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THE UNION COUNTY PAPER EVERYBODY READS IT.1 THE UNION COUNTY PAPER EVERYBODY . EDS IT. r The Monroe Journal PUBLISHED TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS VOL.23. No. 19. MONROE, N.C TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 1917. $1.50 PER YEAR CASIL UEARD THE BIG DEBATE ON WAR IX THE SENATE Mr W. S, Blakeney Sut for Eight Hours In Senate and Heard Iju-oI let ( and ihe Other His Men lls- cuss the War Resolution Ar. rnngoment.H for the Meeting of the Rankers Association. Last Wednesday Mr. W. S. Blakeney sat for eight hours in the United States Senate and heard the great debate on the war resolution. He heard such men as LaFollette. who took violent issue with the ad ministration. John Sharp Williams who followed LaFollette and flayed him. Senator Cummins and others. He would have heard Mr. Kltchin's speech In the house but was unavoid ably detained. He saw Miss Jennette Kankin. the only woman in congress, and his sympathy for the little wo man was aroused. "The times there are too strenuous for her," said Mr, Blakeney. "At two o'clock in the morning when the vote was taken she could scarcely vote above whisper, she said weakly, 'I would like to stand by my President but I must vote againrt war. The senti ment in Washington, says Mr. Blak eney, had crystalized around the Idea that this was the opportune time to enter the war. that if the Allies were defeated Germany would certainly attack us next and we had better go In now as a mattter of self defense rather than to wait and have to flgbt her alone later on after Germany had become victorious. Mr. Blakeney went to Richmond on business and on to Washington to secure the promise of Congressman Kitchln to speak at the Bankers Convention at Wrightsville in June The State Bankers Association, of which Mr. Blakeney is president, meets at Wrightsville on June 19th, 20th and 21st. Mr. Kitchin promised to be present If possible. Another speaker who has been Becured is Dr. D. W. Daniels of Clemson College, a man of wide experience on the plat form and a speaker of unusually en tertaining gifts. The convention will be held in the new auditorium at Writghtsville and the members will occupy both hotels, with headquar ters at the Oceanic. More AlMuit Mr. Winchester's Hen After reading about Mr. Jim Win chester's hen in a recent issue of this paper, Mr. C. M. Tucker, editor of the Pageland Journal, had thi3 to say "If you accept this one we don't want to hear any more objections to the story about Jonah and the fish." To tell the truth we had begun to have our own donbts about that sto ry, but since Mr. Lee Griffin and Mr. Clyburn Marsh corroborated the sto ry, The Journal refuses to waver any longer. That story was the gospel truth, and if you are from Missouri, as Mr. L. S. Griffin, carrier on Un lonville route 2, says, you can be con vinced by spending the day at Mr Winchester's. Dame Hen committed a more mar velous feat yesterday than laying eggs on a sofa pillow. She abolished transportation charges by walking to the egg box on the table and deposit ing her day's bounty there. Mr. Grif fin was also telling something about this hen looking at herself in the mir ror, but The Journal reporter refused to hear any more. Mr. Sell Says Safety First. Mr. Jeff Sell, well known farmer on Unlonvllle route 2, says the war situation is causing a good deal of worry to him and some of his neigh bors. It is not that they may have to fight; far from it, as Mr. Sell himself seemed to have a slight hankering for tho smell of powder, but they don't know what crops to raise. Mr Sell says he has come to the conclu sion that the best thing he can do, and others for that matter, Is to raise plenty of hog and hominy to feed the family. He of course Intends to plant a little cotton, but this crop will be of a secondary consideration to hiui In these troublesome times. It is an undisputed fact that there will be a big demand for foodstuffs next year, war or no war. It it very doubtful that the cotton market will hold up; in fact, it Is liable to break most any minute. Mr. -Sell, there fore, has the right Idea. Plant food stuffs for home consumption, and there'll be no danger of the family suffering. The Soldier. Mr. Herbert Ervln, a Union county boy In the army at Loredo, Texas, sends The Journal the following: The soldier comes back from the carnage and wreck. He's minus an arm and a leg and a neck; ah, never again will he linger and swing. He walked with a crutch and his head In a sling. As long as be lives he will sit by his dear and tell how he waded In enemy's gore, and young men will listen to his harrasslng tale and blush that they're standing un wounded, and hale. I had rather come home from the army in a dray, all broken, dismantled, my head shot away, then stand around telling by day and by night that I was too proud or too moral to fight. The soldier comes home for a season of peace. He carries his legs In a trunk or valise. His lungs and his wish bone were shipped by express, his body Is filled with the keenest dis tress. But Reggies will listen, their hats In their hands, to all his adven tures in war stricken lands. They will call him a hero, a soul brave and true; they will praise him and bleu him and give him a chew. Then sad la the lot of the man who feels that it is wicked and sinful to fight. The girls turn him down, and the boys hate his name. Thank God that we are aot too prond to fight Mr. Drayan Tenders His Services to ITesiaent. Tallahassee, Fla.. April 6. Wil liam Jennings Bryan, three times candidate for President, and former secretary of state, today sent this message to President Wilson: "Believing it to be the duty of each citizen to bear his part of the burden of war and his share of its perils, I hereby tender my services to the gov ernment. Please enroll me as a pri vate whenever I am needed. Assign me to any work that I can do until called to the colors. I shall, through the Red Cross, contribute to the com fort of soldiers In the hospital, and through the Young Men's Christian association, aid in guarding the morals of the men In camp." Mr. Bryan, with the rank of colonel, commanded a regiment of Nebraska volunteers during the Spanish-American war. lronoses to Enlist Aid of Churches. Washington, April 9. Plans for enlisting the Nation's churches to aid the American Red Cross In en rolling a membership of 1,000,000 men and women and to prepare hos pital and supplies, assist the families of enlisted men in the army and navy and relieve Belgian children, were announced here tonight by Dr. Worth M. Tippy, secretary of the Commis sion on the Church and Social Ser vice of the Federal Council of Churches cf Christ in America. Full details of the undertaking have been sent to 1,500 ministers and 1,000 cities throughout the United States, with the request that the work of forming local organizations in various congregations begin at once. BILLY HAS HIT XEW YORK And the Great City Is Proud of the Kurt Talks as Much About Coun try As About Jesus. Twice on Sunday assemblages of New Yorkers 20,000 strong leaped to their feet in the pine shavings and sawdust of the great wooden Taber nacle at Broadway and One Hun dred and Sixty-eighth Street lifted from their seats by waves of emotion and proclaimed with hands and throats their approbation of Billy Sunday, the "Christ and Country' evangelist. Twice, afternoon and evening, the slender, wiry, one-time ball-player, who is to try during the next three months to "save the metropolis", stood with one foot on his platform chair, the other on his rostrum, and gazed out across a wide plain of up turned faces and waving arms, stretching for a hundred yards and more away from him, men and wo men Jammed together in every di rection as closely as human beings could be. And twice, with a happy smile, he saluted them with his own swinging arms. For the ambition of his life was realized. He had come to New York, had reached the climax of his career, had faced the predicted scof flng or indifference of the big busy city, and so far as that day, at least, went had triumphed. Neither the coldness nor the ridicule nor the stay- away spirit that the pessimists had foretold showed themselves. The first 40,000 New Yorkers to see him took Billy right to their hearts. He gave them reason for that. He gave even the irreligious ample cause for rising with the regularly profes sing Christians, for Country figured in his two sermons almost as much as God. Leaping to the highest point he could reach, which was the top of his table, he shouted, at the end of his afternoon sermon: "I don't want New York's money! I'm not going to take It for myself! No mntter what may be presented to me on the last day of my services here, I will keep none of it. After paying one-third of it for the ex penses of my assistants, as has al ways been my custom, I will divide the remalnd"-- equally between the American Red Cross. Then he threw himself into the pose of a fighter, with one arm ex tended. Bade Foes to "Come On"! "Come on, you godforsaken bunch of degenerates that say I am a graf ter, a money grabber! Come on, you mutts who have threatened my life from one end of this land to another, who have Insulted my wife and chil dren wherever we went, you rotten bunch who tried to raise I wsb told a fund of 1500,000 to fight me In New York. Come on! I call your bluff!" Kitchln Voted Against War. Representative Claude Kitchln, Democratic Majority Leader in con gress, voted against the war resolu tion Friday. And in so doing, ac cording to Tarker Anderson, Wash ington correspondent of the Greens boro News, he is a bigger man today than at any time since he came to congress. Not that everyone, pos sibly not even a majority of jeople agree with his views, but Kltchin's act was one that demanded courage -courage which many other mem bers wished they could have pos sessed and even the most rabid war advocates are applauding his stand today. Notice to Persons Having Lock Doxes In First National Honk. All persons having lock boxes in the First National Bank will please call with their keys on or before April 20, 1917, as the Bank is go ing to dispose of its present safe and purchase a larger and more tin to date one, and it li Important tor 70a to see as at once. FIRST NATIONAL BANT, Moaroe. Austria-Hungary Throws Her Weight RELATIONS 11ROKEN OFF BY REASON OF GERMAN PRESSURE Congress Now IVcrnrinir to Raise Revenue and to Send Three Ril lion to Aid of Eurocan Partners President I'rgtns that Draft Sys tem Must Take Place of Volunteer ing. Austria-Hungary follows the pres sure exerted by Germany and breaks off relations with the United States. Congress is at work on war meas ures as fast as possible. Just what plans will be adopted for raising large armies are not yet known. No conflict has taken place be tween any American ship and an enemy. The St. Louis, the first Am erican passenger boat to be armed and sent through the war xone around England, arrived safely back in New York yesterday. She was not fired upon. Brazil and South American coun tries are expected to follow the Unit ed States in declaring war at once. WILSON FIRM FOR DRAFT SYSTEM IN THE ARMY Volunteer System Advocated by Some Members of Congress But Opposed hy Administration. Washington, April 9. President Wilson threw the weight of his per sonal Influence Into the scales today in an effort to overcome opposition in congress to the Administration army plans based on the draft system. Summoning Chairman Dent, of the House Military Committee, now con sidering the bill, to the White House, the President made it clear that he believes the safety of the nation hangs on the action of congress in this regard. He will make a similar exposition of the military situation tomorrow to Representative Anthony of Kansas, who has led opposition to the draft plan among Republican members of the military committee. In his action today, the President recognised the fact that there may develop a strong feeling In congress In adhering to the old volunteer sys tem, and sought to bring home to. Mr. Dent, one of those who hold that view, the lessons to bo drawn from the great war into which the Unit ed States now has been plunged and which all point, military advisers of the government declare, to the ab solute necessity of facing the Issue squarely and summoning men to the colors by draft. A compromise plan may be offered by the opponents of the compulsory service. A sentimant for such a move was evident in Mr. Dent's committee before which Secretary Baker and the military chiefs of the War Depart ment assembled during the day to support the Administration's policy. There was no Indication, however, that a compromise would be accept ed by the President. Debate in Senate. In the senate, debate on conscrip tion occupied much time during dis cussion of the regular army appro priation bill left over from last ses sion. During the debate Senator KIrby offered an amendment which would authorize the President to call volunteers in lots of half million each Tne amendment is subject to a point of order, and probably will be disposed of that way without de bate. As a result of Chairman Dent's at titude, it is possible that some other member of the House committee will present the Administration bill If It Is reported In the form In which it was drawn. Discussion of the regular army ap propriation bill had been perfunctory in the Senate until a section author- izlng advertising agencies to obtain recruits for the army was reached Chairman Chamberlain said it was considered necessary to get men Instanced the fact that recruiting for the National Guard had not been suc cessful. Recruits have flocked to National Guard headquarters ever since the German Ambassador was sent home," declared . Senator Wadsworth, "but now I hear the War Department has sent out orders forbidding the Guard to accept recruits." Senator Nelson, a veteran of the Civil War, declared himself In favor of a call for volunteers. "I venture to say," said he, "that If the President calls for a volunteer army of 500.000 men and says that it Is going to Europe to fight, there will be no trouble at all. What the boys dread above all Is to be stationed in camp with nothing but drills and guard duty. What they want Is to march and fight and meet the en emy." TJrged Pay Increase. Senator Stone urged an Increase In the pay of privates to four or five times the present amount. He said that might Increase the army bill 11,000,000.000 a month, but was worth it because the men who would go to war would leave behind de pendent. "I don't think this Is a business matter." tald Senator Vardaman. "It is a mttter of patriotism." t in about to vote 15.000.- 000.001 to the President." replied Senator Stone. "Very well. I shall vote fof ft But I would not hesitate so far at I am concerned to com pensate Ike men who go to the front, net f fka them, not aa a bounty, Against U. S. but that it might be the best paid army m the world." Before the house committee. Secre tary Kcker stood firm fr the Gen eral Staff plans. Mr. Baker approved a suggestion that instead of authorizing two in crements of selective draft forces. 5OC.00 to an Increment, the bill au thorize the President to call as many such Increments from time to time as he deemed necessary to proscute me war. tidied Slates Seizes All Austrian Ships in Our Polls. Fourteen Austrian merchant ves sels In American ports were taken over yesterday by the government coincident with the announcement that Austria had broken diplomatic relations. Telegrams tcthe Collectors of Cus toms t the ports concerned were sent personally by Secretary McAdoo late last night instructing that the crews aboard the vessels be removed and thiit customs guards be placed In their stead. The status of the re moved crews will be determined by immigration authorities of the De partment of Labor. In a formal announcement of the government's action, Secretary Mc Adoo made it clear that the govern ment had not confiscated the vessels, but acted for the purpose of pro tecting them "from further Injury." from this statement was Inferred that the ships were damaged by their crews, as In the case of the German vessels taken over by the government upon the declaration of war with Germany. The vessels thus taken into the government's keeping were all In At lantic or Gulf ports. AUSTRIA ALSO QUITS Has Broken Off Relations With United States and May Also Go to War. Austria-Hungary, ranging herself unreservedly with Germany, has severed diplomatic relations with the United States, preclpiating a sltua tton which is expected to lead tCiJ-'T, . . . . . . - Baron Erich Zwledlnek, the Aus trian Charge, asked the State De partment yesterday for passports for himself, bis staff and the Austrian Consular force in this country; and simultaneously American Minister Stovall reported from Berne that Austria had announced the break in relations to the American Embassy in Vienna yesterday. Whether Bulgaria nnd Turkey are preparing to follow suit still is un known, but officials generally believe that Booner or later they will do so, Bulgarian Minister Fanarctoff called on Secretary Lansing yesterday to ask if this government had any in formation from Sofia, but was told none had been received. Both Bui garla and Turkey are believed here to be weary of the war, but German domination of the Central European alliance is expected to drive them, as it drove Austria, to a break with Ger many's new enemy. Although the full text of the com munications exchanged was not given out, the Department's review dis closed a disposition on the part of the TTnltpr! Ptntps to tolprntp Aiw. tria's verbal endorsement of the Ger man policy, provided there were no steps for actual co-operation and no Instance thit Count Tarnowskl be re ceived by the President. On the part of Austria, there was evident a desire to maintain friendly relations, but an Increasing inability to do so be cause of German pressure. Although war with Austria Is thought now to be a practical cer tainty, President Wilson is described as having no Intention nf fnrrlnir If. The belief is that the President will not ask congress to declare that a state of war exists unless some overt act against the United States is com mitted. Better Keep Off The Railroad Track "Trespassing on railway property, at all times a perilous practice, In volves an even, greater hazard for the trespasser, now that It has be come necessary to place armed guards at strategic points, to prevent possible Interference with the coun try's transportation facilities through the depredations of enemy agents," said Fairfax Harrison, president of the Southern Railway System and chairman of the American Railway Assaciation's special committee on National defense, calling attention to the Importance of all loyal citizens keeping off railway premises unless they have busincrs thereon. "In addition to the ever present danger of being killed by a train," Mr. Harrison continued, "the man who now trespasses on railway prop erty, subjects himself to the peril of being shot, should he fail to heed the challenge of the military guard. Charged with the duty of protecting railray structures, whose destruc tion would Interfere seriously with transportation, the guards cannot af ford to take any chances. Unfortu nate cccurrences can be avoided If rlt'zens, who have no business on railway property,' will keep off. It Is especially important that pedes trians, who have been accustomed to walking tracks, rather than publle highways, should understand the added danger and recognise that they can perform a patriotic service br ( avoiding It." I Story of Horrors of German Military Rule in Belgium and Torture. Washington. April 8. A story of the horrors of German military rule in Belgium and of the tortures in flicted upon Belgians to force their labor for their enemies was revealtd here tonight in hitherto unpublished letters to the government from an American official who spent many months In the midst of the reign of terror. Of the Germans' explanation that they deported only the unemployed among the conquered people, this official says: "They needed skilled and active artisans and these men were nat urally still employed. The authori ties did not evidently dare to an nounce their real wishes." "Belgium at this moment," says a letter written in December, "i3 going through a reign of terror. It is hard to believe that the dark mo ments of the French revolution were very much worse than the con ditions of which we are now the witness. With each month that we remain, the net is drawn tighter nnd tighter around the population. The entire country is more or less one great Internment camp. "Even the Austrian representative here had words of apology and even blame for the policy and in defense could only refer to the alleged ill treatment of Germans in Russia." President Wilson's "splendid pro test" against the deportations, the writer says, was of great moral volue. "It is really pitiful to see how the Belgians locks to America in a crisis like this," he continues, "but the deportations continue with out any apparent serious modifica tions. "The fashion in which any given recruitment is carried out depends very largely on the character of the officer In command. Some proceed ings pass off in orderly manner and others In a disorderly fashion. A guard of Uhlans is generally neces sary sometimes backed with ma chine guns. At times it Is thought necessary to charge the watching crowds. "Various methods are employed to force the men to sign and work. Starvation is the most prominent." The writer recalls the German promise of liberal wages to those who will sign, with permission to send their earnings to their families in Belgium. "Painstaking inquiries," he adds, "have failed to elicit a single instance in which such money has been received from Germany." ADMINISTRATION'S FINANCIAL PROGRAM Secretary of the Treasury Will Call j Aid 01 i nlanders itiul wants to Give (Jtihk Aid to Partners in the War. The administration's financial pro gram for carrying on the war. in so far as it relates to the authorization of a $5,000,000,000 bond issue. In cluding $3,000,000,000 to be loaned to the Allies, will be placed before congress within the next 4 8 hours with every prospect of prompt ap proval. Secretary McAdoo predicted that the bend Issue would be overwhelm ingly subscribed. The fncilities of fered by bankers nnd others, who have asserted that they would place their services fr?e of charge at the government's disposal to aid in mak ing the Issue a success, will be ac cepted. Assistance also will be sought of Federal Reserve banks, National banks, State banks, insurance com panies, private and investment bank ers and of every governmental agency In floating the issue. Mr. McAdoo also announced that he would "take the benefit of the counsel of the most experienced bankers and investors of the country as to the best means of making the offer a pronounced success." Mr. McAdoo's formal announce ment of the program made at the conclusion of a day of conferences, read as follows: "The administration will ask con gress for authority to Issue $5,000,- u.-1 inn nnn , . i ! . the situation created by the war with i Germany. The proposed bonds will be evemnt from tnvntlon nH hoar Interest probably at three and one-i half per centum per annum. Two billion dollars of these bonds will be required to finance in part the ex penditure involved In the proper or ganization and operation of the army and navy and the conduct of th war generally. Of course, a large amount of additional revenue will have to be raised by taxation, but this part of the problem is under consideration by the Ways and Means Committee of the house of representatives. "Three billion dollars of the pro posed Issue of bonds should be used to supply credit to the governments making common cause with us against Germany to enable them to secure essential supplies in the Unti ed States and carry on the war with Increased effect. This financial aid ought to be extenc'.d at the earliest possible moment. It will be trehly valuable and effective if extended now. "The purpose is to purchase the obligations of the foreign govern ments to which credit is given, such obligations to bear the same rate nt Interest and In other essentials, to contain the same terms and condi tions as the bonds of the United States. "The bonds of the United States 111 be offered as a great popular loan, and the widest opportunity will be given to the public to subscribe. and by subscribing, to perform one of the most patriotic services that ean be rendered to the country at id li time." MI ST MAKE ENOUGH FOR HOME ANl ALLIES TXJ Seeretary Houston Culls Ujmn Farm ei-s Not to xt Up on Fo.i ll lu tiou 1m? Needed Even If IVjwe Comes Soon. Secretary Houston Is calling upon farmers to take Measures to increase food production. "The importance of the nation of a generous food sup ply for tte coming year cannot be ovi-r-emphafized in iew of the eco nomic problems which moy arise as a result of the entrance of the United States into the war," said the Secre tary. "Every effort .--hould be made to produce lucre crops than are need ed for our own requ.reit;nu. Many millions of people acres-; the seas, as well as our own r-coie, must rely In large part upon ihe products of our fields and ranges. This situa tion will continue to exist even though hostilities should end unex pectedly soon, since European pro duction cannot ? restored im mediately to its normal basis. "It is obvious that the greatest and met important service that Is required of our agricul-'ure under existing conditions is an enlarged production of the staple food crops. "The most natural steo that may be taken t: increase the production of these crops is to enlarge the acre rge devoted to them ia the regions where they are grown habitually. This cxaar.slon of acreage should bo to the limit permitted by available good seed, labor and equipment. Tho placing of too great emphasis on pro duction in new regions is Inadvisable since the introduction into a farm operation of a crop not usually grown frequently involves practical diffi culties not easily nor quickly sur mountable. "Rice at present prices provides more food value for the money than most of the other cereal. "Prices of the grain sorghums dur ing the past season appear to war rant Increase of acreage of these grains In the regions where they can succeed. "Corn Is the leading food and feed crop of the United States in free graphic range of production. The vital importance of a large acreage of this crop if properly cared for, therefore, is obvious. Conditions warrant the planting of the largest acreage of this crop which it is pos sible to handle effectively. - "The usefulness of cow peas and soy beans ns human food has be:n recognized only recently In this country. Existing conditions warrant the planting of all the available seed of varieties known to do well in the several sections. "A deficiency of hay and forage for next winter would Jeopardize the future meat and dairy supplies of the country and result in a .shortage of roughage for military draft and saddle animals. "Seed potatoes should be conserv ed by planting on the best lauds avail able for them nnd planning for thorough tillage and protection or the crop against disease and luseet pests. Potatoes cau bo grown most udvantngeously near the centers of population in the northern states where transportation cost may be re duced to a minimum. Such vege table crops as carrot, rutabaga, tar nips, onions and cabbage are worthy of more attention than they generally received. "In the southern l.nH of the coun try perhaps no cop has larger possi bilities for quick increa.-.e of produc tion of food for both men and ani mals than the sweet potatoes Tho peanut in many i;ec'tiou oi the South is nltfo capable of greatly enlarged production. "Only about 20 per cent of the supply of sugar normally consumed in the United States is produced do mestically, and this amount cannot be increased appreciably during tho coming season. "Through increased attention to poultry on farms it is possible to add quickly and materially to the food supply. When conditions render it feasable small llocks of uoultrv u- . , ... , .. ibuuuiu ue kcih ny lauuues m VII t08 nl wivclally ,n t00 suburbs of large cities. . Vuusull,r3 "VI"P " Villages RlKl- 8ub"!'b,a f clm do.,n.?t predate sufficiently the possibility of adding materially to their food sup- Ply by utilizing suitable Idle soil in yards, vacant lots nnd unused outly ing fields. Gardening is peculiarly an activity In which the family and community may share with resultant mutual helpfulness and benefit. "The duty of the Individual farm er at this time Is to Increase hts pro duction, particulaily of food crops. If he has control of tillable land not in use, or money lying idle, or la bor unemployed he should extend his operations fo ns to employ those resources to the fullest extent. This does not mean that he should rob bis land, waste his capital, or expend his labor fruitlessly, but that by wise planning and earnest effort he should turn out a greater quantity of food crops than ever before. He will not lose by It. and he will perform an Important service in supporting hl9 country In the- task that lies before it." Iady Congressman Voted Against War. Miss Jeanette Rankin, congress man from Montana, voted against tho war resolution In congress Friday and then she cried. Four times the clerk of the house called Miss Ran kin's name before she answered. She was evidently laboring under the deepest mental distress. After her name was called three times, she said nervously: "I want to stand by my eountry but I cannot rote for war."
The Monroe Journal (Monroe, N.C.)
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April 10, 1917, edition 1
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