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Dti867
VO.XCIX-NO. 232.
ARMY DRAFT BILL TO
GO TO PRESIDENT IjR
HIS SIGNATURE tODAYl
Senate Adopts Conference Report
Which Had Already Been
Accepted by House
SELECTION TO BEGIN SOON
However, New Army Will Not be
Called to Colors for Train
ing Before September
GREAT INCREASE IN PAY
president Still Undecided as to
Roosevelt Division
Washington, May 17. Final
action Avas taken "by Congress to
dr.y on the Avar army bill, the sec
ond of the major measures of the
Avar, the Senate, by a vote of 65
to S, adopting the conference re
port accepted yesterday by the
House. Vice President Marshall
and "Speaker Clark -.will sign the
bill tomorrow and send it to the
White House for President Wil
son's approval. It probably will
be law before tomorrow night. -
As finally approved the bill pro
vides for raising by selective con
scription a war army in incre
ments of 500,000 men from 21 to
30 years of age. It also authorizes
without directing the President to
raise volunteer forces which Colo
nel Roosevelt desires to take to
France and greatly increases the
pay of all enlisted men.
Draft Machinery Ready.
Machinery to register and draft the
first 500,000 men already has been set
up by the War Department.- Imme
diately after the President' signs the
bill, he will by proclamation, designate
the day for registration of the ten mil
lion or more men of the prescribed age.
Registration books will be in the hands
of state and local authorities who are
to co-operate in the Work, and Briga
dier General Crowder, the provost mar
shal general, expects to have his com
plete lists in Washington within five,
days after registering begins. " i
Then will come the task of selecting!
msi nan million, exempting- the
Physically unfit, those with dependents
and men who are needed on the farms
and in industries. The process of se
ection probably will be completed long
before the men are wanted. Secretary
Baker said today that because of lack
i supplies the new army would not be
tailed to the colors for training before
September.
Whether Colonel Roosevelt shall be
V-rl:Jlr'?d to "aise an expedition rests
'th President Wilson. His views have
ot been disclosed but it is believed that
probably will, postpone decision
nne the draft system is being put into
operation.
As during the early stages of the long
oisputc m Congress, today's closing
&ate centered upon the so-called
wwsevelt amendment. Colonel Roose
I "s vigorously attacked by Sena-V-
,0T' 0f Missuri, and as ardently
ed by his friend. Senator Johnson,
tl California -
tv rThf,8c Voting JVegatively.
I... , " ui me measure
'sreed upon bv tv .
a"Tr t:e House fame late in the day
feivr pts t0 Send jt back to con"
' i and an ti '1 rn ft 1
tar mberlain chairman of the mili--IL
c?mmJrte. r final action. The
'-enat01's who cast the negative
ic
0:
o
Hard-
or n
of Arkansas;
Trammel, , of
iw. . uun, ana
orifla
hemrr
5't- "".runcue, vi vviscon-
tortTl' f North Dakota, and Nor--.or
.Nebraska.
backed bv the arlm inisf-ra .
'ion, w
introduced in the Senate April
9 ....
,U-a . APri1 28 in the Senate
"JT .0 V, Jl klto8 a-nd in the House
in (,;-," ard has since been tied .up
:'ie fr "Le returned there twice; by
iJu.re t include the Roosevelt Vol-
" as, s ' r .. A,:u lurrner pay m-
hirJRt ;;.;'"'s raen.; its chief pro
Rai-' . ii? . Proviso of Bill.
,. . ai ned forces by the se-
sj-fciem, imposed upon all
Vet."-.
. i l t h. irr.vn P t1 t
. fc,o vi ana
30
' ; ivc, subject to registration
I; emptions 'from service.
"(5 HI.
innl, n mto the Federal service of
p .riai Guard units.
f"ripMr 'mtial force by con-
of-'0r,f, ,'(. I ":00.000 men, with addition
Rai, . rieeied necessary.
f'..r n 'he President sees fit: of
th i, ;;"r,np f volunteer infantry.
Ine-P-,V've amendment).
a ine Pay of all enlisted
lor ,,r:s: additional monthlv
(Contir'T Jeceiving less than $21,
on Page Three).
GENERALS
10 RETAIN POSTS
Brussiloff and Gnrko Withdraw
Resignations as Result of
Meeting in Petrograd
CRISIS IN ARMY AVOIDED
The "Peace Without Annexations"
Phrase Had III Effects Upon Sol
diers, But Their Spirit is
Slowly Recovering.
Petrograd, via London). As a result
of a meeting in Petrograd of the commanders-in-chief
from all the fronts
except the Caucasus, General Brussilcff
and Gurko have withdrawn their resig
nations, and reports of further resigna
tions are. refuted by the definite an
nouncement that all the commanders
have decided to remain at their nnsts
Thus the crisis in the army, which
formed an alarming accompaniment to
the political crisis, has been avoided.
Discussing with the temporary gov
ernment the serious condition of af
fairs at the front, the commanders de
clared that the unfortunate phrase,
"peace without annexations," had found
its way to the army and was there trans
later into an argument against offensive
warfare. This and other harmful
doctrines pervading the army and the
inability of the .officers satisfactorily
to explain them had ruined discipline
and destroyed the authority and pres
tige of the officers. The discord in
Petrogad had naturally found an echo
everywhere at the front, but the spirit
of soldiers was slowly recovering, and
the power of the Russian army was by
no means lost. -. .
General Alexieff, commander-in-chief
of the Russian armies, during the
course of an interview, said: 1
"The whole of the new idea reforms
cannot" be "-properly understood by the
army and this has brought about dan
gerous results. We can overcome the
consequent loss of authority if irre
sponsible persons and organizations
will cease further to interfere with our
work. I feel assured that under the
new coalition government it will be
possible to conduct military affairs in
a more energetic way. It is going to
wake up and stop shouting 'peace with
out annexations.' Let us leave peace
negotiations to the government."
Bl'LLECOl.'RT IS ENTIRELY
OCCUPIED BY THE BRITISH
London, May 17. The British troops
today completed the capture of the vil
lage of Bullecourt, according to the an
nouncement of the war office issued to
night. The announcement says:
"Today our troops completed the cap
ture of Bullecourt, taking some sixty
prisoners.
"The whole of the village, for the
possession of which constant fighting
has taken place since May 3, now is in
our hands." " ' I . .1
RUSSIAN
BULLECOURT NOW ENTIRELY
OCCUPIED BY THE
Southern End of the Drocourt-Queant Line is Again Threatened
French Repulse Attacks of Crown Prince's Men Near Sois-
sons Italians Have
After days of most intensive fight
ing, in which the position several times
changed hands and men fell in hun-
idreds, in attacks and counter attacks,
the. British forces have at last driven
the Germans out of the village of
Bullecourt, and once more are threat
ening the . southern end of the Drocourt-Queant
line, which Field Marshal
von Hindenburg constructed to defend
Cambrai from the eastward advance
of Field Marshal Haig's army.
Thousands of fresh German troops
recently have been thrown into the
fray around Bullecourt, but their ef
forts, according to official communi
cations, have gone for naught in en
deavoring to drive out the British
from the entire village.
- . British Never Evacuated.
Although several times the line has
been bent by the preponderance of
weight of the German formations, at
no time have the British been forced
to evacuate, holding here and there
fringes of the outskirts and keeping
back the Teutons until their elements
were reformed with sufficient strength
to 'make effective counter attacks and
regain their lost territory. j
Likewise to the east of Arras around
the' village of, Roeux the battle has
been waged with a viciousness scarce
ly ever before seen, and here also the
British have been successful against
the Germans. In Wednesday night's
fighting the Germans were forced to
give ground before counter attacks in
side the village of Roeux and loosen
their hold on the positions they prev
iously had taken. . I '
Although; the forces of the German
Crown Prince have - renewed with ex
WILMINGTON, K. C,, FRIDAY MORNING, MAY 18, 1917
P TO BE
A COMPLETE TOWN
WITH 2.000 HOUSES
Will Cover More Than a Square
Mile of Ground Besides the
Fields for Drilling
WILL BE 32
CAMPS IN ALL
Twelve to be ! Located in South
eastern Department, Com
manded by Gen. Wood
Washington, May 17 Complete plans
for housing 22,000 men at each of 32
divisional cantonment camps in which
the war army Is to be trained have
been worked out by War Department
officials, and construction work will bo
undertaken as soon as commanders of
'the military departments have desig
nated the sites, 1 ' :
Twelve of the camps will go to the
new Southeastern Department, com
manded by Major-General. Leonard
Wood, making 264,000 troops assigned
to that department. Six camps will
be established in! the Central Depart
ment, six in the Southern, three in the
Western, four In j the Eastern and one
in the Northern Department.
The building will be done by contract
under supervision of army officers. Col.
I. W. Littell, of the Quartermasters
Corps, has been placed in general
charge of construction by Secretary
Baker and has nearly completed the
organization of his forces.
In : effect the project is to build 32
towns complete j with all necessary
equipment and facilities. It will re
quire 6,000,000 feet of lumber, which
was adopted because the price of can
vas is so high and the supply so short.
If tents were used it would require two
complete sets a year to keep the men
under cover.
There wll be. 2,000 buildings In
each i encampment. These will include
quarters for officers and men, stables,
kitchens, mess halls, batl-houses and
store rooms" in addition to numerous
structures for special purposes. While
some of the barracks will be of two
story . construction, the majority -will
be long, low one-story affairs so ar
ranged to suit the convenience of the
regiments of larger units.
Bach town will cover a little more
than a square mile of grounds, not in
cluding the big tracts of land neces
sary: for drilling and military opera
tions during training. Modern plumb
ing and sanitary j arrangements will be
installed and the War Department ex
pects the cantonments to be the most
up-to-date barracks of this type erect
ed for any army, i
In; addition to; the cantonments, the
Quartermasters j Department has .laid
plansfor the erection of central groups
of warehouses and storage buildings
which will be situated conveniently as
to transportation! lines and will be the
supply depots for the camps. Quarter
master officers already at work in
specting sites for these depots and r
large number of reserve officers have
been assigned to duty in the various
military departments to carry on in
spection work. 1
BRITISH
Made Further
Gains
treme violence their attacks against
the . French northeast of Soissons in
the sectors of the Moulin de Laffaux
and Braye en Lapnnois three of them
against each position they were again
repulsed by the French artillery and
infantry, suffering enormous casual
ties, j To the east the French troops
near Craonne delivered a successful
attack, capturing German trench ele
ments. The Berlin war office reports that
for the first sixteen days of May, the
Germans made prisoners of 5,000 Brit
ish and French soldiers on the French
front 2,300 of them British and 2,700
French. j
Italians Keep Up Offensive.
From Tolmino to the sea the Italians
are keeping up their strong offensive
against the Austrians or warding off
violent counter attacks against posi
tions they have captured in their new
push. All counter attacks thus far
have failed ,says the Rome war office,
and the Italians have been able to
capture positions on various sectors
throughout the fighting zone.
An unofficial dispatch reports the
taking by the Italians of the fashion
able watering resort of Duion, at the
head; of the gulf of Triest, and only
12 miles from Uiie city of Triest, Aus
tria's most important port on the
Adriatic sea. In ;the six days of fight
ing since the Italian offensive began,
4,021; Austrians have been made pris
oner! by the Italians.
Teutons lie versed In Macedonia.
In! Macedonia also the f drees of the
Teutonic allies are meeting with- re
verses at the hands of the entente
troops. In the Cerna River region,
notwithstanding :the fact that they
threw into the action fresh reinf orce
(Continued ! on Page Two).
EACH
GAM
r .... -f n' . ",7'" 1 " .
STRONG HAH9PAIS
TO BE WAGED FOR
THE LIBERTY LOAN
First Predictions:! of a Big Over
subscription Have Not. Ma
terialized So Far
.:-,
SMALL INVESTORS WANTED
Representatives of Reserve Banks
and Treasury Officials
i 4. Hold Conference
Washington, May 17. Representa
tives. the Federal; Reserve Banks and
Treasury 6ff icials in direct charge of
the.'fask of floating the Liberty Loan,
were virtually unanimous tonight in
the .' opinion that a ; tremendous cam
paign must be successfully carried on
within the next 27 days if the Liberty
Loan is to meet with the over-subscription
which offcials hope for.
Predictions that the big issue would
be over-subscribed several hundred per
cent .made; on the face of the first re
turns of estimates of banks as to the
probable amount ; they and their cus
tomers would tak'e.jhave not material
ized thus faT. There is a crying need,
in the opinion of offlcils, for the small
investor in great numbers to make felt
his power, and to bring the realization
of this home to the country a vigorous
campaign is being planned.
Probably, not one-half of the loan has
been taken including allowance for ap
proximately $450,000,000 of treasury
certificates of indebtedness already is
sued. - -' i; -,
A large i over-subscription, officials
feel, is highly desirable in that it would
show that (the United States is in the
war to stay until Germany is defeated.
Secretary McAdoo's! trip through the
Middle West is a part of the program
to arouse the country, especially the
small investor, to the need of ' making
afull and immediate response to the
government's .heeds. .' . - '4
'How widespread the-opinion Is that
the isur air e ad y ;h a'trriree'fc. JOtsvl b
scribed Is reflected, lrf fetters received
from some: banks which state that in
view of the fact that the writers un
derstand the issue already has been
fully taken, they - regret - that there
would be no use in offering their sub
scriptions, i . j; -il " :t " " .'
Directing heads of the loan subscrip
tion campaign .at each of the Reserve
banks, except Dallas and San Francisco,
had the real situation impressed upon
them in plain language by Treasury
and Reserve Board officials today' at a
conference.!' They were told that there
was need of arousing -the country to
the immediate necessity of subscribing
to the loan, that the "spirit of 17"
should be awakened to match the
"spirit of '76". : . 4
The first! burst of ! patriotic response
to the announcement of the issue
brought liberal estimates from many
banks and numerous inquiries as to the
details of the Issue. Full details as to
re-depositing the proceeds of the issue
were not completed until late yesterday.
They will be announced tomorrow, hav
ing been telegraphed , tonight to the
Federal Reserve banks after being
rushed .through the government print
ing office late today.
SENATE'S CRITICISM Wltl,
XOt DETER. DEFENSE COUXCIIf
Elimination of Middleman In Govern
ment Buying Caused Attacks.
Washington, May 17. Elimination of
the middleman in government buying,
members of the advisory commission
of the National Defense Council say.
is largely responsible for criticism of
the committee in the Senate, many
dealers having gone to their congress
men with 'bitter complaints of disar
rangement of business.'
Julius Rosen wald, chairman of the
defense council's committee on sup
plies, said today the committee would
continue to go direct to manufacturers
for supplies. ' ;.
GUARDSMEN POISONED BY !
"FOOD EATEN AT RESTAURANT
One of the Men Die Proprietor of the
Restaurant is Held.
Pittsburg, Pa., May 17. Majors J.
W. Fos and Geo. Blair, in command of
Pennsylvania National Guardsmen in
the Pittsburg district', tonight reported
to the Eastern Department circum
stances surrounding the death of Lieu
tenant Wm. F. Corcoran, of Company
C, Third Regiment of Philadelphia, and
the serious illness of ,18 other guards
men of the same Company following
the eating; of a meal, at a restaurant
near the camp at Port ' Perry, Pa.
V. S. DESTROYER CREWS
, HAD SUFFICIENT CLOTHING
Washington, May 17. Naval officials
resent tho report from Queenstown
that the American 1 destroyer crews
were not properly outfitted for cold
weather duty. They did not have some
of the extra heavy I clothing, officials
say, because of , their hurried depar
ture, but they did have sufficient cloth
ing for this time of year. More sup
plies are going with! other destroyers
being sent: and these are supplement
ed by heavy clothing given by women
of the Navy League.:
JAPANESE GUNBOATS WILL
HELP RUN DOWN U-BOATS.
Paris, May- 18. A number of Japan
ese gun boats have arrived at Marseilles
to" aid In -the war on German subma
rines and iconvoy. French merchantmen.
If the experiment has .satisfactory re
sults it will be extended.
': .' "-. it";,, it' ' !'
REV. J. M. WELLS, D. D OF
' WILMINGTON
OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
OR j. W. CHAPMAN
ED MODERATOR
Is Elected by the General Assem
bly of Northern ..Presbyterian
' ! Church at Dallas
LONG STEP TOWARD UNION
Dr. Chapman's Selection Regarded As
Brightening Prospects For Bring.
Ingr Northern and Southern
. Churches Together.
; Dallas, May 17. With the election
of Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman, of Ja
maica, N. T., evangelist,, as moder
ator today, the 129th general assembly
of the- Presbyterian . church in the
United States of America took a s'tep
which many of the delegates said
went a long way toward furthering
prospects for union of the two branch
es of the .church the North and South.
Two other candidates were nomin
ated .forj the moderatorship Dr. Har
lan C. Mendenhall, of New York, and
Dr. John B. Rendall, president of Ltn-
.coln University, Lincoln, Pa. The vote
was: Chapman, 590; Rendall, 139; and
Mendenhall 121. The ' election was
made unanimous by acclamation.
Dr, Johnston, mentioned as a nomi
nee as moderator, eliminated himself
at the outset by nominating Dr. Men
denhall. J
Dr; John McArson, of Brooklyn,
nominated Dr. Chapman and appar
ently struck a responsive chord when
he said !Dr. Chapman was the man
who i could, do most toward bringing
about a reunion of the two church fac
tions. " - '
The name of Dr. Rendall was pre
sented by Dr. Wm. P. Finney, of Lin
coln, Penna. ,
INDICATION'S FOR REUNION '
; HAVE NEVER BEEN SO BRIGHT
Dallas,: Texas, May 17. When the
Presbyterian General Assembly conven
ed in annual session here, today, pros
pects for; a reunion of the Northern and
Southern'1 branches, officially known as
the Presbyterian Church in-the United
States of America and the Presby tartan
Church of the United States, respective
ly, were regarded as uncertain.
Those openly favoring the amalgama
tion, , however, said that not since the
two branches came to the parting ot the
ways in 186r had indications for a re
union been. as bright as at the present
meeting. I
The Northern branch of the church is
numerically the stronger, having on its
membership rolls approximately 1,500,
000 persons. The Southern branch has
a membership of 300,000.
RAILROADS ARE ASKED TO
RE-ADJUST SERVICE AT ONCE
Washington, May 17. All railroads
have been called upon by the war
board of j the American Railway As
sociation I to re-adjust their service
immediately so as to make available
the maximum transportation energy
for moving fuel, food, material and
troops. ;
QUICK ACTION OF U.S.
NAVY IS APPRECIATED
Sir Edward Speaks at Luncheon
to American Officers
Says the Two Navies '.vm Work Hand
in Hand to Preserve t!:e Free
dom of the Seas "And We
Mean to Do It."
London,! May 17. Speaking at ti:e
navy league luncheon to American ofr
fleers today, Sir Edward Carson, first
lord of the admiralty, remarked ' that
the date of the function almost coin
cides with the arrival of the first in
stallment of the assistance,, which' the
American navy was going to give to
the Allies lh the formidable task which
lies before them.
As first) lord of the admiralty, Sir
Edward said he desired to express his
appreciation of the speedy way in
which i the American government had
rendered assistance. , He extended a
hearty welcome to the officers and men
of the American navy who had come
to do thisj work.
He Was I frequently interrupted dur
ing his address with prolonged cheers,
the greatest demonstration coming
when he- said:
' "We are now, from this day forward,
out. together to preserve the real free
dom of the seasand we mean to do it."
Later when he was discussing the !
submarine warfare he received another
ovation when be said:
WU1 "Stick It . Out"
. '.'The submarine menace is a real danger-
It would be foolish in me to un
derestimate . it. In .the . coming months
(.Continued on Page Three).
111
IS MODERATOR
Pastor of First Presbyterian
Church Elected Oyer Three
Other Candidates
IMMEDIATELY TAKES SEAT
Rev. J. D. Sibley, Charlotte, and
Rev. W. P. Galbraith, Dal
las, Temporary Clerks
COMMITTEE REPORTS MADE
Each Shows Marked Success in
Work During Past Year
Birmingham, Ala., 17. The outstand
ing feature of the 57th assembly of
the Presbyterian church in the United
States here today, was the election of
Rev. John Miller Wells, D. D., a com
missioner from the Presbytery of Wil
mington, Synod of North Carolina, as
moderator.
Four commissioners were placed in
nomination for the position: Rev.
Thornton Whaling, D. D., president of
Columbia Theological Seminary, Colum
bia, S. C; Rev. A. B. Curry, of Memphis,
Tenn.; Rev. W. R. Dobyns, D. D., of
St. Joseph, Mo., and Rev. J. M. Wells,
D. D., of Wilmington, N. C. Thename
of Dr. T. M. Hales, of Louisville, Ky.,
was not nominated.
The mode of election was by the
standing vote, the last commissioner
nominated being voted upon first, and
the one receiving the fewest votes be
ing dropped out after each ballot. Dr.
Dobyns was eliminated on the first bal
lot, Dr. Whaling on the second, and
Dr. Curry, and Dr. Wells ran off the
third, Dr. Curry -getting 99 votes and
Dr. Wells 139. The election of Dr.
Wells was then made unanimous by a
rising vote.
, Dr. Grafton, the retiring moderator,
immediately turned over the duties of
ths office to his -successor.
ijRevrJ. D. Sibley, of Charlotte, N. C.;
atfid Rev. W. F. Galbraith, of Dallas,
Tex., were named as temporary clerks,
Various Reports Made.
On motion, the reports of the execu
tive committee of foreign missions, tha
executive committee of home missions,
the executive comittee of Christian ed
ucation and 'ministerial relief and the
executive committee of publication and
Sabbath school work, were received In
printed form and the secretary of each
committee addressed the assembly
showing the past year to have been of
marked success in the work of each
committee. The secretaries who, ad
dressed the assembly were Egbert W.
Smith, D. D.; Rev. Henry M. Sweets,
D. D., and R. E. MagUl.
On motion, the assembly received the
report of the ad interim committee on
Oglethorpe University, appointed at
the assembly of 1916. This report will
be made a special order for Monday
at 3 p. m. The report was read' by
Rev. W. L. Lingle, D. D., chairman of
the committee.
Oglethorpe Matter Unsettled.
Tne finding of the ad interim commit
tee shows that it has been unable to
reach -any conclusion touching Ogle
thorpe University that will be satis
factory both to the board of directors
of the university . and the assembly'W
executive and advisory committees of
Christian education.
The morning session was devoted to
the delivery of a sermon by Dr. C. W.
Grafton, the retiring moderator.
Dr. John Miller Wells, the new mod
erator, was born in 1870 in Hinds coun
ty, Mississippi. He was educated at
Southwestern University, Clarkesville,
Tennessee, and Union Theological Seminary,-Richmond,
Virginia. He served
in pastorates at Buena Vista and Staun
ton, Virginia.
ENDOWMENT FOR MINISTERIAL
RELIEF NOW TOTALS $543,651
Birmingham, Ala., May 17. The en
dowment fund for ministerial relief of
the Southern Presbyterian Church now
amounts to $543,651, the executive com
mittee on Christian Education and Min
isterial Relief reported to the general
assembly here tonight. The committee
hopes to increase it to one million dol
lars. One elder contributed $6S,000 to this
fund last year on condition the church
contributed a' sum twice as large. The
church met the offer by giving $139,736.
The receipts for all departments -of
the work of this committee amounted
lo 5285,463.
The beneficiaries of the church -retired
p-'inisters and widows and orph
ans of ministers- number 263. The av
erage amount of assistance given to
each of the eighty ministers during the
year was $294.03; the average amount
given to each widow was $169.25, and
the average amount given to each or
phan was $100.40.
During the year the committee has
loaned $30,740 to assist 289 candidates
for the ministry, three candidates for
medical mission service and fourteen
young women who are studying for
special mission service to aid them in
securing education In ' Presbyterian
colleges and seminaries. As each stu
dent repays the amount borrowed, it
is loaned to other applicants.
SOUTHERN PRESBYTERIANS
HAVE 632 HOME MISSIONARIES
Birmingham, Ala., May 17. The
Southern Presbyterian Church has 632
missionaries engaged in carrying the
gospel through the south) the execu
tive committee on home missions re
ported tonight to the general assembly.
The receipts for home missions last
year amounted to $193,363.48, an in
crease of $16,982.03. As the result of
(Continued on Page Three).
WHOLE DUMBER 39,951
WOMEN ARE AGAIN
DENIED ' RIGHT TO
ACT AS DELEGATES
Baptist Convention Refers Propos
ed Amendment to Committee
to Report Next Year
MISSIONS ARE DISCUSSED
Are Now 458 Churches in Foreign
Fields, One-Fourth of Them
Are Self-Supporting "
New Orleans, May 17. Women mem
bers of the Southern Baptist churches
were denied the right, for another year
at least, to serve as delegates to tho
annual convention of the denomina
tion, by the action of that body here
late today. With less than 600 dele
gates in the hall, Robert H. Colemau,
of Dallas, aroused those present to
keen interst-t by suddenly offering for
adoption a proposed amendment to the
body's constitution, making women el
igible to the convention.
Dr. J. W. Porter, of Lexington,
Ky., immediately and vigorously op
posed the amendment, declaring Mr.
Coleman was proposing, with only 11
minutes' time available for discussion,
to overturn a provision of the consti
tution which had stood for 72 years.
He moved to table the amendment.
Numerous advocates of woman's rights
to seats sprang up and warm debate
developed on the question. Veterans
in the denomination said this was the
first time- the question ever had reach
ed discussion on the floor. When put
to a vote, Dr. Porter's motion to table
the amendment was lost, 328 to 24S,
indicating strong sentiment for giving
women equal privileges with men In
the convention.
A preliminary tangle over interpret
ation of requirements for amending
the constitution occupied an hour's
time and finally the convention adopt
ed a motion by N. W. P. Bacon, Parks,
Miss., to refer the amendment to a
committee of five with instruction to
report, on it at next year's convention,
and the women lost their chance to
serve as delegates at this time.
Mrs. James Makes Address.
At today's session of the Woman's
Missionary Union, an . auxiliary to the
convention, the president, Mis. W. C.
James, of Richmond, in her annual ad
dress, urged women to encourage re
cruiting for the army and navy, and
to willingly assume other burdens im
posed by the war, but not to decrease
their missionary activities. -
Sixteen home . and foreign mission
aries of the Union reported on the
work in their fields. The Union will
elect officers tomorrow. .
45S Foreign Churches.
T. B. Ray, of Richmond, for the
Foreign Mission board, reported the
Southern Baptists have 458 churches
in foreign fields, one fourth of which
are self-supporting. The 47,161 for
eign members last year gave $132,371
for all purposes, about one-fourth the
amount the Southern Baptists expend
ed in their foreign fields.
A resolution that a committee be ap
pointed to suggest methods and means
for getting Baptist ministers, who
desired, appointed as chaplains in the
army and navy, was referred to a. spe
cial committee for action.
Personal reports were made by Sey
eral missionaries of the denomination
(Continued "on Page Three).
WILL SUPPLY LABOR
FOR WORK ON FARMS
National Government System Soon
to be Completed
Plan Calls For Co-Operation of All
State Food Organizations Com
munity and County Agents
W1U Help.
Washington, May 17. Organization
of a national government system of
supplying labor for the country's farms
this summer probably will be complet
ed by the Agriculture and Labor De
partments within two weeks, and in a
short time thereafter the government
expects to be enrolling hundreds of
thousands of men, women and boys for
farm work. . .
The plan outlined today by W. J.
SpilHnan, chief of the Agriculture De
partment's office of farm management,
calls for the co-operation o fall state
food organizations. In each state the
governor will name a board to direct
the work, the boards to name county
agents and they in turn community
agents. Many governors already have
named board from their state food
commissions.
Community agents will register per
sons who can give a part of their time
this summer, to farm labor, and will
register also the ordinary surplus of
farm labor. In addition, they will as
certain their local farm labor needs and
where possible' will place the labor in
their own communities.
The community agents will report to
county agents any surplus of labor or
labor needs, and county agents will re
. (Continued From Page Three).
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