cover ing the aggregate captures by French, American and Italian troops during the first two days of the counter-offensive, gave 20,000 as the probable total. There are indications that the number captured on Sunday night might be greater, although enemy withdrawal from the Marne and Chateau-Thierry sectors probably accounted in some part for the swiftness of the ad vances made during that dav. The situation on the flanks of tht salient was not so clear, although h was plain that on both sides the effort to pinch the enemy retirement was making progress. Heavy artillery fire and airplane bombs are raining over all his communication lines in the cen ter of the salient over which the retir ing divisions must make their escape. Apparanetly, the enemy is figXtin? hard to hold his position around Oulchy-Le-'Chateau, where a railwaj line from Fismes. probably his chief advance base and located at the ap proximate center of the base line of the salient, between Soissons and Rheims has permitted him to assem ble considerable forces to resist the Franco-American advance. Should the counter-attack succeed in forcing this position or breaking through either to the north orjouth of Oulchy, however, it is indicate that the German defeat might be turned into a disastrous rout. GERMAN CONTROL OF THE METAL INDUSTRY CUTOUT Washington uerman control of the metal industry in America has been wiped out by Alien Property Custodian Palmer in the seizure of several ijf the largest metal concerns in the United States with ramifications into South America, Mexico and Canada. Mr. Palmer announced that he had taken over the business of L. Vogel stein Co., Inc., of New York City, with assets of more than $9,000,000 and Beer, Sondheimer & Co.. Inc. also of New York City, with asets of upwards, of $5,000,000. In addition the custodian has seizea the enemy-owned interest In tie American Metals Co.. controlling some 16 companies in this country ana Stallforth & Co., of New York, dealers in silver bullion, with a capitalization Of $1,000,000. ' It .was revealed that the Beer. Son heimer and Vogelstein company were closely affiliated with the u man Metal Gesselschaft. which. some years, has dominated the en. metal market of the world, and t they, with the American Metals controlled most of the principal m and smelting companies of this c These two companies are believ Ger- 1 If no n VinVP SUPP'1CU many with vast quantities of coj zinc and other necessary war rials after the war began. MANY COMPLIMENTS AR!.Dn0pS PAID AMERICAN TRUv London. Many compliment3 been showered on the Amer ic & British liason officers, and reaching London from their dj5 tors praise their fightinK a e taff clpline and adaptability. erifan. officer reported: "The - a. have already earned a hjfh tion for the thorougnm they clean up the territory $ , the across. They are jui Australians in this open otten ,r,a BACKWARD -ENEMY CONIllNuco " - i ,RESSUBr MOVEMENT UNDEK r- rtriAX. iv. American 'w .., Army- Franco-American advance tW on the line on the soutl: a west. The Germans fj t ground and are slowly conti"" o( backward movement to tn addition1. Chatea.u Thierry. Two towns have been taken by Mar0 cans on the front north or goi? tlnce daylight. In the W ions another town was Jhe Americans. AND WES Fills