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VOL. XVII. No. 236
SECOND EDITION
KINSTON, N. O, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1916
FOUR PAGES
PRICE TWO CENTS
FIVE CEJNTS ON TRAIWt
GHEATE8T BATTLE IN
RAGING
SUYEi! OF FORME
KINSTON MAN HEL
-! T
WILL TRY TO FORM
SEMI-PRO, BASEBALL
VON BERNSTORFE TELLS LANSING ABOUT
ATTACKS BY MERCHANTMEN ON UNDERSEA
CRAFT AND SECRET ORDERS OF ADM'LTY
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DA
LY
the- :hd;e Jim
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A BRITISH CRUISER
AND 2 DESTROYERS
SUNK BY AIRSHIPS
OUT RUINS OFDflilillr
PL17 TO ASSAULT ENTIRE
ALLIED
FRONT
FOR MURDER IN M
Post Mortem Examination
Located Bullet In Back of
LEAGUE IN SECTION
Offensive Sems to Have
Verdun Plain n Front of Position Strewn With lie
Dea Toil of Life Fearful Trainloads of Injured
French Haye Sufficiency
Counter-Attacking: on
On Both Sides Wiped Out percentage of Casualties
Ejtcee'ds the Percentage of Champagne Fighting The
Kaiser Would End War
(By the United Press)
PARIS, Feb. 28. Dispatches from the front
claim that the German offensive at Verdun is
now crumbling into a series of local actions.
LONDON, Feb. 28. With all the resources at his
command, the Kaiser is striking for an immediate over
whelming German, victory which is planned to end the
war. The Verdun' onslaught preludes a grand assault
against the whole western front, the most tremendous
battle in history. The greatest infantry and artillery bat
'ale in the history of the word isbeing waged over the
ruins of Douaumont. . . v.
Greatest Battle In History.
PARISrFeb. 28. The Verdun woods may go down in
Aistoxy as the world's bloodiest battlefield. Trainloads
of wounded are moving today toward Paris, bringing
evidence of the fearfulness of the carnage north of the
French fortress. Other trains loaded with fresh troops
and' munitions are hurrying, eastward to fill the gaps in
the French ranks,' ' .
Paris was today cheered by advices that the French
left is1 holding the heights' in the center and at the right
of the" Verdun defenses, and are counter-attacking. . On
the, eighth dav the offensive casualty list is impossible to
estimate. Thousands of dead and wounded lie on the
plain north of the heights. Returning surgeons report
whole regiments oi Dotn siaes pracucany . anmnnaieu.
The percentage of dead exceeds the Champagne offensive.
Confidence continues on account of the sufficiency of re
inforcements antrampIeflW of "munitions reserves.-
German Account Great Battle.
BERLIN,; Feb- 28. Military critics predict Verdun s
fall within a fortnight. It is pointed out that no fortress
yet has withstood the German high power battering once
the ring defending the. position was breached. Douau
mont was laid in ruins Thursday before it was stormed
and captured bv the Brandenburgers.
Four shots from heavy artillery scored bullseyes on
the distant target, violent explosions following each shot.
Owing to the vigiiarice of German airmen enemy aero
planes4 ha,ve been unable to force their way behind our
" front, the Germans thus preventing observations which,
might disclose the offensive plans.
We advanced at 5 o'clock in the afternoon through a
wilderness of wrecked barbed wire with only slight los
ses, says a reportf and by 8 o'clock the woods were firmly
in our possession likewise the strongest redoubt in this
sector, the correspondent reports that the offensive then
.gradually spread eastward toward Ornes. The samfe
clocklike co-operation 'Of artillery and infantry resulted
in the. capture of new positions. Shifting again toward
the .east bankfnhe Meuse, directly north of Verdun,
then the Brabant position and village were taken." The
driving power, endurance and discipline of our troops is
incomparable. -' ':'
Offensive Spreads Like Fire to Champagne, Says Berlin.
BERLIN, Feb. 28. An official statement says the of
fensive has spread westward to the Champagne region,
French positions on botlTsides of a principal road have
been eaptured, including 1,-600 yards of trenches. A thou
sand prisoners' have been takeriKOn the Verdun front
the Germans continue to push forward. Heavy French
attempts to recapture Douaumont hae been repulsed.
The Meuse peninsula has been cleared. -, :
CARTER LEAVING ALL
UP TO HIS FRIENDS
Asheville, Feb. 27. -Judge- Frank
Carter, whit ma.,
1 "w 0111 vitu rnab vv j
with his family here, declares that
he has notrwritten letter nor made
a personal appeal to a man in his race
. for the nomination for attorney gen
eral "My time is taken up with my
. court duties," he declared yesterday,
"and my campaign Js entirely in the
bands of my friends."
, PENNSYLVANIA'S SPEED
. SETTER THAN REQUIRED
dockland, Me., Feb. 27. A speed
three-quarters of a knot in excess of
- contract requirements was attained
; by the superdreadnaught Pennsylva
nia,yhen she was pushed on the fast
est mileof her standardization tests
t the rate f 21.75 knots an hour to
day. : -..
Made No Material Gain
of Troops arid Munitions
Center and Right Regiments
by One Victory
KOLDERNESS, RANKER,
SETS GOOD EXAMPLE
Tarboro, Feb. 27 George A. Hold
emess, banker, is now shipping hogs
to Richmond and Baltimire.The hogs
ha has been fattening since last fall,
about fifteen hundred, are now ready
for the market, and he indisposing
of them. Those he has shipped to
Richmond brought him 8)3-4. cents
a pound and the shipment to Balti
more sold for nearly nine cents. ;
THE ODDEST STORY
IN THE DAY'S NEWS.
Wildrose,' N. D., Feb. 28. Tree
eating, dog fighting, thieving rabbits
are pestering the farmers in this dis
trict and hindering agricultural pro
gress, the farmers say. Because she
pherds have been whipped in encoun
ters with rabbits, it is becoming dif
cultyto get a dog that will attack
them. ' :.
Frank Nunn's Body Here
Today Victim Born and
Reared In This City
A post-mortem examination of the
remains of Frank Nunn, 30, brought
here from Somerset Ky., today, was
held shortly after noon by Coroner
Wood. The examination was made
to locate a 'bullet in the back of the
dead man, the Coroner said. The
search for the missile was successful.
The certificate accompanying the
body said Nunn came to his death by
a gunshot wound, made by .a weapon
in the hands of a railroad watchman.
Relatives of the deceased stated that
he died on last Wednesday night and
that the watchman who did the shoot
ing was being held for murder in
Kentucky. Nunn and a companion
were together, they said, when the
watchman arrested the other man.
The railroad employe shot, whether,
at the man in arrest or Nunn is not
known, but the latter received the
load and died as the result. Nunn
wns en route "from New Orleans to
Cincinnati.
$lv. Nunn was born and raised in
Kinston. His father is Mr. B. F
Nunn, now of Greenville, and prom
inently connected here. The father
and two brothers of the dead man
came here for the interment in Ma
plewood cemetery at 3 o'clock this af
ternoon. The service was conducted
by Rev. .Mr. Harris, Presbyterian, of
Greenville.
BULLETINS
(By the United Press)
BODIES FROM ILL-FATED
SHIP WASHED Uf.
; London, Feb. 28. The bodies,
of the captain and eight sailor
of the Wilson liner Dido, sunk ,
Saturday, have wanned up on
the Lincolnshire coast.
VESSEL IN DISTRESS
OFF HATTERAS.
' Washington, Feb. 28. The'
coast guard cutter Onandago is
rutthing to assist the steamer
Creston, in distress off Diamond
Shoals.
BIG SHIP HITS MINE,
LOSi OF LIFE HEAVY
(By the United Pjress.)
London, Feb. 28. Revised fig
ures indicate that 169 persons
are missing from the Peninsula
liner Maloja, all probably lost,
including 55 passengers. The
- total of survivors is 260.
Dover, Feb. 27, The steamship
Maloja, a 12,431 ton vessel beloog
ing to the Peninsular and Oriental
line,: struck a mine and sank within
a half hour, two miles Off Dover to
day. More than forty persons were
drowned or killed as a result of the
accident. Explosion was so 'violent
that the. houses along the waterfront
were shaken. , The London Times es
timates the Maloja dead at 147, of
whom 117 are Lascars. .
HIS FIVE THOUSAND
CHILDREN TO GIVE
- FAREWELL TONIGHT
'X (By the United Press)
New York,' Feb. , 28 Five thous
and of Colonel Daniel Appleton's
"children" -will tender him a farewell
banquet 1 at the' Seventh ; Regiment
AAmory,VNv' Yi "N G., here to
night Twentysix years, he has serv
ed .as colonel of the regiment, hav
ing enlisted in -the guard as a pri
vate in 1871. He is retiring because
he has passed the age limit for the
army! His "children" are the 5,000
veterans and' active members of the
regiment. ' '-,
Bombs Killed Many of Car
oline's Crew Number
Drowned
FACTORIES
Four Plants In Birmingham
and One in Eckles Demol
ishedThree of Them
Made Munitions Ger
man Report Positive
(By the United Press)
Berlin, Feb. 28. Despite British
denials, a semi-official news agoncy
reiterates the statement that the Brit
ish cruiser Caroline and the destroy
ers Eden and Nish were sunk in the
latest zeppelin raid. It is asserted
that 31 of the Caroline's crew were
killed by bombs; 68 wounded and 47
drowned.
Two government factories and two
munitions factories at Birmingham
were destroyed, also a munitions fac
tory at Eckles. j
GIRL WIFE DOESN'T
HAVE TO LIVE WITH
HUSBAND'S FAMILY
Judge Bond Dismisses Ha
beas Corpus Writ Today.
Stroud vs. City and Oil &
fo, Ice Co. Compromised
Judge Bond this morning dismiss
ed a writ of habeas corpus served on
J. J. Davis of the Pink Hill section
on Saturday at the instance of Dan
iel Mercer, who charged that Davis
was keeping his wife, "nee Miss Es
telle Davis, from him. Judge Bond
placed the costs on the petitioner.
Mrs. Mercer, a young girl, declared
that she would not live with Mercer's
people, and had returned to her own
family because she could not agree
with the latter. Mrs. Mercer is said
to have professed willingness to live
with her husband at some place than
his relatives' home.
This morning Stroud vs. City of
Kinston ami Lenoir Oil & Ice Co. was
compromised in "Superior Court af
ter the case had been commenced.
The plaintiff was suing for damages
alleged to have been sustained .when
he fell into the noted "open sewer"
in East Kinston near the Oil & Lee
Co.'s plant, into which hot water was
allowed to escape. It was said at the
Courthouse that about $275 was the
mm agreed upon in the compromise.
Late Saturday Mewborn vs. Rail
road was decided by a jury in favor
of the defendant. The plaintiff ask
ed $440 for alleged carelessness in
handling of livestock between a Ken
tucky point and Kinston. Two ani
mals had died en route, and one was
damaged, it wss alleged.
WASHINGTON DENIES
ORCHID FAD AFFECTS
CAPITAL'S SOCIETY
(By the United Press)
Washington, ' Feb. 28. Pittsburgh
and Cleveland and Chicago and oth
er newly established' cities may have
a fad for buying orcliids since Mrs.
President Wilson -started it, on her
recent tour with- the President, but
pot Washington. Catch Washington
society, which datesy proudly back to
the days when the; first citizen fled
to the Maryland cornfields to escape
the British and the first government
jobs were started by anyone. Cer
tainly not! Florists said ; tonight
that Washington has been conserva
tively buying orchids for several
years and that no recent increase in
sales has been noted.
Lindsay Warren Proposes
Eight-Town Association,
Comprised by Kinston,
Nev Bern, Washington,
and Smaller Towns
Lindsay Warren, a Washington
lawyer, today sent letters to leading
Baseball fans in New Bern, Kinston,
Greeenyillfe, Goldsboro, Williamston,
Plymouth and Aurora asking that
those towns send delegates to a base
ball meeting in Washington on tht
15th of March, The Free Plress was
informed over long distance tele
phone. Mr. Warren is depending up
on this city and Greenville to come in
"strong" for a proposed semi-professional
league. He regards Williams
ton, Plymouth and Aurora, small
towns always baseball wild, "as
good as signed up." Goldsboro and
New Bern can hardly afford to remain
out of the organization, since it is
about certain that the old East Ca
rolina professional association will
not be reorganized this season.
Lawyer Warren's idea is for each
town to organise a team of local
amateurs with as many as four hired
men, but not in excess of that num
ber. Four games a week would be
(payed by each club, two at home
and two away.
Years ago there was in the Tide
water section jujt such an associa
tion as Warren proposed, it is said.
The league was well-patronized and
paid expenses. Williamston then had
one of the strongest clubs in the
outfit. Greenville and Aurora, two of
the moat enthusiastic baseball towns
in the. State, haye maintained ' part-1
paid teams for ywrsf '
Warren is satisfied that this city
will send representatives to the meet
ing on Mairch 15th. This city would
be the largest town in the league,
since it has jumped into second place
behind Wilmington in the territory
east of the Atlantic Coast Line's main
DUPLIN MAN ACCUSED OF
VIOLATION OF STOCK LAW.
Mount Olive, Feb. 27. Charged
with a violation of th! federal quar
antine law by allowing his cows to
run at large, Joseph King, a Duplin
county farmer living near here, has
been served with a warrant, citing
him to appear before a United States
commissioner at Watha, Pender coun
ty, Monday, where the matter will be
heard. '
RUSSIA LIKES NEW
PREMIER, SINCE HE
HAS DECLARED SELF
(By the United Press)
Petrograd, Feb. 28. Russia's new
premier, M. Sturmer, is making a
good impression. His appointment
as M. Goremykin'8 successor was a
surprise. He is 68 and has passed
has whole life in government offices.
Those who knew him regarded him
simply as a bureaucrat The public
knew him hardly at all. He was un
derstood to he a close friend of Gore
mykin. This was not a favorable ad
vertisement for him. Gorcmykin has
been blamed freely for lack of ener
gy and initiative. The Russian press
did not disguise its satisfaction at
his retirement, buf it had few words
of welcome for his successor. Never
theless, Stunner's initial statement
of his policy was well received. Evi
dently he did not want to be -considered
a reactionary. He spoke in very
flriendly terms of the duma and hint
ed that he expects it to take an act
ive part in affairs when it resumes its
session late in February or in March.
Of the war he said: We must win.
There can he no talk of a separate
peace for us, nor can the threat of
exhaustion alarm us. How-can this
great country, to rich naturally and
every day disclosing fresh treasures,
be exhausted T - V
New Bern claims to have had
twice as many births as deaths so far
this month. - '
Berlin Government Not Apt to Back Down Austria
Declares It Holds Same Views as Germans Wik
son's Letter Regarded, by Berlin Officials as Proof of
the Seriousness of the International Situation Believ
ed Orders Have Been Issued, to Put Decree Against
Armed Vessels Into Effect By Midnight Tuesday The
Teutons Seenv Determined to Carry Out Plan at Risk
of War With America ,
' (By the United Press)
WASHINGTON, Feb. 28. After conferring; with
Austrian Charge Zwiedinek, Ambassador Von Bernstorff
visited Secretary Lansing at 11:30 o'clock today, deliv-
ering a written memorandum of the Germans' represen-
tations regarding the United States' objections to the
latest submarine program. Mr. Lansing refused to dis .
cuss the contents. Zweidinek also conferred with Secre
tary Lansing, saying that Austria's views are the same
as Germany's. A . ,
It was learned later that Von Bertrff s communis
cation detailed a score of incidents wherein armed mer
chantmen attacked submarines, and also referred' to i al
leged secret British admiralty orders instructing mer
chantmen to attack submersibles. V. ,
Germany Realizes Situation's
BERLIN, Feb. 28. The
man Stone has brought to the
man oniciais mat tne uerman-Amencan snuauon is eeri
ous. The official text of the Wijsdn letter cabled to Am-, '
bassador Gerard has not been decoded, and therefore has
not reached the foreign office. Berliners say the Presi-.
dent has not seen alleged British orders to merchantmen
to sink submarines.'-;;
FOSTOFFICE AT WEST
DiHAM ROBBED fQIl
FIFTH TIMriN YEAR
(By the United Press)
Durham, N. C Feb. 28. Yegg
men blew up the West Durham
postoflice safe early today, made
a clean sweep and escaped for
the fifth time in twelve months.
KITCHINS BILL
REPEAL FREE SUGAR
FAVORED BY COMMITTEE
(By the United Press)
Washington, Feb. 28. The
nay and means committee today
voted unanimously to favor Kit
chin's bill repealing free sugar.
FORESEES LABOR IN
CONTROL OF BRITISH
GOVERNMENT ERE LONG
(By the United Prcss)r
London, Feb. '28. The belief that
labor will figure extensively in' Brit
ish government counsels when peace
is restored in Europe is gaining
ground rapidly. "After the war is
over, said Lord Denmnan, tor exam-,
pie, in an address in the House of.
Peers, "labor is bound to play a very
prominent part in the political life of
this country. It is possible that a
labor government or a government
largely composed of labor men will
be in power." The ex-Governor Gen
eral of Australia qualified his pre
diction with the remark that "if la
bor men now fail to rise to the full
height of their responsibilities and to
realize that they are Englishmen first
and trade unionists second, and if
they hamper administration of the
military compulsion act, it seems to
be their advent to power will be de
layed for many years."
TODAY ON THE LOCAL
COTTON EXCHANGE
Less than a dozen bales of cotton
had been sold here today by 3 o'clock.
Prices ranged from 10 to 10S-4& :
New York futures quotations were:
March .. . .......... . .11.18 . 11.18
May . 11.35 1U2
July .. .11.64 11.53
October . . ... ..... . . .11.74 11.72
December -. . ... . . .. . .11.8 -11.83
Seriousness. "
President's letter to Chair
full realization of the Ger-
.! ( : -
Armed1 Merchantmen .
Subject to Destruction. . ''
Washington, vFeb.' 27.--'Germany-
has 'instnjctl Cbunt Von Bernstorff
' to Inform thWoalted-istatrs Oo-vern
meut thar'the assurance3-'r;gardln
che future conduct of submarine war
fare, given in the Lusltania and Am-.-Wc
casesstiH are' binding but that
they apply only to merchantmen "of
n peaceful character. The German
trovrnment is unders'.ood to contend .
that armed merchantmen,' have
without regard to the nature of their
armnment shown themselves not to
!.e peaceful, and therefore are sub
ject to destruction without warning.-'
Guns Carried for Attack, Claimed.
The instructions direct the German
Ambassador, particularly to tell Sec
retary Lansing thnt liritiih mer
chantmen armed ostensibly only for
defense havo not assumed the char
pcttr of peaceful u-adens, but that on
the contrary thoy carry guns for the
special purpose of attacking German
submarines. To support this claim
thf1 Berlin foreign office has sent the
anilias?u;lor for presentation to the
State Department a liit of at least
twenty incidents where it is claimcl
British merchant ships have attacked
submarines.
Orders Keportvd to Have liecn Given.
Confidential advices received from
Berlin state that Carman and Aus
trian submarine cummaiidors aleady
have been given their new orders and
that from midnight Tuesday they will
be authorized to sink without warn- -
ing all aimed merchant thins of tho
enemies of Germany. It ias said al
so that many of the submarine corn
manders probably had left their bas
es of voyages, and then even should
the United Stales request the post- v
poning of the openirg of the cam
paign it would bo impossible to get
word to many of the submarines. It
was stated, however, that so far, nei
ther the United States or any othef
nation had asked a postponement.
7"
CRONES SEEN ON TRAIN
NEAR FAYETTEVILLE
Faycltevillo. Feb. 27FolIowiti3
receipt of a letter purporting to M
from Jean Crones by Chief Kelly
yesterday declaring that the anarchist-poisoner
, was in Fayettevilla
and was going to "make hell" for tho
local police, it was learned today that
a man corresponding closely to pub
lished photographs of Crones . ', wa a
vn on a train between Kaleigh anl
Fayetteville Frklay morning. '
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