VOL XXIV. No. 69
UN THEE.
NO I ON
le Much Talked Spring
Prive Fails to Impress
Americans
WEEKLY REVIEW BY
WAR DEPARTMENT
iBelieved That if There is Any
arly Offensive the Initiative
Must Be With the Allied
Armies.
Washington, March 18. Germany's
itlreat of a great spring offensive on
tyie Western front no longer impress
es American military men.
In its weekly review today the War
Department records the conclusion
jhar. the enemy, in spite or his vast
preparations, will not take the of
fensive unless forced to. This con
firms the opinion many officers have
eperienced. for weeks in the face of
official forecasts to the contrary from
loth sides of the Atlantic.
"While hostile preparations for an
offensive in the West are not slack
ening," the review says, it is becom
ing more evident that the enemy will
launch the offensive only if compell
ed to do so by the exigencies oft the
general strategic situation."
The nature of the information upon
Thich this opinion is based is not dis
closed. It is noted that fresh Ger
man ditisions have arrived on the
Western front and the German lines
te said to be approaching the point
In density beyond which it would be
impossible to go without choking
communicating lines and hampering
free movement of reserves. Appar
ently, however, this concentration
las come to be regarded as a defen
tive, not an offensive, movement.
Much of the statement is devoted
k the activities of American .trqops;
now engaged on five separate .fronts,
one of the sectors lying close to the
Swiss border. The official communi
que, however, adds nothing to recent
ly published press reports of the
raids and trench fighting in which
tie Americans have been involved.
Elsewhere on the Western front,
tie experts find no evidence of im
pending major activities by either
Jide. The period of inactlvty the
Statement adds, is being prolonged. It
notes, however, indications of Austro
German concentrations on the Italian
laeatre which may forecast assauHs
en Verona or Brescia, as their objec
tives. The statement follows:
"The period of inactivity in the
Vest is being prolonged. Though
tae raids now taking place would in
le past have been considered impor
tant engagements, nevertheless, ow
ing to the fact that thev are merely
if minor tactical value, thev cannot
W held to be major operations.
while hostile preparations .for an
ffensive in the West are not slacken
ing, it is becoming more evident that
toe enemy will launch this offensive
if comnp.llprt tn fin an hv tht -r-
'sencies of the general strategic situ-
Kion.
"While fresh German divisions are
ported as arriving "in the West, it is
( Continued on Page Three).
A SEVERE GUNFIRE
POURED ON GERMANS
With tha A -.: A - i TTU.fnnA
Ifway, March 15 American artillery
I !t night again bombarded supposed
ib Projectors northwest of Toul.
ftotcgraphs taken later showed the
yopiete destructiveness of their gun-
Tkere has been no infantry activity
jPt the usual patrol through No
as Land, and these reported no
"shes with -the enemy.
rne German artillery fire has been
ty. " j-nuiaoiLjr a, tcniuu
"""Ldimg mat me enemy
r, wu "usuy lo Keep up wiin me
gained American fire. A few Ger
t'rtt Enipers were busy during last
nS and today but they got no vic-
I SSIA'S ACCEPTANCE
STRONGLY DENOUNCED
Washington, March 18. Russia's
hm 1 uerman peace
Vi Tas denounced here today by
W L akhmeteff the Russian am-
1 r last iNovemDer iormai-
aient Udlated the Bolsnevlk govern-
Th
v. "e conditions imnnaad hv (lar.
' ' . e ambassador says, threaten
ie xistence and independence of
IfaiJti Xv11 continue to advocate co-
I Ifc r, ""-u IUB A11ICS 111 IU6 WO.1
AT
UD NEWSPAPERS
ON SHIPPING SEIZURE
Some Bitterly Oppose the Al
lied Proposition, Others
' Asquiesce
The Hague, Saturday, March 16.
It is impossible for Holland to give
an affirmative answer to the En
tente's proposals concerning Dutch
ships, says the Nieiiwe Courant.
"It is an act of violence," it adds,
"to which we are, subjected by the
rulers of the ocean . and nothing
makes lis so" bitter as the attempt
being made to base it on the so-called
rule of international law the' anti
quateArtgary law-r which is in no
wise applicable here."
s WiU Have, to Asquiesce.
Amsterdam, March 16. Discussing
the Dutch shipping question the Tujd
says:
"We shall havei to acquiesce, but
such rough misuse of power will nqt
be forgotten by our people."
In an article denouncing the Al
lies the -Handelsbladt says:
"We,, cannot think what our gov
ernment will do. Will it publish a
protest refusing to give its approval
to piracy and leave the matter as
it is, "or will it make the best, of a
bad job and make an exchange fox
what will be taken away?J If it Is
not exchanged , will- it request the
ministers of these piratical powers to
pack theirftSinks and depart. We
should not' lose much thereby We
do not know what the government
will do and would not wish to advise
it. At such a moment it must be left
to the government's discretion to
take that decision, which is least
harmful :.i:ipgmtrrkfiH1ci-
In the same article, however, the
Handelsblad admits that it Is unfor
tunately true that Holland is the
only northern neutral which has done
nothing t combat German subma
rine methods. It attributed the
country's present , position " to the
spirit which has" dictated such an at
titude. The Telegraaf advocates accept
ance of the oiler of the Entente gov
ernments, adding:
"Holland's existence as a free and
independent nation and the posses
sion of its colonies are at stake. By
choosing the right path the govern
ment has it in its power to maintain
the liberty of the nation, or irrevoc
ably deliver it to the mercy of Ger
many, which, in its bid for world
domination, has long had envious
eyes on Holland. The Dutch nation
will not permit itself , to be delivered
over to the German junkers."
GE
Berlin Sends Message by the
Swiss and Spanish Diplo
mats London, March 18. The Spanish
and Swiss ambassadors at Berlin
have been directed by the- German
foreign office to notify the American
government that Germany will pro
ceed with measures against Ameri
can property in Germany in -the same
proportion that action is taken
against German property in the
United States, Reuter's Amsterdam
correspondent reports.
Hitherto, it is stated in the Ber
lin advices announcing this action,
the German government has restrict
ed itself to measures "absolutely
necessary to prevent enemy property
in Germany being taken out of Ger
many during the war, and thereby
possibly benefitting Germany's ene
mies." j
There is a hundred times as much
German property in the United States
as there is American property in
Germany, according to estimates pre
sented recently to a Senate commit
tee by A- Mitchel Palmer, alien prop
erty custodian.
Thg greater part of American
property in Germany is represented
in Standard Oil Company interests.
The German law now enables the
German government to do with
American property exactly what Con
gress is being asked to do with Xr
man property in America.
War Finance Bill.
Washington, March" 18. The ad
ministration's bill to establish a war
finance corporation, already passed
by the Senate, was before the House
again tday with leaders confident
of a fini J vote early this week.'
RMANY M
ATENING
AMR m
PROPERTY
WILMINGTON. NORTH CAROLINA. MONDAY,
A distinctly military air was lent to this year's celebration ofWashington's birthday in Paris by
the presence of representatives ofour army and navy and a guard of honor composed of American troops at
the commemorative exercises at General Washington's statue in thePlace d'Jena. Wreaths were placed
about the statue and in the morningboth Ambassador Sharp and Foreign Minister Pichon addressed the as
semblage about the statue.
TWO EXPLOSIONS
IN FRENCH PLANT
TOOK HEAVY TOLL
Sixteen Persons Were Killed
and a Large Number
Injured
VALIANT WORK WAS
. DONE BY AMERICANS
American Soldiers
and Red
Cross First to Scene of Dis
aster Windows All Over
Paris Shattered
Paris, March 15. Two violent ex
plosions today in a factory at La
Courneuve, north of Paris, caused
the death of 16 persons and the in
jury of a large number, mostly
slightly, according to an official an
nouncement made tonight. The
causes of the explosions have not yet
been definitely determined. La
Courneuve is seven kilometres from
the cathedral of Notre Dame, in the
direction of St. Denis. American
Red Cross and Army ambulances
were among the first at the scene of
the explosion. American soldiers
approached to within a few hundred
yards of the burning buildings and
carried the injured across fields to
vehicles waiting to move the victims
to hospitals in Paris and the suburbs.
An American army officer dressed
the wounds of a child cut by flying
glass nearly a mile from the scene
of the disaster. The child was one
of several score in a school in which
every window was shattered.
Firemen were unable to approach
the burning factory nearer than 800
yards.
Survivors declared the accident
was due toa man dropping a box of
percussion fuses, which set off a box
of grenades. Most of the workmen,
realizing the danger, escaped.
All roofs and windows within a
circumference of miles of the build
ing were demolished, while buildings
collapsed from the violence of the
explosion. In every quarter orParis.
windows were shattered and furni
ture overturned.
In a public school at Aubervillers
there was a panic and four girls died
from fright.
Nearly 1,000 persons are shelter
less as the result of damage to their
homes.
Regarding the assistance given by
Red Cross and American soldiers the
municipal councillor of Bourget near
where the explosion occurred said:
"We must pay - homage to 'the man
ner in which the American Red
Cross organized assistance. Ameri
can soldiers showed devotion not to
be forgotten, in finding the injured,
giving first aid, moving the unfortu
nates to safe localities and transport
ing those who had escaped to a hotel
set aside, for them."
NEW ENGLAND TROOPS.
With the American Army fn
France, Sunday, March 17. The
American troops who have been
in action along the Chemin Dea
Dames are a division composed
exclusively of New England units.
The division contains units from
all the New England States, troops
from Massachusetts having been
especially active.
SHIPYARD PLANS
LOOKING SETTER
FOR WILMINGTON
Arrangements for Construct
ing Fabricated Ships Here
Progressing Nicely.
GENERAL MANAGER
PIEZ IMPRE5SE
The Plans for Work' Here
Have Been Gone Into With
the Emergency Fleet Cor
poration Officials.
(By George H. Manning.)
Washington, b. C, March 18. The
plans for establishing a shipbuilding
yard at Wilmington to construct fab
ricated merchant ships for the
United States Shipping Board is pro
gressing satisfactorily to Washing
ton officials who are in touch with
the arrangements.
Fred Coxe, a lawyer of Wadesboro,
who has obtained the necessary
financial backing for the plan, held
a most satisfactory conference with
Charles Piez, general manager of the
Emergency Fleet Corporation, . last
week, at which plans for establish
ing the shipyard at Wilmington
were discussed.
When Wilmington business men
first took up with the Shipping Board
the proposition of establishing a
shipbuilding yard at Wilmington
some months ago they were told by
Chairman Hurley that the govern
ment was not building shipyards of
its own, but was awarding contracts
to private concerns to build the
ships. '
Not everybody who wanted a con
tract was given one, Chairman Hur
ley said, but only those who could
furnish sufficient proof that they had
the necessary financial backing, the
men of experience in their organiza
tion capable of building the ships
quickly, economically and efficiently,
and those who could give assurance
they could assemble the necessary'
skilled and unskilled workmen.
Several attempts were made by
Wilmington men to comply with the
requirements' of the Shipping Board,
but so far little or no progress has
been made, it is understood.
The only alternative was to design
a ship that could be built by men
unskilled in shipbuilding and the
parts of which could be made by
plants not already engaged in mak
ing shipbuilding material.
It was an enormous undertaking,
but Yankee grit and ingenuity mas
tered it. Today the American Inter
national Shipbuilding Corporation
has almost completed construction
of a $24,000,000 shipyard at Hog
Island, 12 miles from Philadelphia,
where 26,000 men are employed, and
where 50 building ways are being
constructed on which 50 ships will
be built at one time.
Unskilled laborers by the thou
sands have been brouM into the
Hog Island plant and after a short
time sent to other .shipbuilding
yards and put through a schooling
in such work as will fit them to re
turn to Hog Island and build the fab
ricated ships.
Parts of these ships ere being built
at any number of steel mills in the
United States and Canada and will
be shipped to Hog Island and assem
bled. . The parts will, come all
punched and numbered, much .'in le
style of a knocked-down house, and
V
MARC, i 1918.
9 -
A Spy Within the American
Lines is Suspected hy
Officials
RAIDING PARTIES
BECOME FREQUENT
Americans Rambling oyer No
Man's Land and Often
Dropping Into Enemy
Trenches
With the American Army in
France, Sunday, March 17. Ameri
can intelligence officers report evi
dence leading to the conclusion that
possibly a spy may be at work with
in . the American lines northwest of
Toul. Early this morning an Ameri
can sentry saw flashes of a signal
light from a window facing in the
direction of the enemy lines. He
fired through the window and dash
ed into the house, but failed to find
anyone.
Four hours earlier some important
telephone wires within the American
lines were found to have been cut.
An American patrol last night en
tered the enemy trenches at one end.
of the sector and penetrated them
for some distance without difficulty.
Much valuable information was garn
ered. As they , were about ready to
return they established contact with
the enemy, who opened fire with a
machine gun. The Americans jump
ed to a safe position and hurled gren
ades, silencing the gun.
Returning to the American side of
No Man's Land, the raiders brought
back with them a German rifle
breech, protected by a metallic cover
over the muzzle and a snap clip
cover, both of which operate quickly
and efficiently. Officers declared it
was the best thing of the kind they
had ever seen for protection of ri
fles. The mechanism was turned
over to the intelligence department,
with a recommendation: that the at
tachment be furnished . American
troops.
Another patrol on the other end of
the sector reported that the enemy
first line was held strongly. While
the raiders were inspecting the Ger
man positions the enemy fired upon
them several times with rifles and
machine guns which are unusual at
that point
Our artillery bombarded effective
ly billets, troops and new enemy
works at Lahayville, St. Baussant,
- in
Continued on Page Eight).
will be rivetted together at Hog
Island. .
Two styles of ships are being
built there, one style of 7,500 tons
to go 111-2 knots an hour, and one
of 8,000 tons to go 15 knots an hour.
They are somewhat different in
every particular from the old-styled
snip, mey nave no curves, are
straight and square from one end to
the other except for a short distance
at each end, to make the bow and
stern. They have been described as
"skyscrapers lying on their sides."
This is the sort of ship it is pro
posed to buW at Wilmington. The
number thatwill be built there, the
size of the yard,. or whether any will
be built there, will, of course, de
pend on developmentf
ACTIVITY ALONG
AMERICAN FRONT
GROWS LIVELIER
4r
FRENCH ARE
GIVING HUNS
HARD
ARRANGING 10 TAKE
Plans Formulating for Action
As Soon as Holland Re
plies Washington, March 18. Plans lor
operation of the Dutch shipping
which will be acquired by the United
Jjtajes and Great Britain either
through voluntary agreement or by
requisition were going forward stead
ily today while the governments
awaited the reply of Holland to the
demand that she accede to the terms
of the contract which Germany block
ed or suffer seizure of all her tonnago
in American and British waters.
Holland's reply, which has been
dispatched to London, is expected by
officials, to conclude the negotiations
there today. Seizure of the ships in
American waters will be delayed,
however, until the reply is received,
here, which may not be" until tomor
row. Operation of the ships will .be un
der control of the shipping board.
Announcement of the trade to which
they -will be put has been withheld,
but it is understood that most of them
will be used,, under the American
flag and adequately armed to carry
food through the war zone to the Al
lies. As soon as word is received here
of Holland's decision the. Navy De
partment will put men on board the
vessels to take formal possession.' It
is understood that the Navy Depart
ment will provide sufficient American
sailors, possibly from the naval- rs-
Wrv& SvTrap"lyr , with the American
laws, the remainder of the crews to
be made up of Dutch sailors.
About 80 Dutch ships probably 6Q0,-
000 tons will be taken over by the
American government. Some of
them already are in the American
service under a 90-day agreement
with Holland two months ago.
MORE RUSSIAN
TOWNS OCUPIED
London, March 18. German troops
have occupied Bakhmatch and Kono-
tep (in the province of Tchernigov,
about 350 miles southwest of Moscow)
but were forced to retire from Bri-
ansk (in the province of Orel, 200
miles southwest of Moscow), toward
the main base, according to an Ex
change Telegraph dispatch from Mos
cow dated Saturday. Austro-German
troops are moving on Woroshba and
Kharkov (capital of the province of
the same name, and about 400 miles
south of Moscow). Orders have been
given to evacuate Khakov.
TIL SjMD TODAY
Jury SecuVed This Morning
and Witnesses Put on the
Stand
Raleigh, N. C, March 18. The trial
of Major George L. Peterson, charged
with embezzlement of $7,600 of State
funds during the time he was pay
master general of the North Carolina
Guard, started in Wake County Su
perior Court here this morning. The
selection of a jury was completed
shortly after 11 o'clock and the tak
ing of testimony was begun. Two
witnesses had been called when court
adjourned at 1 o'clock for dinner.
The opening session was devoid of in
teresting features. .
The first witness introduced by the
State was Treasury B. R. Lacy, who
exhibited vouchers which he declared
covered the entire amount of State
funds turned over to Major Peterson
while the latter was in office. Mr.
Lacy also testified that Major Peter
son had paid into the State treasury
last January $7,600 to cover th
amount of the alleged shortage.
Major Baxter Durham, of the Stato
auditor's office, took the stand. He
told of making four audits of the
books and records kept by Major Pe
tsrson while Peterson was paymaster
general. He said he checked the cash
by means of adding machine slips pre
pared by Major Peterson, and the to
tals appeared to be correct. He swore
he did not add the items, but trusted
! o Peterson's "adding machine" addi
tion.
With Major Durham still on the
stand, court recessed for dinner.
OVER
DUTCH
SNIPPING
MAJOR
HONS
PRICE FIVE CENTS
worn
Heavy Fighting is Reporteatj
Along Big Part of the y $
Front
FRENCH MAKE A
SUCCESSFUL ATTACKS
Enemy Lines Penetrated for
Good Distance A Germany
Attacfl Along Wide FronjS
Was Repused.
French and German troops have-.!
been engaged in heavy fighting on l
..
both sides of the Meuse in the Ver t
dun sector. West of the river, the 1
French have gained the enemy posi-'f
tions on a front of about 1.400 yard;
to a depth of 800 yards, while east"?
of the river the Germans were unsac-f
mi!f. front f t .
e
Sunday the- Germans sent heavy
forces against the French positions ?
no uaiuugucuA, uui 111 UJ. lllc XJUIS XJXS
Caurieres and near Bezonvaux. They "4
to. i iuicui i' i cuu ai unci v ill e .
inflicted heavy casualties on the at-y
tackers and they were unable to hold
onto the trenches they had gained, sf.
The front east of the Meuse had been
the scene of much violent artillery .f '
fire during the last month.
The French success west of the l).
river was made at Malancourt, west.!;"
of Dead Mans' Hill. At the Cheppy .
wood, immediately west of Malan-;
court, the French late Friday pene-'U
trated German trenches on a front of ;
800 metres to a depth of 300 metres,
After destroying the positions jthe if.
French returned with 80 prisoners.-;!
and seven machine guns. , East opd.
Rbeims, in the Champagne, Germaiiv
troops gained momentarily a footingfi
ip French positions west of "VaudsinvJ
court, but suffered - heavily under aj
French counter-attack which restored f
the situation. - J J
Raiding activity on the British,.
front has died down somewhat and - :
the Germans for the moment at "least .
have given up their strong raids ,on' t
the Ypres-Arras line. The artillery
here and in the Cambrai area, how-
ever, is intense. British airmen per
sist in their bombing raids" against
military targets and have accounted i.
for 23 more German machines
and Luneville there has been no -r-change
in the situation. American ?
patrol parties are still visiting the 'A
enemy lines and returning with vain-J'
able information. On the Toul front t
the American artillery fire has been.
very heavy, the guners shelling bil-i
lets and works over an area approxi
mately six miles wide and two miles
deep. East of Luneville also the ar-;
tillery bombardment has been '
heavy.
Having occupied Odessa and Niko- I
layev, important naval and ' grain :
ports ,the Germans in Southern Rus-'- S
sia continue tneir advance norm,
ward from tne Black Sea toward
Kherzon, an Important commercial!
center and capital of the province of.
the same name.
The All-Russian Congress of So-
viets has declared Moscow to be the
Russian capital and it is said that
all government and military effects
have been removed from Petrograd.:: J
The Bolshevik leaders, although tEey;
urged and obtained ratification of the ;
German peace treaty, are said to 4
have little hope that the treaty will;?
bring peace and are calling upon the 1
local Soviets to form military organ!-' -'I
zations with which to combat ' the "i,
Germans should their invasion con-'jS
tinue further into the heart of Rusvf
sia.
SWISS DEMAND
PAYMENT FOR SHIP
Berne, Friday, March 15. The
Swiss government has sent a note U
the German government demanding
the payment of an indemnity for the
destruction of the grain steamer Sar
dinero. The note also requests sv
careful investigation of the circum
stances by the German authorities.
The Spanish steamer Sardinero, tra
der charter by the Swigs government,
was torpedoed February 26. She was
conveying 3,000 tons of wheat from
the United States. The sinking
aroused strong feeling in Switzerland
and pro-ally newspapers urged that
the bread rations of the German col-j
. . .
ony m Switzerland be cut as a re
prisal.
Southern Traffic Director. ,
Nashville, Tenn., March 18. It wf
announced here today that Charles
Barham, of Nashville, general freight
agent of the Nashville, Chattanooga"
and St. Louis railway, has' been ap- '-j
pointed by the National Food Admln-
istration as traffic director for the j
Southern District. His headquarters i !
will b aAilaal ' j
-8
?
.j. 1
i!
71
r- . ir