Newspapers / The Asheville Times (Asheville, … / Nov. 20, 1917, edition 1 / Page 1
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THE WEATHER Cloudy Tonight and Tomorroto " Asheville's Live 8 1 N e ws paper To d a y 8 News T o d a y N o t T o m or r o w Ever y D a y i n the Y ear VOL, XXII. NO. 287. ASHEVILLE, N. C, TUESDAY AFTERNOON, NOV. 20, 1917 PRICE FIVE CENTS 1ft PAGES M MAIL &s EDITION DESPERATE BATTLE NOW IN PROGRESS BETWEEN THE PIAVE AND BRENTA Fate of Venice and Security of Italian Line Hang In Balance TEUTONS CLAIM IMPORTANT GAINS British,Fren and Americans Active In West Amer ican Soldier Killed Italian possesion of Venice and the security of the Piave line depend ap parently on the outcome of the des perate battle now In progress between the nave and Erenta, rivers. The Austro-Germans are attacking heavily and are advancing against the stout resistance of the Italians. If the in vaders have captured Monte Tomba, as claimed by Berlin, they are within a few miles of the plains behind the Piave. The Italians are defending their positions, but the Germans have advanced several miles In this section within the past few days and seem : lngly are attempting to drive a wedge between the Italians in the region of Asiago and those along the Piave. Kxcrting Stmog Pressure. The Austro-Germans are exerting very strong pressure here and aee re ported to have brought up Auntrian troops from the eastern front and to have brought up Austrian troops from the eastern front and to have trans ferred General von Below's army to this sector Apparently the Anglo French reinforcements have not yet reached the Itnllnn fighting zone and from Italian headquarters it is an nounced that these troops could be used between the Plave and hte Krenta where the pressure of the invaders Is rtrongest. Successful Around Aslngo. Around Asiago, the Italians have checked the Germans pad have been successful In offensive operations. Do 1 Ued in suong efforts to cross the 1'iave between Vitlor and the Adriatic sea the Austro-Germans have ceased their- attempts. The artillery fire -along the river, however, is very vio lent. On WefU'rn Front. On the western front the infantry activity has increased somewhat. The .British have made a slight advance nortliwc.it of Passchendaele and have repulsed German attacks at other points in the Ypres salient. In tho region of Chatime wood on the right bank of the Mcuse, northeast of Ver dun, the French have made an ap preciable advance, inflicting losses on the Germnas. In American Sector. In the American sector the artil lery firing continues very active and there have been further clashes be tween American and German patrols. An American soldier has been killed in a fl: lit in No-Man's-Land Kerensky Reported nt Large. Premier Kerensky is reported to be at Luga, 90 miles south of Petrograd, where two army corps loyal to the committee for the salvation of the revolution which is opposed to the Bolshevik! are stationed. The Bol shevik! now hold the upper hand in Petrograd, Moscow and other large cities, but it is indicated that the ques tion of food supplies now overshadows the political situation. Telegrams re ceived In London show that the food problem is most pressing and that the menace of famine has brought about a cessation of hostilities be v sen the opposing factions, at least for the moment. Guns Hoard In Venice. Venice, Nov. 18. (Delayed) (By the Associated Press) Tho rumble of guns is heard throughout tho rity hv day and night as the fleet and the Venice coast batteries shell the enemy at the mouth of the Piave. An Aus trian airplane flew over the city Sat urday afternoon but, dropped no bombs. The batteries of Venice did not fire but when the machine flew over the Grand Canal Italian torpedo boatn discharged a score of shots with effect. . The city's water supply has not been Interrupted, although it Is feared tho mains coming from the north will be cut. The American wife of a prominent Milan writer named Barrelll has had an unusual experience. She was at Venice while three of her horses and two blooded hounds were at Mestre, a suburb. The railway refused to take the horsse and dogs, owing to the needs of the military. She mounted one horse, took the two others and the dogs by leash and rods night and day to Bologna, 200 miles away, over roads packed wltn military tratnc ana refugees. Leaves for Italy. Paris. Nov. 20. General Marie Fay- die, commander of the French forces ' In Italy, departed last night to take up his duties. General Fayolls Is an artillerym an. He conducted the op rations on the Somme which resulted In the retreat of the Germans to the Hlndenburg line. He then took com mand of central group of armies. It was under him that General Gulllau mat finished, clearing the approaches Is to yerduot - - a ? Counter-Attacks Repulsed. H . - I? Berlin, Nov. 20 (via London). H Strong Italian counter-attacks H against positions captured on the H t northern slope of Monte Tomba H on the mountain front near the H ? upper Piave were unsuccessful, t the war office announces. Heavy H ? fighting continues In this sector, S- . - - KKliXKIcttltKKitKltKKK F ALONG THE PIAVE Correspondent Visited Zen son, Fagare and Zega Mill Talked With Duke of Oosta, Commander Italian Headquarters in Northern Italy, Nov, i9.' (By the Associated Press) (Delayed) The correspond ent Monday made a tour of 30 miles along the Piave battle front, visiting Zenson, Fagare and the Zega mill where desperate fighting has occurred, and saw the duke of Apsta. command er of the Third army, guarding the i'iava line, whose men re-established the solidity of the Piave front. At the moment the duke was issuing an ad dress to his army congratulating them on the glorious achievement. The duke acknowledged cordially tho salutes of the correspondent's party, and a colonel of his staff ex plained conditions along the line. Ev erywhere, the colonel said, the ene my had been thrown back across at the brink of the river, at Zensom where a. few men were huddled In the bushes, unable to go forward or back ward, the enemy was slowly cut to pieces. . : : At Fagare, Forma and the Zega mill the rout of the enemy was com 1 lete, being accomplished in feirful hand to hand fighting on Friday night anct Saturday, This confirmed previ ous information. The tour along the front took the party to the very centers of tho hard est fighting and along the inundated region where the country side was transformed suddenly into a vast in land sea. Approaching tho buttle front the party passed the brigade mention ed by General Diaz, tho commander- n-chief, for its furious assault at Zen- son. It was just back from tho front line and the men still wore their hel mets. Many of them were men of twenty. They were sturdy country boys and marched along seemingly un conscious of their glory. At the barracks they were counting Austrian rifles and guns gathered in tho court. The line of captured ma chine guns looked like a collection of huge black grasshoppers. The bayo nets were detachable and bowie knives with two-edged blades. General Euhereni, ' of the famous Bcrsaglleri brigade, which carried tho day, came nut to greet the party. He Is a short stocky man of resolute beat ing. Tf FLAGS FOR RED CROSS Washington, Nov. 20. Displav of transparent service flags in windows of homes and of emblems in business places, will feature the American Red Cross Christmas membership drive be tween December 1, and Christmas eve. These emblems are to be so arranged as to Indicate the number of people at each place who join the Red Cross. Plans also contemplated are to have church bells chime at half hour In tervals on Christmas eve and to have groups of Red Cross workers march and sing carols as a climax to the membership campaign. AUTHORITIES STILL LOOKING FOR MAN Chicago Nov. 20. The federal au thorities are still looking for the man who occupied the seat adjoining the one under which a device resembling a bomb, was found and which almost created a panic in the Auditorium theater last Friday night. Fred Mil ler, a German citizen, held by the government as a suspect, admitted he had worked in the theater last Friday, but denied he had any knowledge of the affair. tKltXtlJlKXftKlJtft Germans Attacking In Mass, tt , K Headquarters In Northern Italy, Nov. 1. (Delayed.) ! It (By the Associated Press.) K H The enemy is attacking on the t north and very hard fighting is K in progress south of Quero, It where large enemy masses are It It Attacking the Italian positions on H K Monte Tenera and Monte Tomba. It n n HARD TIN BRITISH WEATHERED Tl Premier Came Out of Near Crisis Stronger Than Ever Newspapers Make Vari ous Comments London, Nov. 20. The reception of Premier Lloyd-George's speech in the house of common by the morning newspapers justifies the assumption that the storm which lately threatened a crisis has passed not only without damaging the premier's hold on the country but perhaps even strengthen ing it. It is conceded even by his op ponents that the speech was a parlia mentary triumph. Editorial encomi ums flow freely from his supporters while the comments of hostile -critics lack the fierceness of previous denun ciation. The Daily News which has been hostile to the premier, says that his reply yesterday concerning the mili tary council contrasted startlingly with his Paris speech and asks that if the council is only to be a body concerning which everybody is agreed, what rea son there was for the sensational talk in Paris. The Morning Post, another critic. objects again to the premier's propo sal. It says it may not work for unity. but for division and paralysis which result from a conflict of expert opin ion. The Graphic says the speech failed entirely to clear up the situation and wonders why the tone of the Paris speech was one utmost gloom while the speech in the house was -marked by almost exaggerated optimism." Other editorials hail the premier as a victor. The Daily Telegraph says he won hands down, adding: 'No movement against a government in our time ever perhaps was so com pletely defeated i-na single speech." "The premier achieved a great per sonal triumph," says the Times, "and also completely vindicated to the satis faction of the house of commons the essential soundness in its broad prin ciples of the scheme for a closer union of the allies." The Daily Express says the Epeech demonstrated Premier Lloyd George Is the inevitable head of the nation in this hour of trial and urges horn now to "rid the ship of state of the barna cles still clinging to it." y , Coke Prices Fixed Washington, Nov. 20. Basic prices for by-product coke were fixed by the fuel administration as follows: Run of ovens, $6; selected foundry, $7; and crushed over one-inch size, $6.50. Prices for beehive coke al ready have been announced. Alii No Coniiiiiini(iio Today. London, Nov. L'0. "No headquar ters communique was issued today," says the official wireless message from Petrograd. Will Germans it- These two pictures show scenes In Venice with its gondola, the which the Germans are now approaching. There Is apprehension In the treat it as they treated some French cities which contained works of art. looking north from San Giorgio Island, and th'. smaller gives a spot of THE MISSING BUT, TBOM WESTER RELAi 1 .o? . -I :if -. Boat Contained Five Men, Only Survivors of the Crew of Twelve HAD BEEN MISSING FOR THREE WEEKS Death Roll of the Rochester Now Reduced From 19 To 14 London, Nov. 20. The. missing boat from the steamship Rochester which was sent to the bottom by a German submarine November 2, has just landed at a port In Ireland, the British admiralty announced today. The boat contained five men, the only survivors from the original boat's crew of twelve. . : Given Up For Lost. .... Hope had been abandoned for the second officer and eleven other men. in a boat from the Rochester who at the time of the arrival of the five survivors in Ireland had been missing for 18 days. Vice-Admiral Rims ca bled the navy department on Saturday that these men had been given up as lost. The landing of the five men reduces the Rochester's death roll from 19 to 14.- Four men died of exposure in another boat. Two were killed by the explosion of the torpedo and one was drowned. OVERWHELMING OEFEAT OF PACIFISTS EXPECTED Buffalo, N. Y., Nov. 20. The over whelming defeat of the pacifists by the supporters of President Samuel Gom pers at the annual convention of the American Federation of Labor was expected today by the rapid disposal of many important resolutions upon which the anti-war party had been ex pected to show fight. Resolutions re lating to labor supply to meet war conditions were adopted after that debate. The resolutions committee re commended that the incoming execu tive council take up with the presi dents of all atliliated organizations and the proper government officials any question that may arise in connec tion with labor supply during the war. The report of the committee was adopted unanimously. Destroy Most Beautiful City A1 - i AMERICAN DESTROYEtt SUNK 21 LIVES PROBABLY LOST Washington, Nov. 20. Sinking of the American de stroyer Chauncey in collision in the war zone early yester day morning, with a probable loss of 21 lives, was an nounced today by the navy department. No further details were given in a brief report to the department from Vice-Admiral Sims. The Chauncey was a small, old type boat of only 420 tons. . ; . OFFICIAL STATEMENT. Secretary Daniels made this statement: ''The Chauncey, a small American destroyer on patrol duty in foreign waters was sunk in a collision early Monday morning. First dispatches indicate that 21 lives were lost. Further information will be made publif when full reports are received. "The Chauncey was one of the old type destroyers, com pleted in 1902. Her displacement was 420 tons and her complement 91 officers and men." For several years before the war the Chauncey was used only in coast defense work and was classified as a coast torpedo vessel. American Mission Meets With British War Cabinet London, Nov. 20. None of the nu-1 merous allied war councils wnicnicar x. Crosby, assistant secretary ofjably $45,000 with about $7,000 insur have occurred in the past three years i the American treasury at- the table 1 ance occasioned the same interest as to-, beside him The militkry and naval j patrolman Shook, of the police de days historic meeting of the Amert-j heads of both the government and of-! partment, caught the 10-months'-old can war mission and the British wai , ficials representing other departments ; infant of Mr and Mrs Ross when cabinet. The scene is the dingly old ; of war work will be grouped together. Mr Creasman dropped it into his esidence in Downing street, which has .served the prime ministers of many generations as both home and office and the room is the council chamber where the cabinets and where the destinies of the empire have been shaped since the days of the American revolution. Lord Read ing, the lord chief justice, will preside with Andrew Bonar Law, British GOAL TRUST IS HEARD Washington, Nov. 20. The second and the last of the government's suits against the alleged anthracite coal trust was heard in the supreme court today when proceedings brought to compel tho dissolution of the Reading company, a holding corporation, and affiliated railroad and coal companies were called for re-argument. As the arguments were practically reitera tions of those made by both sides when the case was heard last term, only the usual period of three -hours was granted by th court. A similar suit against the Lehigh Valley rail road company was re-argued last month. of the World 1 IUi ,1,1 I, Ml I I i 1'? Vf kJ . ..... .... .wr & most beautiful city of the world, whole world tin to whether they will The larger pholo shows a scene the Grand Canal chancellor of the exchequer, and Os- . , "'. ",V,'": r"iu iu reiarms; tnis ottleer also orougni mr. present for the purpose of answering nnd Mrs Creasman safely down a lad questions. The general work of the jer meeting constitutes the taking of ; seven dogs were also lost in the fire, stock of the resources .and needs of j They were m,artered in the veterinary both countries and, to some extent, i hospital and one of them was "Doc," of the continental allies. the famous Boston bulldog. In an ef- A group of reporters and photo-!fort to Bave "Doc," Dr. Stephens graphers and curio sightseers were on!,,,,,as(,pfl nlatP class window into his the scene early in the day. TROOPS FROM THE E1ST Government Taking Advan tage of Chaos In Russia Part To Italy Copenhagen, Nov. 20. Reports from several sources in Germany bear our the assumption that, taking ad vantage of the situation in Russia, the German government is making heavy transfers of troops from the Russian front. Only part of them appear to be going to Italy where the front Is too narrow to permit of the use of great masses, and a blow by von Hindenburg at some other point in the way of a diversion may perhaps be expected. Some troops are reported to have been moved to the western front, but this is not necessarily significant as Kield Marshal Haig's pounding tactics necessitate frequent reliefs for ex hausted German divisions. German newspapers discuss with suspicious frankness and avidity the prospect of an offensive on the Sa loniki front, but have never a word to say about the obvious chance of a smashing blow at Rumania In an ef fort to end the resistance of that na tion. Asfor Italy, if the Austrians and Germans find the reinforced Italian army too hard a nut to attempt to crack the central powers can easily and quickly change to the defensive on a strong line for the purpose of ' seeking to force a decision on some ; other selected frnot with the bulk of their strategic reserve. NEW CASE MENINGITIS IT SEHEH REPORTED Greenville. S f Vav Oft 7f officially announced today at Camp!nunlber Mp- Creasman owned novier mat one new case or menin gitis had developed In the last 24 hours, but that there had been no deaths among the troops. The medi cal authorities believe conditions are Improving as neither measles nor pneumonia are spreading. Civilians may enter the camp If they wish, under the military quar antine. The city authorities, how ever, may put Into effect a quarantine to prevent this, it was Had today. Gorman Flnliliig Vesnei Missing. London, Nov, 20. An official re port received here from Berlin denies the st. i lenient made by the British ad miralty on Sunday that a German mine sweeper was sunk In the en gagement of Saturday off Helgoland. H says, however, that a fishing steam- I I er Is missing, . ! IM STABLE BURNS 34 HORSES LOSTFLIES Losses In Fire About $45,000, With" $7,000 Insurance II. CREASMAN HAS THIRD STABLE LOSS Upper Biltmore Avenue Is Saved By Chief Wood and Firemen For the second time within five days a disastrous fire has visited Ashevllle; I this morning the livery stable belong ing to J. H. Creasman on Biltmore av enue Is a total wreck and 34 horses' are dead. Mrs. David Ross, who jumped from her apartments over tho stable, is slightly injured. Mr. and, Mrs. Creasman were taken down a ladder from their rooms on the sec ond floor and are unhurt. The veter inary hospital adjoining the stable, owned by Drs. Stephens and Bell, is ' a partial loss and many valuable in struments were destroyed. Only the strenuous efforts of the firemen saved the W. H. Westall building, standing north of the burning building, the Swannanoa-Berkeley hotel, and in all , probability the entire business dis- sauare. The losses will reach nrob- I office and climbed into the building: but the animal was already beyond help and Dr. Stephens was driven back by a mounting wall of fire. Suspect Incendiarism. The origin of the fire is so far an unsolved problem, and city officials stated today that indications point very strongly to incendiarism. The alarm was turned in at 2 o'clock, but when the firemen reached the stable, smoke and fire were pouring from the windows and the entire structure was a seething furnace. When those firemen living in or near the business district were roused by the first alarm the red glare of flames had already lighted the sky and when Chief J. H. Wood arrived a few minutes after the first call he realized that his work was to save that entire section of the city; the stable was nJready beyond saving. Separated by about 20 feet of alley from tho fire, the Westall building now becamo the principal point of at tack in the strenuous work to protect the street -from the square to the ho- tei Five lines of hose had Been con nected and with two of these the nre- i men kept a veritable wall of water ! playing through the alley between the i burning structure and the one threat I ened. The Intense heat cracked and melted the glass in the windows and ' scorched the window casings, but tho j enormous volume of water skilfully played under tho chief's direction, i blocked the leaping flames in the ef ! fort to fasten themselves on the I building. j Across tho avenue, the Swannoa ho i tel itself was in considerable danger. To save this hostelry firemen mounted to the roofs and used water freely. But the wind from the southeast car ried most of the fire menace directly against the Westall building. Hotels Threatened. The niht clerk at the Swannanoa roused his guests to be ready for any emergency, and with bBggage already packed they stood ready to move out before tho flames if the fire should pass the firemen. In the Oxford hotel, in the Westall building, the guests also made ready to flee before the flameu, and Frank Mears of the O. K. Auto Supply and Transit company, moved out his cars -and took them beyond the fire zone. The Henrietta, occupied by young women, was not close enough to the fire to be indanger. The smoke from the burning hay poured from the doors Hnd windows of tho building in thick suffocating volumes. Caught in one black wave of this smoke, Mrs. Ross leaped from the second story and slightly injured herself about the head. The horses, It is believed, were suf focated by this smoke before the fire reached them. Not a horse in the building was saved, and of the total 30. Green Brothers Furniture store two, J. R. Rich and company one and the Ashevllle Paint and Glass company one. This morning hundreds of people stood outside the roped areas of the tire swept building and watched the preparations to remove the charred wreckage and the carcasses of the dead animals. The lines of the stalls could be traced by the half-consumed bodies of the horses. Fifteen minutes before the Are alarm was sounded, Captain Pinner and Patrolman Shook passed the sta ble looking for Lum Featherstone, wanted for alleged, assault. Featehr etoen had been employed at the sta ble, it is said, and the policemen fleshed their lights into the office of (Continued on Tag 1) ! 1 i j
The Asheville Times (Asheville, N.C.)
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Nov. 20, 1917, edition 1
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