Newspapers / The Asheville Times (Asheville, … / Nov. 23, 1917, edition 1 / Page 1
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v .. " ... THE WEATHER PAGES MAIL EDITION Fair Tonight with Frost Asheville'8 Livest N c w 8 paper T o d a y ' 8 N e w 8 Tod ay No t Tom or to w E v e r y Da y in t h e Ye a r VOL. XXII. NO. 290. ASHEVILLE, N. C, FRIDAY AFTERNOON, NOV. 23, 1917 PRICE FIVE CENTS $ BRITISH CONSOLIDATE THEJf GAINS AND ARE PREPARED FOR ANOTHER DRIVE ON CAMBRAI General Byngs Army Has Nearly Completed Occupation of Burlonwood Which Dominates Entire Region Around Fontaine Notre Dame British Forced to Outskirts of Town RAILWAYS TO CAMBRAI IN HANDS OF BRITISH Believed That Cambrai Has Lost Its Usefulness as Ger man Supply Base General Byng Showed That He Is a Master of Organization in Directing the Drive The Casualties Much Less Than Number of Prisoners Withstanding German counter attacks British forces have consolidated their pains and are, prepared for another plunge toward Cambrai. General Byng's men are just west of Fontaine Notre Dame, less than three miles of Cambrai, and have nearly completed the occupation of Burlonwood, just north of Fontaine and a-Inch dominates the entire Fontaine Notre Dame was yesterday. Wednesday night the village was captured by the British but a strong German counter attack Thursday drove the British to the ivestcrn outskirts. The village is the apex if the wedge which the British have driven toward Cambrai and which includes approximately 50 square miles of territory formerly within the German lines. LITTLE CiNGE III ITALIAWSITURTION Heavy Firing Continues On Northern Line, Especially Between Piave and Brenta Rivers Italian Headquarters In Northern Italy, Nov 23 (Delayed). (By the Associated Press). Heavy fighting continues on the northern line, cen tering along tho low mountains above Monte Grappa. These successive mountains are proving to be tho same kind of natural barrier to the enemy's swift advance that the successive riv ers interposed 'before -the Piave was reached. Before the enemy looms snow-capped Grappa, hold by the Italians, which would be a really formidable obstruction should the lowec ranges be taken. It is toward this natural mountain barrier that the present mountain fighting is gradu ally developing. Tho fighting today between the Piave and Brenta rivers while heavy brought no material change in the 'positions of the opposing forces. "Washington, Nov. 23. Ambassa dor Francis, at Petrograd, has report ed that German propagandists are now carrying on almost openly their ac tivities to keep affairs unsettled in the Russian capital. The Ambassador's message, dated November 20, said all , Americans in Petrograd and Moscow were safe and those at Moscow had decided to re main. Eighteen Americans had left Petrograd on a special train for the Swedish frontier. STATE OFFERS EVIDENCE . IN THE DE SAULLES CASE Mlnoola, N. T., Nov. 23. Through Marshall Ward, dinner guest at the Tim Rfilltles hnmn thn nvnntnir nf A n rr ust 3. last, when John L, De HaullcsM was killed, thn prosecution today in the trial of Mrs. Hlunea De Saulles .for the murder of her former husband offered the first eyn-wltness evidence of the shooting. The submission of testimony on behalf of the prosecu tion was expected to bo completed be fqre the close of the afternoon session and there was a possibility that Mrs. De Sauries would begin her testimony Before the adjournment for the day, Indications today were that the case would not be given to the Jury until :JaU nut week. region, i the scene of the heaviest fighting Rushing Up Reserves. The Germans are reported to, . be rushing up reserves for 'counter at tacks. Cambria probably has lost its usefulness as the German supply base in the immediate region as the city and the , throe 1 railroads entering it from the north, east and south are dominated by the BrltiRh artillery. The new wedge also is a direct menace to Queant, the southern end of the Queant-Drococourt switch-line which held up the British advance east of Arras fast spring. Queant is now with in a sharp salient, which has been heightened by the British advances from Bullecourt to the present drive. Masterpiece 'of Organization, General Byng's stroke was a master piece of organization, according to the reports from the front. Many squad rons of tanks cut through the great wire defenses, opening the way for the infantry and cavalry, which push ed through rapidly to the last defen sive lino before Cambrai. The trans portation service kept pace with the advance, the construction of roads and railroads, Field Marshal Haig . an nounces, having contributed largely to the success of the -operation, More Than 0.000 Prisoners, That the surprise was complete, is shown by the fact that the British casualties were considerably less than tho number of Germans captured more than 9,000. The Pvitx also were able to free the Fcu.. popula tion of some of the to" .is and villages. rThese peoplo the f jrmans had been man troops eZcuntered included cripples and con! descents. Desperate tsJ.g continues in the mountains betequ the Piave and the Brenta valleys. he Italians battling fiercely, are apparently holding their own against tho superior Austro-Ger-man forces. On Monte Fontana, the Italians, after inflicting heavy losses on tho enemy, retired from advanced elements. Strong efforts on the Asia go plateau west of Brenta were -re-pulsed by the Italians. Austro-Ger-man chances of breaking through to the plains behind the Piave, General Maurice, of the British staff, believes, are diminishing hourly.' The situa tion is improving but Venice is not yet safe. The Italians have brought up big guns and much needed ammuni tion and supplies, while British and French reinforcements soon will be at the side of the Italians. MOTOR TRAVEL ASKS FOR L O. M. Welts; In charge of the road! department for the Automobile club of America, has asked the Asheville board of trade for some of the board's new pictures of roads around Ashe vllto. The photographs have been forwarded and will appear In the next Issue of Motor Travel, the club's offi cial publication. ' Large quantities of Asheville litera ture are being mailed out today in re sponse to requests for information from people in various sections of the country. WILMOT MERCHANT IN BANKRUPTCY J. S. Hellers, a merchant of Wllmot, N. C, today filed with District Attor ney Court Clerk W, B. Hyams a vol untary petition in bankruptcy. Ho gave his liabilities as $6,156.84 and assets at $2,929.67. lie did not ask lor any exemption. Germans Sent Two Companies of Invalids Into Battle Line British Army Headquarters in' France, Nov. 22 (Delayed) (By the Associated Press). The successes of the British arms in the Cambrai sec tor have continued to grow steadily, and Field Marshal Halg's troops in a little more than two days' fighting have overrun an area equal in size to that won by the Germans during the first fifteen days of their spec tacular drive on Verdun. British cav alry, tanks and infantry today were battling their way forward along a line which' at many points west and southwest of Cambrai was less than three miles from that important town. The advance also was spreading north ward in the region of Bullecourt and the salient toward Cambrai was be ing widened. The total of prisoners captured must approach the 9,000 mark. At last the British and Germans are at grips on comparatively open ground and some of the fiercest hand fighting of the war has been going on. The enemy troops were unpre pared for the attack, but they have been putting every ounce of their strength into an attempt to stem the rising tide. Wounded Men Sent To Fight. Troops have been, pulled away from other points and rushed to the Cam brai sector by the desnerate Germans. and so hard pressed were they for men that two companies of cripples and convalescents were recruited hast ily at one camp and thrown into the line in the region of Maisnieres. Some of these pitiful objects are in British hands and are receiving medical treat ment. One prisoner was in the last stages of tuberculosis and he had to be moved to prevent the disease from spreading to the others who were in a state or cruel exhaustion and vir tually helpless from their valiant at tempts to fight under the lash of their unrelenting officers The great battle field has taken on the aspect of scenes in Wara It is no longer a conflict of trenches and shell holes, but of men struggling bitterly with rifles and bayonets over a- virgin -battle ground while the long neglected cavalry sweeps in pictur esgue charges against the enemy posi tions over the wide territory involved. The roads everywhere for two days have been swarming with advancing troops and with prisoners and civilians coming back from the front.; Many rejoicing non-combatant men, women and children have been pouring out of the captured towns under the guidance of their deliverers from German bond age. Marching Toward Comfort. This has been a battle of strange sights, but no more striking spec tacle has been witnessed than that of these people marching toward homes and comfort back of the British front. Through the very gaps which the tanks had torn in the famous Hlnden burg lino mothers yesterday and to day were pushing baby carriages con taining" infants or trumping happily along with their babios clutched to their breasts. Beside them toddlod other youngsters, many of them carry ing their treasured dolls and not a few clinging determinedly to squirm ing puppies which they dared not trust to run on the ground. Old men and women were bringing, away all the household effects they could pack on pushcarts or carry on their backs. For three years they had been In captivity and some of them in slavery. iney had been subsisting on tho oounty or the -American relief enm- mittee which furnished them virtually tiio "my ntoa iney oniainea. Hard lighting at Crcvocoeur. Hard fighting has tanen- plaqo to day at Crevecoeur. southeast of Mas nieres. The British were holding a nign riage in iront of this place and some troops had forced an entrance into the western part of the town. The Germans wore still holding the eastern section. A German battery here which had been giving trouble was charged and captured by dis mounted cavalrymen. The battery was surrounded by heavy barbed wire entanglements precluding the use of noises, so the .soldiers stormed the position on foot and annihilated the gun crews. In the region of Rumilly heavy ma chine gun and riflo fighting was pro ceeding last night and this morning aiiuok Auoui t-onialno .otro Dame. West of Cambrai. tanks, cavalry and infantry were pressing the attack vigorously aboit Fontaine . Notre Dame and the strong position in Bur ion wood, Fontaine Nutre Dame has not been officially reported captured, but the story goes that tank crews were served with hot coffee by the civilians in this place this morning. (Field Marshal Haig's offlcal report Thursday night said the Germans had retaken Fontaine Notre Dame.) Further north, near Bullecourt, the British were in possession of the en tire underground fortification known as the tunnel trench, which had been famed for its supposed impregnability. At least five determined counter at tacks have been smashed In this re gion. Southeast of Bullecourt hard fighting occurred at Moeuvres last night and a strong counter attack was repulsed. The Inst line of trench de fenses in the region of Cantaing have been brokon and the British today were (Irmly established at many points In the Masnleres-Ueaurois line south of Cambrai. Fought for Masnieres, It is now possible to givo more de tails of Tuesday's battle. In the ad vance south of Cambrai the first hard fighting occurred at Lateau wood which lie on tho Cambrai highway south of Masnieres. This wood final ly was cleared of Germans and the ad vance continued toward Masnieres. Some opposition was encountered in a suburb but by 1 o'clock this had been overcome and the British had crossed the L'Escaut canal. The small German garrison fought bitter ly to retain Masnieres. The whole place was undermined with dugouts in which the enemy was hidden with machine guns, but the Gprmans were forced to give up this place after a sanguinary struggle, although some of them were still holding out in the cellars today. MnrcolnK Fasily Taken. Marcoing was taken with small re sistance on the part of tho enemy and this gave the British a second crossing ; of the canal. The advancing troops ; forced a passage here at the same hour as Masnieres was entered. The j Masnieres-Beaurois trench lino north of Masnieres apparently had been re inforced by Germans from Cambrai and this front held up the advance temporarily but the British alternate ly forced the Germans from the trenches in hand-to-hand fighting. ! German resistance on the first day was comparatively weak as a whole and. they surrendered freely in many places. Yesterday their lines stiffened and hard fighting followed. German reinforcements from Lens and the two companies of invalids already men tioned were thrown into the line. The first counter attack came over the ridge from the northeast of Mas nieres. The British had concentrated a large number of machine guns at this point and were hoping for a coun ter attack. They permitted the enemy to advance to within a thousand yards of the line before they opened tine. Then. the machine guns and artilfery were turned on the Germans and they were smashed in a withering storm. Fishtlmr at Close Quarters. At 1 o'clock an attack on Marcoing was attempted by the enemy, but as in the former case, they-were caught in a heavy artillery and machine gun fire and they turned back after suffering severely. An hour later another boay of Germans advanced on Noyelles. which was held by one company of ! heim and Maurice Casenave, repre British troops. Here some of the j senting the Fl.ench foreign office, met place at close quarters. Both sides! rushed up reinforcements and for two hours the battle raged through the streets and among the buildings. It was a melee in which the bayonet played the principal part. The Ger mans fought well but they were not good enough to withstand the British and gradually they were forced back across the canal to the east. Among the prisoners taken by the British were several officers who wero caught in the regimental headquar ters. The regimental commander was captured and It is reported his advent into tho British lines was a humorous spectacle. He came tramping back clad in an elaborate fur coat, follow- ed by two servants who carried more of his finery. He was swearing mad at the turn of events. The sight of a company of British cavalry threw him almost Into a frenzy and the lurid language which he directed at the British drew a smile from even the hardened Tommy, who has a some what picturesque vocabulary of his own. Civilians Wept With Joy. Civilians who were releaesd from Masnieres rejoiced at their new-found freedom and many of them today still wept with joy when the subject of their deliverance was brought up. Among them was the mayor, P.t. Les lain; a middle-aged man who acted as speaker. They first learned of the ap proach of the British from machino gun fire In the distance. They were immediately thrown into a state of ex citement and watched for tho coming of their friends from every vantage point available. They had their first sight of the ad vancing forces at the bridgehead and saw coming with the attacking forces' Rtrnncrn innnd0in vrhlnU dreamed existed. They were tho great tanks and the people stared In amaze - ment as they ploughed their way for- ward. ' r (inlv inn r-nmon- . v i ,i . . tnw ;,r.irv; : V . .. .K.nB:lako front suffered because the waves cellars wi.h.lr.w flv. mt,... J. V". the British filtered. With the civilians who greoted, the British were two Gorman soldiers, one from Alsace and the other from Lorraine who had de serted and were waiting to give them selves up to the British with whom thev sympathized. During the three years of their cap uvuy ine civilians were fed by the : sanitoi-ium in Amelia county. Pa Amerlcnn relief committee. All other i tients escaped uninjured. The loss food was requisitioned by the Oer-! was estimated at $30,000, partially mans, who placed heavy penalties on , covered by Insurance, those who concealed any. Many per- 1 sons served terms In Jnil fir alleged mmmmmmmmm'mmmmmmmm Violation of the orders. They were extra ration of food allowed her be well fed, however, owing to American cause she had a baby. This niHii would rener nnu an appeared neaitliy. The Germans stripped nil the houses of tho town of their furniture as soon as they entered. All men of military age were arrested and sent to tier- many. Women were compelled to dc all manner of work, such as sweeping: streets, washing clothes of German olliccrs and waiting on officers. ; The mayor fleciarert his belief that Germany was actually starving. He said there seemed to be no doubt civil- lans in Germany were undergoing great hardships. ' Story of Ono Refngoo. Among; the refugees was a man of milflary age who had hidden in a eel- lar three vears to escane thn Germans and Had' been fed by his wife with an ARTILLERY FIRE IN AMERICAN SECTOR "With the American Army in France, Nov. 22 (Delayed) (By the Associated Press) The enemy artillery firing is more active along the American sector. No new cas ualties have resulted. In reprisal for the shelling of the town in which the American headquarters is located, during which a shell fell on an American regimental head quarters, Americans sent an equal number of shells into the town be hind the German lines the next day. ' Patrolling operations continue nightly but the Americans have failed to encounter any Germans and no further casualties have been reported. The, officers who have served their turn in the trenches with the battalions already relieved have held a meeting with the comman der of the first contingent and dis cussed their experiences. All agreed that actual training in the trenches under fire is the ideal method of acquiring officers and soldiers with fighting meth ods. . T II Col. House Says Mission Has a Message of Encourage ment for French Republic Determined To Win Paris, Nov. 23 Colonel E. M. House and the other members of the Ameri can mission havo made the quickest trip from London to Paris since the war began. They crossed the channel at tho rate of 31 knots an hour and traveled from a French seaport where they landed to Paris' in a special train at a speed unmatched in three years. Commander Sayles, of the American embassy, and P.aron Theodore Berck- the mission at the French seaport and weicomen tnem to r ranco. Col. House, for himself and In be half of his associates, said concerning the purpose of Ills mission: "We bring to the French republic a message of encouragement from the American millions who. are mobilizing in factories, farms and upon military fields. "There is a grim determination amongst us to wage war until the world is free from the shadow and spectre of the sword. We have in mind no material gain. What we want is an assurance of permanent peace and the tramp of our soldiers upon the ! aoil of France will bo heard ever in creasingly until It is achieved "It is here that our brave men are come to mingle our blood with yours. It is here that all come to gather in j spiratlon from your heroic deeds. Our l"usmt"L K"" .'" sue clearly and France may confident ly count on every resource which may be at our command." FEARED THAT THREE MEN LOST LIKES IN STORM Chicago, Nov. 23. The wind and rain storm which swept over Lake Michigan last night caused damage to bathing beaches and resorts along the shoro In this city estimated today at $100,000. It also is feared that three men lost their lives when a pile drive ; nit n 1 ! br0lf 8 &ay trm tUS WhlCh WaS I to.1K V, , . .it. , A"co,d Z fM?St" f, th? locai v.-eatlier bureau. Chicago did not get tho full force of the wind, but the I were thrown up by .a hurricane which .wept from tho north but veered to the east before it reached this city. Fire Did $30,000 Damage. , Richmond, Va., Nov. 23. Fire of undertermined origin last night do wtroyed the main building and two cottages of the Otterburn Kurliies : nave ueen urresieu aim sent to a prison camp as soon as the Germans entered the town. He did not want to leave nls wife und baby and so hid In a secret place in the cellar thereby making hlnisi lf liable to the death penally if detected, German nlllcei-H came to live in his Iioumo and dally ho heard them tranip- mg anout aimve mm In accordance with the custom, this house and all others were searched frequently to nee i if any one was concealed, but the Germans never discovered his hiding- place. When the British entered the town the wife brought out her husband who ! had his first glimnse of the outside worjld since August, 1914. in m S R C EO PARIS RUSSIA, THROUGH TROTZKY, MAKES PEACE PROPOSAL Foreign Minister of Bolsheviki Government Sends Note to Embassies Formally Offering Immediate Armistice and Opening of Peace Negotiations Petrograd, Nov. 22 (Delayed.) The note of Leon Trot zky, the Bolsheviki foreign minister to the allied embassies, con veying the announcement of the proposal for an armistice reached the embassies last night. COLORED HURT IN ACCIDENT Legs Broken When Bags of Cement Fell on Them At Work on Hendersonville Highway George Murphy and Will Payne, colored convicts, employed on the Asheville-Hendersonville highway, are in-the Mission hospital suffering with broken legs as the result of a number of sacks ot cement falling on them this morning. The convicts were feed ing a road cement mixture and a num ber of bags of Cement were plied by the side of the mixture. It is believed that' the bags were undermined in some way, by one slipping out, is the opinion of some of the workmen, ai.d they fell, catching tho two convicts and breaking the left leg of each man. Payne's leg is broken just above the ankle and Murphy's leg isbroken above the left knee, The men were entirely covered by the bags of ce ment, It is stated, but owing to the prompt relief given were not Injured about their bodies. They were brought to the local hospital and given medi cal attention by Dr. D. E. Sevier, the county phyislcian. Chairman W. E. Johnson, of the county commissioners, stated this morning, that while the Asheville Henderson highway is being built by contract, 20 negro convicts from the Craggy and Haw Creek camps had been hired to the contractors to do grading or any other work that he wanted them to do. The ounty hired the negroes to the contractor because he was unable to secure enough la borers to finish the job, Mr. John son stated, and the county is paid for the work the negroes do. FLEET OF TANKS London. Nov. 23. Nothing has been announced here officially or un officially concerning the number of machines constituting what the cor respondents describe as the "erand fleet" of tanks employed in Tuesday's advance, but the number apparently has been greater than in any one pre-, vious action. Casualties, , of course, : were inevitable in an operation of j such a scale, but the special dispatch-: es agree they are not great. Some , even describe the tank losses as ' slight. j One writer says a "number" were knocked out by direct hits from Gcr-! man big guns. Another says some were overturned by shell fire and others were bogged. One or two bur ied their noses In the soft earth or turned over in trying to climb down steep banks. One fell into a canal but it is evident the great majority plunged ahead unhindered. Washington, Nov. 23. Read Ad miral Washington L. Capps, chief constructor of the navy, has asked to be relieved as general manager of the shipping board's Kmergency Fleet corporation, because of ill health and probably will be succeeded by Homer L, Ferguson, now president and gen eral manager of the Newport News Shlnbulkllnir and l)rv T)oi . comnnnv. Mr. Ferguson has been asked to take the place. I Gels Promotion. 1 London. Nov. 23. King George has promoted Lieutenant-lleneral Byng to the rank of general, in recognition of his distinguished service In the field in the recent operations, it was of ficially announced today. l'rom Central Powers. Stockholm, Nov. 23. According to The Hidningen, a Russian diplomat left Stockholm yesterday for Petro grad with orders to ha- d to the Rus sian revolutionary government pro posals for peace by the central powers. Text of Note. . The text of the note follows: "I herewith have the honor to In- ; form you, Mr. Ambassador, that the all-Hussian congress of soldiers and ; owkmen's delegates organized on Octo- ' ber 26, a new government in the form j of a council of national commissioners. . The head of this government is Vladi- mir Ilich Lenine: The direction of . the foreign policy has been entrusted to me, in the capacity of national com- ' missioner for foreign affairs. "Drawing attention to the text of ' the offer of an armistice and a demo cratic peace on th ebasis of no annex- . ations or indemnities and the self - determination of nations, approved by s the all-Russian congress of , soldiers, and workmen's delegates. I have the , honor to beg you to regard the above document as formal offer of an imme- ?: diate armistice on all fronts and the' v immediate opening of peace negotia- j tions an offer with which, the author- itative government of the Russian re-" public has addressed itself simultane- ously toall tho belligerent peoples and their governments? "Accept my assurance, Mr. Ambas- ; sador of the profound TeSpect of the soldiers and workmen's government for the people of France which can- . not help aiming at peace as well as all the rest of the nations exhausted and made bloodless by this unexam pled slaughter. -. "Ij. TROTZKT, "National commissioner for foreign affairs." Sent to WashiiUiton. The American amoassador, David R. Francis, is transmitting the com munication' to Washington for the in formation of his government. He made no acknowledgement of its receipt, acting, it is understood, in concert .with the representatives of the allies governments. British Army Headquarters in' France, Nov. 22 (Delayed). (By tho Associated Press). One of the most strange and striking sights in the lat est territory captured by the British was the procession of civilians from liberated towns and villages who walked toward the rear of the British lines. Mothers were pushing baby carriages while other youngsters tod died alongside. Thei-e were old men and women with pushcarts laden with household goods Many of these refu gees had long subsisted on the bounty of the American relief committee which had supplied virtually the only' food they had obtained. WHAT VON TIRPiTZ OF A! Amsterdam, Nov. 23. America's entry into the war is disadvantage out to us In morale and many other ways," said Admiral von Tirpitz, former German minister of marine in addressing a meeting of the fatherland party at Dresden. "We ought to have reckoned with the fact that the American trust mag nates were bound to desire our defeat. "I regret that we did not remain firm lu the face of President Wil son's threats. If we had done so things probably would hsve been very different, but now we must take them as they are. "I would point out, however, that from a military viewpoint Amer ica's entry into the war M .-f little significance to us, because it is the tonnag! question thit (s decisive." ' The admiral express-?.! regrets that Germary hi I been late In using that "powerful economic weapon," the U-boat, but said that notwithstanding all the counter measures which thn delay gave Britain time tq develop the Ger .mmiii will be successful If they stuck to their guns. s 1 t I ' ( ihftliiMrtrttiii. ii.ftfiVstvt
The Asheville Times (Asheville, N.C.)
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Nov. 23, 1917, edition 1
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