North Carolina Newspapers

ON YiYOTrfe A ,1 iHLJhL W IJL1VMN(UT WEATHER: North and South Caro jnaFair, warmer Sunday; Monday, fair. 1 LJtl FULL LEASED WIRE SERVICE, VOL. XXIV. No. 68,. WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA. SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 1918 PRICE FIVE epNTq 35 JURY RETURNS A -7 J. .- - MORALE OF ALLIES BAKER GETS 2 -v WILL DEPEND ON THE YEAR'S CROP - X p. ,i WSSmMBW isomcimiLf VERDICT AGAINST MRS. M.H.HIRSCH OUT "W pan-Soet Congress Over whelming Ratifies Brest Litvosk Treaty ACTION PROMISES TO DISRUPT CABINET Breach Between Bolsheviki and Revolutionaries Wid ens Still Trying to Raise Army petrograd, March 16. (Noon) psia officially retired from the war today. The Pan-Soviet Congress at Mos wt consisting of 1,000 representa tives of workmen, soldiers, peasants aJd Cossacks, overwhelmingly voted reaffirmation of the German dictated peace! terms, adopted at Brest-Lit- ovsk. " The action was a foregone conclu sion. The Bolshevik faction which dominated the Congress under the leadership of Premier Lenine, pre viously had cast 453 ballots in favor of ratification, at a factional caucus. The vote, if the announced determ ination of the Social Revolutionary commissaries is carried out, automat ically disrupted the present Russian cabinet. These ministers, following the example of Justice Commissary Steinberg, temporarily retired from cabinet, pending settlement of peace question at Moscow. They declared their intention of making their arrangement permanent in case k pact were ratified. Steinberg openly stated that "the Pan-Soviet inastteaf up. the iJBrest- tovsk treaty and create the neces sary government for defense." The breech between the Bolsheviki and the Social revolutionaries was idening today. M. . Manespirodo- nowa, leader of tne latter, issuea an appeal to the peasants to rally to the efense of the land, declaring his party represented the masses a po- ition which the Bolshevik leaders al ready regarded as peculiarly their ova. 3acked by the lesser factions, the social Revolutionaries of the left ere agitating a revival of the Con- ituent Assembly (dissolved by the Bolsheviki after the overthrow of Ker ensky government) to form a coali- m cabinet. The prospects for sue wss or this movement apparently ere growing. ' Meanwhile, in Petrograd, Leon Trotzky, in his new role as War Com missary. was nushine the work of cre- ing a new Russian army. "Germany knows a robber peace cSnnot last," he explained in a suc- :nt uatement. Previously to voting the peace treaty, the Moscow Con- listened to President Wilson's iasre of svmDathv to Russia. The Pessase was rer.plverl in a silence 'roken only by murmurings regard- ia? thp Japanese situation. rhen Congress adopted a resolution reply, directed to the- world at Hnd urging the "International Prclf-iarial." tn nvprthrnw oanitalipm , . . .. ir- nfi etHlilisli a Snnialist cnvprTimpflt Te resolution read: "The ''ongrens of Soviets express s Hppreriation tn th Amfiriean tieo particularly to the toilers and rose who are being -exploited for ,heir sympathy toward the Russian jj-ople at a time when the Russian Socialists republic is experiencing its Neatest hardship. me republic takes advantage of resident Wilson's mesage to express an peoples nerishine and suffering '3 a result of the Imperialistic war, -s warm sympathy and confidence Jat the time is not far distant when u masses will nvefthrnw rnrltnHsm establish a Socialist society which 'ne is capable of giving a lasting a Just peace and assuring the wel- r'Hg Rodl'o ttto c ri nlfv on-na nas. - , i. LLJ kO Luier whp nV.Q A 4.1,. r-i : , aCk had disnosorl nf :n nf Ytia atara Ut that, nrna Kfnn n; l,j "ansferrerl fmm tv a f iaDkees. new YORK SOON TO HAVE AERIAL POLICE N'ew Vork, March 16. Aerial police 'ill lici SOfn be addAd tn Now VnrV'c Tin. 6 reserve missioner bright nas worked lj; Plan to add a corps of flyers to orrp. One hundred men will form -uCUS lor new army aerense illil'e duty of the aerial police 'fab l protect New York In case sw, . raids r to act as messengers U1Q communications be interrupted ireat catastrophe. ARMED STEAMER FIRED ON ONE OF PROTECTING SHIPS American Liner's. Gun Crew Mistook American De stroyer for U-Boat ONE MAN KILLED AND FOUR WOUNDED The Destroyer Was Guarding Steamer When Gun Crew Saw Her and Opened Fire Washington, March 16. Mistaking one of the American destroyers con veying her for a submarine an Am erican line steamer blazed at her, killed one seaman and wounded four others slightly. This occurred January 16 and was announced by the Navy Department late this afternoon officially, after the United Press had revealed the main fact. A court of inquiry, ordered by Ad miral Sims, has been conducting a thorough mvestigaion of the incident. ; Visibility conditions were poor, due to a fog, and the armed guard, getting a glimpse of the pffctettindestroyer ahead, mistook her for a submarine The man killed was Wm. Lusso, seaman second class, whose mother, Mrs. Barbara Lusso, lives at 1870 North 27th St., Kansas City, Mo. Four others were slightly wounded. The official Navy Department state ment follows: "The Navy .Department has receiv ed by mail, through Vice Admiral Sims, the report of the commander of the armed guard of an American liner which fired on a United States destroyer on January 16, killing one man. Wm, Laisso, seaman seuouu class, and slightly wounding four others. "The report states that tne gun crew in the darkness mistook one of the convoy destroyers for a subma rine and fired on her. A court of in quiry was ordered and has been con ducting a thorough investigation. Lusso's next kin is his mother, Mrs Barbara Lusso, 1870. North 27th St., Kansas City, Mo. His body was sent home." The court of inquiry will determine whether the armed guard exercised proper diligence and whether it could safely have investigated further to ascertain whether the misty shape ahead was actually a submarine; SIXTY-THREE KILLED ON FLYING FIELDS Two Deaths Added Saturday to Casualties on Six Texas Fields Dallas, Texas, March 16. Sixty- three American, Ganadian and British flyers have died in accidents at the six flying fields in Texas, figures com piled by the TJnited Press tonight showed. Two lost their lives today when their planes crashed to earth at Tal iaferro field, near Fort Worth. They were Lieutenant Harold A Andre, 21, 45 West 39th St., New York, and Cadet Joseph Lanagan, 103 Oakland St., -Syracuse, N. Y. Taliaferro field with its three big camps, Benbrook, Hicks and Ever- man, has had more fatal : accidents than any other Texas field. The two deaths today brought that field's tota to 38, of which 24 were Royal Flying Corps men and 14 were Americans The total number of fatal accidents at Texas fields are: Taliaferro field, Fort Worth, 38; Kelly field, San Antonio, nine; Lova field, Dallas, three, Calt field, WichKa Falls, one; Rich field, Waco, one; El- JHngton; fteld, Houston, IV - - Found Guilty of Trying to Ex tort Money From At lanta's Mayor VERDICT REACHED IN TWENTY-FIVE MINUTES One of Atlanta's Most Sensa tional Cases Came to and End Late Yesterday Afternoon Atlanta, Ga., March 16. When the jury returned a verdict of "guilty" in the case of Mrs. M. H. Hirsch, charg ed with attempting to extort $500,000 from Mayor Asa G. Candler by black mail, one of the most sensational court room battles ever staged in Georgia was brought to a close. Although meeting a crushing defeat in the Fulton county courts, the de fense has not given up' the fight to save Mrs. Kirsch from serving 12 monhs sentence at the State prison at Milledgeville and paying a fine of $1,000, the penalty levied by the court Pending a motion for a new trial, which will be heard by Judge Ben H. Hill on Saturday, March 30, Mrs Hirschs bond was fixed at $3,000. The verdict which was returned by the Jury after 25 minutes deliberation, , was received by Mrs. Hirsch without legal talent of the Southeast. Lively rise when, the court pronounced sen tence, but looked up at Judge Hill and said: VI haventt a word to say. Trial was marked throughout by sensationalism and surprises. It was one of the most vigorously 'contested ever held in Geeorgia. The State and .defense was represented by the best legal taint of the Southeast. Lively tilts between opposing counsel were only suppressed by the levy of fines by the court Dramatic speeches by attorneys for both -sides marked the 'closing nours ot the trial. Mrs. Hirsch bowed her head In her hands and wept bitterly while she was in turn denounced as a scheming ad venturess of the most wicked type and again held up as a poor woman who was being made the victim of -wealth and influence. Attorney Rueben Arnold, for the State, charged Mrs. Hirsch with "pur suing" Mr. Candler's son as well as the Mayor. She was an actress, he said, taking part in a "hamfat melo drama." He held up Mayor Candler as a brave and fearless man trying to bring two schemers to justice de spite the "slimy barrage" which he knew they would hurl at him. The episode in the Mayor's office February 6, Arnold ridiculed as a pal pable frame-up of the most crude and vicious kind, of which Mrs. Hirsch was the "brains." He pleaded with the jury not to be misled by the wo man s snam tears. Attorney John R. Cooper, for the defense, droipred that Mrs. Hirsrh ws: a victim of the "Candler millions" and said that they were being used to bring "this poor woman into in famy." Waving the Bible on high, Cooper urged the jury- not to "try her by the law of Georgia but by this book." Justice, not mercy is what this poor woman wants, said Cooper in clos ing. Workmen , Protest. Petrograd, March 16. In conference today eighty workmen representing every factory in the city received a declaration from 40,000 workers pro testing against the Bolsheviki peace policy. OVER 400,000 MEN NOW IN THE NAVY DECLARES DANIELS New York, March 16. The Ameri can navy, already 400,000 strong, is only in the beginning, and if neces sary to win the war will be increased to twice its present size, Secretary of the Navy Daniels declared this afternoon in an address at Madison Square Garden. "The American navy, with "a per sonnel of about 50,000 at the begin ning of the war, now numhejrs more than 400,000 men," the Secretary de clared. "And this is but an earnest of what it will be. If necessary to win the war we are ready to make it twice as big." The Secretary's address, given, at the military-naval meet for the ben efit of the Women's Oversea Hospi tals, U.. S. A., was wildly received by an audience that packed the big am pitheatre. - , The . American navy, though syjpall at the beginning of the war, has been in the fight from -the. minute war was declare "f"; Germany . Is Preparing to Cast Aside All Thought of Peace With Teutons EXPECTED TO MAKE A STATEMENT SOON Convinced That Talk of Peace Now is Futile and Weaken ing to Morale- Is Sore at Action of Hun Washington, March 16. -President Wilson appears about to talk war. Official intimations today were that he is preparing to definitely cast aside for the present all thought that peace can , be made with the Teuton mili tarists. " Convinced that peace talk and and peace maneuvers are now futile and dangerous to morale, the administra tion is about to try to put a punch and a smash into war woi-k, and to drive to cover any who , thwart such work by insidious peace propaganda. -The proposed revelation by the President will doubtless make clear the American position toward Russia, particularly as regards Japanese in tervention. And, according to pres- en indications, it will point out that "actions speak louder than words," in the case of Hertling and Czernin dic tators of the looting peace with Rus sia and Rumania. If he confines It strictly to Russia and Japan a statement from other of ficial quarters, probably the State De partment, may be forthcoming. Pres sure has been brought to bear for such a statement with a "kick in IV and one official in a high position In dicated tonight he would, endeavor to' have it made. The State Department has let it be known repeatedly of late that he is to use the vernacular- "sore lear through" oyer thVA5trMa' nessW8rd-&wila pointed out, by: the United Press last Saturday nightwhen the original war talk began' to. seep out of the usually uncommunicative diplomatic branch. And Rumania is only one sore spot. The German- smash against the help less Slav nation has stirred military men, diplomats officials in general. War wock has had a new impetus, and the very atmosphere here has been surcharged with a new spirit, a spirit of earnest war work, minus peace talk. Still another incentive to this new thought is the fact tha Czernin while talking in conciliatory fashion was even then preparing to impose on Rumania a harsh peace. Further, Czernin ignored the President's last overture. This is indicative of the general Teuton disinclination to talk peace now except perhaps a vistor's peace based on the "conquest" of the near East The German militarists are "in the saddle" completely. . Drunk with powers they are bent on sweeping on. Even the moderates are talking, more belligerent. In these circumstances, the President has only one course, as his friends see it to talk and act "war." Peace talk has slowed down work t9 an extent experts, say. And, they declare this must be offset, and that America must get the punch in to war work if bluntly we are to win, and what is more, if we are not to be defeated. Allied diplomats share this view. Soviet endorsement today of the Russian-German peace terms makes Germany's near Eastern holds firmer, say authorities. At the same time, it may offer fur- continued on Page Twelve.) Secretary Daniels stated. "When our fleet of destroyers reached European waters, shortly after war was de clared," the Secretary said, "a Brit ish naval officer asked the Ameri can commander when he would be ready. " 'We are ready now,' the Ameri can officer responded, with charac teristic alertness. And our . navy has been in the fight ever since. "We have sunk German subma rines and our destroyers have cap tured German officers and men from these submarines. Our navy has pro tected American commerce and the commerce of our Allies and we will continue to do our part." . " The work of women in the war was lauded by Secretary Daniels and tlte mothers who are "keeping tlje home fires burning were designated as "the first line of defense" by theSec retaryv '. i Secretary Daniels spoke again to night at the. opening of the $250,000 drive for; the" New York Catholic war fund at a local theatrev The Wheat Situation Today is Described as Gravely Serious MAKE PREPARATIONS FOR BIG GRAIN CROPS America Must Make Even Greater Sacrifices if Her v Allies Are to Be Saved From Hunger Washington, March 16. The mor ale of the Allies nations in this, the crucial year of the War, will depend on their crops. The wheat situation today is gravely serious. As a result preparations for an un precedented grain yield have been made in the United States, Great Brit ain and France. The work is stimu iated by assurances given the Teuton powers that Russia and Ukraine will hereafter divide their bountiful har vests with the Germans. Secretary of Agriculture Houston has emphasized the need of record yields. In spite of the largest pro duction in many directions during 1917, he believes the situation is not satisfactory. The supply of wheat In this nation and in the world is inade quate. Owing to short crops in pre ceding years, the reserves of a num ber of important commodities have been gratly reduced. Allied diplomats warn that weeks of privation are - ahead. To prevent great want in England and actual starvation in France and Italy, it is up to America to sacrifice even more than she already has done at least 30 per cent more. Some indication of what must be done is indicated in the following terse statement of food official to the United Press to night: "We must make more than 50,000,- 000 bushels of wheat out of our nor maj consumption in the next four and a half months, to feed Europe. Durr iiai-iiQ we have saved only 32,000,000 bush els." Meantime this country is straining every effort to yield an unprecedented crop. Secretary Houston wants Con gress to appropriate $20,000,000 for seeds and to help farmers fight plagues. Five million picked volun teers are asked to help farmers plant and harvest crops. Chambers of Com merce throughout the nation are ask ed to appeal to employes to devote one or two days to farm work. Va cations, Houston hopes, .will be turn ed to work on America's six million farms Beginning April 1, every one is urg ed to start a war garden at home Department of Agriculture experts are ready with copious advice free to garden fans. Many gardens in the South are already under way. In the tremendous response from the American people to the conserva tion campaign, the Allies are hopeful that the end of food shortage will come this year. The governments of Brazil and Guatemala are going into the farm business, receiving seed wheat and machinery from the Unit ed States and will help. . England planted 2,000,000 acres more this year than last but some de lay was caused when tractors got tied up in the winter's railroad jam in this country. France is expected to grow 100,000,000 more bushels of wheat this year than last. In America the acre age which jumped 23,000,000 acre3 last year is expected to increase even more this year. The labor question is the outstanding difficulty in realiz ing the greatest aims although there is considerable complaint from farm ing communities that the President's wheat prices are not sufficiently high to inspire increased planting. Winter wheat ' acreage increased four per cent last fall over the pre ceding year. Spring wheat acreage will be increased from five to 15 per cent. Agriculture Department olfi cials hope and they are counting strong .on the patriotism of the farm ers. Tt j .consuming public, however, must face further curtailment of wheat supplies, it is clear. Allied diplomats declared that they are forc ed "to look almost entirely to tha North American continent now for cereals nd for the most part to the Urted ates." : t vif of the grave wheat situ a tic , ba er's were warned tonight th; ; the must use 20 per cent wheat substitutes beginning March 2i or stop baling. Use of potatoes, as wheat substitutes in baking is "urged because of the accessibility of the supply of this substitute. Food Ad ministration officials threaten to re voke instantly, licenses of bakers fail ing to save wheat as- ordered. Prisoners at Kiel. San Francisco, Cal. Mar. 16. Cap tain Isaac Trudgett and two members of the crew of the schooner Wlnslow, are prisoners at Kiel, Germany, ac cording to, a telegram received today by the Winslow's owners from Wash ington. The Winslow. was destroyed by the German raider Wolf. OPPOSING ARIES ON WEST FRONT WAIT FOR LEAD Like Veteran Boxers They Try to Draw a Lead by Feinting EACH SIDE WATCHES THE OTHER CLOSELY All That is Needed to Begin the Mighty Battle is for One of the Armies to Start Something New York, March 16. -Like veteran boxers, the opposing armies on the West front are trying to feint the other into a "lead." It is the maximum of the prize- ring that a boxer who leads lays him self open to a counter that may carry a knockout. There have been a few boxers in the long history of pugilism who have won their fights by a tearing, rushing! style that brushed aside all defensive tactics. Germany, in the initial stages of the war, adopted this method of attack and was stopped at the Marne. Jsert dy glove h hipfems 2 fer to catch their opponents off bal ance by feinting them into a lead ; then putting over a punishing blow. This latter method has become more and more applicable to military combat. Every move on the West front indicates that it has been adopt ed as the foundation for the opening of the 1918 campaign. Heavy troop concentrations have been made at strategic points; then have been shifted to other sector?. Artillery has blazed away with un usual fury on certain fronts; only to die down with only a minor Infantry demonstration or none at all. Aerial activity has centered first on one re gion, then in another. The time for a real offensive is over ripe. Ideal weather has prevail ed on the entire front for nearly two weeks, drying out the terrain, improv ing transportation conditions and put ting "pep" in the men. And yet, no body has "started anything." The initiative with their widely advertised "Western offensive" os tensibly should rest with the Ger mans. But there is a disposition now to believe this advertising may have been largly in the nature of a verbal feint. The past week has been less pro ductive of infantry engagements even approximately on a larger scale than were me two previous weens, i ue Ypres sector is still the center of the hottest artillerying1. Aerial combats and bombing raids have increased. The Americans have occupied their first sector of German trenches a little more than a mile in the Lune ville sector. . Amsterdam dispatches have report ed an "unprecedented" concentration of German troops in Belgium, with winaenuurg ana iuaenqorn esiao-i lishing headquarters at Spa. j Bombardment of Monastir by. the! Bulgars, reported from Corfu, indicat- ed a re-awakening of activities in the j Macedonia theater. Teutonic forces continue to ! "straighten" their line in the ' Uk-. raine. Turkish armies have re-occupied the principal cities in Armenia, driv-j ing out the Russian garrisons. But in this country interest natural - ly centers in the West front where American troops are participating in this initial feinting out process. William Phillip Simms, the United Press staff correspondent on the Brit ish front, detailing these preliminar ies, summed up the situation, so far as thp. Amflricon nprmlfi arp rnnccrn- Pd whpn hp co id- "What these things mean, remains j led aQd choked with her own shirt to be seen. Like the Tommies out waist, Christiana Brown, a wbitt here, the public must wait to see." ! was killed by an unknown TWENTY PERNS . BURNED TO DEATH ; Truro, N. S.. . March 16. Twenty persons were burned to death today when the lumber camp of A. A. Suth- erland, at Alvin Siding, near River - rtalp. NT. S Wflfl dftstrOVftd bV fire. . - ' - . six children are among the dead. The others were all lumbermen. It is believed a woman and nve(orjonly was the woman strangled. net - - 1 " t - , 1 5- J Secretary of War Carefullf Studies Our War Prc5j-4J AAKA"7VT AT WW AX v l ''7 HE SAW MlNaO: Great Docks, Double J&ji Railroads, Hundreds pMUp es of ; Telegraph J .:S0x9 Camps, Etc, inspi Aboard Seer Train, France, MarcH 13. -"I . am ItUlr absorbing," remarked Secretary f"r C ker tonight, following his 14-hujtl day inspection of one of AmftfcfS gie&iesi, puns on tuo riewu tu4vav ,T Secretary Baker reached the porjl at 8 a. m. on an express special ? train of nine cars, including the mdsV luxurious sleepers in Europe, a dljMr i; baggage car and a special car carry J; ing three automobiles. He was. ' acy;; companied by Generals Pershing&t tecbury arid Black, besides other cf! ncers, newspaper men and moyUl?$ men. Th Secretary immediately!! bersff an inspection of the huge docwM along the river where thousanda tt- . enlisted men were working. ThejrK have already completed two mllest-1. including railroads and a warehouse v The structure is of concrete, y aa plank construction which can eridut for hundreds of years. iy.S,-: y', Officers told Secretary Baker corn-- pletion of the task means four mflef .; of permanent unloading facilitUs- u where forty 500-foot ships can -load . orunloadt one time. '' May huge warehouses already ara piled high with American goods and, T machinery. Personally questioning officers. .Secretary.' she wei -ji!jteif5!P edge of technical, details; Later- a was suuwu uic ia.ii ucaa ui , AiueiPt t ica's line of communication. Doubl4 tracks now stretch Off across' th country, resembling the main -line of the Baltimore & Ohio. Surrounded by some of America'4 V most brilliant railway engineero Baker, occasionally seconded -by Sen eral Pershing, studied maps : show ing the entire system of Americ&ii communications. He demanded ;j to know the percentage of grades from this, port, in comparison with others i u me maximum carrying capacur ::ot. trains; what was the quickest ctmo: for supplies to reach the actual front etc. " -. . : - i . In their automobiles the party Jour neyed a few miles along pine-ilankea country roads where three ' 'and;! ft half souare miles of warehouses ara.'i.S under construction. Then they , weiiti' to the rest camp which will accohurf , modate 22,000 men; to the remount :f camp, where 3,000 horses are ; kept-f for replacing others at the front, and to a hospital which eventually -wfll s be the largest in the world. -vvAtH present it will accommodate 20,000 v'' men ana win oe enlarged to accom; modate "40,000. . 'V. Flanking the roads everywhere 874 telegraph and telephone , wiresi , ' Twelve hundred miles of American, ; telegraph lines are almost completed, forming a network from the sea bases to headquarters. Everywhere American are trtin ing, working, fighting. Secretary- B.at ker and his party late this afternoon; , visited an artillery camp and -Wf -big American guns set up fromjtrav eling shape into firing . condition American artillerymen worked .'fe verishly under the eyes of their commander-in-chief, the Secretary ptA war, who minutely mspectea everj detail and asked countless questions." A sausage balloon, lazily hanging in a cloudless sky in the rear, added, a touch of the real thing. , It is probably true that Secretary- Baker is working the hardest of h.la:" life absorbing details which he clares will shorten the war. . ,"'5 Asked his impression tonight tht)i Secretary said: : ' V- "I frankly admit this is my first i 1 inspection of a great port of debark ation. I had not realized the Immen sity of the project hut I must; sajj I am completely satisfied." NORFOLK WOMAN S CHOKED TO DEATH Portsmouth, Va., March 16. Stran- iixau. ai iiui ratsi iviajn sireei, Nor folk, late tonight No motive can br assigned for the murder. . 4' : The woman was killed in a crowd-; ed house, with a man and woman ia ! the next room, but so silently WE j the murder committed that ' it waa jnot discovered until the murderer had escaped. Robbery was not ? tit . motive, for jewelry and money were lff nntmioha n 4Vi4k mmm : iTkT:: f AU bUU , -.iivb t. the loose ends of the shirtwaist . vera stoned down; her throa - . - ? Y 1 1 .1. i .-4s ,i -