IBIIli XorUi Carolina Fair and warmer ,c.ay. Cloudy Monday. :J. : t,: I 7? ; JL NJ V J VGL-XXli. NO. 3 Split Comes Among Republi cans in The House of Representatives. PROGRESSIVE WING GROWS RESTLESS. Congressman Gardner Der nounces Leader Mann As Kaiser's Ally and Cuts Loose From Him Demo crats Jubilant Over the New Turn. U :c : Washington, Dec. 23 The long-ex-j ptrd pplir. in Republican ranks in ill.-. House of Representatives ap- !":::v ,u-uu ,u,um,uw- m n: ;rom Representative A. P. Gard- n-r. o: .Massachusetts, that he would oppose Minority Leader James R, M-'nr v. ho will be Republican candi - I!-Tr- ,!;up lor speaker oftEe nex. Tcse. Uf r.ri sf ntative Gardner, one o the limning insurgents of the Republican miH declared that, he would support ;t--pr5pntaiive irvme u. .enroot, or V'iCconsin, a Lafollette follower, ioi The lavorable comment of Repre stn'aiive Mann on President Wilson's ppso? note, was the reason offered by R'-prf-sentative Gardner for his re- :u?ra 10 support tne .epuDiican loader. ' "This is the fourth or fifth time," Rpnrpsentative Gardner, in u siaiement tonight, "that Leader Mann ' ha? given encouragement Kaiser's wicked cause. As to the far as I am concerned; I will tolerate such I'adrrship no longer. I believe that t'p.-. nnin p5? nf thp wnrld rpmiirps MI T -Iffl 1TP'L Buf,IIEK ,S OFFICIALS ARE 5 DUTCiAKTI-WAR IffplWC flM OOE 1 IILBUL I yiipip yu f lOBETREMElDflOS ' JEADY FOR fl COUNCIE STANOS UnlUt. OKI UUEil i ' II fl (I f 1WK E FULLNQUIRY IfliSIll flGCDiC ;' D P MPp llU Oi Oh u i fl fljflov 1 flLlO u Lfl.I L J L H t2 Swampeiby, The Extra , Probe of Leak of Presi- In President's Peace .;W .,r destruction of Hapsburgs and Prt and Holt lmer Voltaire, is still : : h nzollerns. For that reason, with listed as overdue on the Maritime Ex TPi v sincere regret, I repudiate Rep- change. Up to a late hour tonight the : -. n ative Mann's leadership. I lca office of the line had receivcd -hal! support Representative Lenroot, no word.that would throw any light on rM Wisconsin, for speaker, when the. the fate of the vessel or the.l40mem x: Congress convenes." bers'Of her. crew. The liner is now Democratic Congressional leaders ailed the Gardner announcement with delight. They declared iubil- anuy that the deflection of the Mas-; expresseu m snipping uiuea s:-;chusetts Progressive Republican ' ficials of the line refused to give up v.f.'.ild utterly wreck any hopes the hope. They still cling to the theory l!"publicans may have had that they that the ship has met with a mishap t:u!d control the next House. jto her engines and is drifting about in Hf-mocratic leaders declared that , the Atlantic, with Gardner fighting the Republi-! In this case they propounded a new ran organization, there would be no j idea to aceount for her non-appear-doiibt that Champ Clark would be re-ance. It was to the effect that other t-locrd speaker, and that the Derno- vessels are shunning her in fear that cratfe would, organize the House in J she might be the German raider ihgf next Congress, despite the nar 'io(vnesp of the margin of control sov.n in the results of November's election. Representative Gardner is the son-in-iaw of Senator Lodge, of Massa- i-husetts, and was one of the few j They were sure from the ship's beha- stateSf to guppiy an unprecedented de Easiern insurgent Republicans whojvior that she was the German raider I mand for egg-nog ingredients and joinrd in, the fight against "Uncle so often reported, bu the description j otuer cheering concoctions. Never foe" Cannon which resulted in the that the officers gave was a perfect ince the alcoholic drought hit the reform of the rules of the House, and description of the Voltaire. j states to the south has there been li. stripping of power from the "Not one ship has been sunk since.) guch a deluge Df liquid parcels as speaKr-r in the rules light, or iyiu.the beginning of the war wnicn as:swamped tue express offices today ut-presentative Lienroot was jiKewise . a leader in the fight against Cannon- r. Politicians in Washington declared light that the Gardner rebellion in ie House was the forerunner oi . a 'general effort by Progressive Repub licans throuehout the -country to oust the "Old Guard" control of the Party, and replace 4t with, a thorough ly Progressive leadership. There have been mutteri.ngs of a coming Republican storm ever since the No vember election. Progressive lead-n-s have been outspoken in their dec orations that the defeat of Charles E. Hughes was due largely to the old fnard predominance in the conduct r'i '.he campaign. They have asserjt f;i that the Republican party, in or-'-r to survive, must be organized un der Progressive leadership and that i p old line Republican leaders must j Zaerr7r7u ? Mire. raay extend in that direction is prob lematical. CHARGES FRENCH WILL KILL TWO WOMEN. Berlin (Via Sayville Wireless), Dec. '-S French courtmartials, says the Overseas News Agency, "have sen tenced to death two more women one named Dusays, born in Calair, ot a German mother and a Luxemberg i'ather, and the other a widow named ichelly, a Swiss "woman accused of forming Germany about the opera i;ons of the French army "Probably the French will shoot both women as they already have in numerous other cases when women H-rro sentenced' to death by court martials. The French are apparent Jy holding their record in sentencing ;uul shooting women." -i . 1 , uciu s nuie. Arnnn i , , . JES VILLA HAS TAKEN CITIES Mexi can Ambassador oavs A 1 1 Story of The Captures is False. Washington, Dec. 23. Categorical) denial of border reports that Chihua-! nua ana Torreon naa been captured i by the enemies of first Chief Carran - za were voiced by Ambassador Desig- j mate Arredondo here tonight. A state- j ment issued at the Mexican embassy .said: j "Ambassador Arredondo has receiv-i ed a message from Consul General j ' Garcia, at El Paso, Texas, who states j that he has beten in communication j with the Constitutionalist officials at j i chihuahua and Torreon and is in-; formed that those cities have not been rantured and are. in -no daneer of be-! ing captlired by Villistas.' BIG LINER MANY Fear Exoressed That the Vol- taire, With Over Hundred ' People, May Be Lost. New oYrk, Dec. 23. The big Lam-, fifteen days overdue tv line giac icaia iui the ship and her crew were openly I 1 A 31 which for the last month has been reported lurking in shipping lanes. David Cook, manager of the line, to day said: DEN ED "The Adriatic ran away trom a Washington today to Virginia, North ship on her way over here last week.;r arollna and otner southern "dry" not reported within the next two or I Lthree days. Therefore I do not be lieve the Voltaire has been torpe doed." Mr. Cook was of the opinion that the Voltaire is driftinghelplessly ow ing to engine trouble and waiting forfally ged off their feet to handle the some vessel to come in sight in order to signal it with flats and avoid using wireless. To use wireless under the circumtances he was convinced would be to invite 'submarine -attack. v The Voltaire left Liverpool Novem ber 28 and has not been heard of since. She carried no passengers and was in ballast on her way to this port. About one-third of her crew are Americans according to the belief of the local agents. The report circulated early today that a White Star liner was overdue proved to be incorrect. Records of the Maritime .ff J h any vessel oi mat uuc uciuuc the company officials declared in most positive terms that none of its ships were overdue. FRANCE HAS STOPPED ALCOHOLIC IMPORTS. Paris, Dec. 23. In line with the re- cent decision or tne government tu suppress the consumption of alco- holic beverages, with the-exception of wines and beer, a-decree published today - in the Journal Officiol pro hibits the importation" of alcohol into France and Algeria from this date. The decree excepts alcohol pur chased for the account of the French government as well as ship ments made directly for France and Algeria -prior to Abe date of promul gation of the decree, t WILMINGTON BLIZZARDS DELAY IN MANY PLACES. Postmaster General Adopts Heroic Measure In Effort to Expedite the Deliv . ery of Mail. Washington, Dec. 23 With Uncle Sam's postmasters all over the coun try burdened beneath . a volume ' of Christmas mail, larger by 25 per cent. than in any previous hblidav season Postmaster-General Burleson tonight adopted heroic methods to expedite the arrival of Santa Claus on schcd- ule time. Mails in many centers have been made twenty-lour hours blizzards and car shortages. To relieve congestion in numerous centers Postmaster-General Burleson directed the railroads to press into service freight cars to hurry the tons of mail matter to its destination. Re- turns to the Postoffice Department tonight showed that hundreds of tons of parcels were being held ui ; at railroad stations because of a lack i of cars to haul them. Railroad offi- cials explained that the demand on the railroads for equipment caused ! delay in delivery of mail cars. Em ployment of fast freight equipment and a large force of extra mail han dlers is expected to relieve conges- I tion : at some points and permit the delivery practically of all mail mat te rnot . later than Monday morning. Mr. Burleson's reports for mail su perintendents showed that the pres ent season's mail has established a new record. He said that in addi tion to the car shortage, bad weather I conditions had delayed scores of big trains." Trains west of Buffalo were delayed from 12 to 24 hours. Traffic movements west of St. Louis was sub ject to even more serious delays. Serious congestion in the Chicago postoffice was reported. In the past three days nearly 5,000,000 pounds of mail passed through the Chicago postoffice. BOOZE ON MY Washington Sends Avalanche of "Wet" Goods to Dry States. Washington, Dec. 23. "Wet" goods 'in enormous loads were shipped out of Tne cheer laden packages have been going out at the rate of 15,000 to 20,- 000 a day since the beginning of the week, but last minute orders from the dry sections eclipsed these marks to night and express clerks were liter- business. Bottle goods shipments were stacked so high, awaiting ship ment, that express company's refused to receive additional consignments, until accumulated business could be moved. From the . appearance of the mail-ordr crush in the various stations it seemed that "inhabitants of dry territory had reserved their one quart a month allowance under the dry laws for the Christmas season. - TOM LAWSON SAYS ' ANOTHER BIG LEAK. Boston, Dec. 23. Thomas W. Law son, who, with Barnard M. Baruch, of New York, cleaned up several million dollars' in the stock crash that follow ed the Wilson peace note, acknowl edged that information on which the clear sweep up was made came di rectly, thorugh official Washington. He said that an even bigger "leak" would occur this week. Lawson's statement, followed only a few hours a statement from Secretary Lansing, in which the latter said that his department would welcome any investigation into the alleged leak that placed the advance information in the hands of the two big operators and their associate. The State Department at the same time shifted the respon sibility onto x the shoulders . of the newspaper men, claiming that a num ber of them had received information about the peace note even before Wall Street knew it. BY TRAIN LOADS SCANDAL MAY BE IN MAKING, j Officials Said to Have Partici- pated In. Bear Raid On The Stock Market. Washington, Dec. 23. Threatened I scandal over charges of participation by high government officials in the bear raid cn the stock market, which followed President Wilson's peace note, was temporarily delayed today. Representative Henry, of Texas, chairman of the House rules commit tee, announced that his committee would net take up ihe resolution ot Representative Wood, of Indiana, de manding a congressional investiga tion of the "peace ;panic," until Con gress reconvenes" top. January 2. Agi tation for the investigation will con tinue, however, its.' supporters de clared tonight. Administration offi cials generally declared today that they would court a full and complete investigation of the charges. One of the reasons for the with- holding of immediate, consideration of-. the resolution by the rules commit tee, it was asserted today, was the desire of Democratic members of the rules committee to confer with cer- tain officials of the State -Department and, perhaps, even the President him self before the full committee meets to discuss the measure. Also it is said that Democrats in the House are opposed to any report from the committee on the resolution unless the charges made therein by indirec tion are more specifically defined and more directly stated. Officials high in the councils of the administration declared today that they desire the fullest sort of an in quiry. . . There was no effort made to deny that the information did percolate into the places where it could be used for market raiding purposes in ad vance of its official publication. Spec ulators are admitted to have had the information in advance of the coming of the note, but how this information was given out or by whom is a ques tion yet unanswered. Secretary of State Lansing said to day that he would be glad to have such an investigation made. He also said that he had never speculated in stocks and would not know how to begin if he wanted to do so. ITS Any Advantage Gained Dur ing First Period of Contest Can be Maintained Only by Vigorous Work. ' TH E , PRIZES. $685 Overland Automobile Ford Automobile. Carolina Beach Lot. $100 in Gold. ' $75 Victrola. $50 O. K. Mystic Range. $40 Sellers Kitchen Cabinet. $25 Wrist Watch. Two$60 Diamond Rings. .v. -X- '! . ie- The race for the prizes offered - by The Dispatch-is getting more interest ing' every' day. To.day one young lady is in the lead and tomorrow it will be another. Today one town is repre sented, among the leaders and tomor row it will be another. The' candi dates are sliding up and down the list lik the mercury in a thermometer. Fortified by lessons learned in the first period, the wise contestants have planned their work for the present period along systematic lines that will produce the best and quickest results. They have - set a certain number of subscriptions and votes that "must be secured each day, -from nowuntil the end of the second period. No matter how large- an amount a , candidate turned in during - the first period, she will endeavor to turn in at least dou ble that amount this -period. 1 a ... l-t.-i-n rtfi 4- sx-w eTOT.fd era 00 1 r Ol - au. '7, &c""r through vigorous- work during the firt period can oe maintained only C0HS1 . . ! ' ! EXPRESSIONS ON THE PROPOSAL. j Prominent Men of Europe Do Not Look For a Speedy Settlement of The Strife. The Hague (Via London), Dec. 23. The Dutch anti-war council has sent the following cablegram to Pres ident Wilson: v "Holland thanks you for your ef fort in favor of lasting peace. All neutral nations greet your sieD with the greatest sympathy and support your noble efforts in the interests 0I the whole of humanity." ministry and son of the great dramat- Oponions of various prominent men ist' Henrik Ibsen, in an interview of EuroDp aq to whothpr thP nPflPp!ma(le public today by the Overseas proposals of the central powers should be accepted by the entente and constructive suggestions for a I pro posed peace have been gathered by the bureau at The Hague of the neu tral conference for continuous medi ation, resulting from Henry Ford's peace movement. Among the an swers received are the following: Christian Lange, of Chrjstiania, j secretary of the International Union "I hope that, the entente powers will demand concrete proposal from v the Teutonic allies, but, at the same time, be ready to state their own funda- ! mental conditions, after which oppor tunnies would offer themselves to clear up the whole situation." Prof. Morgentierne, rector of Christiana University "I fear the conditions and assumptions of the belligerents are too conflicting to hope for a speedy pacific settle ment." riajalmar Granting, Swedish So cialist leader "Germany by - continu ing the Belgian deportations has shown the unbroken power of her militaristic spirit. A demand for a full definition of war aims must be put forward by democratic parties on both sides as the starting point for a common movement toward peace." Dr. Svente Arrhenius, president of the Nobel Institute of Stockholm "The entente nations would be un wise to decline unconditionally to consider peace proposals. If they do decline they should state their mo tives and define the modifications they deem necessary." Admiral Liedman, former premier of Sweden "Appeal to the entente not to exclude the possibility of fur ther conversations." SHOULD PLAN r- by vigorous work from now until Jan uary in, the end c-. the second period. Th? candidi vh waits until the t'lirl and lust ptr'od ic resume activ ity wiil lose the benefit of the second period "Club Vote" schedule and prob ably lose the prize of her choice as a result. Inactivity even for a brief time ts dangerous; It will give an op ponent jusr. the chance she has been looking for an. opportunity to forge ahead of her rivals. .- ' ; . '" Now that (h? first period is over, seme of th 1 candidates think that they have done about all they can do. In this they are very much mistaken. While many subscriptions have been received ,the territory reached by The Dispatch is full of possibilities, and the ambitious and aggressive contest ants can get hundreds of subscrip tions and thousands of votes. The work so far has been of the "hit and miss" order, and those who will work systematically and make a house to house canvass, will be well rewarded for their time. The fact should be born in mind that each $15 worth of subscriptions turned in from now until the close of the second peridd will give 140,000 ex tra votes. During the "last two weeks of the contest, from January 15 to January 29, each $15 worth of sub scriptions will give only 130,000 extra votes. . - The contest department will be Closed all day Christmas, and the standing of the candidates will not be changed until .Wednesday's paper. The Contest Manager and: his asssit ants wish all of the" candidates a jolly, good Christmas 9 - - (Continued on Page Ten.) YSTE1TICILY SHOULD BE ENOED. SAYS IBSEN Son of Noted Dramatist De clares Neither Side Can Ultimately Win. Berlin (via Sayville wireless), Dec. 23. An urgent plea for peace, based chiefly upon the argument that noth ing could be gained by a prolongation iof tne war is voiced by Sigurd Ibsen, i formerly a member of the Nprwegian News Agency. Ibsen is quoted as stating that the world today Is con- fronted by two problems, the first of which is to take general measures tp avoid further wars while the second is to "Come to an understanding about all questions directly involved Ag to the second problem Ibsen ' back all along the line, the bulk prob said it must be supplemented by the ably across the Danube and the re question to whether a continuation of. mainder "bottled up" In the "narrow the war could simplify its solution, neck of Northeastern Dobrudja, form; here he added: ed by the Danube bend. v "I for my own part do not think so. The distance between Macin and In the countries of the entente there , Isaccea, situated opposite one another is apparently still hope for a final vic tory which would make it possible for the entente to dictate peace. "But in fact there is no .circum stance which permits such a conclu sion as to the end of this war. "The attempt to starve out the Cen tral powers has been without success so far and now, after the occupation of Rumania it is doomed to failure. No doubt" the blockade imposes upon the central powers certain depriva tions but these will not force them to capitulate. "In a military respect the . central powers have been superior thus far and there is but little probability that the situation will be reversed. "The present situation is based upon facts which will remain . un changed during the course of the war. The central powers always will have the advantage of the inner line which 3nables themv to transport troops luickly and easily. They always will have the advantage of the defensive in the trench war for the occupied ter ritories. "A further advantage lies in the unity of plans such as. can lhardly be reached in the camp of their adversa ries, despite all their wishes in this direction. "In such circumstances it is impos sible to see on" what the entente bases the hope for victory. The entente can increase output of munitions but the central powers are able to do the 3ame. The entente refers to the nu merical superiority of its armies, but this superiority has been illustrated for a long time without, however, as suring success. "Even if the circumstances in which peace is made were as harmful for the entente as possible, yet the general situation would not be essentially dif ficult from what it is now by a con tinuation of ' the war. Therefore it only means a useless waste of life and property and from this standpoint it would be a blundering and deplor able decision if the offer of peace were, now rejected." BETTING PEACE WILL COME: BEFORE AUGUST Amsterdam, Dec. 23. A Frankfort dispatch says there was heavy betting on the Berlin stock exchange today that peace would be signed before Au gust. The same dispatch says the German emperor will return to Berlin for con ferences with the American and Span ish ambassadors. .. GERNJANS TAKE IMPORTANT PORT. ' . Berlin (Via Sayville), Dec. 23. Tulcea, an important Ruma-' nian port on the Danube, in. northern Dobrudja, not far from the river's headwaters, was taken by storm by Field Marshal von Mackensen's troops today. More than 1,00 prisoners were taken. . This was announced . by the war office this afternoon. Tulcea lies opposite Ismail, which is on Bessarabian soil. A crossing of the Danube in this area is looked for as the next sfstep by von Mackensen. '. i 1 '' . ' . ... 71. ... :"!-: ' ' ' - PRICE FIVE CENTS. jGen. Von Mackensen's Army; Stands South of Danube I Readv to Invade. - , .. . RUSSIANSHAVE i TO FALL BACK, Teutons Keep Pushing On In Their Rumanian Campaign; Italians Report Repulse of Germans French Also Re pel Attacks. "Dobrudja has been cleared at the enemy with the exception of the Ter-' rain between Macin and Isaccea." This brief announcement contained in last night's German war office but lefm means that Fiel! Marshal von PMackensen's Dobrudjn army stands 'immediately south of the Danube, ; whose successful crossing would mean an invasion of Bessarabia; that theref ( fore the preliminary steps, toward , the H fulfilment of the . VDrjve pn, Qdesas' , widely heralded of late by the German press, have been taken. It means, . further, that the RuSStf-Rumanlan' .'" on the "Hooks" of the bend.is.16 miles. Along these 16 miles stands. Mackensen's "iron wall." The avenues . of escape left to the defenders lead' across treacherous swamps and lakes, of which the Bratis-ca and Kagu lakes are the most difficult to pass. The Danube port of Tulcea is abandoned, the German bulletin implies. From Macin to Braila, which is threatened from two other sides west of the Dan ube, is only seven and one-half miles. v From:'these facts it is evident that whatever portions; Df the Russo-Ru manian Dobrudja -arm y4-are. still south' of the Danube are in desperate plight, -(Continued on Page Six) MARY WAS INDEED QUITE CONTRARY Noted Singer Got' Huffy Bei cause Customs Officers -' Did Duty. New York, Dec. - 23. Mary Garden' gave New York a hurried glance' to-' -' I night on her way to Chicago. Early in the day she arrived in America' on , the liner Pniladelphia. The American prima dona stayed at the Hotel Rltz' Carlton tonight. ' It was very hard for .anyone to see Mary Garden tonight. Something' was wrong, and i was not all Just a singer's temperament either. The.: whole trouble started . naturally enough witfi , the French Jcvistoms"-' 1 fleers. Mary Garden . started to, leave. France last week with" $5,000 worth' of lingere and the officials could not ' v quite see it the way Mary did. 'Not in war times, they protested. '; Just to help the poor "folks in Paris earn a little more, seemed hardly, an - adequate explanation. - Hence the , temperamental aloofness tonight. ; This aloofnessr went "so far, as. to in-. elude slamming of doors just to keep,' reporters away. Miss Garden leaves j for Chicago early tomorrow- morning j" to fill a month's engagement in the J West before returning to Paris. , f ' ; i. POPULAR TOE DANCFR , TAKES A HUBBY. New York, Dec. 23. Mae Murray, ; dainty dancer x and popular actress, -is the bride of Jas. J..O'BrIen, of New f " York, according . to v a telegram ' re-. '.: ceived today in this city. They were v married in Hollywood, Cal., where ' Miss Murray is appearing in the pro f ductions of . the iiasky Film Com- ; pany. Another dispatch from Los Y. Angeles states that the wedding took ) ' place early last wee and was to hare "been kept secret for a while ' V Miss Murray is best known in New "York-as a girl of-"The Follies." She ; , later danced at several of the lead- -ing restaurants of this city, introduc- ing many novel and dainty tango .tea- ) tures; ' ; ' 1 Recently she entered the movies. When she went to California - it Is " , said, that Mr. O'Brien also went to press his suit for -the fair dancer's. ' hand. i ' " ,, . s - .r; :i-.":":-s :-.'.: ;.-'iuv-