; , t , . - t ' . , c - " - - X " , BH1 Tlisi:lMiliSS Dispatch-pit day- . - ' ' ' - .":--- - ' ' , - J - . - FULL LEASEDAVIRE SERVICE VA - ?T; XXIV. No. 28. : WILMINGTON, NORTH CiGLINA; :WDAY; FEBRUARY 6, 19 1 8. VOL PRICE FIYE 'GEOTS " - .. . , -. : ........ . I -.l i i . . .a - . : 7 : . .. . -,J' ' ? , ffl A MOST eRiTICAt fRKrWlSIBlf FOR V INFOIMilfil , pt t IIP QEiFi& Wmb I f Afi MiWi! ; J ' - - - - - in JY f (f Jill ltec r$ll2&P yS? Cross Examination of the "Sec retary of Wax Was Begun This Morning MORE TROOPS NOW IN FRANCE THAN PLANNED Declares Transportation of the Men Faster Than Was First Scheduled To Give Figures v Washington, Feb. 6. Secretary Baker came up for cross examination before the Senate Military Committee on his picture of the state I of preparedness 01 tne army, wuiuu Congressional critics" have attacked as "grossly exaggerated." j Bat the principal point of the thole controversy the question of whether the army is going to get ships to transport a million men to France this year was left untouch ed, partly because Secretary Baker did not have the detailed figures to show the committee on what basis he made his assertion, and partly he- cause the committee got into afdriver who -returned .them to their squabble over whether it would be proper to have the Secretary of War disclose the figures in public. The upshot of it was that the ques tion of ships was left to be presented in detailed exact statements to the committee in secret session tomorrow and the cross examination went on to other subjects of a general nature. Senator Hitchcock, who has attacfe; ed particularly the Secretary, :iE:.-i--."wo:'TltW War'g statement that tbeUniiiWW States could put a millioir Jnenin France this year in addition to 500, 00 there early this spring was in sistent that Mr. Baker should show the committee what grounds he. -had for believing there' were ships avail-, able for their transport and supply. Secretary Baker replied he did not have the exact figures in his mind, out that his statement was made on figures which had been prepared by experts who took in the information at the disposal of the Shipping Board as well as what ships might be avail able from neutral and foreign sources. The Sscretary made plain that he was not counting wholly on American ships to transport the troops. SecretaryBaker did say, however, that probably the form of his original statement to the committee, . which has been made the basis of attack, ttas unfortunate in .that it expressed his general opinion of a broad situa tion rather than the exact statement of experts dealing in details. "The misfortune for me, if I may call it such," said Secretary Baker, lay in the fact that I attempted to Sve opinions of the broad general situation as I saw it, when the infor mation lay in details that ought to hare been gotten from the experts in toect charge, or in statistics giving specific facts. I was attempting a general survey. It was a misfortune lQr me to do that." An estimate of 781,000 tons of ships available for transport on February J. the Secretary said, he thought was 8&all rather than too large. ne Shipping Board, Senator 7,)C said, had advised him that ?J November 1 there were available lVni r? erican shIps' a11 of more than a'nS eacb' deluding tank ships w tne German and Austrian - ships iaen over. - w Blker dia not know how many tmnS .at number of ships would 5Sf ' but Promised to inform the cmmittee later. oJJQ lamination turned ' to the suon of supplies Jor the army it. SecrS! apPare31t from the nature of Prefl taker's replies that he and in? t 7ilson had been discuss tici form of further reorganiza thev iL , War department which hoped would satisfy those who ofmnSSlag the bm for a director munitions. - ; also? jicate earlier in the day, VpiLther official Quarters that arC i?1 and the Secretary of ft" dpnfnl, y a further move to -meet .jemad for tv.G Km T l Ul lu Dili. in rem,'. a,3eeimg," Mr. Baker said 'slatio ' ,i:'lr- Wadsworth "that leg- dentv LUdL would free the Presi- fer tZ, ana allow him to trans and pn-nrHiTiato tio -IS Srise ronn u partments as ' they the f-iif'icun; the best answer to Coastantlv' AJ1 dePartments are KCo-, pontic , mg- 1 am as -yu ami 'UJ,uly creating new agen: h- to f? . ;iaeuaies when in doubt 0 sse w; lQe statutes carefully ill v h. nririrv irnaa 'Zed . 'uent were oiTnl- o,tfV. transfer r,, ganize re-coordinate and uli go t.:IOns as he seesJ fit,- we u "'in and secure the nec LIVLL nU LLLIi Un t -mJu . v xSn lrV??MI THE AMERICAN fRONT I 'l' ?iJwy, There Was Almost Continu ous Excharige Throughtout ' All Day Tuesday With, the American . Army In France, Tuesday, Feb. 5. American artillery; kent up a continuous fire on the eneny batteries" throughout Tuesday and the Germans responded witb. the result that there was lively shelling along the entire sector. At the same time the American anti-aircraft guns were busy repell ing attempts "of enemy airmen to cross . over the American lines. Two German airplanes finally abandoned the attempt after having been shell ed heavily. A - member of the mili tary police today found three little French children, a girl and two boys, wandering along a road immediately behind the, front, . which is shelled very frequently by the enemy and' is ! considered very; dangerous. He turned the children over to an . , ambulance homes in a nearby village. . ACCUSES VON TIRPITZ OF ice Was Project Against Peaces by Annexationists Amsterdam, Feb. 6. At his trial be fore the court martial, Deputy Wil helm Dittman, Independent Socialist, according to The Koelnisch Zeitung, ascribed the strike movement' to reac tion against the maintenance of a state of seige and the machinations of the Fatherland party. The accused deputy denied that he promoted the strike and declared it was only a demonstration strike against a peace of annexations, and in favor of peace by understanding. "If thfr government had entered in to negotiations as requested," Deputy Dittman said, according to the news paper, "the strike would have lasted only three days. The intellectual or ganizer of the strike was Admiral von Tirpitz." The strike movement could not be connected with the Russian revolu tion, Dittman testified. Philip Scheid emann, the majority Socialist leader, corroborated Dittman's testimony that the strike was in favor of a peace by agreement and that it had no conn ec tion with affairs in Russia. Deputy Dittman was sentenced to five years confinement for inciting to high treason and was given two months additional for resisting public authority. PLANS FOR DESTROYING AMERICAN PROPERTY Paris, Feb. 6. The Petiti ParisieU publishes a letter of instructions to German military agenst in the United States dated January 15, 1915, . and signed "General Headquarters, Dr. Fisher." In the letter, directions are given concerning the destruction of property in the United States by ex plosions and otherwise, and the fol lowing is added: - 1 "Agents to carry on destructive work can be J recruited among the workmens' unions which .have anar chistic tendencies." essary orders as were deemed desir able." ." Senator Wadsworth said he referr ed particularly to the statutes plac ing innumerable checks and balances on expenditure of - army funds. . fit might perhaps be; wise," Secre tary Baker continued, "during the pe riod of Ithe war to authorize the Pres ident to suspend any restrictive stat ute that might be found to impede such efficiency; I'm not sure that it is wise npt to have these checks and' counter-balances. We are spending very large . sums . of money and it seems to be wise to check expendi tures very carefully." Senator Wadsworth cited delays in paying ; troops ' and Secretary Baker said thatf was a disappearing, dimin ishing difficulty. ' " " Questioned as Ho delay in payments- to; the families of soldiers, Mr. Baker said,, indefinite addresses of dependents f left by, one . soldier . had frequently produ'eed ' that result. Dif ficulties ff or ; accounting for Liberty bond payments,'-" insurance and depen dent' allowance? also served to hold up pay'df lrwTile: regiments as long a l CAUSING STRIKE a mor: atHme. . j - ? - - --- - ' " . """" '"gwre FRENCH OFFICER TEACHES OUR BOYS HOW TO TAKE TRENCHED The hand grenade is one of the most important weapons in winning trenches from the Teutons add our boys will know just how to handle them when they get to the other side. The French officer is teaching his American pupils the proper way of hurling the grenades. Copyright, Committee oh Public Information, From Underwood & Underwoods RUSSIAN CHURCH AND STATE ARESEPARATED The Break May Produce An other Serious Situation for the Bolsheviki London, Feb. 6. The separation of State and Church by the Bolsheviki government is explained in a long statement sent abroad by the Bol sheviki official news agency. From this it is apparent that all ecclesias tical property has been declared, to belong to the people and Is to be used for- the "commonwealth. . The cbmmislsoners whiy have I been given hawattfol oT the tjhttrch possessions aif nounce it is their opinion, this prop erty should be used solely "for the alleviation of the lot of the classes suffering most from exploitation by the capitalist society." Referring to the action of the Most Rev. ' Dr. Tikhon, patriarch of All-Russia, in issuing an anathema, the Petrograd correspondent of The Times says the church has long lost much of its control over the people, owing to the younger generation tending toward irreligion. For this reason he does not expect that the patriarch's action will have much ef fect. Dr. ikhon, however," it is add ed, still has a powerful weapon at his disposal If he should lay the coun try under an interdict closing the churches and not permitting the priests to baptize, marry and bury the dead, the effect on the population might be immediate and far-reaching as it probably would arouse in the peasants every superstitious fear. An official Russia wireless dispatch contain a declaration by Lettish rep resentatives from . the Lettish coun cils of Socialists and soldiers, pro testing against the assertion of the Austro-German delegation at Brest Litovsk that the Letts had, express ed a desire for separation from Rus sia. The demand is expressed that the German and . Russian forces be .withdrawn from the Lettish territory so that the inhabitants can., freely ex press their will for unconditional unity and undivided existence. "The ."Russian commission of war prisoners announces that local Work men's and Soldiers Councils are re leasing enemy prisoners of war by the thousands. These men . are mov ing toward Petrograd in great num bers and it is.saidrthat 40,000 already are in the Petrograd .distinct. - A declaration similar to that made by the Letts has been issued by the Esthonians. 'It demands, full and un fettered self-determination for the whole of Esthonia, including ; Cesel,. Dago and the neighboring . islands in habited by t Esthonians. 1 MINISTER STOVALL PREPARES TO RETURN Washington, Feb. 6. Pleasant A stovall, of Savannah, American . min ister to Switzerland, called on Presi -dent Wilson today for a final confer ence before returning to his post at Berne.. : Minister Stovall has been in this country several weeks taking a rest and also conferring with-State Dc partment officials on the -problems riiinH oa A tiiatI cslti ministfir-' in neutral .country he ha sto rfeal with. CIVIU RIGHTS BILL PASSES. Wshington, Feb. 6. Th .soldiers and sailors icivjl' uhts bill provid ing a moratorium for men in the' military establshment was unani mously, passed today by the Sen ate, virtually in the' form it passed the Hoiie. - AMERICAN SHIPPING INCREASING SLOWLY ... -i. All Craft Now in Service of Over ' Five Tons Num bered 37,984 r Washington, Feb. 6. American owned merchant vessels of five tons net register or more operating in in land waters, coastwise, and in foreign trade during 3.916 numbered 37,984, and had a gross tonnage of 12,500, 000, according to a report issued to day by the Census Bureau. The report made public by Direc tor Rogers was compiled under the supervision, of JSugene ;.F. Hartley, statistician -In .charge ,sof the recent water transpOTiatjLoivririquiry made as ofeGemberir:,,ISilTIt snowed neiTofraTi ThoV;ototo,i increase. Ixi the number pt vessels aajas their big "pal," Vhose watchword compared with 1906 was equal to only one and one-half per cent., and the gross tonnage showed a decrease amounting to five per cent. The av erage tonnage per vessel for t the country as a whole decreased from 345 in 1906 to 323 in 1916. This is accounted for, the report said, by the marked falling off in number and tonnage of sailing vessels and in the tonnage of unrigged craft. The geographical distribution of 12,500,000 gross tonnage was given as fOllOWSl Atlantic coast and Gulf of Mexico, r6,509,000; Mississippi river and its tributaries, l,621,-000;. Pacific Coast, including Alaska, 1,186,000; Great Lakes and . Saint Lawrence river, 2,738000; canals and other inland waters, 196,000. The proportional increase during the 10-year period in number of ves sels was most pronounced on the Pa cific Coast, including Alaska, where It amounted . to 61 per cent, but the greatest rate of increase in "tonnage, 34 per cent., appears for the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf of Mexico On the other hand, a great decrease 4n tonnage, from 4,412,000 to 1,621,000, or 63 per, cent., took , place on the Mississippi river and its tributaries. The value of the vessels was fixed at $960,00Q,O00 "and the gross income computed at $564,000,000. RICHMOND'S GAS PljNf IS CLOSED Richmond; ,Va.,' Feb. 6. The admin istrative board issued; a statement to- day announcing that. the city gas plant has ceased operation , until a 'supply 6f gas oil can ' arrive; here. Several carloads of oil are1, now on s the "way, to the city. - The iclosing of: the gas p'lan affects manufacturing plants, o-' tels, restaurants and hundreds , or homes. The sudden' announcement caused great inconvenience through out the city and among the plants af fected are those -of. the four daily newspapers here. A special ' train bringing gas oil is being rushed to the city and is' expected-here this aft ernoon.' The . situation at . the gas plant has been serious for several days. - STOPS SPECULATION IN GREEN COFFEE Washington, Feb. 6. Speculation in green coffee on the New -York; Coffee and Sugar Exchange was ordered dis- rnntiniipd todav bv Food . Administra tor Hoover. The prohibition is effect ed by forbidding dealing in green cof fee on the exchange at a price aboye 8 1-2 cents a pound for type No. 7 on spot months. The Food Administrator's action was taken after a conference with mem-1 bers of the New-: York Coffee and Sugar Exchange Tin . which dealers volunteered to take, the necessary stejis to eliminate coffee speculation. Additional Taxes. Paris, Feb. 6.rr-Louiffr Klotz, minis' ter of finance announced, today that additional taxes amounting ; to "3 61, 000,000; francs must be levied in or der meet war expenses in 1918, ' A RNAt T HUE PAID 10 ft lift! CHAMPION Crowds Turned Out to Attend the Funeral of John L. Sullivan Boston, Mass., Feb. 6. Final trib ute to a great champion was paid to day when the body of 'John L. Sulli van was buried in Calvary cemetery. In the crowds that lined the snow covered streets as the casket was borne from the home of Sullivan's sister, Mrs. Annie Lennon, in .the Roxbury district, to St. Paul's church, where the funeral mass was celebrat ed, were scores of children bidding Lfarewell to their -big "pal." For them ereenwm; nest was courage and who regaled them with stories of Kings and Presidents he had met. Sullivan virtually had been out of sporting life ever since James . J. . Cor bett won the American -"heavyweight championship from him by a knock out at New Orleans in 1892, and the honor paid his memory today came from walks tar removed from the "squared circle." Leaders of the temperance move ment were there to testify to their regard for the man who boasted that his greatest victory was gained when he conquered drink. Many were there also whom the fortner cham pion had helped in their hours of need, while unmindful of the bitter cold and demoralized transportation neighbors, who had watched Sullivan settle down to country life journeyed from his former home in Abington, where he died suddenly of heart dis ease, last Saturday. Nor did the sporting fraternity forget their once great idol and they came in numbers from far and near. The burial was in Calvary at For est Hills, beside the body or Sulli van's , wife. ILL OF JOHN C: KING A Paper of Chicago Millionaire Found by Gaston Means ' is Attacked " Chicago," Febr 6. In; a 1 petition on file today in the probate court, Ed ward Brundage; Attorney General or the State, charges that the will of the late John C. King,5 filed some time ago, i$ a" forgery and "hot. the' last testa ment of the millionaire lumberman. March 12 has been'flxed as the date for hearing the Attorney General's pe tition. ; . After King's death in 1905 a will was filed leaving 1 the' widow only -a nominal sum. , It ' was understood at the time she" had : waived 7 all dower rights on receipt of $10,000 before her husband's death. " Some years f later a new will purporting to be the- lastlwas discovered by- Gaston Means, secre tary to Mrs. Maude A. King, who was tried recently' in North. Carolina ..and acquitted of her, murder. This ' latter document was filed in, the Probate Court here. Byits' terms ;Mrs. King received an estate the value of which was approximated, at $3,000,000. NEGOTIATIONS BROKEN OFF,, London, Feb. 6. The t negotia-. tions at Bvest-Litovsk have been broken off,r the correspondent at' Petrograd, of the Exchange Tele-X graph Company 5ays he is inform ed'.. . IllllJ ipn. DECLARED OU .Vifl v '- . . With Scarcely a Day's Supply of Coal, Administrators Be came Alarmed TUGS BATTLE WITH HUGE ICE MASSES Besides" Inability to. Get Coal, General Freight Congestion is Serious New Sngland is Tied up New York, Feb. 6. With. 150,000 tons of coal at tidewater points in New Jersey cut off from New York by ice fields in the harbor and scarce ly a day's supply, of coal ahead, fuel administrators- today - were alarmed over the situation which they de scribed as the most critical of the winter. Only 14,000 , tons of anthra cite reached the city yesterday, about 6,000 tons less than is actually need ed to supply hospitals, homes, schools and public utilities. More than 400 apartment houses in the Bronx were reported to be without heat today. On the poorer sections the suffering ig, declared to be the .most acute iri years. With scores of manufacturing plant already closed for lack of ftfel, almost complete industrial paralysis here is feared by the administrators, unless relief comes quickly. A fleet of tugs today attacked the ice-floes in the harbor in an endeavr or to release hundreds of coal-laden barges, frozen solidly in the ice. Prog ress was painfully slow for the ice was" jammed into great hummocks. Many tugsfwere unable' 'tor stand the strain and were forced to. drydock. Sixty-five were reported dilabled by towing cjomjpaiues last night . . , '; The f refgnf Bituation alsd has heeri aggravated by the cold and ..theon ?.-.wwrJ-,r vv wmM?a some tihie according "to transpdrjtai- tion officials. Nearly 1,800, ' freight handler? at the .piers here quit work yesterday," refusing to' faco the icy blasts along the water front New England in Bad Shape. Boston, Mass:, "Feb. 6. Nei 'Engf land found little hope today of early relief from the fuel shortage- which was made more serious -by. the shut ting-off of most of the incoming sup ply of cold weather. Reports of fac tory closings; were . numerous and many plants were i operated by the use of wood instead of coal. ' 1 ? ; In Boston an embargo forbidding delivery of coal except for pressing needs was replaced today ."to continue in effect until Monday,' ijfir having Deen urtea niy two aays rat the ,end of a five day perioch of restrictoar United States to Furnish Sugar and Tin For panned , Goods " . Paris, Feb. 6. Aiv agreement .has been' concluded between, the French and American governments Vby :which the canned fruit and - vegetables re quired by the American expedition ary forces '.will be supplied by France. This action was taken alter t an investigation showed that the nor mal fruit and vegetable crop in France was sufficient to supply both armies as well as all domestic needs. The Americans will be ' required only to Import sugar, for preserving the frruit and tin plate" for the man ufacture of cans. These- materials will be sold to the French govern ment which will apportion them among private manufacturers. The American army purchasing board expects that by purchasing canned goods in France there will be a-saving of 70 per cent on the ton nage required for. canned goods. OFFICERS ON GUARD IN VEEDER'S OFFICE Chicago, Feb. 6. Deputy TJnited States Marshals today still' guarded the vault of Henry Veeder, attorney for Swift and-company, after an' all night vigil following a raid" on "the larwyer's offices yesterday, growing out of the Federal Trade Commission's inquiry into alleged acts of the pack ers. The deputies expected to re main on guard at the' vault until the court . decides some time today wheth er papers taken may be examined and the search: intb "other documents continued. The raid: on. the Veeder office was made under atfthority of a Federal search and seizure warrant is sued by Judge Landis and' conducted under direction of : Francis " J; Heney, cotmsel for the -Federal Trade Com mission in its Inquiry into, the affairs FRENCH VEGETABLES ' FOR AMERICAN ARMY Success or Failure of tKelFro j Upon Workmen J GOVERNMENPS.ONLY NEED NOW IS LABO: General Manager of ; Emers. ency Fleet Corporation I Talks Plainly- sIKI to Country ... - , " I Washington, Feb. 6. Responslbilit: for the succes or failure of. theg6v, ernment's shipbuilding prOgrani wa put on labor today by Charles ;PIe vice president and general manager .oj the Emergency Fleet Corporation; Ii. an appeal for ship yard workers , l "The shipping board has the neces sary yards the materials and Sth said. "All that: is lacking is a spirit in the nation that will sen; . chanics ihto the yards to givethlj best and most efficient work."- ggf The fact that shipyards are tkgt ing only one shift -six days "a wee' was characterized by Mr. -.a p "If we are to keep ahead tTth submarine campaign," saia ne, -.w-j must run three shifts a day; 52 wee'id in the year." ."v"I; l Mr. Piez's statement follows?. Within 60 days the gorernmeni yards will be completed and v-op: thereafer more thaA -60,000 'Wortaaei j will be required to "furnish 'fcirthj three 8-hour shifts nceessary if ,thes j , yards are to turn out their. ships 'acj; cording to schedule. "V 'tM '4 ! .The shipping board now,, has ;71s ! shipyards; 302 are for . wbodeut ti and 414 are for steel construction Tl. . yards in which they are egtablis!: 4 are only working one 8hoar:HBhift:; ri l-hnnm it m -1rett.-ahead c the siibhiarifi6, we i&ttst.- keep ,ttf: $blf ts per. day, 52 .weeks: in. Mhy ye u. "Our program callsfor the ..cowtruc tion in 1918 of eight times i the. tcr nage delivered in 1 916 . at ' a jcbtti , c more than a billion dollars. The 8ifv ping board has. the, necessary Jtxti the materials and. the money all ttn t lacking is a spirit in the nation tti will send a quarter of a million" Axnsi ; ican mechanics into the yards ,to glvi j their best and most, efficient work. "l am sorry to say at the-ijreseis; time hte native born Americait.wort men is not the mainstay ot the shi yard, for he is there only to the e tent of 35 per cent of the men Yen; ployed, and to. the extent of 65 per cent. We are forced to depen(J:c: foreign born labor. , y..i ' ' .'"We all honor the men Innifore and the same: honor must be 3 gfyei to the men who go" to work In th yards. Just as the navy is the firs line fo the British empire, and Js as Germany depends upon her snbms lines, so much America depend' 6 victory upon the shipbuilding in ihjj American yard. - -vv :":' ' "To the women of America,- I",say: .'Send your men to the shipyards ;fo they will be doing, their, no less i( jervice (than inbe army j6t Ate nav and they will be returned; to you eaf and well paid, after havfftg perf onnei a duty that is a prime necessity c this war.'" -i - ,.-.4 ITTEE NAMED mi 10 DIVERT TRAFF.; ' it Will Investigate Condition; Looking Toward Reliev i . ing the Congestion H " Washington, Feb. 6 Further' "step ! looking to diversion of raflroadtrai fie from the most congested -.Easten gateways were taken today ;" by U' rector General .--McAdco ' byv appoir ' meat of a traffic - investigation ',cod mittee. This consists of B.Vli, Wi2 chell, Chicago, traffic director "of 'th j Union Pacific ; G.' F , Randolph NeH York, head of a number. of trmik'llnj committees, and i ; TV. C." Powell CiS cihnati, ' vice president of the 'Soutt era Railway. . ' '''f vV' - "This committee," saidv-f Directo1 General McAdoo's announcement, "I to make, a study of ..theTgreat "XtzZ currents of the country with a viet, to seeing what .steps can profitatl: 'be , taken in. order to shift traffic fro: the most seriously;' congested ? gate ways to Jess . congested - gatewayf and from . the more' congested port to . the less congested ports.?, ;. i t Appointment :of the onimitteeis ii line with the railroad adminlstrs tion's policy of diversionan exams! of which was the dispatch of betweei 50,000 and 100,000.bales of . cotton rc cently. to Sout-jantic iattd; Gul ports for trans-shipment.to NewjYori lajn& New England orXor jexport, MM V

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