ALLIED AVIATORS HAVE
RETARDED HUNS' PLANS
FOR RESUMING ATTACK
Military operations on the western
battlefront have Ixtn overshadowed In
Interest recently by development*
elsewhere, but nevertheless the situa
tion on the Franco-Belgian line, rep
resenting as It does the culminating
efforts of the opposing belligerents to
decide the great war, is being follow
ed from day to day with cloee atten
tion.
No signs are observable, according
to correspondents at the front, of the
•nemy's intentions as to the time and
place of the delivery of his expected
•troke. The artillery activity, indeed,
aeems less marked than for some
days past, while the aviators have
been obliged to let down in their in
tensive labors by the advent of less
favorable weather for their opera
tions.
ii bwihi iiui im|iruuBiiie, nuwrvvr,
that the magnificent work of the allied
airmen has not a little to do with the
slowness of the enemy in putting hi*
offensive machine in working: order
again. They have established them
selves as masters of the situation to
such an extent that the Germans have
been forced for the most part to keep
well back of their own lines.
The allied aviators, on the other
hand, have been able to carry out pho
work on a large scale for long dis
tance in the enemy's rear territory.
The bombing operations have been
so extensive that ton after ton of ex
plosives have been unloaded on mili
tary objectives—many more than
1,000 tons to date. Unquestiorably
this has seriously interfered with Ger
man movements of troops and sup
plies. Furtheremor*, the ativities of
the battling aviators on the entente
side has swollen the German losses
of machines to considerable in excess
of the 1,000 recently reported to have
been brought down since the opening
of the enemy's spring offensive.
This partial blinding of the enemy i
has naturally tended to keep him less
well informed of dispositions on thej
allied side and probably served toi
make him more hesitant in making j
decisive moves.
In the aerial activity the American
airmen are taking an increasnig part
and it now develops that in the Toul1
sector held by the American army an
exclusively American pursuit squad
ron is operating with marked success
to date. The allied infantry raiders
have been active equally with the avi
ators but here the Germans have more
nearly matched their opponents. The
enemy raiding parties have been espe
cially active on the front of General
vonHutier's army, south of the Somme
but their success in taking prisoners
from whom to secure information
have not been marked.
A total of 53 Americans lost their
lives in the sinking of the British
steamer Moldavia off the English
coast Thursday morning. The men
were all memt>ers of company B, 68th
United States infantry, fourth divis
ion. The remaining Americans sol
diers on board, 427 of the 58th infan
try, were safely landed, together with
all other persons the steamer carried.
Food Situation Desperate.
Washington, D. C.—Advice* re
ceived by the State Department from
official sources in neutral countries
contigouH to Germany and Austria
are that the fond Hit nation in the Cen
tral Kmpires is most desperate. Re
port* also show a irenerul lark of food
in Russia. The State Department hus
information tliat would indicate that
even with the reduced ration planned
for June 16 ami thereafter in Germany
and Austria there is not food enough
to carry the population over to har
vest. The people Iwth of German und
Austria have been told that relief
would be brought to them in the form
of supplies from Ukrainia but these are
not forthcoming and there is no proa
pact that they will b« sent into Gar
many soon.
GENERAL FOCH MAN
OF MANY INTERESTS.
All Political, Diplomatic ud
Economic ProbUm» Attract
Him Greatly—Confidence in
Him Unbounded.
Pari*. Franc*.—It la intaraating to
nota at thia crisis of the war, when
tha Allies have replied to the desper
ate onslaught of the enemy by nam
ing General Foch commander-in-chief
of their armies, that on* of hi* aide
de-camp*, who knows him welt said,
of the ireneral that h* ia the man for
difficult situations, for then h* ia ae*n
at his bast.
Thin remark has already been con
firmed several time* in the course of
the war when Forh has been called to
"set thing; right" when affair* seemed
particularly involved. At the Marne
hia intrepidity contributed greatly to
the victory. It in a recognized fact that
"inacceaiihle to diacouragement" Koch
who had been given the rommand of
the ninth army with which he wan to
support the offensive of the fifth army
led by Gen. Kranchet d'S*perey, reso
lutely attacked the task aligned to
him by asking his troops to show "the
greatest activity and energy in order
to extend and maintain the result* al
ready obtained over a much-tried and
adventurous enemy." Kocli was con
fronted by the German guard, and his
situation seemed particularly perilous
on Sept. 8, 1 ill4. yet his confidence re
mained unimpaired and he amazed his
valiant troops by declaring: "The sit
uation is excellent, I order that the
offensive be rigorously resumed."
General Koch is a native of Tarbei,
where his father was general secre
tary of the Prefecture. He began his
studies in his native town, purwtcd.
them at St. Etienna, and later pre-!
pared himself at the Ecole St. Clem-,
ent in Metz for the Polytechnic School
to which he was admitted in 1871. He
i
then followed the Cavalry School of
Saumar, was made captain in 1878 and r
admitted to the Superior School of i
War in 1884, to which he returned 12
years later as professor of general
strategy and tactics, obtaining the
rank of lieutenant-colonel in 1838. j
In 1900, when General Konnal sue-1
ceeded General l^nglois as comman
dant of the Superior School of War.
Lieutenant-Colonel Foch was one
among several profes.-ors who were
dismissed. But his teaching remained)
for he had ineffaccahly influenced the
method of general tactics. In 1907 (
he was made brigadier-general, and a.
little later was appointed enmman
dant of the School of War. In 19111
General Koch was given the command
of the thirteenth division at Chaumont
and a year or so later he was ap-;
pointed to the post of honor as head of
the twentieth corps at Nancy, where
he was when the war broke out.
General Koch has taken a particu
larly brilliant part in all the prin- ■
cipal operation!) since the outbreak of
hostilities. An has been stated, he
contributed in a large degree to the
Marne victory. In Flanders he re
vealed his characteristic tenacity dur
ing the crucial days of October, 1014,
and the success of the Somme offen
sive, in 1016, was in great part due
to him. At the end of 1916, General
Koch had l>een instructed with several
missions both in France and in Italy.
When the AustroGe.-man troops made
the desperate tush upon the Italian,
lines which resulted in the I.-.onzo
retreat. General Foch directed the
Anglo-French troop* send to the aidj
of the Italians. Since then he has
been at thehead of those troops of
maneuver which were to lie engaged
at the right moment either offensively
or defensively on the French front.
Such, briefly summarized, is the
career of the man in w'hom the allied
troops have placed all their trust, and
very rightly 10, if one can judge from
what can l>e gleaned of his character
in the two remarkable books he wrote
whilst director of the Superior School
of War: "The Principles of War," and
"The Conduct of War: Maneuvers in
Rattle " Rarely kin any works haen
*o aiprnaKri of their author. Rarely
has the personality of My writer
dominated and penerated to wrh a
degree the tdaaa eat oat and defended.
The saying of Napoleon I, with whirh
ha prafacaa the flrat of hia works, ad
mirably sum* up hia conduct of life
and work: "It is not gonitis that sud
denly reveals to me what I must say
or do in a circumstance which to
others would he unexpected: it is re
flection and meditation."
"Think!" repeated Foch unceasing
ly to his pupils, "and yet again think!
You will he asked later to be the
mind of an army: I tell you today,
learn to think." And the latter, obey
ing the injunctions of their great mas
ter, have for the most part become
officer* of extraordinary military ca
pacities.
His belief is personal initiative and
thoucht is shown in these words:
"The art of commanding does not
consist in thinking and deciding for
one's subordinates," and he further de
clares that "To command has never
meant to 'be mysterious,' but on the j
contrary it signifies to 'conmmunicate ■
that very thought which animates the
direction."
r ocn aiso snows mucn aexterity 1
in the use of irony, and one can well
imagine him asking hi* pupils in his
soft, yet energetic, voice: "Do you
think that to wear slung on one's hip
• well-sharpened wall-cared-for sword'
signifies that one knows how to1
fight?" His conception of the onlyl
method cf warfare Is summarized in'
ihe following declaration also gleaned
from his "Conduct of War."
"High as the command may be
placed, its first task should always he
to give orders, but its second task,
which is quite as important as the
5r»l, should be to insure the execu
tion of these orders, A battle must
>e conducted on the battle field."
It would, however, be quite erro- ■
neous to s'uppose that General Foch'
s merely preoccupied by purely mili-l
lary questions, or this his interest
ire limited. All political, diplomatic
ir economical problems attract him
itreatly, for he is always desirous of
extending his knowledge. He listen
attentively to his interlocutors, often,
>ewildering them by the precision of
liis questions, and daring interviewers
tinvc more than once discovered, af
i.'r five minutes of conversation, that
[Jeneral Foch has turned the tables on
:hem with a vengeance! For he excels
in directing a conversation as if he
Mere executing a maneuver, and he
possesses, moreover, a real knack of
obtaining the maximum of informa
tion from each person with whom he
is brought in contact.
Confidence in General Foch is un
bounded. in spite of the most furious
assaults of the enemy, for it is r»
mernliered that 'tis Foch who declar
ed: "A battle won is a battle in which
one will not own oneself beaten." I
American Man Power in
France Now Formidable.
Pari*, Friday 24. The American
forces in France will double the num
ber Secretary of War Baker recently
announced as having sent here and by
the end of 1918 they will he three
times larger, said Andre Tardieu,
French high commissioner, in a state
ment i-sued to the French people on
his arrival from the United States to
day.
(Secretary Hake, announced on
May 8. that more than liOO.fKHl Ameri
ran soldier* already hail been sent to
France.)
Pool Room* to close. •
Raleigh, N. C.—The pool room* in
Raleigh, N. C„ will cloae June 1, a«
the resolution* originally adopted by
the city comml*aloner» provide, advo
cates of an extension of time having
lout their flght in the interent of the
pool room ownera when the conmi.v
aionen recently adopted the reeolu
tiona by • 2 to 1 vote.
DAMNING EVIDENCE.
Trom time to Ua>« there have baan
in connection with tha war, amazing
revelation* of Carman machination*.
Nona, howavar, ha* baan mora ligni
flcant than that of August Thyaaan,
on* of Garmany'i greatest ataal man
ufacturers, reprinted rarntly in tha
Manufacture™' Record. That paper
itaya, ra|ardin( hia expoeures, that
in a recent publication Thyanen tall*
of a numUr of mectirz* from 1912
to .914 in which Km-m -r William
ri cmiot, gr»nt fli inci«: pr< tita to
tne iead'r f buainaaa men o* <>«rmauy
if they would uphold hi.-i I", a war
uocn wh'ch he desired to enter f'.r
controlling world trad*. Thysaen ad
mit* that in consideration of hia co
operation he wa> explicitly promined,
a* a ^ift 30,000 acre* of land In Aus
tralia and the loan of money with
which to develop it. Thin promise,
made by the chancellor, was confirm -
by by the kaiiier himself, nad tho
Thyssen was somewhat ikeptical at
lir*t he made the hargain, a* did
other businea* leader* of Germany,
And now realizing that the bar (rain
cannot be filled, he ia telling these
facta with a view to letting the Ger
man people understand that the war
was started by the Hehenzollerns
for the maintenance of their autocra
tic military power.
'I'hytsen and other biuines* lead
ers of Germany deliberately entered
into this bargain, and in discussing it
he .tays:
"Eevry trade and interest was ap
pealed to. Huge indemnities were, of
course, to be levied on the conquer
ed nations, and the fortunate Ger
man manufacturers were, by this
means, practically to be relieved of
taxation for years after the war.
• • • The Emperor'* speech waa one
of the moat flowery orations I have
ever listened to, and so profuse were
the promises he made that were even
half of what he promised to be ful
filled, most of the commercial men in
Germany would become rich beyond
the dreams of avarice."
Following are some extract* from
Herr Thyssen's statement as to "The i
Hohenxollern plot:"
"1 am writing this pamphlet be
cause 1 want to open the eyes of Ger
mans, especially of the business com
munity, to facts. When the Hohen
zollerns wanted to get the support of
the commercial class for their war1
plan*, they put their ideas before us j
as a business propositon. A large
number of business and commercial
men were asked to support the Hohen
zollern war piKcy on the ground that
it would pay I hem to do ao. let me
frankly confers that I am one of
those who were led to agree to sup-;
port the Ifohenzollern war plan when |
this appeal was made to the leading
busine men of Germany in 1912-1,*).'
I
I was led to i!o so, ho- -ever, against -
my better juJ|-ement.
"In 1912 the Hohenzollerns uw that
the war ha.I bocortic a necessity to
the preservation of the military sys
tem. upon which their power depends.
In that year the Hohenzollerns might
have director!, if they had desired, the
foreign affairs of our country so that
l>eace would have been assured in
Europe for at least fifty years. But
prolonged peace would have resulted 1
certainly in the breakup of our mili-i
tary system, and with the breakup ;
of our military system the power of]
the Ifoheniollerns would come to an
end. The Emperor and his family,
ax I said, clenrly understood this, and
they therefore, in 1912 decided to em
bark on a great war of cbnijuest.
"But to do this they had to get t;u.
commercial ocmmunity to support
them in their aims, rhey did this
by holding out to them hopes of great
personal gain as a result of the war.
In the light of events thfet have tak
en place since August, 1914, these
promises now appear supremely ridu
culous. bat moot or us at the time
were led to believe that they would
probably be realised.
"1 was personally promised • fret
I
grant of 30,000 sera* of Austral La and
a loan from the Deutsche Bank of
1.10.000 pound* at 3 par cent, to en
able me to develop my buaineaa in
Australia. Several other Arm* wore
promised special trading facilities in
India, which was t* oe conquered by
Germany, be it noted, by the end of
1916. A syndicate was formed for
the exploitation of Canada. This syn
dicate consisted of the heads of twelve
great Arms; the working capital was
Axed at 30,000,000 pounds, half of
which was to be found by the German
government.
"There were. I have heard, prom
ises made of a more personal charac
ter. For example, the "conqueet of
England" was to be made the occas
ion of bestowing upon certain favor
ed and wealthy men some of the most
lesirable residences in England, but
of this I have no actual proof.
"Every trade and interest was ap
pealed to. Huge indemnities were,
of course, to be levied on the con
quered nations, and the fortunate Ger
man manufacturers were by this
means, practically to be relieved of
taxation for years after the war."
The above, from a German source,
throws considerable light on the ques
tion, if there is anybody still that re
gards it a question, as to who started
the European war. It is one of the
most daring pieces of evidence yet
brought to light against kaiserism
and all that it implies. It shows the
purpose of German military leaders
at the inception of the conflict.
There were Home excessively tim
id people in thin country m few monthn
afro who were Baying they did hot
think America should have entered
the war. If there are still any who
are inclined to hold ouch an opinion
they should read Herr von Thyssen's
revelation. A country ruled by ladd
ers guilty of such turpitqde an he
has exposed is a constant menace to
world peace. If there were no other
reason for America'* entrance into
the wur that would he sufficient in it
self.
Auto Accident at Elkin.
Klkin, May 25.—An antomobile ac
cident which came near costing the
live* of Miui Muriorie Chatham and
Marion Allen, two popular young peo-'
pie, of thin place, occurred yesterday
evening about 7 o'clock in the eas
tern port of town. Mr. Allen and
Miss Chatham were autoing and upon
their return, noticing the approach of
the evening train from Winston-Salem
decided to try a rac«. to town, the road
for some distance running parallel
with the railroad track. In rounding
the curves near the plant of the Elkin
Furniture company, Mr. Allen lost
con of the car plunging with tre
mendous force into a steep embank
ment which completely wrecked the
machine. Capt. W. H. Crews, conduc
tor of the Southern, quickly stopped
his train and assisted by others of
the crew rescued the young people
from beneath the car. Miss Chatham
was unconscious for a time, hut other
wise uninjured. Mr. Allen suffered
several ruts upon the head and a badly
lacerated hand, which may result in
loss of use of some of the fingers.
Bavarian* Mowed Down
by The American Troop*
With the American Army in Franc*,
Friday, May 24.—The liavarian troop*
which have just arrived opposite the
American sector northwest of Toul
suffered casualties of 60 per cent, of
their effective* while enffafred jn the
recent offensive in Northen France,
according to reliable information re
ceived today. Virtually all these los
ses were in killed and wounded, a* the
Ravarians, it is declared, lost only one
man taken prisoner.
The Germans apparently are cele
brating their arrival in a comparative
ly quiet nector, as for the last two
nights loud cinging and other souads
of jubilation have been heard in the
STRENGTHENING MORALE
OF AMERICAN SOLDIERS.
New Organization Prop**** I*
Provide for welfare of Fifkt
«r»' Families.
New York, April 30.—To strengthen
the morale of American soldiers ia
France by protect in g and providing
for the welfare of their dependent* at
hame ii the purpose of a new organi
zation denominated Soldiers' Kami
lies of America, the flrst regiment of
which has just been organized here.
Mrs. Walston Hill, the national head
of the new organization hope* the
unit formed here will serve as a model
for similar units to be organized
throughout the country.
Judge William H. Wadhams, one of
the leaders in the movement, has been
in France and England for the past
three week* outlining the plan to the
men in the trenches ami nunps and re-*
ports from him are said to be full of
enthusiasm. He went abroad to study
the needs of the soldiers and bring
back practical suggestions from offi
cers and men for the speedy promo*
tion of the work.' .
Briefly, the project contemplates:
Establishment of a regimental fam
ily unit for each regiment in the ser
vice of the United States, dividing th#
families into companies correspond
ing in personnel to the companies of
the regiment. each company of the re
gimental family unit to have as ita
chairman the wife, mother or sister of
the captain of the corresponding com
pany in actual war service. The exe
cutive committee of the regimental
family unit is made up of the chair
man of the various companies and the
wives of near relatives of the majors.
The company chairmen are to ap
point the beads of two committees:
the soldiers' needs committee and the
home welfare or family needs com
mittee. The duties of the first are to
do everything possible to send cheer
and comfprt to the soldiers at the
front. The second committee requires
hat each member look out for the
velfare of at least 10 families of sol
!iers, make personal friendly visits
md operate with all the beneficence of
fraternity and not cold charity.
If a member of the home welfare
committee ascertains that the family
of a soldier has not received from the
government its allotment of the sol
dier's pay, funds are to be advanced
by the committee. Employment will
be found, where necessary, for bread
winners, children cared for, women
protected and helped, war gardens op
erated, instruction given in war cook
ery, woolen garments knitted, and
clothing furnished needy families, as
well as food and fuel.
i ne unit wmcn nas ocen organized
in New York corresponds with the
troops of a regiment at Camp Upton,
L. I., and has the indorsement of the
colonel commanding that regiments,
according to the organizers.
Mrs. Brown, the president in organ
izing other units throughout the coun
try, says that" the cheer and comfort
which the social meetings will bring
to the families of soldiers is bound to
(>e reflected in the moasages which go
to the men at the front and in just
the degree that the men are hearten
ed and maiie to feel at ease about their
families, will the morale of our army
be raised on the pathway to victory."
It is expected that many small or
ganizations, already formed by rel
atives of soldiers, will join the lar
ger body to secure unity of action and
increased efficiency.
Protest Againat Useless
Automobile Driving
Burlington, May 26, The Burling
ton Ministerial association in meeting
last week passed resolutions proteet
ing against the needless automobile
riding that the people are engaging
In. The protest ia to read from all
Ike pulpits Sunday. They M{«c1sH]r
beg that the ndee he given ay durtag
the hours at service.