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I THE WEATHER Fair and Cold Tonight With Freezing Tcmierature 2 O'CLOCK EDITION 10 PAGES VOL. XXII.;. NO. 302. ASIIEVILLE, N. C, WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, DEC. 5, 191 : price fit; CENTS RESOLUTION DECLARING WAR AGAINST AUSTRIA INTRODUCED IN HOUSE Chairman Flood Presents Resolution in Form Approved By Pt ksident Stating Causes of War on Austria- Stone to Pilot Resolution Through Senate if DIFFICULT TASKS FOR EXECUTIVE BRANCHES Great Number of New Aliens Will Be Created, Many of Whom Are Friendly to Cause of Allies President's Message Complete Answer to Lansdowne and Will Strengthen Italy, Washington Believes Washington, Dec. 5. The resolution for war against Austria-Hungary teas introduced today in the house of representa tives by Chairman Flood, of the foreign affairs committee, in the form and language approved by President Wilson. It provides a declaration that because of Austria-Hungary's warlike acts against the United States in support of her ally, Germany, a state of war exists at and after noon today. It also pledges the full resources of the United States to bring the tear to a successful conclusion. TEXT OF RESOLUTION. The official text of the tear "Joint-resolution -declaring that state of war exists between the impe rial and royal Austro-Hungarian gov ernment ami the government and the people of the United States and mak ing provson to prosecute and the peo ple of the United States and making provision to. prosecute the same. "Whereas the imperial and royal Atislro-Hungarlah government has the people of the United States by severing diplomatic relaions, and has formally adhered to the ruthlss policy of submarine warfare adopted by its '-'.- The department of labor, which has ally, the' imperial German government, 1 custody of alien civilians, classed as . , , . .'. enemies, also was making prepara- With which the t nited States is at ti(ns to care for them as may be neces. war and has given to its ally every sary, probably in camps such as those support and aid on both.land and sea in which German civilians arc con in the prosecution' of war against the fl.ned- government and people of the United States: Therefore be it "Resolved, by the senae and house of representatives of the United States of America in congress, assembled, tliat a state of war be and is hereby declared to exist and to have existed since noon of the Fifth day of Decem ber,' 1917, between the United States of American and the imperial and royal Austro-Hungnrian government; and that the president be, and ne "is hereby, authorized nod directed to employ the entire naval and military forces of the United Staes and the re sources of the government to cany on war against the imperial and roya! Austro-Hungarlan government, and to bring the conHict to a successful ter minaion all the resources of the coun try are hereby pledged by tho con gress of the United States" Stone Gels Right. Senator Stone, of Missouri, one of the original "wilful twelve." and stout opponent of the government's war plans until war actually was de clared, will pilot the Austrian war res olution through the senate us spokes man for the administration. Since war actually was declared on Germany, Senator Stone repeatedly lias announced that the government has his full and unequivocal support, and the administration was so pleased j with his attitude that it was decided that, as chairman of the foreign re lations committee, he should have charge of the Austrian war resolu tion. Senator Hitchcock, the next demo crat of the committee, handled the German war resolution. Senntor Stone conferred today with state department officials preparatory to a conference of the foreign rela tions committee. Semite Not In Session. The senate was not In session, but thu foreign relations committee which will handle the resolution whs in con ference. The resolution will pass both houses of congress by Friday. Will J, cave Out Turkey mid Bulgaria. The sentiment for including Tur key and Bti)gariu In the list of rec ognized enemies persisted and there was promise of some attempt to amend the resolution. The commit tee of both houses, however, will be guided by the state department in the language of the resolution and if the administration has Its way, as it prob nbly will, Turkey and Bulgaria will be left for the time when they come directly In the path of America's ac tion against Germany, as the presi dent expressed It in his address yes terday. Kxecutlvo Deportments at Work. While congress Is working on the actual declaration of war the execu tive departments of the government lire setting In motion the machinery which will make the declaration ef fective. . The department of Justice began taking steps for disposition of the great number of alien enemies the war declaration will create. The Job is much more difficult than It was in the case of Germany. There nre In the United States many sub jects of Austria-Hungary who are op posed to that government and sytn- resolution follows: pathize with the cause of the United States. Many ni them are izeens, Bohemians and others of the races which have been oppressed by the Austrian government. Many of them, to join. the fight for freedom of their countrymen and realization of na tional aspirations, have Joined the American army, waiving exemptions they might have claimed as aliens. May Kxcopt Sonic 'Aliens.. It is evident that some sort of an exception will be made for them, as the government hardly wishes to treat them as enemies and still wishes to protect itself as far as possible. , - ' Z' ,he war trade hoard and the other agen cies charged with enforcements of the trading-with-the-enemy act. faced a new task, but as they already have created the machiney for dealing with such a situation, a new war declara tion actually only involves extensions of steps already taken. Answer to l ansdowne. To official Washington the declara tion of war on Austria, is secondary in interest to President Wilson's state ment of America's war aims. It is considered at once a reply to the peace ideas of the Marquis Lansdowne, and an announcement to the world that peace can only come with the destruc tion of Prussian autocracy and repara tion for the havoc it has wrought. Will lleai-teii Italians. The declaration of war on Austria U also regarded as the signal for the extension of American help to hard pressed Italy. Officials and diplomats believe that it will not only hearten and strengthen the Italian people fac ing the ravages of the invader, but that it also forecasts the sending of substantial help to them. With u dec laration of war on Austria, the United States is left free to aid Italy as un ally in the fullest sense. FOB U. G. T. RECEPTION Asheville Ministers Accept Invitation to Hear Visit ing Supreme Officer Asheville council, United Commer cial Travelers, has practically com pleted arrangements for the recep tion which will be given Saturdav evening in honor of the visiting officers of tho order. Supreme Counselor T. J Phelps and Supreme Secretary Walter I). Murphy. The Asheville Ministers' association has accepted an invitation to attend Informal reception and hear the addresses which will be delivered by the supreme officers and Grand Counselor Thomas Polk of Greenville, S. C, and Grand Secretary S. T. Reed of Spartanburg will also be present. The initiatory exercises will be held Saturday afternoon, beginning at 4 o'clock, and already seven candidates have signified a desire to he taught the mysteries as only the traveling men know how to teach them. The recep tion will begin at 8 o'clock In the evening. A decoration committee has been appointed to beautify the hall, those In charge of this work being Mrs. J. M. Burns, Mrs. A. L. AViley, Mrs. J. R. Rich, Mrs. C. M. Dills, Mrs. Charles M. Britt, Miss Margaret orr. The menu which will be served at the reception is as follows: chicken salad, bread and butter, pimento cheese sandwiches, pickles, coffee, fruit, LONDON PAPERS Times Says German People Accomplices of Their Rulers Address Sympa thetically Received Londom Pec. 5. President Wil son's message to congress has the fullest possible prominence; in the morning newspapers but It reached London too late for much considered comment. The Dally News receives warmly the president's declaration that peace should be based on gener osity and Justice to the exclusion of selfish claims. It acds: "It would be .affectation to pretend that this language echoes the declara tions of the European spokesmen of the alliance. It is the voice of a statesman whose vision comprehends the world, while theirs comprehends only half a world. "It President Wilson could have said earlier what he said yesterday and if in Great Britain. France and Italy the responsible leaders had made his language their own, Russia might be today driving the enemies from her borders. It may be too late to convince Russia of the identity of the aim of herself and the allied -de-1 mocracies, but it must not be too late for those democracies to learn from their greatest representative how de mocracies should comport themselves in war and how they should attain peace. "In - the light of President Wilson's speech a statement that will mean the wiping off the slate of much that should never have been written on it is Imperative. There is no kinship between the spirit of yesterday's speech and the; spirit of knockout blows or economic' Warfare or after-the-war boycotts." The Times. The Times says there are no half tones in the president's address, add-. Ing: -. ,, J :, - .-. -- ' "There are no ambiguous phrases, on which militarists may feed the. il lusions of their dupes, no hints of compromise and no suggestion of faltering or doubt to raise the spir its of the pacifist. With this straight forward and logical statement of America's war aims, the lust hope of, the pacifists must founder." i The Times reiterates that formerly it expressed dissent with President1 Wilson's distinctions between tho Oer-j man people and their ruler and says it can no more distinguish between j them than the president can any longer distinguish between Germany and Austria-Hungary believing them! willing ucconiplic.es of their ruler, The Daily Chronicle. The editorial of tho Daily Chronicle! is mainly a paraphrase of the speech in-a sympathetic tone and without a! definite expression of opinion. The Dully Graphic. The Daily Graphic says: j "Whether this re-statement, so lofty in spirit, so forward looking in effect, will have any influence on German opinion is doubtful. Then the only, resort is to inflict such a military de-( feat upon Germany as to convince the Germans of the infamousncHS of their rulers. In this connection it is an excellent omen that the conference in Paris reached such a complete ununimity. America was represented at the conference and there follows that the war aims of the allies no longer can be described in any sense as imperialistic." I None of the editorials dwell espec-! lallv on the result for a declaration of war against Austria-Hungary, but briefly reply that it is regarded us logical and desirable. - lilTrr-mi nfTi niinrTTjli..iiiiil, lillra lull IT 11 fif Til wi M illlilHlilf ;. ' Wwl' In Attempting to overthrow the Kerensky govern; ent, Lei.ine made special efforts to secure the aid of the Kronstadt soldiers. This banner reads, "We want land, liberty and peace." PEACE WITH RUMANIA Berlin, Dec. 5. (via Lon don.) The negotiations be tween the Germary and Rus sians for an arr xe are ex tending to :' . Rumanian iroops, .or office an- nounc May Be Lull Before Further Desperate Efforts to Wipe Out Gains Made by Gen eral Byng's Troops After four days of effort which brought them but small gains of Ter rain at a great cost in casualties, the Germans have not renewed their ef forts in the Cambrai sector. The British salient there, however, is still a menace to the' security of the e Gr imm' lines north and south of Cam brai and the German artillery bom bardment is probably hut the prelude to further desperate efforts to wipe out tho gains made by General Byng's troops. British artillery yesterday broke up enemy troop concentrations east of Gouzeacourt and near Moouvres, on the northern and southern legs of the salient, respectively, and the Ger mans violently shelled the region of La Vacquerie, the center of much of the fighting activity of the past few- days. That the German purpose may have been to break through into the Somme region as well as to blot out y-ie Cambrai salient is indicated in dis patches from the front. But tho ef forts have been futile and caused such losses that the let-up in the light ing activity probably is due to the ne cessity for re-forming the attacking forces. Town of Miisniorcs Shelled. British Army Headquarters in France, Pec.' 4. (By The Associated Press)T British troops Sunday night reoccupied a section of a trench on the high ground southwest of Botifion vil lage on the Cambrai front, which was lost on -Friday. The; towii of Masni eres. which was evacuated by the British, was jihelled last night by Brit ish artillery. General Byng's troops Sunday night pressed near to the village f Villieres Guislain and along the ridge southwest of that place and their line now is fairly near tho town. It is estimated that the .. Germans had about 20 divisions for their as sault on Friday which, except for the first Ypres battle, is regarded as hav ing been their heaviest attack on the British. I'etrograd, Dec. 5. General Duk honin, who took over the post of commander-in-chief of the Russian armies after the overthrow of Pre mier Kerensky, was thrown from n train and killed as the result of lynch law, after Ensign Krylenko had captured Mohlloff, it was an nounced by the war office yester day. Had Resisted Bolsheviki. '''General - Dukhonin assumed the post of 'Russian commander-in-chief after the disappearance of Premier Kerensky, with headquar ters at Mohilov. The headquar ters staff refused to carrj' out the order of the Bolsheviki to enter Into negotiations with the Germans for an armistice. The Bolsheviki government announced the dopo tion of General Dukhonin but h refused to recognize its authority. A Petrograd dispatch yesterday said troops loyal to the Bolsheviki had been sent against the general staff headquarters. IL i in unmuiim miLn Bolsheviki Troops of Kronstadt RENEWAL OF TEUTON OFFENSIVE EXPECTED Austrians and Germans Massing Gre&i rorces of Men and Guns in Asiago Section Ten Divisions Employed Exceptionally Heavy Artillery Bombardment Mon day Night and Tuesday Italian Headquarters, in ; Northern Italy, Dec; 4 (Delayed) ( By The Associated Press)- Great forces of men and guns have been massed by the Austrians and Germans in the Asiago section, according to reports reaching here tonight and resumption of the offensive is expected The. le ports indicate that the enemy is em ploying ten divisions of troops. : Heavy Artillery Bombardment. Italian Headquarters in Northern Italy, Dec, 4. (Delayed)- (By the Associated Press) An exceptionally heavy artillery bombardment from the enemy positions around Asiago last night and through the early hours today appears to foreshadow the long expected resumption of the heavy enemy offensive from the north. Cannonade was of extreme violence, the enemy using heavy as well as mid Deferred Registrants Can Be Sent to Camp Immediately .Washington, Deo. Fj.Draft regis t rants, whose classification and order numbers are so low that they do not fall within the current quotas of their local boards may at their own request lie immediately inducted into the mili tary service. Provost Marshal-General Crowdcr today announced. .'..TTpmv.nllW with . his local hoard a waiver of all claims and deferred clas sification, a man in a deferred class may be examined and sent to camp immediately, although not as part of his board's quota as this would violate the. provisions of the selective service law which ."'prohibit substitution. Where the claim has-been dependency., it waiver by the dependents must ac-' company that of the registrants, but waivers from children or mentally un lit persons will not be recognized. Any registrant may, enlist in the navy or-marine corps,' Genera I Crowd ed said, upon presentation to a-recruiting officer of a certificate by his ;j Kindling As Well As Oak Wood Sold Plenty of Orders Seven men are busy today, as they have been every day lately, sawing wood and splitting kindling in the city woodyard. Commissioner of Pub lic. Works Stikelonther stated today that while the yard was JO days behind with orders at lir. the deliveries are now up to within two days of orders in the hand of Manager Sehoepf. Considering the limited number of wagons available for hauling wood, the city hoard feels that excellent progress has been made in this new municipal enterprise. Good oak wood is being sawed for those who do not want eight, foot lengths and care is taken to see that the consumer gets good measure for a cord. Kindling is also being sold in one and two dollar loads where it is desired, and several prisoners sent to the yard hv Police . lodge Glenn are kept most of the time splitting kind ling. Nnmeil Industrial Representative. Washington, Dec. 5. George N. Peek, vice-president of Deere and company, Moline, 111,, today was 'ap pointed industrial representative of the war industries board to direct tile conversion of the country's manufac turing facilities to war work. dle calibre guns. The first violent eruption began early last night. There was a lull toward midnight and then it wa -presumed with added in tensity at 'i o'clock .this -morning, lasting until 9. Heavy shells were rained on the whole range of Italian positions and were concentrated par ticularly on the locations supposed to shield Italian batteries. The violence of the artillery action left little doubt that it was a prelude to infantry advances in force whereby Field Marshal Conrad von Hoetzen dorf, who is directing the Austrian forces in this sector, hopes to realize his project of pressing down the As tico valley leading to Vicenza and 'he open plain, ':...,-:' The latest reports show that the In tense bombardment continues; The indications are that this is something more than a demonstration or feint and signals a new and strong offens ive. ; local board that his class and order numbers are so low that he does not fall within the current quota. Subseq uently,' upon presentation to the board of his enlistment certificate he will be placed in class five, the discard class, on the ground that he is in the naval service. The new regulations also provide that by permission of the surgeon general of the army and under his regulation, any medical student, hos pital interne,, dentist, dental student, veterinarian, or verterinary student may enlist in the medical reserve corps and he will be placed in the dis card -class. '-.:'. A registrant also may be commis sioned in the army, navy, or marine corps, or appointed an army field clerk, regardless of his classification or order number. It was pointed out today by General Crowder that regis trants have until December 15 to en-, list in the military forces. "Security of United States for Hundred Years De pends on These Boys," Said Head of Mission With the. American Army in France, Dec. 5. (By the Associated Press) Colonel House and the other members of the American mission with General Pershing and Viscount Northcliffe in- j spected the American army yesterday, j Colonel House said he would tell! President Wilson tha tthe energy, fit ness and enthusiasm of the men far! surpassed anything he had expected, j "I watched the maneuvers and saw i the men work," be added. "Thc-y are j fine. 1 hope those boys realize that j the secruity of the United States for j at least one hundred years depends; upon them. If earnestness is any in- ; dication, they understand what is lie- I fine them and what they are expected to do." J The members of the mission also, visited the reserve officers' training school and army headquarters. Later) they departed for Paris. . I All those in the party expressed themselves as being surprised greatly at. the progress being mnde, especial ly by the troops recently landed. The party arrived at a divisional headquar ters town aboard a special train. The visitors were greeted by an infantry egrinient as a guard of honor. They departed Immediately.- for the scene of troop maneuvers where theoretical attacks were carried out, the troops being aided by airphanes. The party HOUSE INSPECTS iEUlMY also saw how the mortars were work- jKing could have held the pistol in po et! and witnessed bayonet drills andisition to inflict the kind of wound firing with automatic rifles and found in her head. He demonstrated French 75's among which was the before the jury how It could have first gun fired against the Germans. been done, holdivg the weapon in re At headquarters General Pershing 1 verse position and at arm's length in had all the army operations explained the left hand the pistol pointing In to the party by the officers in com- the direction of the back of the head mand of the various sections. Paris, Dec. ,'i . The official sum mary of the decisions ofithe inter allied war conference issued by the French government, includes the fol lowing under the blockade section: "First The proposed arrangement between the United States ami Switz erland submitted to the conference was unanimously approved. "Second The United States will ap point a delegae to take part in the deliberations of the permanent inter national contingents committee and in those of the Inter-allied committee i at Berne." GASTON . MEANS WILLTESTIFY IN Defendant Will Give His . Version of Tragedy of Blackwelder Springs CROSS-EXAMINATION OF W R. PATTERSON Most of Morning Taken Up With Reading of Mean's Letters Concord, Dec. 5. Announcement that Gaston B. Means would take the stand in his own defense to describe the death near here last August of Mrs. Maude A. King, for whose alleged murder he is On trial, added new in terest to the case .today. Means is expected to describe the defense's version of the tragedy at Blackwelder Spring, where, it is con tended, that while on a target shoot ing trip, Mrs. King stumbled on a root, fractured a small bone in her ankle and fell, causing the pistol she held to be discharged. The state contends that it would have been physically impossible for the woman to have inflicted the wound in the back of her head which caused death and has endeavored to show that Means had wasted the woman's fortune and killed her to evade being called to account. Just When Means will make his statement has not been announced, and resumption of cross-examination of Means' father-in-law, W. R. Pat terson, of Clarksville, Miss., was the first thing set for today. Assistant: District Attorney Dooling, tf New York, who is aiding the state, drew the acknowledgement from Patterson yesterday that Means had speculated in cotton and lost various sums of money for Airs. King. He asserted, howev.er. that Mrs. King was aware of the transactions. Mr. Patterson resumed the stand when court convened and Mr. Dooling continued with his cross-examination. The witness identified a number of let ters as bis handwriting addressed to O. B. Means. One written in Novem ber, 1917, said: . "Is it at all possible that you will have to work for me the coming win ter?" ' . In a small note book, which the witness identified as his, there was a notation marked as "important," which recorded the information gain ed in an inquiry that "J. C. K." was stout and robust and infull jiossession of all his faculties. The state concluded cross-examination of Mr Patterson without bring ing out anything materially to break down his testimony yesterday that tho defendant's business transaction with Mrs. King's money were legitimate j slost oftthp time while the witness j was on the stand this morning was occupied with reading of letters Writ- ten by the witness to Means in July, 1!'17, just after Patterson. Mrs. King. Mrs. Melvin and other members of their party had arrived at Asheville from Chicago. "Old seventy-six," Patterson wrote to Means, referring to Mrs. Robinson, mother of Mrs. King, "has settled down after fluttering around a while 'like an old hen after scratching up her nest.' " "Maude; has trimmed her sails," wrote the witness, hut he did not seo much prospect of any successful flir tations. Later be wrote that "Maude" had ceased her flirtations, as about all the men at the hotel were married. In one letter Mr. Patterson writ-Ins.-from Asheville to Means at New York, suggested insistently that auto mobile drives in the mountains would keep Mrs. King in a good frame of mind and "keep her from rocking the boat." Direct examination of Patterson was brief, C. A. Rumhiiugh, n mechanical engi neer of Asheville. qualified as an ex pert in firearms and testified that from experience and observation he had learned that a ,2't calibre automatic pistol was likely to be fired at any time by a jar. He testified that in his opinion Mrs. the face being turned over the right shoulder. NO INSTRUCTIONS TO ACT Washington, Dec. K. It Was offi cially declared today at the state de partment that both Lieutenant Colonel Judsou, head of the American military mission in Russia, and Major M. C. Kertli, temporary military at tache at the American embassy, acted without Instructions from this govern ment In presenting communications to the Bolsheviki government on the at titude of the United States in the ef fort to effect separate peace and ar- mlstice with Germany. - SOI
The Asheville Times (Asheville, N.C.)
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Dec. 5, 1917, edition 1
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