Newspapers / Wilmington Morning Star (Wilmington, … / March 24, 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
e THE WEATHER r Showers Sunday; Monday "probably fair, little change in temperature. . PAGEiS TODAY Two Sections VOL. CI-NO. 183. OTMDJG; K.:C- SUXBAY MOKNTtra, MABCH 24, 1918 WHOIVE NUMBEB 39,361 24 v ii t ----- n - . .; : . x - - , 1 GERMAN FORCES; WITH EMPEROR william FORWARD ON A penetrate British Lines to Depth of Four or Five Miles West of Caxnbrai BEACH THE CITY OP HAM Haig's Men Heavily Engaging the Enemy, Although Retiring , at Various Points BOTH SIDES LOSE HEAVILY Germans Plan to Drive Wedge Be tween British and French 'Associated Press War Summary.) Assaulting the British lines on the south the Germans have forced their way forward over a front ap proximately 21 miles in length, have penetrated to a depth of four or five miles west of Cambrai and have reached Ham, west of St. Quentin, a distance of about nine miles west of the British-lines, as they stood before the inception of the Teutonic offensive on Thurs day. ' .' V."l ' , British Heavily Engaging Enemy. The German claim that the forces of tie central empires are ngntmg on e Sue northeast of Bapaume, Peronne ind Ham has not been substantiated by British? -official V dispatches-, ' but tie British reports show that , there has been a retirement at various points, specially at St. , Quentin, "where Field larshal Haig says his . forces , have jken up their new positions "and are fcavily engaged with the enemy. -.- According J.o a Berlin official dispatch "a considerable "part of the British army lias been beaten but. this is not borne out by any facts- so far known. That 25,000 men have., , possibly oeen captured by tie Teutons majr be ' con sidered as a natural result. of the slow Britis'a withdrawal on various parts of the line. This .number,, however, is' very small in comparison to the forces Haig has thrown into the" fray. . Tie frightful combat, continued all day Saturday. - - ' : ' - . Effort to Split -JJbaesV:-'-- The great offensive has developed as Us Balient feature an apparent desper ate effort to break Jnto the southwest of St Quentin, drive a-wedge between the British and the French and push on across the Somme canal in the gen eral direction of Compiegne and Paris. Simultaneously Paris has been bom barded at quarter-hour, intervals", be ginning Saturday forenoon, with shells of about nineinch calibre. The source of the bombardment has not been re vealed. The nearest point on the front is 62 miles distant, more than twice as Jar as artillery fire has ever reached Previously. One theory suggested Is that the Germans have developed an aerial torpedo which can be fired from 1 long distance. ' '.. '- ' "l - , Compel Brltisb Retreat. - There was an admitted break In the British line in the St. Quentin region late yesterday, the Germans . forcing their way through the defensive sys tem and compelling a British retreat to Prepared positions .withm tne area de vastated by the Germans in their re peat in the spring of 1917. This new line also Is now being at tacked by the Germans, and news dis patches filed from the front late In the day indicated that the fighting already as heavy in the - vicinity of Ham, hich report this a penetration of some mne miles for the Germans. Ham Is approximately 11 miles southwest of St. Quentin. . V : Effort to Cnt Line, '.' A supreme effort by the Germans to ut the line in this region Is. forecast ln the dispatches. They have . put cav "rr in the field to follow up the in jautry evidently Intend to throw tie Uhlans into the fray when the in raatr' columns open : tne breach the merman high command is counting "pon. . Further north the British lines, while inetHhav& drawn baclcy are holding well their new positions.. The maximum j.v. , luuin. ivur miles, .i mvioi aich has changed, hands several times. French Probably Involved. Si--"-reports that the French have:. be- (rev,lnvolved in the .struggle seem iiDle, as the recession of the British inf,1 ,fIank' which was resting approx n wlr upon LePere, at the river Oise. ouid inevitably carry with it the ch left, which had rested- upon the Th - ' '' ; - ' x T ance'ls being accompanied by hn r e slauhter of the -Germans, in their maBsed formations are be- cut to pieces by British :guns. of all Wp S The British :casualtles,M6o, takir n heavy. and Berlin, claims the ngr of 25,000 prisoners and 40p guns; t. ""wer in i:ommfinf. ir.t . , f?inaPer.0r Wiiam himself Js Incom- V . ,Q Of the Cifymars o.o, Mvhflntf Urpfl e which he na Prejriously de ar .A01 be the decisive; one of the ' ,n London commentators credit Continued From PageTwo " . . in command drive BATTLEFRONT TURNED INTO VERITABLE HELL . British Army Headquarters in France, March 23, (By the Associated Press) -The British, gallantly fighting, are still presenting a solid front to the fiercely attacking Germans,, although the defensive troops have, withdrawn their lines in certain places for strategic reason.?. All day yesterday and much of last night" the conflict continued to rage with Increasing violence as fresh German divisions were hurled into the fray, in an attempt to smash through the British defense. : The operation is vast and is changing with kaleidoscopic rapidity. Forty-nine-German divisions have been identified thus far on the battlefront. Some estimates place-the number of German divisions en gaged as high as 90, but it Is impossible to say whether this is accurate. Certainly, the Germans are putting all their available strength into the assault and fresh troops are constantly appearing. . The fighting yesterday was of the most sanguinary , character and. the enemy continued to lose great numbers of men through his system of massed attacks. That does not mean, that the "British have not suf fered casualties. They necessarily have, but their losses are much smaller thanthose of their opponents. " : . The visibility became excellent late "yesterday and the whole battle front, was turned into a veritable, hell with the artillery action unprece dented ' as concentration of guns on both sides cut , loose their freight of death. . ' - . " ,--" : , ; . r" ; ' . ,:' ; : Men who" fought, through the. great battles. of the Somme, Flanders, and Arras say that they never before have seen anything to approach' the awful gun fire of ' the present conflict. There is not even an inflni-' tesimal space between the explosions as the thousands of guns of all .calibres work ,o their fullest capacity. . - Especially bitter fighting occurred last night in the regions of Roi sel, Morey, Moohy (Morchies?), and Beaumetz. ' : The British air service has been doing valuable work with its ma chine guns against the advancing enemy. Qerman Lives By the Secretary of . War Baker Arrives in London ; Paid v " Visit to Belgiari King " - : . Xiondon, March 23. Newton Ba ker, the American secretary ' of war, visited-King Albert of Bel-; glum and. the Belgian rrront yester day. . Secretary. Baker r arrived here at 5 p. m., and was . met by Am bassador Page, -whose f guest the will be during his- stay in Ii6n don.: ' - 1 . .. - - PRISONER ESCAPE Official List of 200 American Pris ' oners in' Germany Issued by State Department NAMES OF TWO TAB HEELS These Are Everett Gearabirdt of Char, lotto, and itt . M. 'Halyborton of Stony Point On Iileja- : tenant ln the JdmU x . Washington March . 23. An official list of 200 Americans now prisoners in German camps, made public tonight by the state department, records the death of Charles Hemphill, shot while at tempting to escape in September 1917, and th death of Andrew Campbell Murtroy. an-.aviator, brought down; hear Pargny September 30, 1917. - The only American officer ln .the list is lieutenant Harold Willis , of New ton, Masst an aviator captured at - Ver dun August 18, 1917. He is interned at Camp Gutersloh. Evidently ; Willis was an officerin a French . esquadrille. -Came JTbrongh Spanish Embauy.. The list reported by the royal Prus sian war ministry, and transmitted by the - German- government t to the , state department through - the Spanish ? em bassy, in Berlin and. the Spanish lega tion in Berne,v contains the names of American troops captured in' trench raids, crews of captured ships and sur-J VlVOTS 01 capturea suiyo. uw oi u includes the names of -American engi neers caught in the German turning movement at Cambrai. . . , The - number of prisoners.- and the camps at which they are located in- clude: ' '-- " -; . - ' " At Camp Brandrnbnnc. . - From the steamer .Souchan, captured in the North Sea, October 8. 1916, -five men. ' ' ' " ' '" ' - From steamer Esmeraldas, captured In the Atlantic, March 10, 1917, 12 men. From the steamer Campania, captur ed In the Bay of Biscay August 6. 1917, six men. ' ' - '"- ' .'r'- . ' From' the steamer Bergen, captured In the Atlantic, February 1, 1917, one man .. -' - V -' . ' ' ' - From the steamer Bulgarian capture ed in the Atlantic, January 21, 1917, one. m From" the steamer .- Mount Temple' place and .date of . capture . not given, one man. ,vr-: '; - ' -"i -;' From - the United States destroyer. Jacob' Jones, picked up. In the English (Coatlnued oa Page Two.) KILLED 21-MILE FRONT Are British First Lines of Defense are Smasned by Man-Power and,,. . Not Gun-Power WASHINGTON IS CONFIDENT Cflficers, Privately, Still Believe That Germans! Will Even- .-" . . , ..- . ...... 4 tually be Repulsed BRITISH ARBJY IS INTACT Pershing Asked to Forward Infor mation Immediately Washington March 23. The war deT partment cabled General Pershing to night to forward immediately definite information of jthe exact situation on the battle front where the British troops are under the German onslaught. The only official word at hand was contained in the -official statement is sued from London and Berlin. , 'American army officers would hazard no opinions, lacking definite and com prehensive advices. Privately, how ever, .their . confidence in the eventual repulse of the German thrust remained unshaken in the face of all reports re ceived, v ' ' Both American officevs and those at tached to the British and French mili tary -i missions looked with ., confidence on the story ' unfolded from hour ' to hour as the -German ' effort progressed. " A review of the day's events as told in Associated Tress dispatches, they said, gave no ground for assuming that allied resisting power would prove un equal to its task. v ' . 1 All reports.were taken to prove that the Germans "had staked lives by the hundred thousand upon' a quick blow, designed to be, overpowering both be cause of (the masses of men .used . and also because of . the absolute disregard of losses- which marked' its delivery. : There was evidence that, seemed to bear out predictions that Germany was prepared to sacrifice 300,000 men in the effort. It was - with man-power in great masses and not gu-power that the . first lines of ., the British defense were .penetrated. - - v 'f Brltlah Orsnlatlon Intact. T The greatest shock .ver: hurled ; at any army appeared : to observers . here to have been met by the British with great skilL . It appeared that the Brit, ls.h.' had stopped the rush where they could; ;, withdrawn .-. slowly t before ' It where they could, not. Their .orderly retirement, ; American- officers y believe, means ' defeat for the Germans in the end. - There been no loss or British organization, 'it was pointed out. and every foot .of ground . surrendered has been bought with blood. . .:. . Military experts say such, an effort as the Germans are making cannot .be continued long- Every foot . gained means added difficulties, of transpor ta tion -and the -consequent slowing -up Of the forward movement. "A day.,or.twq more : of bitter resistance, . even- includ ing further' -British; retirement,; it- was thought, ; would see. the. impetus, of the German thrust .lost, -and its power; diminished.-. Then would come opportu nities for" counter, blows onaj major scale. ;. .' 'SY: ' ' '' "' - " v J In seeking tne, strategic, purpose , or the German drive, officials nere.notea (Continued a Pago Two) URG ED TO REDUCE Food Administration ' Appeals to Public to Further . Curtail Wheat Consumption ' FLOUR SALES .CUT DOWN Farmers Holding Back Wheat in Anticipation of Higher Prices Fixed by Congress ,Washington, March 2S.-r-Further re duction in the consumption, of wheat was asked of the. public tonight by the food administration, that the - scant supplies available before the next har vest ma ybe stretched to ' meet the needs of the army' domestic consum ers and the allies. . - i . , f ' Every 'American- is urged to cut his average ration,, of wheat ' by 50 per cent, ..which Would reduce the total normal, consumption of 42,000,000 bush els a month to' 21,000,000. That gives a ration of not more than 1 1-2 pounds of wheat products - weekly f orr 1 each person. Flour Vsales , will be cut', to one-eighth of a barrel for a town cus tomer, that retailers 'stocks may - be distributed to as-great a number as possible. - . - : More Bread Substitute. The wheat content of bakers'. bread will be reducedfS 75 per cent, u Aprir 14, which increases by ; five per '.cent the amount of substitutes . that must be used. :.-( ' ; -a ;. :! ... - . ' Sacrifice in . the. : wheat ", ration will entail no hardship, in the ;opinlon of food administration officials,': because the supply of potatoes, corn, oats "and milk is ample, to maintain health. -. The'. IvUh; serie'iienesref:r'tb? wheat situation, and -some, of the difficulties with which- the ' food administration has had ' to ' contend in - warding- off famine - f rom '- - the -" allies ' became known with the Announcement of the new plans. - -' ' . (' A Kxport Far Behind. . - With food rations r In France and England cut to the -utmost, there has been constant danger that the-Unlted States' could hot meet even minimum demands ; because of transportation handicaps.. The breakdown - in the railroads upset the' corn exportation schedule so that on March 1 there had been sent "abroad oniy'- 14,000,000, Lagainst the 64,000,000 bushels of last year and the 100,000,000 bushels -which it was hoped to ''send.1" Accordingly, the - foreign populations have been de pendent - on , wheat : Their - need ; of wheat is growing, for after April 1 the shipment tf corn is attended with great risk of loss, .owing to the pos sibility of germination. ' ; Supplies Have Dwindled. - As the demand for wheat has grown, the .supplies in- elevators have dwind led. Too, ; the" usual i flow of grain to market has decreased in the last' month from 8,000,000- bushels weekly" to " 3,000,000, due, r it' is declared, to the desire of . farmers to hold out their grain for the; higher price proposed In legislation before congress. Corn growers" have added to the confusion by threatening that If ; the cdrn prfce is not raised aad fixed as the price-of wheat' has een fixed, they v would plant wheat instead of corn,' which of ficials declare would workT untold loss in the meat" supply. " ' ; v . Conservation b Hampered. 1 . The price of iflour would; be increas ed to S15 a barrel If the J2.50 a bushel for wheat becomes a law, according, to food ' administration rt officials. They said tonight their - work ? had5: 'been hampered by "the refusal of many per sons to co-operate in food conserva tion. - One German-American :in New Mexico was discovered to' have raised 8,000 bushels of wheat' and -to have purchased an additional 100,000 bush els, all of which he stored and refus ed to sell. The grain -was requisition ed. Several similar cases in Minnesota are under. . investigation :and the - full power of the law will"be'lnvoked-rto punish hoarding., "'- i j . ; - No Ration Cards. .; i '-! r : Regulations for the enforcement, of wheat conservation- are-being worked out by the food 'administration. .'As the new. regulations, probably will be necessary ! only until the harvest, xa matter of three' months, the -administration has abandoned the Idea or ra tion cards and will impose restrictions on mills, wholesalers and - retailers which can 'be established Inexpensive ly and done away with quickly, ; Con trol of wheat ' at ; theniyis probably will, be tightened, so that' Its distribu tion throughout the country , will be based, on an equitable .scale and -no dealer will have ; more" - flour ; than ,: he can sell-, other-than., by stricy appor tionment if he i desires to taker care of his trade. " - s , ;: : .: ; ': '7: -r ': BBGE'S TRIAL SATURDAY. Body of Victim Taken ; to t . Maria nn a, vArb, ftorlBteraMAj ; -"- Lexington, Sv C. March Gra ham Hege, who' on 'Tuesday. last snot and? killed J. -Franklin Deaderick : in the :- former's home here, .will 'be ar-. ralgned.snext Saturday. March 30. Th preliminary, hearing will be held be- fore fltecorder ; John H. Moyer of - Iiex-r ington.'- .The body of the -dead bank cashier was taken-. last night to -Maii-anna. Ark... for Interment- ! i v , - ; Durham March.. 23.Trinity; .won 'a f twoto one: decision .In; the debate .with Swathmore- College here tonight. s FIFTY rKl SLIPS UP OH HON LISTENING POST German is '.Taken by Surprise, 'Throttled to Prevent Outcry, and Made a Prisoner ; RETALIATE FOR ATTACK Germans Who Dropped Gas Shells ' in Town Within American 1 . Lines Heavily Shelled With the American Army in France, March 23 (By The Associated Press). A - patrql of four Americans early this morning crawled, nearly. ; a .mile, ap proached a German listening post from the rear and: jumped on the German there,' throttling "him erore he had a chance to make an outcry. - They re turned' to , their, line as , quietly as they went, bringing their prisoner with them; 'He- was put through an" exami nation by the intelligence offices. ' - - ' . . . . , - .. , ASIERJCAN GUNS RETALIATE i -:i FOR GERMAN GAS ATTACK ; With the American ; Armyin' France, March 23 (By The Associated Press). The American guns retaliated heavily against -the Germans, who again last night dropped more than 600 mustard gas. shells into a certain town within the American , lines, nere was no wind and the 'gas remained' for hours. The. American artillery work- Was very accurate. v - t . HEAVY GAS ATTACK-MADE ' 1 '- ON TOWN WITHIN LINES With the. American Army in France, Friday; ;March 22 (ByThe Associated Press) -The Germans launched a heavy gaattackvgnst certain- town--tn-ourllnes" northwest of To-ul last :night. No';wind was blowing and the fumes of' mustard gas from -the shells hung low over the lines for several -hours. The batterlea flring-the shells were lb-' cated to the right . of Richecourt. and our artillery was busy all-? morning with a retaliatory, shelling. - TWO AMERICAN FXJJERS EACH -; r, BRING DOWN, HUN MACHINE Washington, March! 2 3. Two Ameri can fliers are named in official : dispatches- from France'today.as bringing down : a German airplane., Lieutenant A. Darner downed an airplane in. the Champagne region and Corporal "Vayles brought down one-near Courtecon. AMERICAN NAVAL FLIER COMMENDED BY BRITISH Ensign ; Henry 'N. Fallon Dlstlnsulsbe it .' Hlniself While :TPlyin. Over , the - . - - - North Sea.' London, March 23. Ensign Henry N. Fallon, of the United-States navy, dis tinguished himself" in two' air fights oyer ,tbe Nor,th Sea' on March 12 and has been commended to the admiralty. Ensign Fallon was flying in a British machine, the , wireless ' operator of which was' shot in the neck.. Fallon left his seat,, climbed- to the ; wounded man, ' administered first aid . and then returned to his place at the gun. . Ensign , Fallon was on November 24, 1917, recommended for tne award of the distinguished service cross for gallant 'conduct during, an - encoutner with a German submarine. An order from. Secretary of - the Navy Daniels declined ., the decoration - for Ensign Fallon because the laws Of . this coun try, prevented soldiers and sailors re ceiving decorations' from foreign gov erments... - . -. . NUMEROUS GAS SHELLS HRED BY AMERICANS Hurled Into Village Within the German Lines Enemy Obervatlon Balloon Breaks .- From Its Moorings and Is Brought ' -' Down By the Americana - and .- ,- ri Vo- Deatroyed. , - ';'- ' . With the American Army in France, March, 23. (By the Associated Press) 'Hundreds of gas shells' were "j fired by "the American artillery on, the Toul sector Into the village or St. Baussant. The . American observer reported . that the ; work '. of the m artillery was ' effec- tlve;5c" - V- "-". . . ' ; i: .At; : the same time . high - explosive shell . were fired into the v town, against batteries ; in-v the rear of its pemetery and ' into k Sonnard ; wood where there; .were "other enemy guns. , - An ; enemy- observation .balloon near. Mbntseo broke; from, its moorings this morning ; and floated toward the Amer ican l Jlnes.fo; The ; artillery -brought- it down in No Man's ..Land and then.xxm- jjletely destroyed. it,. ? i SHELLS FROM GUNS 74 MILES DISTANT K FALLING ON PARTS Paris Experiences First . : Daylight Air Eaid by Hons; . V Cannon Shells -Mystifying i ' .. ' . Paris, 'March 23. The . first . day light "air raid on Par la 'came today, which was one of perfect; sunshine. ; The people? of Paris refused -to im-t mure themselves incellars and dther subterranean 1 shelters,- 'and the" streets always had a great number; of people in them watching foi an aerial battle. - ', ,' , As "the day passed, and the , "all clear" . signal was: not- given, the, feeling, grew that something new in: the way' of a raid was expected. This, was not explained until an of ficial' statement was- Issued,' saying that' the delay was' due to the bom bardment by long distance cannon. ' Pieces of the shells, on examina tion, 'were found ..to bear rifling marks, which proved, that, they had ' .hot been dropped but had been fired from a gun, ', This left a greater mystery, than ever. . ' . Another thing, which turned the thoughts of . the officials to the pos eibility that , "a . cannon was being used was the regularity with which the bombs -fell, one, every ,15 min utes. ' " V . " ; ' Paris, March 231 Paris received a third warning, of-an Jtir attack with in, 24 ' hours with.; unshaken nerves tonight when an alarm was given at 9 o'clock. The 'all clear signal was given at 10:20 before the popu lation . could earn . whether the warning was-' against an airplane raid or, whether ; tbe long, distance German cannon had resumed opera tions. "'-.' ";:" - ; - ;';"- '"; American " Casualty ' f List; Issue4 " -Yesterday - Contains Only ;-V.. 1 TwentyEight Names . . NIIMBilRfbF THE DEAD 14 One Killed fat Action," Tkree Died I of Accident, Eight ; Died of Disease ; . ." and Two- From "Other Caue il-i Wounded.' - -Washington,; March -23. Only -28 names, five "of them of' officers, were In cluded in-,. today's casualty list. , Lieu tenant Jefferson; Felgl, was killed, in action, Lieutenant Eugene R. Wheat ley 'died f rom' accIdenC Lieutenant 'Col onel William :.S. Wells died, from "other causes" and -Captain Arthur S. Gow and Lieutenant Arthur . Booth were among- the slightly; wounded. , . V: Today's list iwas- divided as follows: 1 Killed -in "action 1 ; died of accident; 3 ;. died , of disease, 8;' died of ' "other causes," 2; ' wounded ? ; severely, : 2; wounded slightly, 12.'. . f Killed In Action. - , Lleutenaijit Jefferson .FeigL Died oT Accident. . . Lieutenant Eugene - R.: Wheatley, Bugler . Jamea D. Galladay; .Private Herbert J. Tucker. - i v Dkd f DUcaM, - - Corporal . Reynold .A. Braeder, peri tonitis; Privates Charley : Ev, Barrow, Jacob Orton, Eugene xiermt Alfred Mc Leod, Coy -Overstreet; - William r Eugene Parker, Oeorge H.- Wiiklns, Edward Wlrth. -- - -' -' -" - - '-v ' "r Died KMler CamM." Lieutenant Colonel William S. Wells, Sergeant Charles J; Hilburg, -. - - t ! Wounded Svrrtf '-' '- Bugler Chariest E. DuBo is, Private Arthur Knochenbauer. ' -- . - Wounded Slightly. -' Captain .Arthur S. uow, Lieutenant Arthur 'Booth,' Sergeants James J. Buchanan," . William Rogers, Corporals John M. .'Hunt, Earl; R. Stouffer, Pri vates Charles -F. Bowers, Peter F.-Fabian .Bernard iGolz, ! Ray. O. Herring, Ewart G. Nelson, John Walczyk. . WILL ' NOT - EXTEND TIME FOR FILING INCOME -TAX RETURNS Washington, March 23.--The time for filing income tax returns- will not be extended beyond" April -" "Li; Internal Revenue Commissioner Roper.: tonight issue dthie statement:. "It will not be practicable to extend the tme 'further or filing Income tax returns after. Aprll 'lst., The time for assessing the tax has been -compressed from three months to - two months by the extension from March 1 to April 1,- and It will very , greatly tax .the bu reau to - make - these assessments and gef the notices back to the tax 'payers by -"June 1 so 'as to enable' them " to comply "with 'the law - in paying : their, taxes by June IS." - - - - - - - ' -Keyirtoke'-. Case' Appealed. - Washington, March '2. The govern ment's anti -trust suit against the Key stone Watch "Case ' Company,, In which a decree was 'issued, . holding' the ' con cern ? to be a combination ' in violation of 'the ! anti-trust law and - injunctions were granted' against officials of the company, waa appealed -to the supreme court today. 240 Milimeter Missiles Beach Capi tal ana suDnros at fifteen- , Iflinute Intervals 10 KILLED AND 15 WOUNDED American Ordnance Officers Are Dumhfoimded hy the An- . noTxncement from Paris :. ' f 22 MILES FORMER RECORD Gun With' Range of. More Than 30 Miles Never Dreamed of i - .. Paris, .March. .-T-The Germans t have .been . firing on :. Paris with;; long Tange guns. Since 8 o'clock f this morning 'shells pi '240 milinjie- tei's have been; reaching the capital and suhurhs at intervals of a quar ter of ; an ihour Silling about J10 ; persons Vanldhwoundjng about 15. The shortest distance, from Paris to the front is over 100 kilometers ' i ii" Pari-vJarch the latest; reports, the long dis tance cannon -which bombarded , Paris this rarternoon was firing ; irom a aisxanee oi kilometers (approximately 7ii miles) and was loeatecl about 12 "kilometers ; behind heench'fr dbubtedljr means within- the- Gey man lines.). : .. : . . z t.. ... - . AMERICATV ORDNANCE OFFICERS " . f'-r DUMBFOUNDED BY. THE FEAT ; Washington, , , March 23.-The long ': range" bombardment or Paris by a Ger man gun presumably '62' miles off, in-", nounced as a. fact todayIn the French capital, dumbfounded American prd- - nance f dmcers. The '22' mile - bombard- ' ment of Junkirk by the Germans 'more than 'a .year ago .bad set- a record and ordnance officers- of tne American, (Brit ish and Frfenob corps : freely conceded they never -had dreamed -of a monster gun with -a range of more - than 430 miles. . '.- -' '" ' - - '?- , Some' officers frankly questioned that shells from 'rifled cannon actually, had fallen in Paris' - Of hers' sought expia nation ih new -devices" or secret gun '. emplacements 'In the vicinity of Paris. None wanted 7 to i believe that any gun had been, lrivented-by the Germans or any one else which could throw a 9 1-2 inch projectile 6tt miles. -I-v f The flhdlng of sbell fragments bear ing the marks of gun rifling seenied to preclude the'-idea f any ordinary airplane bomb.'- ;lt; was ' suggested- that ' monster ' .- airplanes mounting guns might- have been used,, but no one has ever conceived the possibility of carry ing a 9 1-2; Ineh weapon' In the air. A short- range,- light? weight ;inverted Howltzer carried by aircraft appeared v to some as a1 possible explanation. ' , , Some officers obncelved ' the possibil ity that in the outskirts of Paris there might be "a "hidden 'gun." It Was admit ted thet!it would have no miliary value and could only be a weapon of terror and its :dlscxvery would be certain. -. If the German experts 1 had evolved . Q' a wholly new" type of 'gun' not depeftd- i: v ; ent upon, the Sams' mathematical fac"' tors that govern7 drdnance1- everywhere, h officers !- here f thihkIt highly unlikely ' : . that they would 'employ it for an lso- '; : lated and meaningless a tack on Paris. ." : , " ' It might be,' some' officers thought. ? that a continuous dropping of medium "" calibre Bhells on;the city was part Of ?t:St hope for breaking the spirit of Frafice ""'" . r by some. mysterious visitation. X. . Another " the6ry " advanced was itnat v t , the shells might" have been fired from r f; t ! a' French1 .or; "English gun seized, by-"'-;'- --; traitors or mutineers1 and1 turned upon f the French 'capital.' ' It would hot be' at . all - impossible, according 'to- those who' ' suggested the explanation for a sqtlad ' ' of mutineers 'to have seised a single H - ;C ! gun,, empleced in' some isolated -spot. , ' ' s ' It was recalled that some months agcr '. ' well substantiated ' reports 'were re ceived in Washlhgtonof a revolt of a I Russian' reiriment on the ''west front. It waa quickly jut down, however. The , nosslbilltv that today's ' mysterious bombardment might be traced to some oatburst'4 of disaffection did not seem unreasonable to some officials., - J . LICENSES FOUR COTTON.' ' X - , CARGOES TO SPAIN GRANTED - '--. . .' -. ; .,- Washington, (March ': 23 Export li- .V censes for : the ; ehipment of v four , ckr-- goes ot coiton.-to. Spain, were granted 3. xid today by the war trade" board In pursu-' . ; V . ance of therecent: commercial- agree ment's" concluded ;between.";th American - ' and Spanish governments." ' ''.v,; 'This action,'" said an' announcement V by thef board, rlll provide Ithe cotton ""'-' ''; necesstry to fulfill the normal require-' ment -of the Spanish mills- and shonld v reUeve tears that have existed In'Spkin- as tot the pesi;ilUtjrt rttttage." h0'g:- Is !-; It
Wilmington Morning Star (Wilmington, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
March 24, 1918, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75