North Carolina Newspapers

VfTfT.llrA I'lliiClV 12 PAGES TODAY WHEN YOU SEE IT IN THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. IPS SO j ! i PUBLISHED AT "CHARLOTTE, THE METROPOLIS OF THE CAROLINA SI' PRICE FIVE CENTS. CHARLOTTE, N. C. TUESDAY MORNING, MARCH 6, 1917. FOUNDED 1869 RILLI1T SGEMES 1ITID IIUGURATIOI AT MTIOIL WA W!L SDN IAN Question of His Authority Re ferred to Legal Advisers. CONVOYING IS SUGGESTED Also Making Merchantmen Na val Auxiliaries, if Decision Is Against Right to Arm Vessels. Washington, March 5. Action by President Wilson in the Ger man situation wa? postponed to day pending dceision by his legal advisers whether he has power to arm American merchantmen in spite of the failure of Congress to confer such authority. The question was referred to Attorney-General Gregory and Secretary Lansing, and probably will be decided in time for con sideration at tomorrow's Cabinet meeting, the first to be held in the new Administration. The Presi dent has placed before the Senate the responsibility for changing its rules during the special session begun today so that filibustering! by a few Senators cannot prevent action by Congress. In the mean-; time, he is preparing to take steps to meet the crisis and defend American rights. While the arming of merchant men is the step most considered, it is pointed out that the President has the right to convoy American vessels. This course has been op posed by the Navv Department, however,' principally for strategi cal reasons. Aa Naval AttviliariM Another step suggested is that j the shipping board take oven American merchantmen and arm them as naval auxiliaries. The President has been inclined to believe that certain old statutes Still in force might prevent him from furnishing guns to merehant;; men, DUt Some Of hlS advisers hold that a broader and truer interpre-' tation of these laws will show that they have no application to the nrcnt eitmtinn j, retail mumuuu. A UemOCrailC CaUCUS Or me new Senate has been called to meet to morrow, and the possibility of fol lowing Out the SUFeest'lOn Of the! PrMfnt that th niTes hp rhanirerl i rrcsiueni irui ine ruies De tnangea is expected to be determined. Another name was added today , it i e c i t. j to the list of Senators who signed i a manifesto in the Closing hours of the session favoring the armed neutrality bill and would have voted for it if given the opportu nity. It was that of Senator l.ip pitt of Rhode Island and made the 76th signer. ELKHARDT SAYS HE NEVER GOT ORDERS: Mexico City, March 6. In a state ment made today II. von Bckhardt, the German Minister to Mexico, said that if Dr. Alfred Ztmmermann, the Oermarr Foreign Minister, had sent orders to him to endeavor to embroil Mexico and possibly Japan, In a war with the United States, the orders were never received and therefore were not acted on. The stament was made by the .ri i....... ...u ....-... 1 . . i. , ,i . j i hat ha knew anvthlnar about thn in. , structions after he had been shown the , Berlin dispatch In which Doctor Zlm mermann acknowledged sending the note to him. DONT WANT GERMAN CONSULS IN BRAZIL Rio Janeiro, March 5. The Jornal j A Razon begs the Brazilian Govern ment to keep the German machina tions under surveillance, saying that Germany had hatched conspiracies In all parts of the world. It Is Impos sible, in the opinion of the paper, that Germany has forgotten to make her dispositions in South America, par ticularly In Brazil. It adjures the Government to ascer tain If the Germans have a military organisation in Brazil, and if they have received arms from .the Argen tine frontier and concludes with a protest against the transfer to Hitt7.il of the German Consuls who are being withdrawn from the United States. VILLA REPORTED TO HAVE BEEN WOUNDED El Paso, Texas, March 6. Mexican Consular officials here received a re port today that Francisco Villa was struck by a piece of shrapnel during the battle of Jimenez and that double pneumonia resulted. A report that a German physician was treating Villa IS FIRST DEMOCRATIC SENATOR FROM WYOMING JOHH E. KETtDRlCK. Senator-elect Kendrlck is the first Democrat to represent Wyoming In the upper house of Congress. Since admission to Statehood, the State has only had two Democrats In the low er Iiohhc. Kendrlck was Governor und resigned to make tlic race for United Stutc4jenutor against Senator Clark. Cold and Clearing Weather Bring Relief to South. " Material Damae Not ExPected to Be Great Railroads Are Probably Heaviest Losers, elATgLrT sShidr.iiS from threatened serious floods In Ala- the situation on the upper Tennessee Uvrv whlch went out of 118 banks st VhattanooKfti the Tennessee con. tlnued to spread over lowlands, and farther up It had flooded. Many per- ona drJven from the(r nomes were marooned at Isolated points. A res- cue steanier has been sent to their aid. Around ChattanooKa, there was lit tie sufferlnK as the result of prompt action by city authorities in giving shlter t0 tne homeless. Railroad traffic was Interfered with there, 'while further east, landslides caused uy whn ilium lieu uu numv uiaiiuu ratirond lines. The Chmbenland River at Nashville rtMILlllucu lu line lvii.diil, ni.u men!, stages for both that river and the Tennessee were forecast, but the ma terial damage was not expected to be great, as warehouses had been emp tied and farmers in the nearby coun try had had time to move their stock. In North "Carolina, the Roanoke. Neuse, Cape Fear and Tar Rivers were beyond flood stage. Little ma terial damage was reported, and nraiihar fitrera si era mild these rivers had reached higher stages previously Wlinoui mucn iiarni imuiuiik. The .Tames and Roanoke Rivers in Virginia were subsiding tonight after the forn.er had left Its banks near Richmond. Little property loss re sulted. CAROLINA STREAMS PASS FLOOD STAGE Raleigh, March 5. The Roanoke, Neuse. Cane Fear and Tar Rivers were still rising at 1 o'clock today, and all had passed tne nooa swige. ine ItUHIlUKr Aivri ill . riuini nau reached a stage of thirty-nine feet at 1 o'clock today, nine feet "above the flood stage. The weather was clear ing and colder and this retardod the rising of the river to some dogree. Weather bureau predicted a stage of 45 feet for this river by Wednesday. THvoi at QmfttinpM was 16 1.2 feet th afternoon and still ris- Ing. It is expected that It will attain a height of at least seventeen feet, which Is considerably beyond the flood stage. The Cape Fear at Fayettevtlle was about the same' height as it was at 8 o'clock this morning when 4t was thirty-five feet, five feet above the flood stage. Growing Charlotte Must Have More and Better School Facilities. FLOOD DANGER IS PROBABLY PAST PEOPLE MAKING KNOWN APPROVAL OF PRESIDENT The American people are going on record as supporting the Presi dent and strongly condemning the acUon of the Senators who de feated the armed neutrality bill.. At a mass meeting in New York last night, resolutions condemning the action of the Senators as "lit tle short of treasonable" were adopted. Los Angeles citizens sent the President a telegram asking him to Bend the American fleet out to "capture or destroy" the Ger man submarines. The Legislature of Arkansas adopted strong reso lutions denouncing the Senate fili buster, while In Nebraska a reso lution was presented asserting that lenator Norris did not voice the sentiment of the people of his State, in opposing the President's wishes. Chairman Willsox, of the Republican National Committee, issued a statement strongly ap proving the President's course. BRITISH OPERATIONS ON FRONT IN. FRANCE MEET WITH MORE SUCCESSES London War Office Reports Suc cessful Raids Bitter Cold in the East Halts the Fighting. Rxcept for the front In France, where the British and French, are opposing the Germans, there have been only the usual outpost en gagements and bombardments. Around Arras and near Ginchy. the British troops have carried out successful raids against Ger man positions, according to Lon don. In the vicinity of Arras, King George's men struck at two places and Inflicted many casual ties on the Germans, took 43 prisoners and captured a ma chine gun: Prisoners also were taken near Ginchy. Near Bou chavensnes, the Germans endeav vored to wrest from the British the positions captured Sunday, but met with repulse. The French counter-attacks north of Bois Caurieres, where the Germans had made a gain at one point in an attack delivered over a front of one and three quarter miles, regained part of the captured elements. The French official communication says that elsewhere than in the Bois Caurieres, the Germans were repulsed with heavy casual ties in their Sunday attack. There has been considerable aerial activity along the line in France. London reports that ' Sunday six hostile machines were brought down, two within the British lines, and that eight oth ers were forced to descend dam aged. It is admitted, however, that the Germans forced down two British machines and that Ave others failed to return to their base. French airmen and an anti-aircraft gun accounted for three German airplanes Monday. The weather on the Russian front has again turned bitterly cold. Impeding operations there. Scouting parties continue active In Rumania, and at various points artillery duels are In prog ress. There has been no change In the situation in the Austro Itaiian and Macedonian theaters. The repulse of a small Turkish - attack near Kalklt, In Turkish Armenia, Is reported by Petro grad. MANY DECISIONS ARE EXPECTED FROM COURT Adamson Law Decision Is Look ed For Court Delivers Opin ion on Tuesday, an Unusual Proceeding. Washington, March 5. Two score or more decisions are expected to morrow irom the Supreme Court fol lowing Its month's recess. Delivery of opinions on Tuesday, an unusual procedure and the first time since 1877, results from the court being oc cupied today with the inaugural cere monies. Among tomorrow's opinions is ex pected to be an announcement on the question of constitutionality of the Adamson railroad law. The court also may decide the Reading and Lehigh so-called "coal trust" cases, the disposition of the German prise ship Appam, the legal -Jty of several State workmen's com pensation laws, Oregon's women's minimum wan and men's 10-hour day laws, and several cases affecting j rights of labor unions and their mem- I bers. ! Hearing will begin tomorrow of a i dosen Important cases on a docket ' specially advanced for argument, in ' eluding the so-called Harvester, Steel and Shoe Machinery "trust" suits, the Oregon-California land case and , Rhode Island and West Virginia elec tion fraud prosecutions. RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT i HAS ENTERED SUIT! New Tork. March 5. The Russian Government seeks to obtain Judg ments totalling $ 1,368,000 from the Tennessee Copper Company and the National Surety Company in a suit filed in the Federal Court here today for alleged breach of a contract to supply $4,560,000 worth of trinitro toluol. The Tennesee Copper Company agreed to deliver' to the Russian Gov ernment the complaint states before November 1, 191C, 4,800,000 pounds of the explosive at 95 cents a pound. The Russian Government, to bind the agreement paid in advance the sum of $1,140,000 and the Tennessee Copper Company furnished a bond of the National 8urety Company cover ing the amount of the advance pay ment as a guarantee that it would comply with the terms of the con tract and also promised In case of default to pay as liquidated damages $228,000 five per cent of the total DEMOCRATS President's Proposal for Form of Cloture to Be Taken Up. MINORITY WILL FIGHT I Always Has Been Opposed to Any Rule That Would Prevent Unlimited Debate. Washington, Match 5. With Pres ident Wilson's demand for a change in Senate rules to make impossible in the future such a filibuster as the one by which a handful of members de feated the armed nutrality bill fresh in their minds. Senate Democrats will caucus tomorrow on a program for the special session. The session was called primarily to pass upon appoint- j ments to office. Senator Owen, who has been the chief proponent of a limited debate rule for many years, is prepared to bring the subject of cloture before the caucus, and thirty-three Senators, most of them Democrats, have signed an agreement to support the rule he ' proposes. If the caucus decides to stand be hind this proposal and make it the chief issue of the session, the Senate may spend the Summer in Washing ton instead of disposing of Its work in a few days. Many Senators who have partici pated In various such fights in the past believe it would be extremely dif ficult to get the Senate to agree to a limited debate rule. Republicans in the cloak rooms to day predicted that the minority party almost to a man would oppose such a rule and openly declared there would be Democrats to side with them. Biggest Asset. The biggest present asset of those who wish a change In the rules is the President and. the public opinion his statement denouncing the present" rules Is expected to arouse. Never before has a President open ly aligned himself in its favor, nor has public attention generally been called to what he considers a fault in its method of procedure. The President is expected to continue his insistence for a change. The Republicans, aside from any personal views they may have about the President's statement and its In tent to force a change in the proce dure of the 'legislative branch, will oppose the proposed rule Just as ml norlUes always oppose it because un limited debate is one of their most potent weapons. The progressive Re publicans who participated in the kill ing of the armed neutrality bill, are understood to be exceedingly bitter over the President's statement de nouncing them. There are sixteen new Senators and how they will stand on. a cloture rule nobody definitely knew tonight It Is regarded as probable that for the time being they will for the most part line up with their respecUve parties, and apparently their coming will make little difference In a rules fight If thirty or forty Senators are op posed to a change, since the Senate must operate under the rules that now exist until it can change them, they would be able to talk about as long as the Senate cares to stay In session. Invoking the very tactics which the President wants to bar in the future. Many Nominations. Unless- the rules fight comes up at once, the Senate probably will pro ceed when the President returns for confirmation of most of the 1,400 nominations which failed last session. Few of them will lead to prolonged discussion except that of Dr. Cary T. Grayson, the President's naval aide, to be medical director and rear ad miral, which was fought in the lest session. The treaty to pay Colombia 115, 000,000 for the separation of Panama will lead to long discussion If taken up. and since treaties must be ratified by a two-thirds vote, there Is not a great deal of hope that it will go through. About the first business of the cau cus tomorrow will be the selection of a majority leader. Senator Martin, of Virginia, is unopposed. 0-JO SAYS Kair and ,warmer today and Wed nesday. The fellow who marries a cooking school girl must expect Tier to pan FfedrS. Wsrma i . . - KAISER PUTS IT UP TO BERNSTORFF TO EXPLAIN London. March 5. A dispatch to the Exchange Telegraph Company from Amsterdam says: "According to a Frankfort tele gram received here the German Government has sent a wireless dispatch to Count von Bernstorff, former German Ambassador to the United States, who is at sea re turning to Germany, asking him to explain how the German note with regard to bringing Mexico and Ja pan into war with the United States was divulged. "A special courier has been de spatched to meet Count von Bern storff on his arrival and warn him against granting any newspaper in terviews on the situation." The correspondent adds that the Socialist newspapers in Munich. Leipzig and Magdeburg criticise the note to Mexico as the crowning diplomatic blunder of Germany. IN ARREST OF SUSPECT, POLICE MAY HAVE FOILED PLOT TO DESTROY PLANTS Fritz Kalb. German Taken in Custody at Hoboken, Believed to Have Planned to Blow Up Munitions Works. Hohoken. N. J.. March 5. With the arrest here today of Fritz Kolb, a German, the authorities expressed the belief that they had frustrated a well-developed plot to aid Grmany by blowing up munition plants in this country engaged in turning out contracts for the Entente Allies. The po lice said they found In Kolb's room two bombs which, accord ing to rumors that bad reached them, were to be sent to Presi dent Wilson. After a preliminary investiga tion, they announced themselves convinced that the plans of the alleged plotters had to do en tirely with destroying war sup plies, and that no attack on the President's life was contempla ted. The police also said they had come into possession of infor mation which might help them in solving the Black Tom, N. J., explosion and the destruction of the Klngsland, N. J.. plant of the Canadian Car A Foundry Co., In which large munition supplies for the Entente Allies were blown "We are following leads which may result in additional arrests at any time," Chief of Police Mayes declared. "We are co operating with the New Tork po lice and the neutrality squad of the collector ef the port of New Tork. We have been working on this for several weeks." Kolb was found in a small ho tel, opposite the piers of the Hamburg-American Line. Kolb was born in Cologne, Germany, he said, and came to this country shortly after the war began, working his way on a Standard Oil steamer. He also made several trips between this country and Mexico, he said, but not recently. At various times, he added, he worked as a bar keeper and waiter, and admitted that he was a druggist, and had sought a position as a weigher in chemical houses IMMEDIATE SUSPENSION 0FCUBANH0STILITIES Will Be Effected by Agreement Signed by Representatives of Liberal Party and American Commander. New Tork, March 6. Immediate suspension of hostilities by the Cuban revolutionists in the Province of Ori ente, to be effected by a proclamation signed by representatives of, the Lib eral party and the commander of the American naval squadron at Santia go, and followed by an armistice throughout the entire Republic, Is forecast in cablegrams received here today by Dr. Orestes Ferrara. repre sentative of the Liberal party, from R. Fernandez, military commander of Oriente. The request for an armis tice, the cablegrams said, is to be presented to President Menocal of Cuba through Washington. By this turn of events, according to Dr. Ferrara's Information, the Lib erals win receive a guarantee, through the United States Government, of fair elections in Oriente; the recognition of Fernandez as military commander of the province, and an assurance that i the Menocal Government shall not j interfere with the Liberals in their ' present administration of affairs in the territory they hold. Dr. Ferrara later received another i cablegram from Fernandes dated ' March i. announcing that the com mander of the' American naval squad ron had recognized his position of chief of the military district of Ori ente. and adding: "An officer of the American Navy and one of my command leave now for Bayamo and Holguis. Hostilities will be declared suspended by a proc lamation signed by our Government , of Santiago and the commander of the , American squadron has also request ; ed his Government that anarmlstice be extended to the whole of the Island , of Cuba, also that the Menocal Gov ernment shall not Interfere In the Government of the province of Orl iente." 1 .. BRITISH HELD SHIP AT BERMUDA THREE MONTHS Newport Xeway- Yi March 8. Held at Bermuda three months by the British blockade order, the Greek steamer Orion arrived this afternoon after toeing four months out from Oran for this port. The master of the steamer said that his ship was one of the first the British allowed to proceed. ' WOQDROW WILSON FOR TIME TAKES SOLEMN PRESIDENT OE ADMINISTERED OATH OF OFFICE TO PRESIDENT Chief Justice White Chief Jnstloe White, of the Supreme Court of the United States, adminis tered the oath of office to President Wilson. This function was twice per formed by the Chief Justice, first pri vately in the President's room la the Caapitol Sunday and again Monday at the public ceremonies. Bronzed Guardsmen, Recently Returned From Mexican Border, Lined Pennsylvania Avenue, Vis ible Evidence of Measures to Protect President. Washington, March I. The mighty procession whlcn marked President Wilson's second inauguration today marched with wind-whipped flags over Pennsylvania avenue from the Capitol to the White House between open lines of khaki, bronzed guards men from New Tork, horns from ser vice on the border. It was the first time sihee the Inauguration of JJn coln In 1861 that troops had guarded the line of march. Despite the wind and lowering clouds, which early In the day dark ened the city with threats of a con tinuation of the downpour of yester day and last night, almost every foot of vantage space along the mile-long way was occupied, and the great re viewing stands, windows, balconies and housetops held thousands more. The crowd waited patiently behind the stout steel cables stretching from the White House to the Capitol, hun dreds of early comers being In nosi tion at 7 o'clock, four hours before the President and his party left the White House. Ten hours later, when the last of the marchers was nearin the reviewing stand, the line still held. Presidential Party. President Wilson and his escort. Squadron B of the Second Cavalry, left the White House st 11 o'clock. the President and Mrs. Wilson riding In an open carriage drawn by four horses, preceded by mounted police and cavalry and flanked by secret service men. The Vice President fol lowed in another carriage, with his smart-looking escort of cadets from Culver Military Academy, mounted on black horses. As the procession left the Court of Honor, opposite the White House, the cavalry formed a hollow square, with the President's carriage in the cen ter. It was shortly after 1 o'clock when the Inaugural parade started up the avenue, the President and his es cort leading. Meantime the sun had come out. drying the sand sprinkled over the way. The line moved slowly between two New York regiments the Twelfth and the Sixty-ninth stand ing at attention. They were the visi ble evidence of elaborate steps taken to Insure the President's safety. With bands blaring many tunes and flags whipping, the parade got under way a long line of brilliant color. First came the West Point cadets, overcoated, a marching mass of gray and white whose clock-like move ments were aa of one man. They were followed bythe Annapolis ca dets, 1,200 strong, wearing their deep blue overcoats. Military Organization. Then came the long line of military organizations, guardsmen, sailors. Zl., TJ, n .rV n . nT rid,t aThool. coast artillerymen and cadet schools which formed the first and second divisions, under- command of Major General Tanker H. Bliss and Brig. Gen. William A. Mann. As the head of the Une reached the Court of Hon or, the marchers stopped and remain ed at attention for 20 minutes wbUe the President prepared to take his place in the reviewing stand. A bugle gave the signal, and the long line moved again. The inaugu ral parade was on, with the Presi dent standing where Presidents long have stood on inauguration day to re view the marchers. For nearly four p- S"' X. 1 .vW-J 1 TROOPS GUARDED LI OE MARCH (Continued on Page Two) UNITED STATES Consecrates Inauguration With Message of Hope for Peace. MRS. WILSON AT HIS SIDE Shares Plaudits of Nation Vice President Marshall Also Sworn in for Another Term. Washington, March 5. Woo row Wilson, with the major part of the world at war, and America poised on its verge, consecrated his second inauguration as Presi dent of the United States today with a message of hope for peace. Standing in the shadows of the Nation's Capitol, with his face turned toward the Eastern war seared skies, the President renew ed his oath of allegiance to the Constitution, praying to Almighty God that he might be given wis dom and prudence to do his duty in the true spirit of the American people. While trumpets blared and mar tial accoutrements rattled .pro phetically about him the President pictured the deep wrongs the United States patiently had borne in the conflict of other peoples J without wishing to wrong or in-, jure in return. Asserting that the tragedies of another continent had removed provincialism and made American citizens of the world, and that the principles of this Republic should : be applied to a liberation of man kind, he resolutely voiced a deter mination that America, standing "firm in armed neutrality," must demonstrate her claim to a "mini mum of right and freedom of ac tion" in world affairs. Rebuke to Fffibattercrg. Peculiar interest and signifi cance in the light of his rebuke last night to Senators whe prevented passage of the armed neutrality bill were attached to the Presi dent's assertion. Even more in terest and concern were aroused when he added: "We may even be drawn on, by circumstances, not by our own purpose or desire, to a more ac tive assertion of our rights as we. see them and a more immediate association with the great struggle itself. But nothing will alter our thought or our purpose. We deT sire neither conquest nor advan tage. We wish nothing that can be had only at the cost of another people. We have always pro fessed unselfish purpose and we covet the opportunity to prove that our professions are sincere." Making no attempt to review the legislative record of the last four years, the President said this was no time for retrospect. The time was one to speak of thoughts and pur poses for the immediate future. To be indifferent to the influence of the war upon America, or-Independent of it. be said, was impossible,- and he was firm in the conviction that the part this country wished to play In the vital turmoil was the part of those "who mean to vindicate and -fortify peace." These were the dominant thoughts of the President aa He addressed the cheering multitude In the broad plaza of the Capitol grounds. In the as semblage be tore him American eiti- , zens of an Nations had sung "Amer ica'' with a mighty voice whUe wait ing for his appearance on the in augural stand. And in the procession which followed him to the - White House and passed in review "a com posite and cosmopolitan people" gave graphic evidence of loyalty and pa triotism. "We are America ctUseas" flared from banners borne by once alien hands. "We are ready ter light and die for Asarrica,M was the stirring message blazing from a standard wav ing over the heads of new American citizens from Poland. Men of many foreign ancentries hald to the breeze as they marched past the Chief Ex ecutive other insignia of patriotio Americanism, and the words "Amer ica First," emblazoned from countless streamers aroused the throngs along ' Washington ! broad thoroughfares to ,,Km,. .,rinM f.r. continual outbursts of patriotic fer vor. Triumphal Course. ' From the time the President left the White House until his return, his course was triumphal. Sharing with him the plaudits was Mrs. Wilson, who accompanied hint to the Capitol, stood by his side- oa the inaugural i stand as Chief Justice White admin istered the oath of ofnee, and Joined with him in acknowledging the trib utes and acclaim In the Journey to the White House. It was the first time In history that fContlnued on Page Two.) denied by1 seo f e t service gen ts.-