North Carolina Newspapers

THE WEATHER PAGES MAIL EDITION Cloudy Tonight; Fair Saturday Asheville' 8 Live 8 1 N ewspaper T o d a y ' 8 N e w 8 To d a y N o t T om o r r o w E v e r y D ay in t he Y e a r VOL XXII. NO. 297. ASHEVILLE, N. C, FRIDAY AFTERNOON, NOV. 30, 1917 PRICE FrVE CENTS jffi Li I J '; B i ''1 n "'"'m'"''''"'''m''''m''T'"'"'"'"'""''"''""""m''m'""' '"'''m'''"'""''"m'""T'm' niiannri i nn nnnrn r ... bnANbtLLuh nUrLb I PRESENT EFFORTS Germany Is Ready To Enter Into Negotiations With Envoys of Russia GERMAN ARMS HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL Hertling Discusses Situation In Flanders, at Cambrai, and Also In Italy Berlin, Nov. 29 (via London, Nov. 30. British Admiralty via Wireless Press.) The war situation was re vived before the reiehstag today by Count George F. von Hertling, the new imperial German chancellor. He declared that Germany was ready to enter into peace negotiations as soon nsthe Russians sent representatives having'-. full powers to Berlin. The chancellor said he hoped and wished that the present efforts would take definite shape and "bring us peace." German arms, the chancellor said, have been uniformly successful and the submarine warfare will reach the aim intended for it. He said that the ships iunk will exceed that of those newly cbnstructed. He praised tne army and navy and eulogized the home population for its patience and endurance under great privations. Po litical reforms would be carried out, but the fundamental' principles of the imperial constitution cannot and shall not be changed. The reiehstag was packed. The new state secretaries, the new Prussian minister, the new Bavarian premier, the members of the reigning German houses, the Austrian, Turkish and Bul garian ambassadors and all the neu tral ministers were present. , The imperial chancellor opened his speech by usking'tho loyal co-operation of the reiehstag. He continued 'We are approaching the end- of tho year that has been full of ar reaching and decisive events in many theaters of the war. I am n'rouc! and thanksful to say that the army of Ger many and her allies have been success ful on almost every occasion and every where." British Fail In Flanders. He recalled that tho Flanders bat tle had continued almost without in terruption since July and that tho British army was superior In number and that several French divisions hnd taken part. Notwithstanding the l.iss of sftne villages and farms the Ger man frontier remained umhaken and the enemy was as far as ever from his object of reaching the Flemish coast to destroy German U-boat bases. He added: "Recognizing the failure of their at tacks In Flanders, the British are now seeking near Cambrai a decisive re sult. The hope which Great Britain placed upon the wholesale use of tanks has not been fulfilled. They lio de stroyed On the battle Held by success ful German counter measures. The initial British success was parried by the entrance of our reserves. "The French also have had local successes northeast of Soissnns and before Verdun but every strategical exploitation or these has been pie vented by the German army com mand. Wonderful Advance In Italy. "The glorious advance of the armies of the central powers in Italy holds the world in suspense even today. Overwhelmingly difficult tasks have been accomplished there by the fight ing strength of the German and Aus-tro-Hungarian troops in their sur prisingly rapid attack and penetration of rough mountain territory. Ituly's army has lost a considerable part of its forces and at least half of its total war material. It also has lost stretches of land which provided it with rich supplies, It has not yet been possible to collect all the booty, calculated In money value at thousands of millions of marks, which has fallen into our hands. ( "Further, the success of our vic tories from the Lsonzo to the Piave is an effective relief to our own west ern front. In the same way this vic tory also makes itself felt in Mace donia as the enemy now appears to be giving up voluntarily the slight suc cess which he obtained west of Lake Ochrlda. "From the Binal peninsula the Brit ish are operating against the Turkish troops in Palestine and have been able to achieve certuln Initial successes (Continued on Page 2) TU AT THAT IS . TwsSeD LET'S SrtOP WCUPISTMAV ONLY OuLU WILL BRING PEACE I The Chief Events of the Day . American engineers played a large part in the preparations leading up to the successful Brit ish blow toward CambraJ last week. ' . " - v These are the first American troops to take part in opera tions on the British front and a delayed Associated Press dis patch says that they have been building railroads in the Somme district for nearly four months and for a long time have been working within range of the German artillery. Not content with building and running the vital communication lines, the American engineers entered the firing line during General Byng's push to act as volunteer stretcher bearers. . Americans Arrive. National guardsmen from ev ery state in the Union and the vanguard of the American aero fleet have arrived behind the front in France. Many of the former guardsmen already are undergoing training within sound of the guns at the front. Meanwhile American aviators are training actively with the American troops. A Ready To Talk Peace. Germany is ready to discuss peace with Russia if envoys with full powers are sent to Berlin, Count von Hertling, the new im perial chancellor, declared yes terday before the reiehstag. He expressed the wish that the pres ent efforts of the Bolshevik! would bring pea-ce. In a re view of the military situation the chancellor said that the ar American Engineers Helped to Break Hindenburg Line British Army Headquarters In France, Nov, 26. (Delayed, ) (By The Associated Press) - American engineers, the first American troops to be engaged in military operations on the British front, took a prominent part in the breaking of the Hinden burg line by General Byng last week. It is now possible to inform the people of the United States that engineers of the American army had a large part in pushing up the vital railways be hind the advancing British soldiers. The American engineers have been laboring on the roads through the devastated battle fields of the Somine district for nearly four months and two of their men, who were wounded, were the first American casualties an nounced from Washington. The speed with which the lines have been laid up through the broken Hindenburg defense during the-past week has call ed forth the highest praise from the British authorities. The Americans have been working in shifts 24 hours a day and no such amount of track has been laid in this region in so short a time before. The manner in w hich they stood up under the strain ha led to their being dubbed the "force of American athletes." For these untir ing soldiers are today as fit and -an willing as they were before the bat tle. : Naturally the Americans have for a long time been working under the range of enemy artillery and moro than once they have come under heavy shell fire. One of the most striking LEN1NE GOVERNMENT HAS FALLEN, SAYS REPORT London. Nov. 30. The government of Nikolai Lenlne has fallen, accord ing to a Pctrograd dispatch to tho Dally Chronicle dated Wednesday. It has been succeeded by a coalition cab inet of advanced socialists in which, however, the Bolsheviki are repre sented. SAMMIES ENJOYED THANKSGIVING DAY With the American Army in France, Nov. 29. (Delayed.) (By the Asso ciated Press.) Kvery American sol dier In France spent a real American Thanksgiving today. He dined on turkey and all that goes with it until he could eat no more. The feature of the day was a football game in which a team from the engineers defeated a team from the infantry. The game was watched by thousands of Ameri can troops and a thousand French soldiers. The shouts from the respect ive rooters were heard far afield and towurd the end of the game the French soldiers, getting the hang of it, became Just as enthusiastic as the Americans. Virtually all instruction work and drilling was suspended for the day. mies of the central powers have been generally successful and that the submarine warfare was successful and that the allies were unable to make progress against it. J Conditions I'nsettled. , Conditions in Russia appar ently remain greatly unsettled. It is reported that Lenine's gov ernment has given way to a socialist coalition cabinet In which the Bolshevik! are repre- Rented. Little Change On Fronts. On the various war fronts there has been little change. The British are pushing forward to ward Cambrai and have made a slight advance west of Bour lon wood. Heavy artillery ac tivity continues in the Ypres sec tor. No infantry actions of im portance are reported from the Italian front but the opposing cannon are Very busy. Berlin reports the repulse of Italian attacks against positions west of the Brenta and west of the Piave. Creates Sensation. Much discussion has been pro voked in England by the publi cation of a letter from the Mar quis of Lansdowne, a veteran political leader. He pleads for a revision of the war aims of the allies and an attempt to ob tain peace before the war leads to the ruin of the civilized world. The letter has caused such a sensation that it is understood it will be the subject of debate in the British house of commons probably early next week. sights along the front has been that of the engineers laboring cooly at their tracks while great shells were bursting one hundred yards away. At one time the Germans cut loose with their guns on a section of the tracks and tore up three miles pf rails but they scarcely had finished this bombardment when the two lines of steel began to creep .forward once more. After the engineers had reach ed a point where they were exposed on the sky line it was necessary to work at night on on foggy days. There have been three forces of Americans employed in this region since about August 1. Two of them have been occupied with the opera tion and maintenance of light railways and the other has been constructing narrow gauge lines. The correspond ent has visited many of thre engi neers since their arrival and has found them as fit as possible and eager for work. The correspondent was talking with three officers today and the only anxiety they expressed was that in the future they might lie compelled to work far back of the lines out of the fighting zone. The engineers love to hear the guns and to get as close to the firing line as military orders per mit. Some of them had an unusual experience, much of their liking, on the first day of the offensive. The British called for volunteer stretcher bearers to go forward to the battle field and bring in wounded British and Germans , a large number of the engineers offered their services which were accepted. They just had finished a hard day's work on the railway, but they gladly undertood the new, ardu ous and dangerous task and labored through the night getting injured sol diers back to the dressing stations. They were highly complimented by the British for their efficiency in this line. TEsioifoTlir Mineola, Nov. 30. The trial of Mrs. Blunca De Saulles for the murder of her di"rced husband, John Longer De Saulles, was resumed today with idi cations that the case would not be given to the Jury before Wednesday. The testimony of aHenists and other medical experts, some of refute and others to substantiate the clnim of Mrs. De Saulles that she suffered a mental lapse at the time and ten days following tho shooting of her former husband, was expected to consume all of today and probably tomorrow. 9 , Germans Make Attack. 9 9. -- 9 9 British Army Headquarters in 9 9 France, Nov. 30. (By The Asso- 9 elated Press) The Germans this 9 K morning made an attack on the 9 9 British lines about Gonnelieu, 9 9 which Is just south of the area 9 K included in last week's British of- 9 It tensive. 9 t No details of the progress of K 9 the enemy assault are available 9 at the time this dispatch is filed. t KttKKKKXKItlt PblOL IS NOT IN CONTACT M HEftD WHEN FIRED So Testifies Chicago Doctor About Wound Causing Mrs. King's Death SHE COULD NOT HAVE INFLICTED WOUND Mrs. Robinson Will Testify This Afternoon Dr. Schultz On Stand A Concord, N. C., Nov. 30. Dr. W. H. Burmeister, coroner's physician of Cook county, Illinois, on cross-examination today in the trial of Gaston Means, charged with the murder of Mrs. Maude A. , King, declared that the pistol that inflicted the wound causing Mrs. King's death was not In contact with her head when fired. He reiterated his opinion previously ex pressed, that it would have been a physical impossibility for a woman of Mrs, King's stoutness to have held a pistol in the position necessary to have caused the wound. Cross-examination of Dr. Burmeis ter by E. T. Cansler, of counsel for the defense, secured from the witness the admission that the powder marks made by a pistol shot on the skin of a person's head would depend on the amount of hair at the point where the bullet struck. The witness also admitted that the powder marks an the skin might vary according to the kind of powder used. Making Slow Progress. Progress in the trial has been so slow that there is growing apprehen sion among court officials that tlm case will consume most of nest week. Dr. Otto Schullze of New York, was called to the stand shortly before noon . Dr. Schultze testified. In reply to hypothetical questions, that in his opinion it would have been impossible for Mrs. King to have fired the fatal snot, nis opinion noing naseu upon, uie description of the wound in the ques tion propounded which foUowed the description made by Dr. Burmeister. He also testified that, the fracture just above Mrs. King's left ankle was made before death. tin ' request of Mr. Cansler. Dr. Schultze took a -.25 calibre automatic pistol and demonstrated to the jury whv be considered it imnossible for a person to self-inflict such a wound j as killed Mrs. King. "Now that is the way you would do i itr but couldn't somebody else do it differently '.'" asked Mr. Cansler. "I presume a contortionist might be able to put his head under his left knee." replied Dr. Schultze, amid laughter. Mrs. Robinson to Testiry. Cross exaination, re-direct exami nation and re-cross examination of Dr. Burmeister delayed the expected in troduction by the state of Mrs. Anna L. Robinson, mother of Mis. King, and it was stated by a member of counsel for the defense that she would not testify until the afternoon session. Mrs. Robinson, who is 76 years old. was a member of the party .including Means, Mrs. King and her sister, Mrs. Mary C. Melvin, which stayed at. the Chicago Beach hotel, from May until July. Reference to her was made in the testimony of William '. Rocke feller, manager of the hotel, who. ap peared for the prosecution Wednes day. Rockefeller, by whom the state sought to show through conversations he had with Means iml the latter, act ing as Mrs. King's business agent, at tempted to restrict her freedom of ac tion While nt the hotel, told tho jury that Means referred to Mrs. Robinson as "old seventy six." Rockefeller as serted that .Means, after forbidding him to talk with Mrs. King, said: "You can talk to her mother as much as you want to hut I don't want nnyhody to talk with Mrs. King. I am getting ready to spring a will that will surprise the whole United States." ' New York and Chicago witnessed who here have asserted Means was preparing to offer for probate an al leged second will of the late .lames C. King, of Chicago, which would give $2,000,000 to Mrs. King in addition to the $1,000 000 she inherited as King's widow tinder the first will. , In this connection the state has sub mitted in evidence numerous letters and telegrams. Assistant Attorney Dooling, of New York, who Is assisting the state In the prosecution .told the :oi'rt that one of the letters was In troduced in an effort to prove that about the time of the discovery of the alleged second will Means was trying to get into communication with a man named Sprague, who has served a prison term for forgery. CaiiM'd Rush of Buying. Amsterdam, Nov. 30. The feeling on the Bourse that the Russo-German negotiations portend a shortening of the war has caused a rush of buying orders although there are warning voices that a peace with Russia does not necessarily mean peace with Ku- rope. THOUSANDS OF TROOPS REACH FRANCE SAFELY DESPITE U-BOAT PERIL TO Amsferdam, Nov. 30. The Aus-tro-Hungarian government, accord ing to a dispatch from Vienna, has sent an official reply accepting the Russian government's wireless pro posal to enter into negotiations for an armistice for a general peace treaty. : The reply was sent yesterday and is as follows: "The guiding principles an nounced by the Russian govern ment for negotiations for an armis tice and a peace treaty, counter proposals to which are awaited by the Russian government, are, in the opinion of the Austro-Hungarian government a suitable basis for en tering upon these negotiations. The Austro .-' Hungarian government therefore declares that it Is read y to enter upon negotiations as pro posed by the Russian government regarding an immediate armistice and a general peace. (Signed) "CZ'SRNJN, "Foreign Minister." WELLOH FOR WAfi CREDIT Third Reading for Credit of Fif teen Billion Marks Set for Saturday Reichstag Discusses Speech Amsterdam, Nov. 30. -The .war credit of fifteen billion marks, ashed for by Chancellor von Hertling, passed its first and sreond readings -in reich stag yesterday after brief remarks by Deputies Schcldemunn and Haaz. The third, leading has ; been set for Saturday. . . In the debate following the chan cellor's speech, Herr Trimborn, on be half of the centrum, condemned both a peace of a'ggressiun and a peace (if renunciation. Me demanded a pence by conciliation, guaranteeing Ger many's integrity, the security of her frontiers and her complete independ ence, especially economic. "What the chancellor said concern ing Russia," he adds, "meets with our entire and joyful approval, The Ger man people sincerely desire correct economic and political relations with new Russia. The chancellor lias the centrum's full confidence." Herr Scheidemanu, for the social ists, said his party considered the new government an advance, owing to the manner of its formation. The social ists would 'support a parliamentarian government but would oppose it where differences of opinion that could not be bridged arose. Peoples of the warring countries must conclude peace with each other, the socialist, leader added. The1 Gor man people did not want the Polish crown for new duchies. Poland. Li thuania and other territories might determine their future as they like. He declared that German labor joy fully welcomed and supported the first peace step of the Russian revolution and ardently awaL"d Ihe day when the workmen of France and Great Britain would meet them along the same lines. The development which had become Irresistible in Russia would also pene trate, he hoped, to other countries. Russia was not defeated in this war, only those were defeated who desired to fight to the bitter end. Deputy Flschbeck, a progressive. said he rejoiced at the chancellor's words regarding the Russian offer of a peaceful reapproachnient and de clared thft the chancellor s policy was calculated to pnvo the way. for re ciprocal confcror.ee. , The collapse of the Italian army. Herr Stresemann, national liberal, de clared, was a merited punishment for the Italian government and means the collapse of Italian hopes for Alls trian territory. Count Von Westarp, conservative, declared that the successful demand for the dismissal of Dr. 'Michnolis from the chancellorship signified a serious attack on the emperor's con stitutional rights und this limitation of tho emperor's rights has been shown mere clearly by the dismissal of D.r Helfterlch, the vice chnncellor. Kven in the appointment of Count von Hertling, he added, the emperor's freedom of decision seems to have been maintained insufficiently. HS Every Guardsman Who "Over There" in Best of Health and Spirits Upholding the Honor and Reputation of, American Expeditionary Forces IDENTITY OF UNITS NOT DISCLOSED AT THIS TIME General Pershing Does Not Want To Reveal Identifica tion Numbers and Other Important Information Next Stage Will Be Occupation of First Line Trenches Large Troop Movement Successfully Accomplished ; Willi the American Army (By the Associated Press.) state in the union have arrived he announced. They are among arrived. While it is not permitted to may be said that all those which sailed from the United States have arrived safely and that some already are in training with' in sound of the guns on the battle front. They are showing a spirit in keeping tvith the purpose to make the American expeditionary force a homogeneous Amer ican army in which each division, whether regular, national guard or national army, cannot be distinguished in efficiency from the other. The former state troops are billeted over a wide area and are pronounced Arriving For Weeks. The guardsmen have been arrh i'rig in the American zone for many weeks. They are scattered somewhat, but as far as possible the units from the same state have been kept close together. They found the regular army had made good preparations for them and while many are billeted in houses in French towns, others have been quar tered in low wooden barracks. The troops from the various states have been recognized by the French population and have been welcomed enthusiastically. Many of the units on arriving in billet towns wore the French red, white and blue cockade pinned to their campaign hats. After a sufficient time to rest from the journey, the troops have been set to work training for actual service at the. front. In all quarters they are declared to be most enthusiastic and their soldierly qualities have drawn high praise from the French instruc tors. Inning the last few days one unit has been working with grenades and automatic ritles, while another has been in the Instruction trenches which bring I hem as near as possible to ac tual lighting conditions. The guardsmen are all in good health. The reason why it is not per mitted to mention units by name is that if one is mentioned the way is open to mention all others which means the revealing of identillactlon numbers and other information of importance to the enemy. But for the information of the rela tives and families of the men, every one who sailed from the United States has arrived safely in France. K.vtenslve Troop Movement. Today's announcement of the arrival in France of tho first national guard units gives' the first official notice that an extensive troop movement has been accomplished despite hostile subma rines, shortage of troop and supply ships, and other obstacles but without the loss of a man. . Thousands of men have been moved to the seaboard from all parts of the country, loaded on transports and safely landed In France without any general knowledge of the facts having been disclosed. War department offi cials were gratified, at General Per shing's decision to announce the arrival of the national guard forces, but per mission to publish the designations of the guard units now at the training centers in Franco still Is withheld. Unless General Pershing sees fit to re lease the information, there is no pres ent prospect of its publication. It can be stated, however, that the brief dispatch of today covers a large Sailed Has Reached in France, Nov. 29. (Delayed.) National guardsmen from every in F ranee, it is today permitted to the troops now training or late- disclose the identity of units it excellent soldiers, movement that has been in progress for several weeks. The next stage will be actual occupation of front line trenches. Guard units to be sent later will be more sectional in character, the group ing of the old divisional organization having been adhered to as closely as possible. The entire country, how-, ever, shares in the honor of having its representative units now at the front in the world war. Other Movements Soon. Secretary Baker has announced that as fast as men and ships are ready they will be combined and additional forces sent to join General Pershing. By this means guard divisions first to show themselves fitted for transpor tation to the training camps in France will be first to go. It appears possi ble that the re-grouping of national army divisions, made necessary by the use of drafted men to till up depleted national guard divisions, will determ ine the order of the first national army units to be sent over. In that re-grouping two national army divis ions were formed, one representing the whole eastern sectinn'of the coun try and one equally represon .atlve of all middle western states. Ail of the far west is already in the national army division at Camp Lewis, Ameri can Lako, Wash. If the same policy is followed with relation to the national army that has been followed in connection with the national guard it seems likely that these three divisions, other things such as training and equipment being equal, would be the first of the na tional army lo go over, as eve-y state In the union would then have national army men at the front as it now has national guardsmen. HEARiNG WtLL BE HELD Washington, Nov. 30. The Inter, state Commerce commission an nounced today that a hearing would be held January 28 nt Memphis be foro Kxn miner La Roe on the Memphis-Southwestern freight rates inves tigation, involving through rates from Memphis to St. Louis, Kansas City, Omaha, Council Bluffs, Des Moines, Sioux City and Oklahoma City.., Investigation of rates from New Orleans and Galveston to Missouri river points will be consolidated in the Memphis-Southwestern hearing. t 9. H X. H K n n It H n H 9, 9.- 9 Riitlsli Casualties. 9.' 9 London, Nov? 30. British cah- tti 9 ualties reported during the month 9, 9 totaled 120,089, divided as fol- 9 9 lows: H 9 Officers, killed or died of wounds, 9 9 1,152; men, 24,292. H. 9 Officers, wounded or missing, J,. H . D37; men, 91,108. 9 ft.'