Newspapers / Wilmington Morning Star (Wilmington, … / Jan. 30, 1918, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of Wilmington Morning Star (Wilmington, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
.... - V r THE WEATHER Rain Wednesday and probably Thursday. VOL. CI-lO. 130. ITALIANS TAKE 1,500 PRISONERS IN A SIGNIFICANT VICTORY OVER THE TEUTONS IN NORTHERN ITALY 4. Berlin Admits Defeat, But Adds That Italians Were Unable . to Get Reinforcements CLAIMS CAPTURE OF 360 Germans Renew Activity Against the British Forces on the Western Front WERE KILLED I- AIR RAID 47 jota Russian and Finland Situa tions Obscure (Associated Press War Summary). Notwithstanding the fact . that deep snows still cover the ground the Italians have carried out suc cessfully a vigorous drive against the Austro-German lines in the mountain region of northern Italy and captured strong positions and more than 1,500 men. Italian Fight Tenaciously The blow was delivered on the Aslago plateau sector and the enemy positions weYe tenaciously held notwithstanding strong counter-attacks In which the Austro-Germans were repulsed with heavy casualties. The Berlin war of fice, in admitting the reverse to the Teutonic allied line, asserts that the Italians repeatedly tried to bring up reinforcements to widen the breach they had made in the enemy front, but that their efforts failed and 360 Italians irere made prisoner. - Ji. Airplanes Aided in Battle. Thet airplanes aided materially in the figrhting, full details of which have not yet been received, is indicated in the Italian official communication, which asserts that during the battle the enemy lost twelve aircraft. . Ia Significant Victory. The victory for the , Italians at this particular point is of considerable sig nificance because of the fact that late ly, since the enemy's strong attempts to break through the hill region to the Venetian plains failed around Monte Tomba and sectors west, the Anstro-Germans have been bringing up reinforcements in the AsJasro district preparatory to a further series of at tacks to reach the lowlands around Bassano and Vicenza. Raids In Flanders. Aside from this battle no imoortant infantry operations have been record ed, although the Germans have been operating with their artillery on a somewhat extensive scale o nthe Arras front and have carried out raiding op erations on several other sectors of Field Marshal Haig's line. 47 Killed In Air Raid. Monday nierht's. airnlatin " raid. t."he first of the year, on London and adta- nt territory, resulted in the -largest casualty list of any air raid since that of June 13, last. The total casualties ere 47 killed and 169 injured. Forty- six of the fatalities occurred in London, "here 162 persons were iniured. Bombs e dropped by the invading enemy in 7M ann Essex, but slight material carnage was done. One of the air planes, a three-seated machine, was "ought down in flames from a height or 10.000 feet and all three of its oc cupanes were burned tn iloath In the June mid 07 nafcmnc. ram v;n ea and 437 wounded by bombs .which U in Lnnrlnn o r. A tt j uiiu vii jlidoca. a.uu acuu Russian Situation Vh... . Just Wbat is th sitnatlnn in Rnscio remains Obscure. Ono rsnnrt occafiz that thprp i c- v t,i "isnevikl on the nilftatinn nf nara n- "'UM V O , l j . . , " ltlu" ana anoiner tnai t-Litovsk for a resumDtion of the Gotn! co"versations with the Austro- iters L1Spatch sa's Trotzky has re lated to rh oi i , 'id ninj , U1 workmen u vshpvR-, . aeiegates that the Bol- Peace f vn a. uemucraui; that a, . petrograd journal declares fered t,f Hungary already bas of- Russia UQe a separate peace with Stize Rumania's Gold. Th IP v,-,. . . Hania "-n netween Russia and Ru- dd'tinn IB 18 oroaaemng. In ons SnfV.a!"'n. dlPloi-atlo rela- sheviiri C Lue Kin-gaom the Bol- RumanV. w ordered the seizure of fnSnir.',- . . " Mosco-v reserves-on deposit in Scant Xew. v, TAit a Coace-n! tlIS haVe COme throueh bnt rpt, "!lf .the situation in Finland, Is 'n ro T 'ndicate that the red guard revolutic at elsinSirs. where a '"at am,, ","llllicM nas prociajmea letpn-i:, - 15 sieiy in the hands of ""'"s classes. The .,,n!!MIael1 Convenes. ?es ,Z uo war council with dele- eat . "n5 me United States, tea3anrC' ' France and Italy in at- nro 'rrt s convened at Versailles, Him- I ..e pians of the militarv am- I Waited ... entente allies and of the "fcse. 9 exPected to be dis- Serin?'n" .rtkes In Germany. lt0SreBS "rkes are reported to be In fir!! . throughout Gefiav. Tn inkers suurban towns 90,000 Vs.- .S 3re Said to hava la the mam manufactories engaged laliy airSCtUre of war applies, Vatioued. on PSe Twoj ; Sixty -Nine Ame Sunk During Another Raid by German Airmen Made Last Night Over Eastern England London, Jan. 30. (12:30 a. m.) Another hostile air raid over- east ern England began at 9:30 o'clock last night and up to the- present hour is still in progress, according to an official communication. None of the enemy machines has yet been able to "penetrate the London de fenses, although there are repoi e that bombs have been dropped in the outskirts of the city. FIFTEEN BRIDGES ARE SWEPT AWAY Trains on Appalachian Division of Southern Will be Unable to Run for a Week ROAD'S MAIN COAL FEEDER Great Damage Is Done by Heavy Rains and Thawlnj? of Snow Portion of Trains . Are Destroyed by Slides. Bristol, Tenn., Jan. 29. No trains will operate on the Appalachian divi sion of the Southern railway for at least a week on account of the wash ing away of more than fifteen bridges and trestles and numerous slides and washouts, following heavy rains and the thawing of snow on the mountains. This division operates into the coal fields and is the main fuel feeder for the Southern system. More than 600 feet of track through the natural tunnel is entirely washed j away. Two trestles at tnis point aiso are gone. At Ironton a bridge is gone and a 50-foot slide destroyed the track. Another bridge is gone near the iron furnace at Big Stone Gap and between Bis Stone Gap and Appalachia there is a 500-foot slide and five bridges wash ed away. Between Appalachia and St. Charles six bridges went down and there are a number of - slides. Work trains and men were rushed here from the Asheville division and repairs are being pushed. Officials hope to have part of the Hne in operation by Friday. There were' a few small wash outs on the Knoxville division last night but they were repaired quickly. Two small bridges on the Mountain City division were repaired today and operation resumed. The Bulls Gap and Gate City division is operating after small damage was repaired. It is reported here that the Virginia & Carolina railway, operating from Abingdon, Va., to Boone, N. C, has sus pended on account of the washing away of two bridges. v Two small bridges were washed away on the Big Creek Park interurban line out of Bristol. HIGH WATER THREATENS "THE WATERFRONT AT RICHMOND Richmond, Va., Jan. 29. "With the . water in the James river having risen j within the last ten hours, due to heavy j floods from melting snow on Virginia mountain tops, every effort is being put I forth by harbor Interests to prevent serious loss by high water. Reports from surrounding towns indicate great damage. r At Big Stone- Gap railway roadbeds and turnpikes are washed out. On the Southern Railway fully 160 feet have been washed away. Blast furnaces in Wise county have been compelled to close, hlgJi water putting out the fires. Several of. the coal mines in the west ern part of the state also have been flooded, making It impossible to con tinue operation. FLOODS IN KENTUCKY ARE DOING CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE Louisville, Ky., Jan. 29. Melting snows and heavy rains during the last 24 hours swelled Kentucky rivers totlay and caused flood conditions at both ends of the state. In the mountain districts reports indicated that streams were out of their banks, lowlands flooded and portions of a number of small towns were under water. In the west, near the mouth of the Ohio, Ice gorges had broken and carried with them steamboats, and other property, the value of which may reach a mil lion. The Cumberland at Burnside is said to have reached 68 feet( four feet high er that never known before. Somerset, on the same stream, Is reported entirei ly submerged. WEATHER BUREAU EXPECTS VERY MODERATE FLOOD. Washington, Jan. 29. Unless snow falls in the northern tributaries, . or rain over the watershed in the mean time should augment the Ohio river, there will b(C ry moderate flood, the weather bureau announced tonight. The flood wave is expected to reach points south of Cairo. JU, about February 3. 1 i H 6 lLMINGTON, N. Cm rican Ships the Past Year Number as Compared With -Sailings Relatively Small Most of Them Schooners OVER 300 PERSONS LOST By Seizing" 107 German-Owned Ships a Net Gain of 515,433 Gross Tons Was MaoV THE SITUATION SUMMARIZED Figures Show How We Are Build ing Up Merchant Marine New York, Jan. 9. In the 12 'months of unrestricted warfare . launched against American and Allied shipping by Germany one year ago Friday, there have been sunk by submarines, mines and raiders, 69 American vessels total ing 171,061 gross tons, according to a careful -compilation of records of sink ings which have been made public dur ing the period. Offsetting this loss of American ves sels, most of which were sailing ships, the United States since February 1 has added to her merchant marine by the seizure of former German and Austrian-owned ships a total of 107 ves sels having a gross tonnage of 686,494, leaving on the credit side of the Ameri can leger in the account with the cen tral" powers,, aoietgaia. of 51B.43 gross tons. The loss of life caused by the sinking of the 69 American ships was more than 300 persons, however.. The percentage of sinkings of Ameri can ships compare.dwith the number of vessels which have sailed through the war zone successfully is small. 'Rec ords of - the; department of. commerce show that for the period beginning February 1, 1917j and ending December 1, there were cleared from American ports in the foreign trade ships aggre gating 17,738,900 net, or approximately 24.834.460 cross tons. Th number of ships making up the total of tons was not maae puDiic Dy tne aepartment. Futher offsetting the loss of tonnage occasioned by the submarine warfare the United States through the shipping board requisitioned in American ship yards 426 vessels totaling more than 2,000,000 gross tons, and contracts have been awarded for 884 ships, . a large number of which are now under way and are being rushed to completion. In addition the shipping board on October. 15, last, placed under government re quisition 393 American vessels of over 2,500 tons dead weight capacity which were already afloat and immediately assigned them to the task of carrying supplies for the Allies and the Ameri can forces abroad. Included in these requisitioned ves sels were 21 ships in the Great Lakes trade and in addition there were com mandeered 24 steamers building on the lakes for foreign account and ready for launching. Virtually all of these were brought to Atlantic coast ports and im mediately put into service. Almost one-half of them had to 'be cut in two to get them through the Welland canal, but the task was accomplished and, the ships rejoined in less than three months from the time the contract was award ed. Another difficulty whlcn faced the United States in the task of putting to sea vessels to offset the ravages of. 'the U-boats was the repairing of the ""wil ful damage'"done to the former Germ'ar ships by their officers and crews before the ships were seized. This cost mil lions of dollars and in many instances called for the highest engineering skin to make and replace bp"- of foreign built engines and boilers removed or broken. Indicating that the task has been at tended by success, the statement was made today by a prominent official connected with the shipping board that every seized vessel was now completely repaired and in service. Many of them have made as many as three and four round trips -through the war zone. Three of the former German vessels have been the objects of successful at tack by the submarines. Several others have been attacked but escaped. . The announced sinkings of British ships for the year up to and including the week ending January 23 have been 1,033 vessels, of which 763 were over 1,600 tons and 270 were under that fig ure. The joint losses of Farnce and Italy have been averaged three 4o four large vessels weekly. TO ADVISE COTTON FARMERS. Cottvn States Advisory Board Organized. Marketing; New Orleans, Jan. 2b. The cotton states official advisory marketing board was organized at a meeting here tonight of state commissioners of agri culture, marketing commissioners and presidents of farmers' Qun0, in Alaba ma, , Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tevas, Georgia and Louisiana. A resolution was adopted opposing the fixing of cotton prices by organi zations or by "any authority delegated, by Congress." . . . . The purposes of the organization, it was announced, are "to gather information-from all possible sources relative to the cotton crop. Its uses, advan tages, consumption and production and to keep the farmer informed, first-hand ot tual conditions." ; 4- " WEDNESDAY MOKKTING, JANUARY 30, 1918 BREAKFAST. WITH CAPTURED HUNS IN A DUGOUT i ) P 4 CWj5 fr y. This Boche dugout was captured by the British while the Hans were at breakfast. Taking no chances on viands being poisoned, the prisoners wer invited to partake of the repast.' ' no Date is fixed for another draft War Department ' Has Not Even Determined Upon. Number of Men to be Called Out MAY TOTAL ONE MILLION Baker Says It All Depends Upon Events Abroad and . Shipping Situation. . Those Becoming 21 Since June . 5 to Be Registered. Washington, - Jan. 29. -Expansion or America's fighting forces beyond -their present strength depends on such fac tors as events abroad and the shipping situation, Secretary Baker said tonight in disclosing that' the war department has not fixed a; date for another draft or even determined how many new men shall be called. . - ' When Mr. Baker told the senate nM- tary committee yesterday the United States would have a half million men in France early this year and that in all a million and a half could go across if ships could be found to carry them, he referred 'to , the divisions now m training camps and- those already i Europe. ' Future Events to Decide. ! Future . developments ..will- decide what additional forces will be sent. The secretary' made ciear - today his opinion that if events made it neces sary to 'call out more than another in crement of half a million men the ex ecutive's authority to draft men - for fighting units other than reserves would be exhausted and. further legislation by congress would be necessary. He a.u, however, - that under the authority to call two increments, of line soldier of 500,000 each and such additiona numbers. for recruit battalions and spe cial units "as the president may deem necessary" the second draft might bring out In all as many as a million men. - - , Additional Registration. . The senate committee today tenta tively approved legislation proposed by the war department to provide for th registration ' of youths attaining the age of 21 sirie oune 5, authorizing th. fixing of quotas on "the basis of Class 1 of the new classification and empow. ering the President to call men need.: for special industrial, or other, work. Provost Marshal General Crowder1 ap pearing to explain the .bills told the committee It. was proposed to hold a. new drawing to establish the order or liability of the new registrants. When the new men trave been given their se rial numbers their names will bp In serted in the classes" to which they may be assigned, according to a plan now being worked out. Fall : Mostly In Class 1. It is assumed, Gen. Crowder said, that most of the new registrants will fall into Class 1, giving that class this year a total -of some 2,000,000 men. From Class 1 It Is proposed to take the next and any future drafts. . f, . . In a formal-memorandum presenting his views the general also disapproved suggestions that the registration -'- be extended to men beyond the age of 31, saying the effort of classification Is so great and so expensive and the num ber of persons past 31 years who would faU in Class 1 so s.mall .that the task: would not be worth .while. - Sbt Exempt Mm- 31. " . Although Secretary, Baker today.xe iterated his desire to have exempted (Continued - on - Paige . Seven . 1 r"inn-iniltii WILL BE LICENSED Reserve Board Will Have Super vision Over All Foreign Ex . change Transactions REGULATIONS ARE: ISSUED Government Seeks to Insure That No Credits Go to Assist Enemy Inter estsFeel Pulse of Foreign Ex change. wesnington, Jan. 29. Foreign ex change transactions under regulations Issued today by Secretary McAdoo are placed strictly under the supervision of the ; federal reserve board which will license dealers .through federal reserve banks and receive reports periodically on' each individual purchase or sale. In this way the government seeks to in sure inat no creaits go to assist any enemy interests and to prov!dea well organized method-for feeling the pulse of the foreign exchange traffic. The regulations were; signed by President Wilson under authority of the espionage and trading with the en emy acts. , . Deals in foreign exchange or securi ties, for foreign correspondents are re quired to obtain registration certifi cates by applying to the federal restjrve bank of the district and 'are ". to be grouped in three classes according to the nature of their business. Custom ers of these dealers then, are to-sign a statement for each . purchase or sale, showing the .purpose and declaring that no enemy or ally of enemy inter est has any connection with, the trans actions. The statements must be filed with-. the federal reserve banks, to gether with weekly detailed reports from the foreign exchange dealrs. "The regulations," says a treasury department, "w.-. put into the' hands of .the secretary and the federal re serve board full information-as to the manner' in which the credit facilities of the -United States are being used. - GIVE BAKERS MORE TIME. Given Until February 3 to Begin Mak Ing Victory Bread. - Washington, Jan. 29. To give bakers time in which to prepare, thefood ad ministration , tonight extended until February 3 the time when bakers must substitute 5 .per. cent of other grains for wheat floui In" bread making. This percentage must be increased asl rapidly as possiDie untu oy February 24 they are using 20s per cent of other cereals. No. baker, however, will be entitled to . advertise his product as victory bread until he has reached the 20 per cent ratio. Rye flour may . be used in making the victory bread until March 3, but after that date it . will be placed upon th same basis as wheat because rye flour is now being shipped to the Allies. GEN. WOOD HIT IN ARM. BY THE FRAGMENT OF A GUN Paris, Jan. 29. Brief details of the wounding of . Major General. Leonard Wood,, of the United States army, while on a visit to the French front have been received. General Wood was hit by a fragment of a gun which, burst while, being tested. . , . .- His Injuries, which are , confined to the ;leftarm, are note- considered - seri ous, but he was brought to a hospital EXCHANGE DEALERS . i - ID FREIGHT CONGESTION MAY CONTINUE FOR TWO MONTHS LONGER t 1 Deranged Ship Captain Fatally Wounded First Mate Then Killed Self An Atlantic Port, Jan. 29. With her captain lost overboard after having shot his first mate, and the first mate dead on her deck, tn Swedish steamer Anglia put into this port late this afternoon in com mand of her second officer, bound from another Atlantic port to a South American port. On the 27th, according to the narrative of tn"e second officer Captain A. B. Wearns .became deranged from drink and in an argument shot and wounded the first officer, G. R. Furst. The deed seemed to, sober him and when he realized tiat he had done he stood upon the rail, fired a bullet int. his head and Jumped overboard. The second officer took command and put on all steam in an effort to reach this port in time to get surgical aid for the first officer. Death won the race, with land in sight. Customs house officials took charge of the craft when she ar rived in port. , A Swedish maritime Inquiry will be held by the Swedish vice-consul in the presence of representatives of the customs department and depart ment of justice, tomorrow morning. In the meantime the vessel is at an chor with an arfaied American naval guard aboard. ( Will be Needed for Trucking. Fruit Gathering, Dairying and Other Light Labor illSN FOR- -HARD WORK Mr. Berk man, Chief' of Farm Service Division,' Says Farmers Will Have to Raise- Wages to ' Get Suffi cient Labor. Washington, Jan. 29. National reg istration of women available for work on farms is planed by the department of iabor as one of the steps in a cam paign to secure7 a sufficiency of farm labor for every, section of the country during the coming season. A. Ij. Berkman, chief of the division of farm service, announced, tonight that every effort . would be made to meet the expected shortage of farm la bor by a plan to mobilize the available men and women in every, community In the country. Heavy snows in the middfe west should mean a large wheat crop and if the favorable weather con tinued, one of . the biggest yields on record may be expected. A special farm service man will be stationed in most of the 94 federal em ployment agencies of the country, Mr. Berkman said, and In addition, post offices in the small farming communi ties will' be used as recruiting stations, the postmaster or some other represen tative citizen acting as community la bor agent. "The most serious farm labor short age last year was In the east." said Mr. - Berkman. "The industries there filling war orders took men who other wise would have been available for farm work by the ofTer of .attractive wages. The farmer will have to In crease wages much more than they have to get men -to come from the cit ies. They have not raised wages any where in proportion to their . increased profits. Women, Mr. Berkman continued, will be needed for .truck gardening, fruit gathering, dairying and other light forms of lab6r, but they will not be called upon for the heavy work so long as men are' available. "The college girls and the women of the leisure classes who are ready to respond to a call for workers as a matter of "patriotism," Mr. Berkman said, "must be' depended upon chiefly for the women labor that will.be nec essary." BRYAN CHAMPIONING FEDERAL AMENDMENT Points Out State Which Have Been Leaders in States' Rights That Have Ratified Measure. Annapolis, Md., Jan. 29. William Jennings. Bryan. made a vigorous plea for the national prohibition amend ment this afternoon before the tem perance committee of the legislature. There is a sharp, close fight on the amendment in the Maryland assembly and in connection with it is the anti saloon league measure for immediate state-'wide prohibition. Mr. Bryan contended that the object of the pro posed referendum was postponement to give the liquor business one more year of life. As to the doctrine of states' rights, Mr. Bryan pointed out that the state of Mississippi, the home of Jefferson Davis; Virginia, the home of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, and South Carolina, the- home of John Calhoun, ! all champions of . states' rights, had i ratified, lbs amendment. . - . REGISTER WOMEN FOR Al WO PAGES TODAY ONE SECTION WHOLE If UMBER 39,307 Railroad Administration Sees No Hope of a Return to Nor mal Before March BIG FLOODS ARE FEARED Damage by These Would Supple ment That Already Caused by Unprecedented Snows WILL KEEP COAL MOVING Continuance of the Unusual Meas ures Planned Washington, Jan. 29. Freight congestion on eastern railroads probably cannot be cleared up be fore the middle or latter part of March, railroad administration of ficials announced tonight. Bad weather this week ha provided the culminating misfortune on which is based the conviction that . it will take at least six weeks to set traffic moving normally through rail arteries. Floods Anticipated. Even without the expected thaw which may send rivers above their banks, officials say recovery from the unprecedented period of blizzard weather will be slow. Floods woulii make conditions far worse. Prepara tions have been made to fight high wa ter which is feared throughout -the east and which has already developed in the mountains of Virginia, West Vir ginia and Kentucky, with serious con sequences to coal production and transportation. Because of this situation, both the railroad and fuel administrations are planning a continuance of unusual measures to keep coal movig. Want Empty Cars. Hundreds of applications for special consideration in supplying empty box cars reached the railroad administra tion today and were referred to the war or navy departments, which will determine finally whether certain shipments deserve preferential treat ment. These petitions ordinarily should go to one of three regional directors, who in many cases can determine with out consulting government departments whether shipments might be speeded up. It is probable that no general em embargoes will be declared by Director' General McAdoo, although individual railroads will be given a free hand la refusing to accept shipments whenever local conditions make this course ad- visable. Modify Demurrage Regulations. The railroad administration today de- cided to modify the drastic demurraga regulatlons put into effect last week by restoring the os-called average agree ment for cars held for unloading only and by reducing rates after two days' free time to $3 a day for four days, $6 a day for three succeeding days and $i0 a day thereafter. By the average " agreement if a consignee unloads a car within a day, for instance, he receives credit for one day balance of his fee time and pays demurrage only on the, aggregate balance for all cars. Word reached railroad headquarters today that railroads already have taken steps to discharge a number of attor neys maintained in various localities where the need for them is small, in compliance with Director General Mc Adoo's ..order. Employes listed as "business agents," but actually serving as lobbyists, before state legislatures, also are among those whose dismissal is looked for. Traffic soliciting agents will be dropped as fast as railroads can arrange the changes in business sys tem or will be transferred to other1 work. BUNKERING- OF SHIPS IX PRACTICAIXLY AT STANDSTILD Norfolk, Va., Jan. 29. Officials of the Tidewater Coal Exchange, directing ex port coal operations, tonight declared that owing to frozen coal cars and a breakdown at the Lambert's Point piers, bunkering of ships was practi cally at a standstill today. Heavy fogs also delayed midstream bunkering. All terminal yards are literally packed with coal, awaiting handling at piers. One pier at Lambert's Point was com pletely out of commission ior half a day. The others were unable to handle morel than one-third to one-fourth of the usual number of cars, owing to the frozen condition of contents. The only hope of relief is warmer weather of sufficient duration to thaw out the coal. EVERY AVAILABLE SPINDLE MAKING CANVAS FOR ARMY Washington, Jan. 29. Every spindle in the country capable of turning out canvas is working on army contracts, Secretary Baker said today, -and there will be no let-up in tent making until every soldier under canvas has the 50 cubic feet of pace recommended by the surgeon general. The secretary let It be known that the war department is not now con sidering expansion-of cantonment fa cilities. The original plan of training new men in quarters vacated by troops leaving for France is being followed, and Mr. Baker said no changewoul be necessary unless more shipping than is now in sight should' become available. 1
Wilmington Morning Star (Wilmington, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Jan. 30, 1918, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75