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VOL. XXXIX.
PITTSEORO, CHATHAM COUNTY, N. C, JULY 4, 1917.
NO. 48.
Chatham
rvll
IMPORTANT NEWS
HE WORLD OVER
Happenings ef This and Other Nations
For Seven Days Are
Given.
THE NEWS JJFJHE SOUTH
What Is Taking Place in the South
land Will Be Found in
Brief Paragraphs.
Domestic
" Mr. Griffin of the Chicago board of
says that the exchanges of the
country will give wholehearted support
to the administration's food control
proposition.
According to information from
ington, Fort McPherson, near
Atlanta, Ga.. will be the site for a big
s hospital. It is not known what
sition will be made of the Seven
teenth infantry now stationed there.
A New York dispatch says that so
tly did the regiment of marines
France slip out of the navy
that not even the men engag
ed in a baseball game in the yard
know they had gone.
tr hundred coal operators, re'pre
ing the great fields of both bitu
us and anthracite, pledged them
es at Washington to sell their
icts at a fair ana reasonable price
they had been frankly warned
by Assistant Attorney General Lewis
that unless they established a fair
ig price and proper regulation
of he industry, their output would
be taken over by the government.
United States cruiser Olympia,
Admiral Dewey's flagship at the battle
ilanila, ran aground in the fog off
. Island, R. L, June 26. The crui
ser is reported in a bad position, with
ierabie water in her hold. "Wil
liam M. Babb, machinists' mate, lost
hi? life when he was struck on the
head by a falling hatch.
Olympia caught in a fog off
Block Island, R. L, was on ker way
to target practice. Details of her ex
act position could not be learned. The
red been assigned as the flag
ship of the coast patrol flaet of the
second navsrl district.
Coal operators say they will confer
with the defense council's committee
"to the end that production may be
stimulated and plans be pefllacted to
provide adequate means of distribu
tion." W. J. Harris, chairman of the rea
eral trade commission in Atlaata, Ga.,
for a business trip of several days, is
out in a statement advising against
the purchase of coal at the present
prices, which he says are outrageous
ly high and absolutely without justifi
cation or fairness.
Washington
Secretary Daniels, delivering .the
commencement address at the naval
academy ar Annapolis, stated that the
United States is demonstrating to the
world at a democracy cf a hundred
million people can wage war efficient
ly and with unity of spirit.
Secretary Drniels says that those
who told us men of military men
would not enlist under the selective
draft have been mistaken, because the
facts show that registration day was
indeed a day of consecration to the
ideals of democracy.
Food prices in the United Spates
advanced on an average of 5 per cent
from April 16 to May 15, according to
the bureau of labor. During the year
ended May 15 they advanced 29 per
cent.
War department officials will go no
r ihan to say that General Per
shing's khaki clad men will be aug
mented as rapidly as expedient by a
considerable contingent of other
rained troops.
rrmrnissioner Root is in a Moscow
hospital with a eevere cold. He made
two speeches there in one day while
the temperature was 104 in the shade,
and contracted such a cold that it was
deemed advisable to treat him.
A '"openhagen dispatch says that al
though Bulgaria is opposed to break
ing off relations with the United States
he fear is expressed that Premier Ra
voff may have been compelled to
purchase concession, for which he
''ent to Berlin, by a sacrifice of Amer
ican relations as part payment.
The food control bill has been
amended in the senate so that the food
administrator shall not have power to
impose individuals' rations or regulate
their meals.
The members of the exports council
will meet in a few days to organize
and to recommend to the president a
eries of proclamations which will put
the new law into active operation.
President Wilson says the free trade
of the country will not be arbitrarily
interfered with, but will be intelligent
ly and systematically directed in the
hght of full information with regard
to needs and market conditions" and
the necessities of the people and the
amies at home and abroad.
When the order came to prepare im-
an expeditionary force to go
ance, virtually all of the men now
-eas were on the Mexican
border. General Pershing himself was
at San Antonio.
The Russian mission was received
n the senate June 26, when Ambassa
dor Boris A. Bakmetieff made an ad-f-ress
pledging Russia'; continuance
m the war.
Washington is running over with
attorneys and others in the interest
t the whiskey interests and prohibi
ten, and President Wilson's life is
anything but a bed of roses.
The price of soft coal to the aver
are home will vary with the freight
charges and retailers' profits, as it is
announced the miners have agreed to
reduce the price $2.50 per ton.
President Wilson has barred "bone
dryness" from the food control bill.
The bill will probably permit the man
ufacture of beer, wines and other
light beverages.
The interstate commerce, commis
sion has denied the plea of the rail
roads for a horizontal increase of 15
per cent in freight rates.
The interstate commerce commis
sion announces that increases in the
freight rates on coal, coke and iron
ore will be granted.
The interstate commerce commis
sion says that the gloomy forecast of
jeopardized incomes, seen by railroad:
officials early in 1917, have not been
borne out by the figures available for
later months; rather to the contrary.
The United States' export policy will
be determined by President Wilson
only after a most thorough study of
its international aspects. The presi
dent is anxious that no injustice shall
be done even the smallest neutral.
It is not yet known whether Bra
zil's break with Germany means that
she will enter actual hostilities, but it
is confidently expected that Brazil will
follow the United States.
A Petrograd dispatch says Major
General Scott, chief military member
of the American mission, is on aft ex
tended tour comprising the whole Rus
sian front.
The advance guard of the mighty
army the United States is preparing
to send against Germany is on French
soil.
In defiance of German submarine,
thousands of seasoned regulars and
marines, trained fighting men with the
tan of long service on the Mexican
border or in Haiti or San Domingo still
on their faces, will soon be fighting
alongside the French, the British, the
Belgian, the Russian, the Portuguese
and the Italian troops on the western
front of the modern Armageddon.
Press dispatches from France show
that Major General Sibert commands
the first force sent abroad. General
Pershing is, of course, commander-in-chief
of the expedition.
The United States, it is admitted
in allied capitals, has set a record for
the transportation of troops to the
fighting zone.
The United States troops in France
will put no burden on the allied troops
already there. The troops will be fed,
clothed, armed and equipped by the
United States government.
President Wilson certainly is hav
ing difficult questions put up to him,
and to his judgment falls the success
or failure of America in the world
war. The latest question put to him
is, whether prohibition shall be put
in the food control bill. -
European War
Greece has severed diplomatic rela
tions with Germany, Austria, Hungary,
Bulgaria and Turkey. It is expected
that she will soon declare war against
the central powers, due in most part
to the incompatibility of an existing
war in her territory without her act
ive participation.
Premier Lloyd-George, speaking in
Glasgow, Scotland, says the war will
continue until the aims of the allies
have been fully attained.
Lloyd-George says Great Britain's
food supplr will hold out if the sub
marine war is kept within its present
bounds and the people practice frugal
ity. Picked Germans are being hurled at
the French front, with success at
some points and failure at others.
It is freely predicted that the pres
ent Russian upheaval will result in a
Russian republic, as that form of gov
ernment is the lonly possible kind
that will be in harmony with the spir
it and principles of the whole Russian
question.
The steamers U. tonia of the Cunard
line, 6,593 tons; Haverford of the
American line, 7,493 tons; Buffalo,
Wilson liner, 2,583 tons, and The Man
istee, another Cui.ard vessel, British
cargo-carrying vessels, have been tor
pedoed and sunk by German subma
rines. Genera Haig has adopted prize
fighting tactics against General Hin
denburg. He first leads from the
right, then from the left, following
from the center and then mixes it up
so that vonHindenburg is up in the
air, according to dispatches from the
front.
The Canadians have taken another
hack at the German line protecting
Lens, the coal center in the depart
ment of Pas de Calais, and have been
rewarded with fuither gains.
In Belgium the Germans are bom
barding French and Belgian positions
incessantly.
The Canadian troops operating
around Lens, the great coal mining
center which the Germans captured
from the French, are slowly encircling
that center, and it is reported that
the Germans have all but ceased min
ing operations. This seems to fore
cast that the Germans realize that
their tenure of this position can only
be short-lived.
Only partol parties of the infantry
are active on the western front, and
only small bits of territory have been
attacked for several days.
The Canadians have captured anoth
er trench on the Lens-Arras road, but
further attempts have been repulsed
by the Germans.
Renorts from allied centers are to
the effect that the British are now
engaged in blazing the way for a new
thrust at the German lines with the
hope of driving them farther back
while the summer weather holds out.
to strive for the mastery in France.
RUSSIAN SOLDIERS
ASSUME OFFENSIVE
TROOPS OF NEW RUSSIA LAUNCH
ATTACK ON EXTENSIVE
SCALE.
storm am mm
Berlin Admits That Attacks Were
Powerful Along Whole Eighteen
Mile Front. British Are Meeting
With Successes in West.
The soldiers of new Russia have
assumed the aggressive. For the first
time since the revolution las March
Russian troops have begun an attack
on an extensive scale.
Along a region of eigheen and one
half miles in the region of Brzezany,
Galicia, Russian troops have stormed
the German positions. Berlin says
the Russians suffered heavy losses and
were compelled to retire before the
German fire. The attack was made
between the upper Stripa and the
Narayuvka river, a tributary of the
Gnila Lipa, in the section southeast
of Lemberg, the Gallician capital,
where the artillery firing has been
heavy recently.
The Russians also made night at
tacks on both sides of Brzezany and
near Zwyzyn, and Berlin reports that
assaults between the Zlota Lipa and
the Narayuvka have brought on new
battles between the opposing forces.
The artillery arm of the Russian
forces has again been active, and from
the Berlin report it is learned that an
intensive duel has been in progress in
the region of Brzezany to as far
northward as the Middle Stokhod in
Volhynia. distance of about 175 miles.
Berlin declares that the Russian
attacks, which it says were power
ful, were brought about through the
pressure of the leading entente pow
ers, the text of the official statement
saying:
"The Russian government having
been constrained to yield to the pres
sure of the leading entente powers,
part of the army has been introduced
to attack."
The region of the Narayuvka and
Upper Stripa rivers has been the
scene of much bitter fighting since
General Brussiloff ended his victorious
campaign last year, and Brzezany is
one of the keys of Lemburg.
Field Marshall Haig continues to
tighten his grip on Lens. On the
north bank of the River Souchez,
British troops have captured German
positions on a front of about half a
J mile southwest and west of Lens. The
I British army during June captured
j 8,686 German prisoners, including 175
officers and sixty-seven men, including
two heavy guns, as well as much
! other war material.
FOOD NEUTRALS MAY BE
SUPPLY GERMANY FOOD.
Which is Rep'aced With Imports
Brought From America.
Washington. Evidence that Ger
many is obtaining vast quantities of
food from the European neutral coun
tries has been presented to the United
States by Great Britain for the Amer
ican government's guidance In de
terming an export policy. Much of
this, the British statistics purport to
show, is replaced by the neutrals with
imports from America.
From Scandinavia and Holland, the
information sets forth, enough fat is
going into Germany to supply 7,700,
000 soldiers, virtually the entire army
of effectives in the empire. German
imports from these countries, it is
declared, ..reduced to calories will
equal the total ration of 2,500,000
troops, the size of the German army in
the west.
German purchases of foodstuffs
abroad are made through the gov
ernment department of the interior,
which has organized a special divi
sion to buy from the neutrals. In the
early days of the war. the German
government stimulated importation of
food by excluding imports from op
eration of maximum price laws, b.
this drew such a vigorous protest from
German producers the practice was
stopped.
AMERICAN HELP IS REALLY
VERY GREAT.
Zurich, Switzerland. Referring to
the arrival of American troops on
French soil, the military critic of The
Frankfurter Zeitung says Germany
must not overlook the fact that Amer
ican help is really very great, though
it will come only by degrees. Under
these conditions, he says, if France
is obliged to restrict her military ac
tivities, it will signify no strengthen
ing of the German situation.
MANY ARE KILLED WHEN
CAR PLUNGES INTO RIVER.
Niagara Falls, N. Y. A belt line car
on the great Gorge route left the
ralfls,, plunged down a twenty-ffoot
embankment and turned over in ten
feet of water on the edge of the
Whirlpool rapids. Nine persons are
known to be dead, two persons known
to have been on the car have not
been seen since the accident and
probably are dead, an indefinite num
ber, estimated at from two to ten.
are reported missing.
BIG REDUCTIONS
L
BITUMINOUS PRODUCT MINED"
EAST OF MISSISSIPPI EFFECT-
e ' , . . . ,
ED BY AGREEMENT.
GOES INTO EFFECTAT GNCE
n
Decreases Ranging From One to Five
Dollars Per Ton to the Public.
Question of Prices on Anthrac'rta
Comes Up Later.
Washington. Sweeping reductions
j in the price of bituminous coal at all
I mines east of Mississippi river, rang
ing from one to five dollars a ton to
the public, with an additional cut of
fifty cents for the government, were
agreed upon at conferences between
the operators and government offi
cials. The new prices become effec
tive July 1.
Four hundred operators who gather
ed here at a call from Secretary Lane,
pledged themselves to furnish their
product by committees from each field.
Earlier in the day, they had agreed to
place the price-fixing in the hands of
the government, through the defense
! council's coal production committee,
' Secretary Lane and Commissioner
Fort, of the federal trade commission,
thus avoiding the possibility of violat
ing the anti-trust laws.
Director Smith of the geological
survey, estimated that the reduced
prices would mean that the operators
' would get $180,000,000 less annually
for their output.
In addition to placing prices upon
coal at the mines it was announced
that jobbers, brokers, retailers and
; commission men would be permitted
i to charge commissions o". not more
i than twenty-five cents a ton and that
no more than one commission should
be charged. In other words, the con
! sumer will get his coal at the mine
' plus transportation charges and
twenty-five cents per ton.
The agreement does not affect an
: thracite, and the coal production com
I mittee announced that action on that
problem had been postponed until
j after July 1 by agreement with the
' operators. The anthracite producers
' have indicated willingness to meet the
J government in the same spirit mani
I fested by the bituminous men.
4hA&i iniMir rriMTIMI IC nt?!P
AGAINST LINE AT LENS
Brazil is no longer a neutral in the
world-war and the German empire has
another enemy arrayed against it.
Having previously revoked its poli-
cy of aloofness so far as it affected
i the hostilities between the United
States and Germany, Brazil now has
come definitely into the open and an
nounced that it can no longer be con
sidered neutral in the war between the
entente and Germany.
Although no announcement has
been made as to whether the South
American republic will actualy enter
into hositilities by -its revocation of
neutrality, it definitely aligns itself
morally on the side of the United
States and the entente.
The Canadians, men from all parts
of the dominion, have taken another
hack at the German lines protecting
Lens, the coal center in the Depart
ment of Pas de Calais and have been
rewarded with another encroachment
upon their objective.
Striking on a two-mile front south
of Lens, the Canadians, protected by
effective curtain fires, stormed and
captured German first line positions
before Avion and also the village of
Leauvette. They defeated in their on
slaughts men of the crack Prussian
guard and the fifth grenadier guards,
whose machine gun and rifle fire and
the fact that the attacking force had
to cut through wire entanglements
could not stay them.
When the battle ended and the Ca
nadians began their work of consoli
dating newly-won positions their line
had been extended to within one mile
of the center of Lens, the fall of which
under such tenacious assaults as have
been made recently seemingly cannot
be long delayed.
REGIMENTS WILL BE
GIVEN NUMBERS, ONLY.
Washington. Designation of all
army regiments hereafter by number
and service branch only, without dis
tinction between units of the regulars,
national guard and national army, has
been decided on by the war depart
ment to simplify official records of the
great war forces now being developed.
Under the system, the regular regi
ments will retain their present names
from the '"first infantry," "first cav
alry," etc., upward.
AUTHORIZATION OF MORE BONDS
UNDER CONSIDERATION.
Washington. With revision of the
war tax virtually completed and now
totalling 1.449,000,000, against the
$1,800,000,000 levy of increased taxes
adopted by the House, the Senate
finance committee considered authori
zation of additional bonds. Senator
Stone formally proposed a bond issue
of 500,000,000. The committee plans
to reach a decision soon, and to fix
the rate to be imposed on war excess
profits, probably sixteen per cent.
PRICES
AMERICAN TROOPS
LANDED IN FRANCE
ADVANCE GUARDS READY TO
TAKE STAND ALONGSIDE ARM
IES OF ALLIES.
DEFY GEBMAN SUBMARINES
Thousands of Regulars and Marines
Have Crossed the Atlantic and Take
Places in Trenches After Short Ped
iod of Training.
i
Washington. The advance guard of
the mighty army the United States is
preparing to send against Germany is
on French soil.
In defiance of the German sub
marines, thousands of seasoned regu
lars and marines, trained fighting
men, with the tan of long service on
the Mexican border, or Haiti or Santo
Domingo still on their faces, have
been hastened over seas to fight be
side the French, the British, the Bel
gian, the Russian, the Portuguese and
the Italian troops on the western front.
News of the safe arrival of the troops
sent a new thrill through Washington.
No formal announcement came from
the war department. None will come,
probably, until Major General Persh-
j ing's official report has been received,
j Then there may be a statement as to
the numbers and composition of the
! advance guard.
Press dispatches from France, pre
sumably sent forward with the ap
proval of General Pershing's staff,
show that Major General Sibert, one
of the new major generals of the army,
has been given command of the first
force sent abroad, under General
Pershing as commander-in-chief of the
expedition.
EXEMPTIONS TO BE LEFT
WITH LOCAL BOARDS.
Government Will Rigidly Adhere to
That Policy.
Washington. Rigid adherence to
the policy laid down in the national
army selective draft law, of placing
the question of exemptions in the
hands of local boards, is expected to
characterize the exemption regula
tions to be made public by the war
department in a few days.
It is understood that, the regulations
will map out only the general pro
cedure of the boards, the personnel
of which already has been announced.
It is regarded as certain that no spe
cific class exemptions will be provid
ed for. and that each man will be ap
praised on his individual occupation
and physical capacity when his name
is called and he is summoned before
the local boards.
Crippled or defective persons among
those who were registered were not
ed at the time, and it is possible they
already have been dropped from the
rolls. The judgment of the civilian
doctors who are attached to local ex
emption boards as to the ability of
any individual to bear the hardships
of a soldier's life will be a determin
ing factor.
Married men will not be exempt
ed as a class. In each case the ob
ject of the board will be whether de-
f pendency of wife, children or other
relatives upon any man is so com
plete as to warrant his rejection as
a soldier.
SENATORS WRITE DRASTIC
POWERS INTO FOOD BILL
Washington. Food control legisla
tion assumed new and more drastic
form when the Senate agriculture com
mittee virtually re-drafted many ot
the principal features of the House
measure and reported it with mate
rial extensions of government power
and a new "bone dry" prohibition pro
vision to stop manufacture of intoxi
cating beverages during the war. The
president would he authorized to per
mit wine making and to commander
existing distilled spirits.
The amended bill was presented to
the Senate by Senator Chamberlain.
He moved to have it substituted for
the draft the Senate has been debat
ing and proceed with all expedition to
ward final action.
The new prohibition plan, all lead
ers admitted, greatly complicates the
situation and precludes enactment of
the legislation by July 1.
In extending the scope of the legis
lation, and the President's powers, the
committee adopted amendments which
would provide for government control,
in addition to food, feeds and fuel, of
iron, steel, copper, lead and their pro
ducts, lumber and timber, petroleum
and its products, farm implements and
machinery, fertilizers and binding
twine materials.
Other important amendments ap
proved would authorize the govern
ment to take over and operate facto
ries, packing houses, oil wells and
mines, regulating wages of their em
ployes and to commandeer supplies
of any and every kind when needed
for the army and navy "or any other
public use connected with the public
denfense." Another would empower
goverament to buy and sell, for general
civilian purposes, food, fwvds and fuel,
with limitations upon the general leg
islation making it apply to agencies
ind products ony in interstate or for
sign commerce.
SAYS TRAT RUSSIA
WILL STICK TO END
Nl. BAHKMETIEFF SPECIAL EN
VOY GIVES THIS SOLEMN
PLEDGE.
MAKES ADDRESS TO SENATE
Enthusiastic Reception is Given New
Democracy's Representative Whan
He Makes His Appearance in Sen
ate Hall.
Washington. In another stirring
address at the capitol, Boris A. Bakh
metieff, head of Russia's diplomatic
mission, gave a solemn pledge that
the Russian people and army, convinc
ed that a separate peace would mean
the triumph of German autocracy, are
prepared to fight on beside America
until the world has been made safe
for democracy. '
The ambassador spoke before the
Senate and was given a reception al
most as enthusiastic as that accorded
him Saturday in the House. On no
previous occasion since the war began
has senatorial reserve been cast 30
completely aside. At the conclusion
of the address, a resolution was adopt
ed by unanimous consent expressing
the Senate's gratification over the
stand of the newest democracy.
"Russia rejects with indignation any
idea of a separate peace," said the en
voy. "Striving for a lasting peace,
based on democratic principles, estab
lished by democratic will, the Russian
people and army are rallying their
forces around the banners of freedom.
Russia wants the world to be safe
for democracy. To make it safe means
to have democracy rule the world."
Many of the rumors of internal dis
sension in Russia, M. Bakhmetieff
said, grew out of misunderstanding of
the great changes taking place in the
whole fabric of the government to
transform it to democratic standards.
He pleaded for patience and confi
dence that these changes, although
they might take time, would be work
ed out successfuly in the end.
The ambasador and other members
of the Russian mission were given a
reception by Secretary Lansing, with
President Wilson among the guests.
BRITISH TROOPS SLOWLY
ENCIRCLING LENS.
Germans Realize Their Tenure is
Short Lived.
The slow but sure encirclement of
Lens, the important coal center held
by the Germans in the department of
Pas de Calais, is in process of con
summation by the Canadians. Having
already during the present week cap
tured important vantage points west
and southwest of the town, a fresh
smash at the German lines has been
rewarded by the occupation of the
village of La Coulotte, situated a mile
to the south.
Although the British war office,
aside from the operations around
Lens, reports no activity by Field
Marshal Haig's men rising in import
ance above minor patrol sorties, the
Berlin war office asserts that heavy
artillery duels are in progress at va
rious points, in which enormous quan
tities of ammunition are being used.
Reading between the lines of the
German report, it is apparent that
the British are the aggressors and it
is possible that General Haig is pav
ing the way for a series of new
thrusts against the German lines.
The infantry activity in the region
between Soissons and Rheims has
given way entirely to artillery duels
in the sector of Moulin de Laffaux and
a continuance by the Germans of the
slow demolition of Rheims with gun
fire. Monday night saw an engagment
of considerable proportions northwest
of the Hurtebis farm, where the
French captured German first-line
trenches and took more than three
hundred prisoners. Berlin, in admit
ting the gain by the French, tempers
the German crown prince's loss some
what by the assertion that in counter
attacks his army recaptured the great
portion of the lost terrain.
OLD "OLYMPIA" FLAGSHIP
AGROUND AT BLOCK ISLAND
Block Island, R. I. The United
States cruiser Olympia, Admiral Dew
ey's flagship at the battle of Manila,
ran aground in the fog off Block Isl
and. The cruiser was reported in a
bad position with considerable water
in her hold. Chief Machinist's Mate
William M. Babb, lost his life when ha
was struck on the head by a falling
hatch. No other fatalities were re
ported. Warships and wrecking ves
sels are standing by the ship.
CONTRACT AWARDED FOR
JAMESTOWN CANTONMENT
Richmond, Va. John T. Wilson A
Co., of this city, were notified by Ad
miral Harrington, of the navy depart
ment, that they had been awarded
the contract for the construction of
the cantonment on the old Jamestown
exposition site. The contract, on a
cost plus ten per cent, basis, includes
the building of bulkheads, wharves
and permanent frame barracks, and
will, It is estimated, amount to about
$2,000,000.
EDITORS ENJOY VISIT
TO MOREHEAD CITY
DISCUSSION AND CONFERENCES
ON IMPORTANT PROBLEM8
FEATURE CONVENTION.
EDITORS ARE ALL PATRIOTIC
President Sounds Call of Service to
Newspaper Men. Reviews Activi
ties of Press.
Morehead City. The sessions of the
North Carolina Press Association, in
annual convention here, were full of
instructive discussions and conferences
on important newspaper problems.
President Edward E. Britton called the
convention to order. R. T. Wade, of
the Morehead City Coaster, welcomed
the visiting journalists, and Miss Beat
rice Cobb, of The Morganton Herald,
responded in happy vein.
President Edward E. Britton then
delivered his address the keynote of
which was servica. "This association,"
said he, "is not seizing upon all the op
portunities for service which present
themselves to it. We should have a
larger membership, and that member
ship should be extended so as to in
clude not alone editors and publishers
of newspapers, but the members of the
staffs of newspapers, both on the news
and business side of the business
should be eligible to membership.
More than this. There should be an
effort made to have all other news
paper associations in the state, re
taining their offices and independ
ent organizations, become depart
ments in the North Carolina Press As
sociation. As parts of this association
we should have the Afternoon Press
Asociation, the Western Carolina
Weekly Press Association, and any
other associations of newspaper men
in the state. I direct the attention of
the executive committee of this asso
ciation to this matter, which I regard
as of prime importance."
Editor T. W. Chambliss, of The
Asheville Times, pointed out "Tha
Duty of the North Carolina Press in
the Present Crisis." He discussed the
duty of the press to the government
and in the Instruction of the people
concerning government problems and
undertakings. The press must now be
the medium between the government
and the people. ,
S. L. Meares, of The Bladen Journal,
entertained the association with a
forceful and witty paper entitled
"Some Practical Newspaper Sugges
tions." These suggestions were valua
ble to all newspaper men and Mr.
Meares' humor and spice added to the
paper's charm. In the general discus
sion which followed W. C. Hammer
spoke with emphasis of America's part
in the present war and the duties of
journalists as individuals.
Miss Beatrice Cobb spoke convinc
ingly of woman's work in the news
field, and declared that the newspaper
offered many opportunities for women
who were not afraid of work. She
emphasized the great opportunity of
service such work gives. Woman's
place on the newspaper is not confined
to fashion and society notes, she said.
M. L. Shipman, Commissioner of
Labor and Printing, read one of the
best historian's papers in years, which
was full of interesting comment con
cerning North Carolina newspaperdom.
The annual poem by Dr. William
Laurie Hill elicited much applausa.
It was charged with patriotic fervor.
Editor H. Gait Braxton, of The Kin
ston Free Press, delivered the annual
oration before the convention. He
spoke on the "Responsibility of the
Press, from its Present Enlarged As
pect." "The press was never con
fronted with such a task," he declared.
"And it is not so big now as it will be
tomorrow." Mr. Braxton stated that
since last year's meeting the work of
the press had taken on a world-wide
scope. "The press is going to meet
this change and enlarged obligation,"
he believed". In conclusion, he point
ed out some of the problems now con
fronting the press. He urged news
paper men to establish their business
more firmly as regards the sustaining
basis of the work. A value must be
placed on the Journalist's product."
New officers were elected as fol
lows: Santford Martin, president,
elected by acclamation, the nomina
tion being by the retiring president,
E. C. Britton; J. A. Sharp, of Lumber
ton Robesonian, first vice president;
Z. W. Whithead, Wilmington Lumber
Journal, second vice president; R. T.
Wade, Morehead City Coaster, conven
tion .host, third vice president; M. L.
Shipman, historian; W. T. Boat, ora
tor, and J. B. Sherrill, Concord Trib
une, secretary. Mr. Martin is private
secretary to Governor Bickett. Selec
tion of the next meeting place was
left to the committee.
Mr. H. B. Varner, of the Lexington
Dispatch, read a comprehensive report
on the newsprint situation. He stated
that North Carolina had played the
biggest part in the Union In the news
papers fight for better print paper
prices. "Our only hope for better
prices," he emphasized, "Is to stand to
gether." Mr. Varner explained what
has already been done to secure better
prices.
Fifteen new members have been tak
n into the association. The attend
ance has been large and representative.