North Carolina Newspapers

ggl-' W IIMINC5TO : FINAL EDITION ; ; LARGEST CIRCULATION IN WILMINGTON . jT3 J -;Sw O-;. - . -' ' . " ' - ' ' , ;- v VOL. XXII. NO. 347, WILMINGTON, NORTy GARpLINA, WEDNESDAY; AFTERNOONF CS27, 191 6. PRICE FIVE CENTS. i r KM BEING PRES5E IN ENTENTE GETTING iNOBTH tfilNIl prl? Mm nrinv m uavr I mil m hrr niir yaPlrfr a nr i : N p AH II ntHui iu mm Mimou unt ULiiivinihH THEIR flNSWER DF TH& RANKS mmmn TnnM r "V. B B1 It II if If H i llll II n II H II I If I II , r Scores of Others Injured By Wild Wind That Swept Central Arkansas. .PROPERTY DAMAGE r INTO THE MILLIONS. Telegraph and Telephone Wires Are Prostrate as Re sult of The Storm- Rail road Service Badly Crip pled. '' l.ittlr Rock, Ark., Dec. 27. Reports it ci ivotl up to noojL today from the tuorm areas, gathered 'round about communication, indicated that twelve persons were killed and more than ihirty injured in the tornado which swept Central Arkansas late yester tj;iy. Wires are down in all directions ;;nd it is only where couriers are able to reach telegraph stations that accurate information of the cLent of the damage can be obtained. A heavy downpour of rain and a high wind accompanied the storm and the railroads are facing washouts, high water and torn up telephone an I telegraph lines, making operations perilous. Estimates of the property damage today placed it near the three mil lion dollar mark. RepresentativeEIecfr,Li Clay ton Grant Wants. All to Dis cuss Proposed Bills. Representative-elect L. . Clayton Grant has called a mass meeting for Saturday night which will be held at the Court House at 8 o'clock at which time he is very anxious that a goodly number of representative citizens as semble and" discuss legislation they want enacted when the General As sembly meets next week. Mr. Grant statd to a Dispatch representative this afternoon that so many persons had approached him wanting one thing end others who wanted other things that he thought it a good idea to have all assemble, at the Court House and discuss the situation. The consensus of opinion on various legislation that i;; proposed is the one thing the representative-elect is very anxious to have and he is of the opinion that it can be arrived at in no surer and better manner than for the representative men of the city to assemble and dis cusss the matters pro and con. Mr. Grant is very anxious to have legisla tion passed that will be worth while, lut he has gone on record to the ef fect that the one presenting him bills lor passage who has neglected to let the people in on the -proposition' will get small consideration at his hands. WILL NOT TRY TO HLIFf THE LI Railroads Declare - They Rest Until Court Decides Ad amsori Law. New York, Oec. 27. Pending the 'Ifcision of the United States su preme Court on the question of the 'onstitutionality of the Adamson law, H'o railroad managers declare . that "ley will not be party to any activ "y fo nullificate or anticipate in any vay the court proceedings. The railroad workers of the coun "y believe that the Adamson law HH be ignored in making the pay i')lls after January 1, until such time "iai the issues are determined in the courts. Th enotice is that the pending de cision will be no compromise , on fiours or wages. -X- -X- -X- -35- & -55- ' Thinks Shows Germany's Weak- ness. London, Dec. 27. -The prompt- ;'- ness of the German govern- menfs reply to PresIdenjtWil- fr - son's note is characterized : by the evening newspapers , as " evi- 45- dence of Germany's eagerness to bring the war to an-end; iSS MELTING SATURDAY EVENING CONFER AGAIN Oil THE BOND SUIT Bickett and Manning Ready to Fight Cuba's Claim to Finish. Raleigh, Dec. 27. Attorney Gen eral Bickett, who is retiring from of fice to become Governor, and Judge James S Manning, who is becoming attorney general within a few day's, have been in conference again in preparation for the Cuban bond suit which is to be argued in the United States Supreme Court, January 10. That date will be two days before Mr. Bickett's inauguration, accord ing to the program now. The suit of Cuba against the state will be argued by Mr. Bickett and Judge Manning and while they would make no proph erv as to its outcome, they are en- -xely pleased with what they have unearthed in support of North Caro lina's repudiation. This will be' Mr. Bickett's last' ar gument in the United States Supreme Court for four years at least. Every body expects to hear that he has done something "big" in this action. He has buried himself in it ever since he found out that the State must put up its hands. He has not had time to think of the inaugural utterance. The fight is based upon nearly fiftv years of North Carolina history and it has taken some delv-' ng - . s ' When the State ' began inquiring into the case it had few facts and less law-4-worlt: open? The deeionf had been adverse. The facts were I hard to find. But almost every day has rewarded, the labor of Mr. Bick ett, Judge Manning and Cameron Morrison. Mr. Morrison has done some of the best work yet done and with their discovery that some of these hnnds mre nassed in the most slipshod and illegal way, the road of the collectors is made harder. Be sides the finding of so many irregu larities in the passage of some of the acts, they have been unable to find the "value received" necessary to make them stand. Although the case will be settled before Judge Manning becomes at torney general, Judge Manning has been working on it since it began and is prepared against further suits of this character., So far as can now be seen no North Carolinian has been fnnnH n,,ttiTir W now little rennblic nn tn ,,- it aihPit Avprv snrt of.shows how easily the Democrats could a rumor of the suit's origin is afloat Brigadier General Laurence W. Young, who is with the North Caro lina troops on the border is due in Raleigh within a few days and will spend a month here. General Young has not made ap plication for the adjutant generalship under the Bickett administration, but nobody contemplates any opposition to him if he wishes it. All the sol diers from this State on. the frontier have indorsed him and the only avaiF ables for the position left here have joined in. ' General Young volunteered about 2:30 of the morning after President Wilson issued his order of . mobiliza tion and left the office in other hands. He has been home for a brief stay only and his 30-day ' furlough luckily comes when the administrations change. . The Consumers' Coal, Company, of Winston-Salem, is the brave sound ing name of a new company that bids for popular favor in the premises. Its $50,000 capital is not all put in now, but the beginning is with $3 .00 W. A. Shore. E. P. Pratt and Lee All- man are the incorporators. The State Board of Health adverts today to the great number of death3 from cancer and in its bulletin shows last year's to have been above 50,000. To Drain Weetest City. East St. Louis, 'III:, Dec. 28.Back ed by the clergy and many business men, Mayor Mollman is determined that" East St. Louis shall start the 'new year bereft of the distinction of having more saloons than any other city of its size in the United States. For 6me time the city council has had underonsideration the question o higher license and ! a limitation on the number" of saloons. If these meas ures fail to. accomplish? the -desired "results the mayor declares he will exercise his right to revoke licenses. He ; says at least 150 of the s saloons doing business must close their rdoorsperaanenltljr; by January 1:., Von Mackensen Losing No Time But Pushing Forward With Vigor. LITTLE DOING ON THE OTHER FRONTS. Developments Are Indicated, However, By Paris Report on Verdun Operations. Aviators Busy. While the . peace discussion pro ceeds active military operations, ex cept in such remote fields as those of Egypt and on the Tigris,, are being vigorously prosecuted only on the Ru manian front. In this war area the latest reports show that Field Marshal von Mack ensen is making new headway to ward Braila, the great Rumanian I errain nnrl nil stnrphniiEP nn tho T.nw. er Danube, with his forces little more than 30 miles from this objective. Meanwhile the Teutons' Dobrudja army is. hammering away 'at the bridgehead at Matchin, almost direct ly opposite Braila x The clearing of the remaining Rus sians from Dobrudja not only comes possible from a direct attack but through the advance in Wal lachia, which, if it succeeds in reaching Braila would be able to take Matchin under artillery fire .in the flank and rear from across the Dan ube. On the Franco-Belgian front the artillery has been active in some sec tors and aviators have been busy, but the infantry arm of the service on both sides is being held vell to its position, except for an occasfonal trench raid and patrol enterprises. Some possible developments of in terest are indicated from the Verdun f ront where heavy bombardment east joi me naeuse is reponea Dy .rans. COMMISSIONS GO TO LUCKY TEN Governor vraig oigns treden- tials to Congressmen Elect ed Last Month, Raleigh, N. C, Dec: 27. Commis sions to the ten Democratic congress men and all state officers were issued yesterday and signed by Governor Craig. In the Tenth, where the congres sional battles raged between Britt, Republican incumbent, and Weaver, Democrat, the dispute over about 13 votes, which constitute the majority, have carried the district had the con gressional race not figured. Govern or Bickett received a majority of 797 in the 13 counties and President Wil son made about the same figures in his lead over Hughes. Two years ago the Democrats carried it on their State ticket by a still bigger margin. Corporation Commissioner W. T. Lee has gone to his home in Waynes ville to send a few days. Mr. Lee had been warned that the temperature in the mountains is ly ing around 5 degrees below zero, but it worries him none whatsoever. He likes it and goes prepared for it. MEETING OF COLLEGE SOCIALISTS. New York, Dec. 28. A distinguish ed array of high-browed men and women who share that belief that practical Socialism would afford a sure relief for the most of the ills with which this mundane sphere is supposed to be suffering gathered in eigMh annual convention of the Intercollegiate Socialist Society. The attendance is unusually large and representative, including delegates from many of the , principal colleges and universities of the -country. J. G. Phelps Stokes, as president of the society, wil lpreside over the several days' sessions. Among those sched uled as speakers are Prof. Scott Nearing, of Toledo University; Mor ris ! Hillquitt, a member of the Inter national Socialist Bureau; Willard D. Straight,, diplomatist and economist, and Prof. Vida D. Scudder, of Welles ley College. JURY COMPLETED TO TRY FRED SMALL. OssippeeN. H., Dec. 27. The jury which will try Frederick L. Small, charged with murdering his wife at their home in the village of Mountain .View, on September 28, ; was complet ed today. Most of the jurors are fanners. Will Insist Upon Germany Jurst stating ihe Peace Terms. V THINKS THIS IS "T THE FIRST STEP Entente Could Not State Such Until Following Big Mili tary Victory,, Which TheyExpect to Come. London, Dec. 27. Communications contineu to pass between the capitals of the entente nations regarding the reply to be made to the peace pro posal of the central powers and their allies. The answerjias been prepar ed in Paris and is the subject of dis cussion between the various minis ters. It is unlikely that any step will be taken "by the entente regarding President Wilson's note until the al lies have dealt with Germany's pro posal. It is understood the reply does not give specific-terms, only re ferring generally to the object of the allies. The reason for not statine specific terms is because the terms of the allied nations depend largely upon the exfent of military victory which is confidently expected. statement of terms now would be upon the existing military and terri- t-oi ,i,;.,u r, torial situation, which the German Imperial' chancellor claims is based: , .-v fore it is held that Germany is in a position to state her terms whereas the entente s terms can only become definite when military success is achieved. 1 r' a nAAn on;r ' C & O. ROAD GIVES EMPLOYES A RAISE. Richmond, Va., Dec. 27. President ! Stephens, of, Ihe Chesapeake and! " otaniig maw; ui vjw vt toLf'j cess and prosperity of the road the j company had decided that "effective January 1, 1917, a 5 per cent increase1 in salary will be given each employe j -In the service of the company in of-1 'fices, at stations and in dining and I 'parlor cars whose compensation is not covered by agreement, who have been i nthe service at least a year and wnose salary nas not been ad - vanced since January 1, 1916." CANDID ATES ID Nil Do not Allow Yourself to Be come Discouraged Re member That Other Candi- ' dates Are Having Just The Same Difficulties to Over come Coupons Now Ap pearing Not Good After Saturday. THE PRIZES. $685 Overland Automobile. Ford Automobile. Carolina Beach Lot. $100 in Gold. . $75 Victrdla. $50 O. K. Mystic Range. $40 Sellers Kitchen Cabinet. $25 Wrist Watch. Two $60 Diamond Rings. The race for the Overland Automo bile and other valuable prizes offered in the Dispatch Contest is getting more and more interesting everyday. Today it is one favorite in the lead and tomorrow it may be another. The candidates that win will be the ones that try and keep on trying un til they get the subscriptions. It is the new and long subscriptions that count the most votes, and candidates should try to get as many of these as possible. Those that made an early start may have a little advantage over the others, but they will have to hurry to heat some of the candidates who started late. . T ' '- C audi dates, now , that the First Pe rioc". is over,, some of you will think that you have done about all that you can do -in. the way of securing &ub scriptiohs ahd votes. There is where youv are ; mistaken. Go off into a room ' by yourself and think over tho people and ' business houses that you leglected to see during the firsfpe riod of the contest. Write their Columbia, South Carolina, Se lected For This Farm Loan District. BOARD ANNOUNCES DECISION TODAY. Names Cities That Get The Loan Banks and Also Spe cifies. The Twelve . . Districts. Washington, Dec. 27. Mass ; Baltimore, Md. ; Ky.; New Orleans, La.; -Springfield, Louisville, St. Louis, Mo.; St. Paul, Minn.; Omaha, Neb.; Wichita, Kansas; Houston, Texas; Berkeley. Cal.; and Spokane, Wash ington, have be6n chosen as locations of the Federal farm loan banks. The- twelve districts into which the country is divided were announced by the farm loan board today and in clude the following: District No. 2. Pennsylvania, Dela ware, Maryland, Virginia, West Vir ginia, and the District of Columbia. District No. 3. North and South Carolina, Georgia and Florida ! The banks are to be established as soon as practicable. Each will have a Ptal of $750,000. Applications for loan have been pouring ii to the board m great vomme recently and it is es timated that a sum more than twenty! , iiuica xu cawss ui Lilt; c ; times in excess of the combined capi- tal gtock CQuld be uged .n makj loaM Almost the first WQrk f th bank after approving and issuing loans ; will be tne isguance of farm loan j bondSj a new. f orm of security in this , country. The bonds will be issued in denominations as small as $25 it is ex- I pected and wil1 bear interest at a rate jof 1 per cent less than the interest i rte char&ed farmers on their land. What this rate will be "has not been determined. It is limited by law to a maximum of 6 percent. It is ex- per cent ax nrst ana suDsequenuy. may be lowered, . Loans on farm land are limited by law to 50 T cent of the value of the land and may be Payable in from 5 to As fast as the loans are made bonds wni be issued to cover them so that at no time under the present plan will! ; a bank's entire capital be tied-up in loans. ST KEEP WORKING names and addresses down before yo forget it. Make out a list every day of the people that you are to see that day, and then see them. If the first ones that you call on say they ar helping someone else,v don't get dis couraged, but just stand up straigit and you think that you are not doing go. Where there is a will there is a way If things do not go just to suit you, to win one of the grand prizes. ye as well as you wuld like, do not get discouraged and give up the race. Remember that your opponents are having just the same difficulties that you aro having, and Ftart out the next day more determined than ever to wi none of the grand prizes. We never appreciate things that come to us easy as much as the things that we strive to gain. The coupons now appearing in the paper will not be good after Satur- txlay, December 30th. All of the can didates living in Wilmington, must have the coupons in the office not later than 9 p. m. Saturday, and out-of-town candidates must have theirs in by Monday in order for them to be counted. Remember that the contest depart ment is open every evening from 7 until 8:30 or 9 o'clock and that you are invited to call and talk over with the contest manager the different problems that come up in your work for the prizes, if you do not find it convenient to call through the day. We always stand willing and ready to aid the contestants in any way we can without being partial to any one candidate. Each $15 club completed this, the second period of, the contest, will give 140,000 extra votes. All sub scriptions from $1.25 to $11.40 will count toward this offer. The first subscription that a candidate secures and turns in will give 25,000 extra votes, and ' the first two subscriptions for one year each will give 50,000 ex tra votes. (Continued on Page Seven.) a y if y flRiui u 11 I'm ivhf. iu . HIT THE Big Improvement Made In Marksmanship By The Punitive Expedition. Field Headquarters American Expe- I, dition m Mexico, Dec. 27. Extraordi- nary improvement in marksmanship is being noted in reports received at field headquarters. The regular life of the soldiers has steadied their nerves, and the clear air of the Mexican plateau region make sighting easy. Another ractor in the good showing is the steady drill the men have re ceived in fire control, new methods of which are being tried by! the cavalry with remarkable success. Machine gun troops also are being drilled to use their arms to the best advantage. Recently several compa nies of the 16th Infantry wer brought north from El Valle and demonstra- tions of fire control were -given for the benefit of the officers stationed here. The machine eun work was under ' the direction of Captain F. S. Bowen, assisted by Captain W. C. Short Among the most interesting experi-j ments now being conducted is that in '. pistol firing by a detachment of cav-1; aury, chosen at random. . A pistol I board, which is conducting the work, has evolved a unique line of targets worked by ropes and pulleys, which fall flat when the cavalry charge over them. The attempt is being made to evolve a systemof pistol firing while charging. At present. the hsen are fir- ward in their saddles and holding their arms just 'ahead to the right of their mounts' ears. Excellent results, it is said, have already been obtained. When ammunition arrives, another interesting test will be made, that of determining how effectually the pres ent three-inch field gun will demolish ! barbed wire entanglements, trenches and bomb proofs. A line of fortifica- tions has been constructed as nearly like those in Europe as possible. The artillery will be allowed to work on these undr conditions that would ob tain in actual war and the results of their fire will be noted. METHODISTS IN TIWEET Delegates Gather In Baltimore ! to Arrange For Union of Branches. Baltimore, Md., Dec. 27. Southern Methodist members of the commis sion in union with the Methodist Episcopal church, met here today for organization. W. W. Chandler, of At lanta, Ga., was appointed chairman to succeed the late Bishop W. ' M. Wil son, of Baltimore. The joint confer ence is for the purpose of deliberat ing to agree on a definite basis for a co-operate union of the two churches vhich represent 6,300,000 people in this country. On the committee are ten bishops, twenty ministers and 2d leading lay men from all parts of the United States. The meeting of the commission is regarded as almost ranking in im portance with the Baltimore Christ mas Conference of 1884. If the com mission agrees on a union the decis ion will be submitted to both general and all state' conferences and to the thousands of individual congregations. ' Government Would Have Paper - Mills. -X X- Washington, Dec. 28. The X- erection of a government pulp - and paper mill to assure the government a paper supply at reasonable prices was recom- -3- mended, to the joint congression- al committee on printing by the committee that annually draws up specifications for the gov- -X- ernment's paper. The government uses approx- imately ( thirty million pounds of print paper a year, which is if sufficient to absorb the. output X- of aTSO-ton mill. , The House committee on print- ing also has reported for a gov- -56- eminent mill. N WW MR TT 10RTAN Rumor Perists That She Will ;; Give Them In Confidence to United States. MAY HAVE ALREADY ARRANGED FOR THIS. . , ..,' Sealed Packets Said to Be In Hands of Those She Asked To Act For Her In The Vital Matter. Washington, Dec. 27. The view per sisted in Teutonic circles today that Germany's reply will be followed by a hfghly confidential oral or -written communication concerning the terms upon which the central powers'" are willing to make peace. The German embassy, which has repeatedly made clear that the central powers were not likely to make public their terms. reported that no official advices had ' ; been received today from Berlin, but a definite communication regarding: the Teutonic allies is expected. Press dispatches from Rome that ' : sealed packets had been presented to the representatives of the neutral i t countries asked to serve and contain- inS terms was the subject of much comment i diplomatic quarters. The Rome report had it that the packets - were not to be opened and were i not . for Germany's enemies unless they in their reply to the note of the cen-t; tral powers of December 12, specific ally requested terms. . - ' GERMAN REPLY Opinion Prevails That The Step is One Toward End of War. NEXT MOVE NOT YET DETERMINED. Cannot Be Until Official Text Of The Answer Is In Hand Comment Withheld. Washington, Dec. 27. Germany's , reply to President Wilson's peace v, note has not been received in official form heer early today and officials are ' reserving comment until they have had opportunity of studying it. Despite the fact that Germany has ; not accordingly laid down terms, views prevail that the reply to the V note will be another step towards peace. v The United States undoubtedly, is ' expected by Germany to transmit the reply to the entente beligerents and ; ultimately depends on all of the en- ) tente powers to moderate their deter-" , mination not to enter Into confer- V ence before terms are laid own. The ' way 13 not closed to Germany to r state terms as in diplomatic nego- '., tiations of such magnitude officials d onot look for results immediately, but thin kthe way is being paved " carefully. v - ;' The next move will not be deter- mined until after the text is received ' and considered. President Wilson will discuss the reply thoroughly with the cabinet Friday. IN JAIL IN Man Wanted For Stealing Was Getting Ready For Army . When Nabbed. Charlotte, N. C, Dec. ' 27. C. " P. ' Leith, charged with misappropriating funds of a local stone company, who disapeared several weeks ago, was lo- , cated in Toronto, arrested and deliv- . ered to United States officers, was-; brought here last night and lodged in! , 3ail. When arrested Leith had enlisted- in a company of militia and ' was training fnr aorvfA in TCllrone. ' . N WASHINGTON NOW '.K