North Carolina Newspapers

CONCOEJD AILT;''TRIB1DNE g ASSOCUTTD ' . .. " RSS x 2 DISPATCHES. 1 -w. KTJT m TOOAT. H . VOLUME XVI II. CONCORD, N. C, TUESDAY. DECEMBER 13, 1917. Price Five Centt. NO. 4. DEFENSE HAS RESTED IH MEANS TRHU STATE IS OFFERING REBUTTAL TESTIIIOHY Witnesses Called for Defense Today Included 'Henry Deitch and Mrs. Gaston B. Means, Wife of Defendant DETECTIVE JONES I ON WITNESS STAND Tells What He Found in the , i Means' Apartments In New York City, And How They Secured the Papers. When court resumed its session at 2 o'clock Monday afternoon, the court room was only about half filled with spectators. At no time during the morning were the seats filled the cold weather doubtless keeping away many who bad been attending on for mer days. Gaston B. Means resumed the wit ness stand on re-direct examination by E. T. Cannier. . Deposit slip on Lincoln Trust Com pany In faror of Mrs. Julie P. Means, dated fleptwnber 23, 1!15, was handed witness. He said he bad made the de poult for her out of the $26,000 borrow ed from Mrs. King to go Into the rub ber business, which fell through. De posit made by him to her credit on August 23, 1015, amounting to $1,600, was money from the German Interests. The $2,000 deposited August 14, 1919, by the witness, he said he did not ree- -ollect where It came from. The $300 deposited on June 8, 1015, waa before dington and Afton Means were at the the Woodruff Trust had been dlssolv- spring at the same time he was, and ed. the saw each of the parties place an Check dated Septemlter, 1015, given automatic pistol in the forka of the by Mrs. King to G..B. Means, amount- j tree. He also did it himself. At that ing to $8,224.77 the witness said was time the bark had been cut out, msk for the one-half of money saved for lng It harder for the pistol to - lie her over the first $10,000, according to there. On cross examination he said their contract. The deposit of Sep- there had been ridge In the forks temher 13, 1015, of $7,000 to to the "between the two branches, and this account of Mrs. Meaua was a part of had been cut out. He said when be the money received when the above had seen the tree a month earlier it check was cashed. The statements rendered weekly by the Chicago Beach Hotel to Mrs. King from December. 1016, to July, 1917, were next Identified by the witness and presented as evidence. Copies of weekly reports, made out bv Afton Means in New York. and. mailed to the defendant while lu Chi- ego. were handed to the bitter, who Iilent fled them as copies of those re-; derived by him. Thiwe Itemised the. .' otllce expense, apartment rent, etc, while Mrs. King aud party were away. These accounts covered every week up . until Aasnst 12. 1!)1T. -- The two checks for f .ll')ly-; en 111 initiuiht ttj IUV uaniuKui w Mrs. Melvin, were given at the direc tion of Mrs. King. aid the $10,000 was later returned by Mrs. Melvin, At the t me of Mrs.- King's death," the net income from the trust fund at the Northern Trust Company in her favor amounted to $10,000 annually. The witness was asked what the present worth of Mrs. King's estate is now, to which lie replica mat it replied Amounted to a total of $140683.06. The lii-ms given by him were as follows : Jewelry . , .$ 25,000.00 Foraker note . 6,000.00 Cole Mortgage ' . : 1,800.00 Household goods . 60.000.00 . n n . . . ,. n. tJ V w. K. l'airerson uore . - - oi.iw.'i F at jputomobllo - , - . 2,500.00 Equity in Merchants Loan ft Trust Ct miwny . 20,000.00 Chock from Northern Trust Company . ... . - - . 3286.58 TT. S. Gold certificates . 10,000.00 Bal In Centl T. Co. . . - 1,301.08 ;: Total 2, - . - . r - .140,588.56 Besides tni total, the witness aald Mrs. King had Investments In French securities, with which he was' not fa miliar. There were also- some minor items that should be added. On re-cross . examination, . witness said that Mrs. King deposited check for $1,000 each month lu Chicago Beach Hotel The weekly expenses of New York . apartments and office amounted to about $405 per month. The weekly salary of the witness waa f250 to be paid ont of the amount recover ed from tha Northern Trust Com pany. ' The amount due htm at the time of Mrs. King's death amounted to $10,000, which which he took from the balance of $34,000 ; drawn out of the bank in Chicago at the time of the crash on the cotton market. Relative to the value of Mrs. King's estate, the witness was asked wheth er Mrs. Foraker 's note was not worth less. He replied that on the contrary he thought -Mrs. Foraker s note was rood, as it waa secured by aame mln lng interests. The household goods, he said, were in the apartments at U56 Park avenue, the finest furnished home . - in New York, according to hla opinion. It consisted of about fourteen rooms, ' accommodating Mrs. Robinson and . servants also. The gold certificates, he said, were those In his possession at the time of Mrs, King's death. The examination of the defendant waa concluded shortly before 4:40 o'clock after having spent over elgh .teen hours on the stand since last Thursday morning. , RILBost. ' E. H. Boat said be had visited Black welder spring on Sunday following Mrs. King's death In company with W H. Gibson. G. 8. Klutta and T. J. Ilendrlx. He said he walked up to the tree and stepped on one of the ex Dotted roots.' At the time he had bla knife In his hand. His ankle turned, . causing him to. fall against tHa tree. The knife in h's left hand struck him behind the left ear. He made the sec ond exDeriraent and failed absolutely. The jury ah rtlMen excluded while this was being told. When tney recurnea they were told they were not to eon . aider the nart of the testimony they heard s offered by this witness, as It . waa Incompetent.. - - . . Miss Elizabeth Gibson. Miss Ettsnbeth Gibson stated that aha knew Mrs. King, and had had conversation with ber ahortly before Jirr death, ,t lh time she stshM that the people of XVmeord had been nnosoally kind to her, and. aha was contemplating giving a barbecoe. fine further said that ahe and Oastoa were pals, and she aerer did anything with out consulting him. The jury was sent out while this conversation was being repeated, and It waa not allowed to go In as evidence. H, L Weadheuse, H. I. Woodhoone wss called to the stand and waa asked If he bad been to the spring since Mrs. King's death. The Jury waa excused until he told of what happened there. He said he had laid a pistol several times la the forks of the sycamore tree, and It stayed there. He also saw W. H. Gibson do the1 same thing. The jury waa called back, and the erldenca was admitted. On cross examination the witness stat ed that the forka of the tree showed signs of having been scraped, which would effect the placing of the pistol In the forks. - , F. L. Smith. F. L. Smith ' stated" that on Arigust 26, he accompanied Gaston and Miss Kate Means to Salisbury to meet Mrs. Melvin, When the train reached Sal isbury the party left for Concord. The witness was with Mrs. Melvin all the way to the Means' home here. There they took lunch arranged for the au tomobile party. He saw Mrs. King there that evening. The conversation with Mrs. Melvin on the way to Con cord was not allowed to go to the Jury. N. Aj Blackwelder. N. A. Blackwelder, of No. 5 township, said he lived about one half mile from the Blackwelder spring. He knew the spring well, and remembered he fork ed sycamore tree. On 8unday before the preliminary Cy White, John Wed had not been cut In such a manner. Cjr White. Cy White stated he. had been to the Blackwelder spring several weeks after " " V. . .Z Z iZ hl"L J"? ii8 lhre kmh"d JS?". Whe" Pwiineut waa made. . . W.J. Glass. W. J. Glass, the next witness, aald he was present at the spring when Mr. Wood house and W. H.. Gibson bad laid an automatic pistol in the forks 0f the tree.. 1 - ; : J. Il'Weddlngton. ' John H. Weddlngton enrroliorated the story told by N. A. Blackwelder and Cy White. Henry M. WlneeotT Henry M. Wlnecoff stated that about the first of October he went to the spring, and at that time practically the same conditions prevailed as did before the death of Mrs. King. He there saw Cy White and Afton -Means place a pistol in the forks of the syca more tree several times, and it did not fall out. - ; W. J. Weddlngton. ' . . W. J. Weddlngton said he went to the spring about a week after the pre liminary hearing, in company with K. A. Mayer, of Charlotte, and ' E. A. Huther. of this city. He placed a .25 Colt automatic pistol In the Jorks of tne sycamore tree, anu it law inure without falling out . Capt W. & Bingham. Capt. W .8. Bingham was re-called to the stand and was asked what he heard Gaston Means say to Afton Means as soon as they reached the place where"! rs. King was lying. - He said that Uaston had said : "Maude has shot herself accidentally with that little pistol." This was for the pur pose of corroboration of Afton Means atatement : -, , . -, Mlsa Kate Meana. -Mlsa Kate Means told of the events at tne Means nome on tne evening oi August- 29th,: at supper, -and of the arrangements made for an automobile ride. She corroborated the testimony already given by several members of Meana fumily, who have already te tifled. She said after the party left she went to the Gibson Drug Store, while other members of the family went to the movies. In a short time she saw the automobile drive up, and Afton jumped out of the machine. He came Into the drug store, told her that Mrs. King had shot herself, and ask ed where Mrs. Melvin and his father were. When she first saw Gaston be was in her father'a sitting room, his head between hla hands, crlying. - He exclaimed : "If there is a God in heav en, how could he let this thing hap pen?". His sister, Mrs. J. F. Good man, rebuked him, saying "Bud, don't say thatr The Jury had been sent ouf while this statement waa being re peated, and the court sustained ob jection raised by the State against Its Introduction..: The Jury waa recalled and the witness preceded. She . aald the: hat worn by Mrs. King on that evening waa a black chiffon hat on wlra frame. Witness saw the hat on the back porch later, and" It looked as if it bad been walked on. Her sister, Miss Belle, told her later that ahe had burned the hat The witness was at home when Mrs. King came to their home. She had in vited her to visit here. She told of several rides in the automobile with Mrs. King, and was on tha trip to Bad- hi and IUchflelU--The witness was not with Mrs. King when she is said to have shot the rifle, aa ahe was then at the pond. Another trip in tha auto- mobile' waa also made when she went to Salisbury to meet Mrs. Melvin. The witness said she had seen the J25 Colt automatic pistol and that she had seen Mrs. King handle it there in the house. Mrs. King, according to the witness i most always woreitalse hair when ever she wort a bal. With tha hat she bad on when the tragedy occurred, tha witness aald Mrs, - King , ahriyi wore ne fair pair, Mrs. J. r. Mrs J. r. Good mas aald that shoot JO or :40 'dock oa the evening of the tragedy, aha aaw Oastoa Means with Capt. Bingham tn the automobile. The defendant invited ber to go to ride with these, bat th declined, say ing she had to go get 'some Bowers, she rode with them a abort distance, un til tbey reached the street out which she waa to go. Later, after she had returned home, ber husband tetepboaw ed about the happening. She got bar coat and hat and hurried to the hos pital. There she foundMrs.Klng dead, so she went to her father's, home, where ahe saw Gaston in the library or sitting room, with hla bead lying oa the marble table. When ha raised hla bead, the tears were streaming down hla face, and the perspiration waa standing out on hia forehead. Court adjourned at 6:30 o'clockrsuk Ul 9:30 o'clock Tuesday morning. TODAY'S PROCEEDINGS. The fourteenth day ef the trial of Gaston- B. Means began this morning at 9:30 with only a few scattered spec tators in the Court bouse at the open ing hour. The cold weather for the past two daya has had a marked effect upon the attendance in the court room. . C. A. Robinson. C. A. Robinson waa recalled to the stand, and corroborated the story told by Afton Meana as to the conversation they had in the street shortly after the accident occurred. Afton had told the witness the statement made by Gaston immediately after jtbe shoot ing: "Maude has shot herself with that little pistol." Henry Delteb. Henry Deitch, the next . witness. stated that he is a citizen, of New York, and for the past two years had been In the employ of Gaston Means In a clerical capacity. He had made out the monthly statements for Means to Mnc, King using as a basis the memoranda and receipts given him by Means. The receipts and vouchers were attached to thte monthly statements. He left New York on May 2, 1017, reaching Chicago next day. There he contlnnel clerical work for Means, and assisted In investigations with refer ence to having the second will pro bated. In Chicago he helped make out monthly statements to Mrs. King. When Means left Chicago he took with blm these statements to Asheville in a brown file. Each statement contained a notation that If was correct and receipt by Mrs. King. The last time he had seen these statements was after August 5th, at 1155 Park Avenue, New York. In order to carry around the folders containing Mrs. King's papers, the wit ness had made a large telescope. This telescope and the papers were on Beptenilwr 12, taken out of the apart ments to the district attorney's offiee by Mr. Dooling and detective Jones. Tbey came to the apartments on the morning of September 11th. On that morning the witness said he gave to Mr. Dooling some letters for . Gaston Means, Mrs. King and Mrs. Melvlu. This he did against his wishes. -The next time he saw Mr.Dooling waa about 4 :30 o'clock the same after noon. Afton Means was present at that time. About 0 o'clock the same evening Mr. Dooling returned to the apartments. Nothing waa said then about taking possession of the docu ments of Gaston Means then in the library. Later that night be heard V conversation between Afton Means and Mr. Dooling about taking Gaston's papers. Neither tne witness nor aiioii gave any permission for Mr. Dooling to take the papers. Mr. Dooling re mained all night In the apartments, ex amining the papers, and the papers were removed next morning by Mr. Dooling and detective Jones against the will of the witness and Afton Means. While in Chicago, the witness said he had no instructions from Gaston Means to keep watch over Mrs. King or any member of the party there, nor had he ever done such a thing. He left the hotel about 10 o'clock each mornlne and returned from 4 to 6 o'clock. On cross examination the witness said prior . to working with Means for four years he had lived in New York city, and eighteen years prior to that time he had lived in Jersey city. In New York he was employed by the Burns Asencv. He was in Bridge port, Conn, for about six months -in the employ of Burns, stationed at the Remington Company a plant on guara rtlltv. While with Burns be made in vent i ration to see that the neutrality 0f the United States waa not vioiatea, He was getting $21 weekly from Burns and Means paid him $24 per week. He stated also that he opened the me for Mr. Dooling, so that he could look at' the papers, and that something was said relative to taKing copies oi tne miners tken away by Mr. Dooling. Mrs. Gaston B. Means, wife of the defendant waa the next witness call ed for the defense. She stated she was married to thedefendaut in October 1913. She had known Mrs. King ever since about five years of age. The wit nees was five years old when her moth er died. She saw Mrs. King from time' to time until 1914, and bad seen her much since then. Witness knew when defendant became business manager for Mrs. King. Mrs. King moved into Park avenue apartments anout a month after M. and Mrs. Meana had moved there. ' ' . In Aumist 1015 the witness signed a note with her husband In favor of Mrs. King for $25,000. She waa to sign the note so that 11 uer nusnana aiea, airs. King would get her money. The bank o k. was kept in Mrs. Means name, so that in case her husbana aiea, sne would have money without waiting for the estate to be settled. ' The witness had since then seen the note In possession of Mrs. King, and payments had been made on it The last time she 'saw the note, there was a balance of about $4,000 still unpaid on the note. In October 1916 tha de fendant bad made a loan to Mrs. King amounting to $6,000. This was when Mrs. King waa going to Atlantic uity. While at the Chicago Beach Hotel, the witness and ber husband were on the floor below the rooms of Mrs. King and Mrs. Robinson, whose rooms were adjoining. The defendant at no time tried to.exercise any authority en Mrs. King. Deitch waa not placed to watch her movements.' Mrs. King and Mrs. Robinson each had their automobiles In Chicago, and went to ride whenever thev pleased, In Asheville Mrs. King waa Jn poor health and waa extremely nervous. She was anticipating an operation , ; (Continued on last Fiji.) 10,919,000 HE -CROPISESMEO Figures Given Out Today By the Crop Reporting Board of the Department of Ag riculture. - COMPARED WITH , THE OTHER YEARS Smallest Crop 5 in Several! Years. Last Year the To tal Crop Amounted to 11, 449,930 Bales. (By International News Service.) WMntiliiirtnn TWml it Thj, nnn r-' l0"1 bord 'im', 01 tbf , AvrlraltiiM nnartmnt tnAmv mH.1 mated from the reports of the corro-1 spondents and agents of the' bureau. M that the total production of cotton in 1 the united States lor the season of 1017-017, will amount to 5,237,370,000 pounds (not Including llnters), equiv alent to 10,949,000 bale of 600 pounds gross weight (478JJ pounts line and 1-7 pounds bagging and ties estimat ed per 600 pound bale.). The total production In 1916 was 11,449.930 bales (600 pounds gross) ; In 1915, 11.191,820 bales; fli 1914. 10.- 134,930 bales;, in 1013 , 14,106,486 bales; In 1912, 13,703,421 bales; and in 1011, 15,692,701 bales. The aver age weight per running bales is esti mated at 601.5 pounds gross, compar ed with 603.8 pounds in 1016, (as reported by the Bureau of the Census). 605.6 pounds In 1915, and 0055 pounds, the average of the preceding five years. Reports of the bureau of crop esti mates do not include "llnters", which are a product obtained at mills from the seed. The census bureau, report thatl.330,714 bales of 500 pounds gross were delinted -from the 1016 I crop Vqual to 11.6 per cent as many as bales of lint cotton produced,- which com pares with 8.3 per cent, the ratio for the 1915 crop, 5.3 per cent for .the 1914 crop, and 3.9 per cent, the average for the preceding five years. The price per pound of lint cotton "to iroducters December 1, 1917 was jn.T cents, com pared with a December 1 price of 19-.1 cents In 1916, 11.3 cents la 1915, 6 8 cents in 1914, 122 cents ln'1913, 11.0 cents In 1912 and 8.8 centt ip lull. NEW YORK STOCK MARKET A Steady Tone Prevailed, at ' the Op- t ening today? (By International Nes' Agency) New York. Dec, 1L4t steady,1 tone prevailed at USE opening of the stock market with pride movements general ly confined to -fractions. Steel com mon, advanced to 87 and Bethle hem Steel rose to 75V4- American Tobacco declined over one point - at the start to 139, but quickly rallied to 140. Anaconda rose to 58 and Utah made the same advance to 78. Marine preferred auvancea to vz. The railway issues were fraction ally lower. Reception for Suffragists. Washington, D. C, Dec 11. Com mittee meetings were concluded today and aU other Preliminary buslnea ! posed of by the officers of the National American Woman Suffrage Association in readiness for the beginning of the regular sessions of the annual conven tion tomorrow. Tonight at the Wil lard Hotel, the wives of the members of President Wilson's cabinet are to be hostesses at a reception in honor of Dr. Anna Howard Shaw and Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt respectively honorary president and' president cf the national suffrage organization. To Cooperate With Government Washington. D. C. Dec 11. Chair men of War Service Committees, re- nresentlne every branch of Industry In the country, have been called by the Chamber of Commerce of the United States to meet in this city to morrow to perfect plans for coopera tion with the Government in the prose cution of the War. To Tell Keasons for the War. Scranton, Pa., Dec. 11. Secretary of Commerce Red field is coming to Scran ton tomorrow night to be the guest of honor and principal speaker at a ban quet to be given under the auspices of the local Chamber of Commerce. The real reason for America's entrance Into the world war Is to be the sub ject of Secretary Redfleld'r address. . , Alabama Hotel Hen Meet BirminB-ham. Ala.. Dec 11. Food conservation la slated aa tne cmei sun lect to receive attention from the. Ala bama Hotel Mens Association at in semi-annual convention Which opened here today. Hotel proprietors from all the principal cities of the Btato are in attendance. T Tennessee Democratic Convention. Nashville, Tenn Dec 11. Delegates are arriving in Nashville to attend the Democratic State convention wmcn is to be held here tomorrow. The prln- cinal work of the convention will he to select candidates for the State su preme court and the court oi dvu ap peals. - - Activity on Arras and Ifpret Fronts. - (By Tha AmmUIN fnm) ; London. Dec 11. Unusually active artillery fighting and aeroplane opera tions on the western front yesterday are reported in -today's official com munication. This scuvity waa particu larly noteworthy In the Ypres : and Arras, fronts. , ,',"' - A Southern Society to Hear Baker. New York. Dec 11. The 'Southern Society of New York has completed elaborate preparations for its annual dinner to be given tomorrow night at the Waldorf-Astoria. Secretary of War Baker is scheduled to be one of the principal speakers at the dinner, ' flcad the Penny aito today. THIRTEEN NEGROES I Vi'ERE HANGED TODAY Found Guilty of Complicity ' in the Riot at Houston, Texas, August 23, in which a Number Were Killed. N HANGED AT 7:17 THIS MORNING Names of the Men Sentenc ; ed to Life Imprisonment Were Not Given. Names of the Men Hanged. (My The AiwetaM Pnu) . San Antonio, Texas, Dec 11. Thir teen negroes were hanged at Fort Sam Houston at 7 :15 a. m. today for com plicity m the riot at Houston on Aug st 23. v The men hanged, all enlisted men of the 24th infantry, were: - Sergeant Win. C. Nesbitt; Corpals Larmoa J. Brown, Jas. Wbeatley, Jesse Moore and Charles W. Baltimore; Privates Wm. Breckeiiridge, Thomas Hawkins, Carlos Snod grans, Ira Dav- J, James Davins, Frank Johnson, BUey W. Young and Pat McWhorter. The announcement of the action of t'Jie court martlal's verdict was made at Southern Department Headquarters at 9 .o'clock by the chief of staff, who ab gave out the formal statement in which the names of the men sentenc ed to life imprisonment were not given. Only Officers Present. Sanantonio, Texas, Dec. 11. Only army officers and the sheriff of the county were, present when the sent ence' was executed by soldiers from the post. "SO ANNOUNCEMENT HAD BEEN MADE. Na Indication Had Been Given of the Decision of Military Authorities. By InternationalNews Service.) San Antonio, Texas, Dec. 11. With out previous announcement or lndlcu- p tion of any decision on the part of the .military authorities thirteen negro sol diers convicted after a trial by court martial of murder and mutiny in con nection with the riots at Houston, ; Texas, August 23, were banged at Fort tfam Houston touay. i The negroes hanged Were among sixty three tried by court martial at Fort Sam Houston recently on mur der and mutiny charges. Although the trial ended several daya ago and the e ourt martial board had been consider- big the evidence, no announcement of ar Tcnnui nn mun- w uum ubf t he men had been hanged was any lnk I ing of the intention of the government ;iven out 10 INQUIRE INTO THE I ; MILITARY ' SITUATION' Inquiry Ordered Today by the Senate j Committee on Mliary Affairs. , (By International News Service.) Washington, Dec. 11. A compre hensive investigation into the entire 'national military situation, including progress 'being made bv the war de partment in organizing training and Leouippine the new army, was order ed bv -the Senate Military affaiiti eommittee this afternoon. The inves tigation will begin within a few days. It is the intention of the committee t call Secretary of War Baker and other high officials. Many complaints t egarding slow progress in equipping i he new draft army were laid before the committee. Senator Wadsworth !t New York, who has visited many antcnirents, furnished many re t Krts of unsatisfactory supplying men with rifles and necessary equipment. After' discussing the situation, the .committee decided to make an inquiry ji nto the 'whole military situation. Such an investigation will silence many false rumors, forestall critisra in congress and force lagging depart ments to-soeed. up in the opinion ot false rumors, forestall criticism in The inouirv. according to present program, will be held Detnna ciosea doors. PROBE OF DISHONEST FOOD SPECULATORS. These Have Been Criminally Respon sible for Shortage in Foodstuffs. (By International News' Service.) Washington, Dec. ll.--A sweeping probe of -dishonest food speculators has .been undertaken by the Federal Trade. Commission. - The probe will begin today under direction of Victor Murdock at the request of Herbert Hoover. Evidence secured by the com mittee will be turned over to the de partment of Justice for vigorous crim inal prosecution. Dishonest wholesale and retail mer chants and food brokers have been criminally responsible in no small measure for the shortages in many foods stuffs, especially perishables and also for mounting prices, Uie food au mlnlstrator said today. - THE COTTON MARKET . . i. i Shewed Continued Steadiness Tday r 1 to U Points Higher. (By The As lata Press) , New Tork. December 11. The cotton market showed continued steadiness early today on coverings over the gov ernment report and scattered trade burins, with December nine points lower at the opening, owing to tbe cir culation of additional notices estimat ed at 1500 bales,! but later month started at an advance of 10 to 20 points, snd the general list sold about 17 to 26 points net higher right after tha Mil, ":'"(.- ' f ' Cotton futures opened firm. , Decem ber. 29.25; January, 28.00; March, 28.75 j May. 28-95 : July 28.23. Miss Helen IV MoCormlck, New York's first woman prosecuting attor ney, is advocating women judges for children's courts, fw night, wurts and I DISEASE Tha Maaqr Baskto Kapkfly Asf4 Sltto IiW7 (By Intcrnatkl , , Halifax. N. B, Dec 1L When Hall fax awoke today to resume Its work of the search for lta dead, another menace waa encountered, an epidemic of dis eases. Though fortunately held in check by the cold of three Northeasters since the explosion of last Thursday, the many bodies yet beneath the de bris are rapidly approaching the state of decay. Health officials have Issued drastic orders concerning the lmmedate bury, big of the dead but the excessive cold has interfered with execution of the orders. Warnings of a possible epi demic have been issued by the health officials. Despite the early cold verv effort la being made to hasten the work of clearing the remaining mass of de cries and extricating the bodies be neath. Approximately one thousand of the thirteen hundred bodies have been recovered. At least two thousand additional are missing and the num ber of wounded has been placed at ii x thousand. Announcement was made todav that the first sitting of the court inquiry to determine the cause of the explosion would be held tomor row. Officials say the luquiry will be Iraatio and 'mil probably continue for several days. Meanwhile, the majority of the per sons of German birth or extraction arrested yeoterday are being held for examination. A few, after close ques tioning, were released but are expect ed to testify duriiur the session. Hali fax was much relieved today on re ceipt of assurance that the Picton. a British steamer also laden with muni tions, had been taken out to sea and sunk. Recent fires on the vessel had added to the terror of the populace which feared a repetition of the ex. i-losion of the Mont Blanc. TEE MEANS CASE What Mr. B. E. Powell, Says About It in the News and Observer. Special to News and Observer. Concord, Dec. 10. Following the ultimatum of Judtre E. B. Cline that "any member of counsel on either side who manifests any passion in conducting an examination will re relieved of his duty bv the court." John T. Dooling, Assistant District Attorney of New York, this mornin? turned over to State Solicitor Hay den Clement the task of concluding the cross-examination of Gaston B. Means, on trial here charged with the nmrder of Mrs. Maude A. Robin son King on Ausrust 29, last. Promptly thereafter New York newspaper men began wiring their 'papers "State's case collapsed," end subsequently received instruc. tldns to fold their tents and hie back to the' city where Mrs. King formerly lived in a luxurious apartment on fashionable Park Avemte. Before get-' tin? away tonight, some-, of them wero offering twenty to one on'a ver dict of "not guilty" and ten' to one on a mistrial. Mr. Dooling had previously been advised by District Attorney Swann to cease active -participation in the cfise if the reports sent out by staff men of the New York papers are cor rect, v Hn has occupied a seat -with the prosecution most of the day, but the last lap of the case has been run by Solicitor Clement, L. 0. Caldwell and Jake Newell. Phil C. lcDunie has oecn in louav ana inactive aunng the saddened hours of a finale foj what once looked like a great battle. Instead. New xorkers are talking about the "indignities of North Caro lina courts," and have religiously substituted "farce" for "fight." HOUSE CONSIDERS THE PROHIBITION AMENDMENT By Unanimous Consent It Will Be Taken Up Monday. (Bj The Associated Picas) Washington, Dec. 11. By ununl- mouse consent the House agreed to consider Monday the' constitutional amendment for nationwide prohibi tion which already been passed by the Senate. Production of Farm Crops. (By The Associated Press) Washington, Dec. 11. Many crops of this years exceed the production of other years while the value of the country's farm products with a total estimate unofficially of f21.000.000.000 far exceeds aiiy other year in our his tory. The final estimate of produ -tion of the principal farm crops was announced today by the department of agricultural. The fellow who is over anxious to get you in-his debt Is frequently just as anxious to get you out. again. i - Ohio seems to have definitely decided she'll continue to take sugar in her'n. y.iaw atiosiu.'aaES' "Betty Be Good" Muliial-IIorkeimer Production Five Reels of Convulsive Laugh ter Created by the Inimitable Jackie Saunders "Tomboy of the Screen AT THE - NEW PASTIME RESTIVO The International Accordionist . will be here, again en the 17th, 18th, 19th. AN EnDEMC OP FOR A HEAVY BLOW Heavy German Reinforce ments Arrive in France. Where Blow Will Fall is Not Disclosed. ' GERMANS SEEK FOR WEAK POINT Deliverance of Jerusalem from Hands of Turks Ends All Turco-German Hopes of Cutting Suez Canal. (By The AaMtat4 Fraaa) Heavy German reinforcements have . arrived in France, it is believed In Allied Capitals, but where the expected mow wiu tall la yet to be disclosed. For the moment the infantry Is in active along the Western front but the artillery and especially that of the Germans is very active in various sec- - tors. -. On the British front the Germans ' are bombing heavily the positions south of L'a rubral and east and north. ' east of Ypres, the two sectors which - have seen virtually all o fthe heavy . fighting during the past few months. From Ht. Quentin to the Swiss border Paris reports great enemy artillery ac tivity between the Oise and the Alsne -in the Champagne northeast of Ver- dun and In upper Alsace. The British and French cannons are replying Jn turn to the German positions. The heavy German artillery fire may mean that the Germane are attempting -to find a weak point and it may be only for the purpose or drawing al- ; lied attention to one spot while the ' troops from the Russian front are massed for a strong effort on a hither to quiet sector. Strong local German attacks on the right bank of the Meuse, northeast of Verdun, have been repulsed by the - French, who took prisoners. Infantry fighting has ' stopped m- ' mentarlly on the Italian front from Asiago to the Paive river. The Aus-tro-German efforts to break through -between the Palve and the Brents failed with losses. The enemy re-- formed Ills shattered forces and at tempted to break through between . Asiago and the Paive. He failed again. The Austro-Germans captured some terrain but without improving the tao tical positions and with heavy cost Au apparently local attempt to cross . the lower region of the Paive has been checked by the Italians who recaptured observation trenches . taken by - the -,-' Austrian, soldiers. i . -i v.v,;fvy , Official entries into Jerusalem, 'the ". Holy City of the Christian, is planned -for today. The deliverance of Jem- ' salem from the hands of the Moslem , marks not only the success of Gen. Al- . Jenhy's drive into Palestine but possibly ends alll Turco-German hopes of cut ting the Sues cannal. Meagre reports from Russia lndi- , cates that the Bolshevikl are meeting with difficulty in maintaining control of Moscow." The situation there is reported grame with the Bolshvlki gar- rison refusing to obey its commander, , who has ordered machine guns placed . in the streets iu anticipation of an up- rising. :. A Copenhagen dispatch says that -the Bolshevikl has ordered troops from the Caucasus to put down Generals Kaledines, Korniloff and Dutoff, while " from London It is reported that large forces are lielng sent to the Baltic and Black Sea fronts into the Ekraine'and the Cossack Providence. Whether clashes have occurred between the Bolshevikl and the counter revolution i not apparent. The Bolshevikl gov ' eminent controls., virtually all the dl-, ' rect lines of communication of the In terim! of Russia.- ?'. Inquiry Into Equipping American ' Forces. .. (Br The Associate Prni'l Washington, Dec. 11. A general in quiry Into the operation df the War Department in arming and equipping , American forces, was decided upon to day in the Senate Military ; Affairs Committee. Secretary Baker and oth er department head will be called to explain the various features of war' activities. To Eerort Woman Suffrage Amend ment. (By International New Service.) " Washington. Dec. 11. The House iudiciary committee this afternoon, oted to report the Susan B. Anthonv , Nation Wide Woman Suffrage Aircnduient without recomendation. The Weather Forecast. - (By International New Service.) Washington, Iec. 11. Forecast! North Carolina: , Fair, not quite so cold tonight except snow in west . portion. Wednesday snow or rain and not quite so cold. -, Tim temptation Is great to give7 more thought to the "bite" than to tha hit.' THEATORIUM TODAY. LILLIAN GISH , AND WILFRED LUCAS IN t "Souls Triumphant" Twe sort ef Women and a Man , In a Drama of Power, -. And Purpose - It's a Triangle OProgran EVERY Tuesday and Thursday Mls I-llllan dsn was Ftarrt 1 In lb IMrth of a Na( ion. -?v A 1 JX..J ti.