A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE BEST INTEREST OF THE PEOPLE OF McDOWELL COUNTY.
ESTABLISHED 1896.
MARION, N. C, THURSDAY, JANUARY 311918.
VOL. XXII N O. 23
.
I 4
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BAKER ANSWERS CRITICS
Secretary Answers Chamberlain's
Charges Million Men Urt-
der Arms in U. S.
Washington, Jan.- 28. Secret
taryrBaker, in a strong personal
statement today before tbe senate
military committee, replied to
Senator Chamberlain's charges that
the war department was inefficient
and bad broken down.
Without prepared manuscript
and ihy a frank confidential manner
tbe secretary told tbe senators' be
cam 3 -to. defend , no , . mistakes or
shortcomings but to . insist most
emphatically that deficiencies where
disclosed have been remedied, that
they were the exceptions rather
than ttie rule and that the magni
tude of America's preparations
made errors of judgment and mis
takes likelyvv
Mr. Baker-in defending the. war
department from lack of inefficient
. cy when war was declared, gave
some confidential information on
what had been done:
France and: Great Britain, he
said, are supplying artillery to the
American forces, as they had an
excess on handland because they
needed ships. cf- c
Thirty-twd divisions of: national
guard and national army troops in
camps in thp United States more
than .a million ' are considered
ready to go over- seas- when . they
are""needed. :
Every American who uses a
rifle,7 Secretary Baker told' the
senators, already bad been sup
plied with on& and the manuf ac
ture of rifles is increasing rapidly.
1 Great Britain and France, he
saidv are prepared to furnish ma
chine guns until the American sup
ply is delivered.
Will Double Size of The Camps at
Azalea
Asneviile, Jan. 26. -With the
arrival here yesterday of Maj. E.
H. Brans, United States medical
corps, and a corps of assistants it
became known that the government
has already decided to double- the
size of the camps for tubercular
soldiers at Azalea, and that work
on a camp for.1,000 men would be
started at once. The original plans
for the hospital called for a camp
for 500 patients.
Cowan, Chiles and company, a
newly organized corporation, . is to
act as holding company for the
government until such time as
Uncle Sam sees fit to take over the
property in its entirety. They
will have charge, of the construc
tion work and will own the land
on which the hospitals are placed,
for the present. -..
It is probable that the first pa
tients will be sent to Azalea this
summer.
Italian Forces Capture Strong Ten?
. . r ton Positions.
. Notwithstanding the fact that
djeep snows still cover the ground,
the Italians have carried ; out, suc
cessfully a spectacular drive against
the ' Austro-German lines in., the
mountain region; of northerri'ltaly
andVcaptured strong positions and
, more than 1 , 500 men. - -
' Large quantities of mistletoe are
converted into wine every year by
the country people in certain sec
. tions of England. -
Registrants Who Have Failed to
Answer Call. r
The local exemption board re
ports thefollowing list of regis
trants who have not been located:
George Anderson, colored, Ma
rioD; Julius Mills, colored, Marion;
Dallas Erick Ray, col., Canton;
Latt Middleton, col., S. C; Stan
ley Hyatt, Asheville; Odell Kirby
and Charlie Brown, : col.. Marion;
Dude Conyers, Old Fort; Sam
Hemphill, col.r Construction; Jesse
Small, col., Roleger, Ala.; J. Y.
Corpening, Toppinisb, Wash.;
Lewis Swann, Icata, S. C; Harvey
Edgar Cotfey, Old Fort; Elijah
Edwards, Old Fort; Harvey Free
man, Raleigh; Abe Butler, Con
struction; Mars Fields, MarioD;
Son Conley, Construction; Jonas
Hogan, Construction; Robt. Lynch,
col., Old Fort; Charlie Sims, col.,
Le Grange, Ga.; Frank L. S pence,
Construction; James Stubbs, Sun
ny South, Ala.; Frank Burnett
(Bennett), col.. Old Fort John
Truett, col., Gaston, Ala.; Arthur
Blackstock and Ernest Johnson,
col., Marion; Byron L. Johnson,
Newport News, Va. ; James Young,
col., Marion; Lucius Jones-, col..
Construction; Frank Swepson, col.,
Marion; Ed Saunders, Marion;
Raymond V. Davis, Tennessee;
Harrison Wright and John Hol
Ien, col., Construction; Charlie
Lytle, col., Asheville; Carl Caven
der, Construction; Obid Brown,
OlaVFort; Ed Alston, Construction;
Gilreath Smith, Old Fort; Amos
Flynn," Marion; Lyda Gorman,
Charlotte; Harold Brown, col.,
GlenSprings, S. C; Abe Butler,
Construction.
Campaign Against Moonshine Stiils
Washington, Jan. 28. The ne
cessity of arousing state and coun
ty officials to their responsibilities
in assisting the government to
break upthe manufacture of moon
shine whiskey is urged upon' the
governors of prohibition states to
day in a letter from Internal Rev
enue Commissioner Roper.
ne letter was made puoiic as
part of a nation-wide campaign
against illicit distilling recently an
nounced by Commissioner Roper
when it was discovered that the
manufacture of "moonshine" was
rapidly increasing in bone dry
states and whiskey was being sold
illegally to soldiers in southern
training camps.
The campaign already has re
sulted in arrests in many states
bat the commissioner points out
the records show tbe main effort
to keep moonshining in check con
tinues to 'come under Federal di
rection. In this connection, the .destruc
tion of 411 stills and 697 distiller
ies in North Carolina and 121 stills
and 206 distilleries in South Caro
lina by Federal agents during 1917
is cited. .Evidence gathered by
Federal agents shows that raw corn
liquor has been sold about army
camps at $8 to $12 a quart. In
bis letter today, the commissioner
informs the dry state governors
that Federal collectors hereafter
will promptly inform- county offi
cials as well as the revenue bureau
of cases reported, so that all agen
cies may . operate to suppress oper
ations. ; i- -
A. Page his sold his interest
in the restaurant to Ed. Williams.
NEWS FROM THE COUNTY
1 " '
Brief Mention of Some of the Hap
penings in McDowell County
Items About Home People.
NEBO
,
Nebo, Jan. 29 Prof. O. H. Wearer
has moved bis family to R&eford, where
he will teach.
Miss Lillie Lan&is epent the week-end
with relatives in Marion.
Born, to Mr. and Mrs. R. V. Wilson,
Jan . 21, a daughter.
Rev. and Mrs. A. P. Sorrels of Union
Mills spent Saturday and Sunday here
with relatives.
W. J. Bowman moved his family to
Hickory last week.
Rev. T. A. Drake filled his regular
appointment here Sunday. There was
a large crowd present considering the
muddy weather.
Born, to Mr. and Mrs. M. V. Snipes,
Jan. 21, a daughter.
CHAPEL HILL
Chapel Hill, Jan. 29. John Yount
has returned to his work in Wisconsin
after spending a week with his parents,
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Yount.
The infant of Mr. and Mrs. John
Parker died' Monday. Our heartfelt
sympathy goes out to the bereaved
family.
Edgar Hicks and Frank Kaylor, of
Camp Sevier, visited friends and rela
tives here last week.
Charles and Henry Poteet have re
turned home from Greenville, S. C.
Miss Lona Goforth spent the week
end with her uncle at Union Mills
Following is the school honor roll:
Third grade, Thelma Holland; fourth
grade, Florence Corpeniog, Bertha Huff
man and Nancy England.
American Forces Six Times as Large
as in Spanish-American War.
There were 1,428,650 men and
110,865 officers in the United States
Army at the opening of 1918, more
than one and a half times as large
as any force ever before mobilized
by this Nation, according to a
statement by Secretary of War
Baker.
Daring the war with Spain the
army of the United States at its
maximum strength aggregated
272,000 men and officers. The
Army in the field and in training
now is practically six times as
great as the maximum number un
der arms in the Spanish-American
War.
About 45,000 officers were com
missioned from civil life in the
two series of training camps!, near
ly eight times as many as tbe num
ber of officers in. the Regular Army
April 1, 1917. 4
Airplane Raid on London.
Monday night's airplane raid,
the first of the year, on London
and adjacent territory, resulted in
the largest casualty list of any air
raid since that of June 13 last
The total casualties were forty
seven killed and 169 injured. Forty-six
of the fatalities occurred in
London where 162 persons were
injured. Bombs were dropped by
the invading enemy in Kent and
Essex, but slight material damage
was done. One of the airplanes, a
three-seated machine, was brought
down in flames from a height of
ten thousand feet and all three of
its occupants were burned to death.
All the New York moraine and
evening papers, which have been
sold for a cent a copy, have ad
vanced their price to 2 cents. The
high cost of paper and the increas
ed cost of ; doing business forced
the increas0- v - - 1 -
Submarines Are Expected to At f
in uerman Attack. .
That the Teutonic allies in their
expected offensive on tbe western
battle front are not to be satisfied
merely with infantry operations,
but will employ their submarines
in the most intensive manner they
yet have adopted to aid them, is
an announcement that has iust been
made by Secretary of War Baker.
While the armies of the enemy,
reinforced to a great extent by
men withdrawn from the Russian
front, are attacking on land, un
derwater boats, refitted and gen
erally prepared are to seek the
lanes of commerce, especially those
between tbe United States and
France, there to atterant to ravish
commerce and to cut off, if possi
ble, men of tbe American army
and food and ammunition supplies
that are being hastened Europe
ward by tbe United States,
Since the debacle on the Russian
front, the fact has been well es
tablished that the high command
of tbe German army purposed at
as early a date as was practicable
a general military attack against
the entente front from tbe North
Sea to tbe Adriatic in tbe hope of
gaining victories at various points
through the bending back of the
entente s line, wmcn would give
new heart to tbe people at home,
whose hopes for jultimate victory
are at low ebb.
Doubtless, however, the Ameri
can, British. Frenclv and Italian
navies will not be ulen unawares
by the submarine- menace, which
recently has fallen off to a great
de"gree hen the number of mer
chantmen sunk by the underwater
boats is compared with that of
previous months. Depth charges,
bombs drop oed from seaplanes and
many other methods have beeo
adopted by the American and as
sociated naval forces to overcome
the U-boat attacks, and most suc
cessfully and the assumption is
that, forewarned, these efforts will
be greatly multiplied in an en
deavor to protect shipping plying
the trade routes.
Cut Off Political Agents tnd Passes
Railroads are, ordered by Direc
tor General McAdoo to dispense
with tbe services of legislative and
political agents and all attorneys
not engaged in the performance of
necessary legal work, and to ob
serve strictly tbe law regulating
free passes.
This, the first economy order
under government operation of the
railroads, will cut off Urge and
well paid staffs maintained by many
companies and climicite from pay
roll hundreds of lawyers through
cut the country who draw annual
retainer fees. If it is complied
with to the letter, as the director
general's office intends to see that
it is, thousands of free passes cow
held -by State, county and munici
pal officials and others will be can
celled. Collector A. D. Watts has di
vided tbe "Bfth district into ten
divisions and appointed deputies
in each division. Byron Conley
of this place has been assigned to
tlie eighth division, which icclcdcs
Cleveland, ilcDowell, Mitchell,
Polk, Rutherford and Yancey
counties, with headquarters at
Marion. -
STATE NEWS OFTHE VEEiC
Items Concerning Event cf In
terest and IraporUnceTbrcjgh
" . out the State,
Rowan county beard of health
has ordered a quarantine rjrsinrt
Chirlotto and Citno Greece, clLT
February 7, on account of cls s cf
meningitis existing in Chirlotta
and the camp.
Ice gorges which had forced- in
the upper Hohton and Frcrch
Broad rivers, in Tennessee, brckn
Sunday night, followicg the Ibzv
and warm rain, and there was con
siderable damage on accost of lis
overflow. .
The Seaboard Air line railway's
coal chute at No Hie a the sutlon
on th e Xo rib Carol i c a - Vi rgi zlx
line was burned last week with
150 tons of coal, earning a loss cf
$20,000. The fire Is said to biro
originated inasptrk frozi ij-cIjs
stack.
According to press dispatches
from San Francisco, Hi ictemcd
Germans who bare been deuced
at Angel rs5 and, on tha TtziC.2.
cost, leftTharsday for HotSprirs
for permanent internment. Ths
prty iccluded 1C women aisd IZ
children.
Thirteen rosd sentences, sscsiof
them in retailing case, the sen
tences ranging from three to Sra
months, were imposed bj Jcigtt
Clice at the recent Una., of Bcrko
court, rank Cook, a for
member of the board of ccls
sioners of Burke, a citiren cf s-.ia
prominence, was sentenced to z:zt
months. He appealed and gTO
bond.
A case of spinal meningitis hir
ing developed at the Hctbird
hocse at Murphy the" occ spin Is,
consisting of thiriy-o:d peo;"e,
have hare been qcsractined a
further precaution, and the tnij cr
of the town has issned an crier
closing the schools, tnoriegcictre
bouses, churches, ledges and all
public gathering places for
riod of two weeks.
a
Judge Ferfysoa to.Retire
Judge Garland S. Ferghana
tf-
Waycesville gives do tine three rh
his home piper, the Mcrctalce rr,
that he will not be -a ctti";f. fcr
renomicttion as Superior Cc z rt
judge of the twentieth district. In
his public announcement Jcirs
Ferguson says:
I have spent 50 years cf rzy
life in the pabUn serrire, i;zr
years of that time in the Cc-fr i
erate army aci Z2 jeir as cl r r r
of the Superior Ort, S:iv f :
tor, solicitor and My t ;
interests demand thit I ahcn!i !;: k
after rny personal ail sirs now.
...The Mountaineer tars thii Cx ; t.
W. J. Hannah cf Waynes vil! ir J
Messrs. Frye .and Brrscn cf Silz
con n ty wi LI co s test (or the n c zzl -cation.
. ,, ,
Card cT A;;re
to ti.a UZim cf tb Uz&mZl D-j ;'.:
tt th Cram tx tb huri irT
hr tikfa la ccr is tb vr
of Mollrx tmlKi uxi tlrv C-r.:. -
li cDwr3 Cbcr ty Tr r -r .:r.
The last charter cf Ait 1'tz
lecicd Wife will be thr?wn xt t: r
G rand Th eatre (Thnnday ) u zlz : -Don't
fail to tbe climir c! ill
interesting scriiL