5 1
YOilR K0"E PAPER
TLlTTTT
11 ii: 11
EDA
LY
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Ij) hj) H 4 CJ' THE WEATOER
Jl'llvll iVyQj
PUBLISHED E1ERY KFTERNOON EXCEPT SUNDAY.
VOL. XVI No. 287.
SECOND EDITION
KINSTON, NC; MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1915
FOUR PAGES TODAY
PRICE TWO CENTS
FRENCH
ji
TRENCHES TO FIGHT
WITH THE BAYONET
New German Troops Were
Unnerved by Daring
Veterans Action
FRENCH GUNNERS ACTIVE
Silence .Kaiser's Batteries
Around Soissons Capit
ulation of Tabriz ; Veri
fied Germans Claim to
Hold Russian. Advance
ELIJAH P. LOFFIN NOW PROPOSED TO
RIAKE COURT BOTH
CIVIL AND CRIMINAL
ILLNESS ON SUNDAY
T
THE TRUCOT THE WEIL
One of County's Most Sue
cessful Farmers Called to
Reward Father of Coun
ty Suryeyor Felix Loftin.
Was In Eightieth Year
(By the United Press)
Paris, Feb." 1. The Germans,
though reinforced, have been thrown
hack at Yores with severe losses.
French bayonet attack unnerved new
regiments and they retreated in . dis
order. A German bayonet attack on
the French lines was halted when the
French resumed :' the offensive - and
jumped from the trenches in counter
attack. The Germans, whose : lines
broke, fled in disorder.' French artil
lery is bombarding German positions
along the Aisne. . In the Soissons re
gion the French have silenced Ger
man batteries which had shelled Sois
sons.- A violent; artillery duel is in
nroirress from Ypres north to the sea
coast. The-' army of the German
Crown Prince Continues- shelling ? the
French trenches outside of Verdun.
1 Comparative quiet exists in the Vos-
German Statement of Affairs in East
Berlin, Feb. 1 Russian efforts to
advance en the north bank of the Vis
tula :tw,"f"riw":',:for
Germans have made further advance
in the fightingr east of Lowicz along
. the south bank of the Vistula.
. - German aviators who crossed the
Allies' line south of Ypres dropped
bombs upon Bailleul.
Occupation of Tabriz Officially -Announced.
Petrograd, Feb. 1. That Tabriz
was captured Saturday by the Rus
sians la officially announced.; Tabriz
is the capital of the province of Az
erbijan, Northern Persia, and has
been occupied by Turks and Kurds.
Strongly reinforced,- the Germans
in East Prussia' ' are concentrating
their efforts to halt the march upon
Koenigsberg. Desperate fighting is
in progress at the forest in the Pilk
allen region.; The Russians have re
captured the trenches ' occupied by
German infantry Friday night Four
regiments were " practically killed,
wounded or captured, Austro-German
divisions are losing heavily in the at
tempt to push northward through the
Carpathians to the relief of Przem
ysl. The Russians have captured a
, large number of prisoners in the
TJszofl region. -' , .
2 OHIO RIVERS NEARING
FLOOD STAGE FROM THAW
; ' (By the United Press) : '
Cleveland, O, Feb. 1. The Cuya
poga and Rocky rivers are approach
ing the flood stage as a result of the
heaviest thaw of the Season.
SPORTSMEN UNDER BAN '
' (By tiM United Press) '
Washington, Feb. l.-r-Announce-ment
was made today that the new
hunting regulations will be strictly
enforced this spring. -Today marked
the close of the hunting season on mi
gratory birds.' v
CARGO OF COTTONSEED
CAKES FOR DANISH PORTS
' Wilmington, Jan. 81, The Danish
steamer Lilly arrived in port yester
day afternoon and is taking on 6,000,
000 pounds of cottonseed cakes for a
Danish port. ; This makes the fourth
steamer to carry cargo of cottonseed
cakes from Wjlmiwrii this winter.
MAT OPENS AT $1.54
, akd corrrCtUEs to rise
Y (By the United Press) "
Chicago, Feb. L Wheat opened
Mnr at 11.51 . bushel "
The market went up to $1,56 3-4
t 1:40 p. m. .
Mr. Elijah P. Loftin, 80 years of
age, "''and one1- of the county's best
known and most esteemed men, died
at his plantation home, several miles
from the city, Sunday morning at 4
o'clock.
- Mr, Loftin was one of the staunch
old farmers of Southwest township,
loved his home, and was well known
throughout the county. He was a
horticulturist of some note, doting
upon his pecan grove, his yupon tea
orchard, Japanese persimmons and
chestnuts, and besides took great
pride in his stock and poultry. ; He
was born at the old Loftin homestead
in Southwest township on March SO,
1834. .His parents were Shadrach
Elkanor, Loftin and Sarah Loftin. His
father was, a large landowner of the
county. During his boyhood days he
attended the country schools in the
vicinity of his homeJ
Mr. Loftin owned a farm of con
siderable proportions, producing the
staples and quantities of home sup
plies. For about 25 years he was the
county surveyor, being succeeded by
his son, Felix Loftin. He was magis
trate for fifteen or eighteen .years.
His wife was Miss Sarah Hodges, who
with the following children survives
him: Mrs. Sarah Nancy Sutton, Har
dy Perry Loftin, Mrs. Max Ripley, G.
Felix, George F. and Miss Cynthia
Loftin. , A son' by a former marriage
was, Fred. B. Loftin, a State Senator
j0mijiyBnilWftB-jnw.,denli!.
The funeral was conducted this
morning by Rev, C. W. Howard and
Bernard, P. Smith. Intermen-v was
made in the family burying-ground
following. . The obsequies were at
tended by a large number of rela
tives and friends of Mr. Loftin from
Kinston and other parts of the coun
ty. .,i :. :
NEGRO KILLED BY AUTO ,
, NEAR DURHAM SUNDAY
Durham, Jan. 81. William Jenkins,
a negro, fifty years old, was knocked
down, run over and fatally hurt by
a high powered automobile driven by
"Red" Edgerton of Chapel Hill. Death
resulted in a few minutes after the
accident,' which occurred during the
middle of the afternoon, near the cem
etery, a mile from the city. -
SCHOONER BOTTOM-UP
IN THE OPEN OCEAN
Frank E. Swain Anchored With Keel
to Skies Southeast of Capg He
f nry Fate of Crewn Unknown.
V Capsized in Gale.
(By the United Press)
Washington, Feb. 1. In the heavy
gale on the Atlantic coast the schoon
er Frank E. Swain of Boston was
wrecked.' The Swain is anchored bottom-up
75 miles southeast of Cape
Henry, The fate of her crew is un
known.
Lawyers Decide to Alter the
County Court Bill, Giving
Jurisdiction Over All Mi-
; nor. Cases Salary of the
Judge to Be $1,800 f
A meeting of the .lawyers interest
ed in the proposed county court on
Saturday night agreed that it was ad
visable to give the judge of the court
civil as well as criminal jurisdiction.
As formerly proposed civil jurisdic
tion was eliminated. It was under
stood that a capable judge would
have to be 'secured from the bar, and
that very few good men Could be in
duced to give up criminal and civil
practice for'1 a paltry salary. The
meeting, however, agreed upon mak
ing the salary f 1,800,. which is re
garded as reasonable compensation.
Fees iit civil cases will contribute a
part of the' compensation, all fees
over the salary, of course, reverting
to the county'.
The bill which the Legislature will
be asked to pass providing for the
court will be submitted to the Bar As
sociation as soon as the committee
which has its drafting in charge com
pletes its work. -
The judge, who will conduct weekly
sessions, probably three a month
here, and one in LaGrange, will have
jurisdiction up to $500 in civil causes.
A gret number of the matters which
now come before Superior Court are,
of course, under this amount, and
with their settlement in thp inferior
court, congested dockets for the in
frequent civil terms of the higher tri
bunal will seldom occur.
IS
. & . v v v.v . ' i 1 r- am . W
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v Aire's
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II
II
GOOD ROADS BONDS
4b.
l:.v..vA",v..:
I A French soldier and a German infantryman filling their buckets
veil between: the battle Hues in northern France. , .
at
UNDERSEA. RAIDER. GETS. IN .
GOOD WORK AND ESCAPES.
London, Jan.'Sl. The toll taken by
the German submarine U-21 in its
raid late Saturday in the Irish Sea, in
the vicinity of Liverpool, still stands
at three 8hipsthe steamers Ben
Cruachcn, Linda Blanche, and the
Kilcoan, the last a small vessel. ! The
Kilcoan's crew was landed today on
the Isle of Man by a coastwise steam
er.
submarine
In addition, a German
also has torpedoed two British steam
ers in the English Channel near Ha
vre the Tokomaru and the Icaria.
The Irish Sea raider escaped and
shipping interests, confident she has
returned to her base, ordered a re-
sunxption of normal traffic today.
T-his under-water-Emden is the boat
wheh last September torpedoed in
the, North Sea the British cruiser
Pathfinder with a loss of 246 lives and
later, destroyed two British steamers
off Havre. "V
SOUTHERN'S BUSINESS
, 'EVIDENTLY PICKING
UP.
K LEBER DENMARK ASSIGNS.
Eleber Denmark, for a score of
years one of the leading jewelers of
this section of the State, made an as
signment late Saturday night Plato
Collins was named as trustee. The
assets are placed at about $9,000 and
the liabilities about $7,000. The bad
business conditions following the out
break of the war are claimed to have
been indirectly ; responsible for the
failure. ' The Denmark establishment
has long been famous in the country
surrounding Kinston, and the pro
prietor is well known in th f xy.
Creditors for $1,800 or $2,000 were
pushing their, claims, it is said, re
sulting in the action Saturday night
Raleigh, Jan. 31.Railroad rumors
that tie Southern is to move some of
its bigjgest passenger locomotives to
the 4 ,Greensboro-GoIdsboro division
adds,to'.fhe suspicion that the South
ern's, Business is t"picking up" and
thatthe road is in better condition
bothjtS to finances and equipment
than has been written often.
BULLETINS
BILLS FOKDIVISION
OF RURAL CREDITS
' J . .
Introduced in, Both Senate and House
. Today Sixty-four Law License
Applicant Include One Wo-
; man anff Two Negroes, .
(By W. J. Martin.) ;
Ealeieh. Feb. 1. Senator McCrae
and Representative Brummit today
introduced duplicate bills in the Sen
ate and House" for the State farmers'
union, providing for the division of
rural credits jtln . the State t Depart
ment of Agriculture, , the 2 superin
tendent of division to give special at
tention to educating farmers in ;the
utilisation to Advantage, of ..' the sys
tem, and for a fifty per, centdj curtail-!
ment of the next cotton crbpl"; In' the
House NettlesJ of Buncombe introduc
ed a bill for a workmen's compensation-
afct vi
Sixty-four law students undertook
the examination 'for licenses before
the Supreme Court today, at the ppen
ing of the spring term.' ' They in
cluded one woman and two negroes.
HA RLE Y COACHES PENNSY.l
Philadelphia, Feb. 1-Richard Har
ley; former National league outfielder,
who coached Georgetown in 1913, to
day succeeded Walter , Manning a
coach of Pennsy Btate baseball aspi
rants.' '. ; i ' ' s
THE GLOOM GONE FROM,
PITTSBURGH INDUSTRY
: THRU STEEL'S AGENCY
War Incentive to Increased Activity
and Plant Run on Full Time .
Secrecy Surrounds Operations
of the Big Mills '
100 ROOSEVELT MEN : i
RESUMED WORK TODAY
(By the United Press)
GERMANS JOYOUS
OVER SUBMARINE'S SUCCESS
, ; Berlin, eb. "L Germany la
'jubilant over the success of the
new policy of submarine warfare.
Berlin papers today commented
freely on the probable success of
"the plan "to starve out England.",'
RAISE INSURANCE RATES
FOR 'MARINE RISKS.
' Liverpool, Feb. 1. Underwrite
: era today raised the" rate on in
surance for coastwise shipping
from fire to twenty shillings per
: hundred pounds as the result of -the
German submarine raids.
FARMERS BEGIN STUDIES
(By the United Press)
Roosevelt N. J. Feb. 1 The first
step for settling the fertilizer strike, ,
in which two men were killed, was
taken today when a hundred ..pnion
workers went back to work, their
wages being advanced. '
Pittsburgh, Feb. l."IIard times"
talk is rapidly being purged from the
atmosphere of the Pittsburgh district
The European war has proven the in
centive to increased, industry and
plants that were running on only part
time and others that were not -even
doing that are operating today at full
blast. '
Steel, is the commodity to which the
new-born, boom owes its being arid
promise, v" ' v-r-'. , ' " : ' ,
Secrecy essentially surround? most
of the operations of the plans, bjg and
little, in this vicinity. But, that the
plants are running there can be no
doubt Nor that men: are back J at
work. Two months ago there was not
a bulletin board before any. newspa
per office at which crowds could not
be found, night and day; They were
steel workers, the majority of them,
and war and hard times were the two
topics of discussion. . Today, a half
dozen or a dozen Is the usual extent
of the gatherings." . -.'
That is, until night, '. Then thereJire
larger crowds. They are dressed bet
ter, smoke better tobacco," chew "to
bies" (stogies) Instead of black plug
and wear bright expressions , where
gloom was implanted before..V
All of the big plants are operat
ing on full time or nearly on full time.
At New Castle, Sharon, Tarentum,
Vandergift ' McKeesport, -Swissvale
and other big steel towns in the Pitts
burgh district the mills are working
full time with a long and steady run
assured. . Down the river at Morgan
town, Parkersburg, Martin's ' Ferry,
Moundsville, Riverside and other West
" Durham, N. Feb.- L Five hun
ArA - farmers came here today to
learn how to produce grain from New (Virginia and Ohio cities the boom is
tr...!..).;..'! annv mi! Tlit? ire nn. Thft bulletin-board crowd have
imuiyoumm B --rf - a
attending the annual : week ahort ' diminished but more papers ore be
course for farmers at New Hamp-'ing sold and more of the thinps ad
shire state college. . ' J vertised fa the newspapers, too.
JUDGE PEEBLES WAS
. FAVORABLY IMPRESSED
Complimented Local Court Officers
Authorized Release of jAli De
fendants Who Cpud Pay the
.v . Fines Imposed.
, Judge R. B, Peebles left Sunday
night for Raleigh, where he is spend
ing today. Tomorrow" he will convene
Sampson county Superior Court at
Clinton.' The courts of Duplin and
Onslow counties are also under his
jurisdiction ' during the present six
months. About' 125 out of a. docket
of. more than 260 cases were disposed
of ( by the veteran jurist during the
short term here last week;
His Honor complimented the court
officers. They are capable, clever and
in every way the kind of men he likes
to.be associated with in a Court-room,
was" the sense of his remarks about
them. . . .' ' ' ' ; , ' ,
Judge Peebles ordered Clerk of the
Court Heath to release today all pris
oners who had the alternative of pay
ing fines or going to the county roads
who remitted. These included Ray
mond Jackson,' who was permitted to
pay $200 instead of serving three
years for slandering a young woman
of Vance township. Other cases dis
posed of were: Raymond and Henry
Sutton, assault, not guilty as to Ray
mond, $30 and costs for Henry Sut
ton. William Strum, Henry Hines,
Herbert Johnson, William Jones and
Will Fisher, shooting firearms on the
public roads, not guilty. Mingo, Wa
ters and Henry Waters, carrying con
cealed weapons and disorderly con
duct, $25 and cqsts each. . The fine of
Liltcy Gurley, convicted of operating
a disorderly house, Was changed from
$25 to $5.. . Raymond and Henry Sut
ton are negroes, who were alleged to
ha made an attack upon Henry Wil
liams, an elderly black, in his dwell
ing near Ilincs' Junction several
Weeks ago.
Judge Peebles had nothing to say
about the Lenoir county courthouse,
so far as is known. He had not been
in tho county before in years, and
probably, is characteristic of him, did
not feel called upon' to commit him
solf upon the structure, which has
keen criticized by 4rther judges re
cently. ' Vifevi'"':V
'-. ' - -
ThinJcs: ; Present Plan Will
. A Give County Fine System
Iii Six or Eight Years Is
Open; to Conviction, He
County Commissioner D. W. Wood
doubts if a bond issue for an Improv
ed road system for Lenoir county is
the proper thing. He this morning
told The Free Press that a bond issue
might, as occurred in " another in
stance in his knowledge, tend to de
moralize labor conditions. With , a
great amount of work on at one time,
farm labor would flock to it drawn
by the, 'superior wages which would
have to be made to get the labor to
finish the work in contract time.
WILL TAKE PAINS TO
AVOID ALTERCATION
WITH VAR F0VER8
Wilson Will Not Allow-the
Ship Purchase Matter ,
to Involve Us
HOW VILLA WAS WOUNDED.
Officers Who Fought Duel
in His Car Accidentally :
i ,Shot GeneralPresident
Stands Pat for Two Bat-
tleships ", , s -
V, i (By the United Press) , -Washington,
Feb. L Mont Clova
i tinM hnen reAantured bv the coitetitu- 1
At the rate Lenoir county, with, its J .. - ... , , 1
... ,, ' i. . i j ' tionalista. ? General Ravia Is pursu-
comparatively small mileage, is build- , '
ing we roireawnif vuimvaa - mcivaa
the desert and has captured ' many
prtoonera,--,-.'. Vv'J 'Vi'-V ' -1 '. "
Officials close to the President to- .
day said Mr. Wilson' has 'no Intention
of taking ateps in the ship purchase
matter that would involve the coun-
COTTON LOAN lH)OhfV$
' ':v,, . o BENEFIT EXPIRES
;''K.'-vV
' Washington, Feb. ll-BenefitB -ef
the federal 'cotton loan pool' expire
today. '.This is the last' day for ap
plications for loans from the $135,00
0,000 fund voluntarily pooled by na
tional banks. ' The federal reserve
board "decided that it was unfair to
the banks to have i money tied up
awaiting . cotton loan applications
longer than today, believing that all
cotton growers. ; warehousemen ; or
brokers hit by the war have had time
to ask and receive money froom the
pooled funds by this time. ; " ' , ,
.The federal reserve board which
had in its unofficial capacity as the
central committee to handle the cot
ton loan fund subscribed by all na
tional banks,, thinks , the . situation is
now well in hand. Only a compara
tively smaU part of the $135,000,000
subscribed has been loaned out .
ing it will be a matter of only six or i
! . - 1 -. . . i
mgni years ociorv a inagnuicent ys
tem will be had anyway. Commission
er Wood believes. A bond Issue will
not paralyze the county nor material
ly increase the tax rate, he admits,
but it might seriously bother the far
mers. As for the decreased tax rate
at present that was a mistake, he in
timated, and hinted that the levy next
year may be , raised to what it. was a
year or two ago to allow the prosecu
tion of all the work that may be car
ried JAn with, the present facilities.-, ;
? "The improved .roads that we have
got now," Mr; Wood asserted, "are in
good shape usually It is a fact that
about the 'only piece of unsatisfac
tory new road irt the county, a mile
or two long, wasl constructed by gov
ernment specifications which did hot
take into consideration the' peculiar
ity of terrain of the surrpunding land,
We've got a road supervisor who, 'as
a constructor of sand clay highways
is without a' better in the South, the
commissioner, declared, referring ' to
Bryant Taylor. die said that almost
to a man, in .hi4 opinion, the people
of the rural sections are opposed to
the bond issue. He himself is willing
to consider the matter from both
sides, of course, j r 5 ' -
Tho LaGrange; commissioner, .. as
practically evory , automobile- owner
in the county khows, is not to . bo
laughed at over any opinion he en
tertains regarding roadway construc
tion; ' Moseley , Hall township, undor
his direct supervision, has a nearly
model network -of sand-clay high
ways. - ;ff; V I ' j'Ui-is
TWO KILLED WHEN TRAIN
COLLIDES WITH SLEIGH
Chicago-New York Flyer Struck Ice
' Vehicle at Creasing In Pennsyl
'.' vania ; TownAA Watchman
Instantly Killed. ,
, (By United Press)
Beaver Falls', V Pa ' Feb. 1. Two
people were killed when a Pennsyl
vania train from Chicago to v New
York struck a horse and sleigh at a
railroad crossing near here today.
A watchman was killed while trying
to stop the horse before it reached
the tracks,' . ' e '
WEALTHY MAN SHOOTS
.'.v'tHRBp; AND SUICIDES
..fNcYorJtia fflArmed with a
maa'antV fcoiipped with a ailen
cer, Herrhan : Aucrbach, a wealthy
real estate operator, despondent over
financial reverses, today shot ' and
killed bis wife and two daughters as
they slept, and then. killed himself.
His son, . Lester, a high school stu
dent, was the only member of the' fam
ily left alive. So completely did the
silencing device muffle the reports of
the weapon, that the tragedy was not
discovered until several hours later,
when the son found under the door a
note from his father requesting him
to telephone relatives.
- The quadruple killing, took place in
an exclusive apartment house on Cen
tral Park" West. :. :
; ONE'S 46, OTHER 60, TODAY
I- Washington, Feb. 1. Two con
gressmen, Reps. Caleb Powers of Ky.,
and Rucker of Mo., today received
birthday congratulations. ; Powers,
famous for Kentucky political fights
was 43 and Rucker even CO,
PIOUS ITALY PRAYS
AND FASTS TODAY
' (By the United Press) '
Rome, Feb. 1. The inhabitants of
Italy, will observe February 1 here
after ai a day of prayer and fast
ing; as a protection from earthquakes.
Today was generally kept , ia such,
manner, . . r.
try in an international complication.
;! VilW was struck tiear the heart by
a bullet In a' duel between twe ffU -cers
in nis 'private' car at Aguaa Cali--entes
last week, and both officers
were immediately executed, yilla is ,
not seriously wounded, : There were ,:
rumors of a conspiracy, to assassinate -Villa
following the execution, i i. '
Navar Forces at Port An Prince, ,
The cruiser. Washington has -been '
sent to Port u Prince, Hayti, to pro
tect American interests. The cruiser j
Montana arrived at Port Au Prince1 N
Sunday with six hundred marines. 1 lV
Wilson Firm for Two Battleships.
' President. Wilson will stand pat en .
the two-battleship program this year,
he told. Chairman Tillman of the Son
ate nava committee foday. It is be-
lieved, he said, that public opinion de
mands that the two-battleship plan be
maintained this time . v ' ' .
Austria to Fight to the End. ' ' ;
Ambassador Dumba' of -Austria-Hungary,
today, denied reports that
foreign Minister Burian is in Berlin
to talk peace with Emperor Wilhclm.
He declared the people of Austria- .
Hungary are united for the purpose
of pushing the war to 'a successful
conclusion. ' 1 ' '
; Sharp, skirmishing has taken place
on the outskirts of Mexico City, ac
cording, to, dispatches. , The water
supply of a part of the city has been ' .
cut off by: the Zapatistas. .
THE DACIA, FEARLESS 0?,
CAPTURE, OFF TO EUROPE
" Galveston, Texas, ; Jan. f 31.The ,
steamer Dacia, recently transferred t
from German to American registry,
and which the British government has
declared would be considered a fair ;
prize of war, sailed today for Rotter-
dam, via Norfolk, with a cargo of II,-
000 bales of cotton for trans-shipment
to Bremen. ''.-' V
.Captain George McDonald, master
of the vessel, announced that the Da
cia would follow the usual course of j
travel and no special effort would be
made to avoid capture.'.
CYCLONE SWEEPS OVER . ,
PARTS OF THREE STATES.
; Dallas, Texas, Jan. SI. The east- ,
ern portion of Texas and parts of Ar
kansas and Oklahoma early today felt
the effect of severe,, windstorm, .
which at Tyler, Texas, and Malvern
m4 Garland City, ArkH assumed the
proportions of a tornado. Falling
temperatures also were noted. No se
rioua delay to traffic or Communica
tion lines were reported.:' No death
had been reported today. v .
TERRE HAUTE CUIi:iTS
IIAVETOSTAD hl'l
'. (By the United Press)
Indianapolis, Feb. 1. In Jude An
derson's United States Court for the
Indiana ristrict today, he overruled a
demurrer from twenty-seven def- 1
ants to indictments charging cor,?: r
acy in the corrupt Terre Ilauta c' -tions,