- V
.-J " I
' ii 1
. .. . f ... J.J - llf
North and South Car-
Fair tonight and
TODAY'S HEWS
TODAY
niina
Saturday little change
perature.
VOL. XXIV. No. 72
WILMINGTON. NORTH CAROLINA, ff RID AY AFTERNOON, MARCH 22, 1918
PRICE FIVE CENiSliSli1
' . ";V.!':
mm)
!
!
' ' -
4 . . .
n : . . - a 1 " 1 1 1 i i ,
BRITISH TOOOPS EOtiSERrt
L-r f- 'f i '
itw,r.l.!.r
5T STUPENDOUS
ATTACK IN THREE
YEARS
Germans Hurled Masses of
Infantry Against Line in
Northern France ,
BRITISH SOLDIERS
WERE WELL PREPARED
Sanguinary Fighting Along a
Line of 50 Miles May Be
the Beginning of Decisive
Battle of the War
The first of the great German of
fensive on the Western front has pass
ed and it is to be scored as a Ger
man failure, the enemy having fillen
short of realizing his aims in the first
great smash, according to dispatches
ficm British headquarters today.
After attacking all day yesterday
end until a late hour last night the
Germans let down in their- smashing
operation along 50 miles of the Brit
ish front and had not resumed their
heavy assaults at the latest advices
from Sir Douglas Haig today.
Further hard fighting was ahead,
however, the field marshal predicted.
The enemy was still being held in the
British battle positions, he reported,
which means that the British line is
still intact, although admittedly, it
has been bent backward at points un
der the terrific Teutonic assault.
The battle line has not moved ia
only the direction, however, -the Brit
ish having struck back spiritedly at
the German masses and regained
some positions temporarily abandoned.
The German official statement today
reports that the British positions were
attacked from a point southeast of
Arras to LaPere, the British first lines
being captured.
The dispatches from British aead
qnarters purposely omit giving the ex
act position of the British line for the
stated reason that the enemy might
te given valuable information.
While the infantry is being- held
temporarily in check, the artillery bat
tle is still raging, according to indi
cations in the news dispatches. Great
lumbers of Austrian cannon are de
clared to have been transferred to the
Western front to reinforce the Ger
man artilery. Bulgarians too have
been brought into the field by the
German command, it is declared, the
understanding being that they are to
be used as. a strategic reserve.
Altogether the indications are that
the Central Powers have massed all
possible forces at their disposal oa
'the West front for their. present drive.
The prospects seem, however, that
they will need every man of them if
taey keep up their attack long with
anything like its initial forces, as all
the reports indicate that the Ger
man losses have been terrific under
the withering fire of the British ar
tillery and machine guns. The Ger
man artillery too, has suffered heavily
through counter battery work by the
British who found the massed guns
fine targets for effective destructive
work.
The German war trumvirate, Emper
or William, Field Marshal von Hin
fcnburg and General von Ludenorff
are reported behind the German lines
hile the attack is in progress.
German artillery fire also has been
ntense on a lengthy front north of
fte LaBasse canal and in the Ypres
fetors in Flanders. On the' French
"ront. the Germans have carried out
minor attacks northeast of Verdun
and in Lorraine. French troops re
Pulsed both attempts with loss.
British monitors and naval aircraft
Jfv made a combined attack on Os
Belgium, a German aerial and
submarine base and British seaplanes
av'e attacked enemy mine-sweepers
near Helgoland with machine gun fire,
the attack on Ostend, British air
en brought down five German ma
mvS' while the monitors bombar4
ea the town heavily.
un many' accrding to unofficial re
Prts from The Hague considers that
ne attitude of Holland toward the
.agio-American shipping demand has
ranged the relations between the
erraan and Dutch governments. The
rePort says that
Um, take as a cause
Germany
of war if
in T shoula abandon-her remain
t uemands regarding the
use of
uutch
ships by the United
u""es -and
Great Britain.
Sei
Three Ships at Panama.
Pan;
lama. Wsr1. oo rnl A :
ion v s in the Panama Canal
W e seized three Dutch mer
vaaGt vessel
IS
MANLEYS DEATH LIST
HAS REACHED SIXTEEN
Twelve Additional Fatalities
Reported to the Navy
Department
Washington. March 22. Twelve ad
ditIona deaths as a esult f the col
lision between the destroyer Maniey
and a British man-of-war on March 19
were announced today by the" Navy
Department.
This brought the death list to 16.
John C. Holmes, carpenter's mate, of
Boston, Mass., was one of the 12 men
reported killed today. The names of
the 11 others have not been received.
It was anounced also that 1J men
iot reported yesterday also were in
jured. All of those hurt were re
ported well.
Isaac Diggs, mess attendant, 926
Cleveland street, Norfolk, Va., was
among the injured landed and sent to
a hospital.
The Navy Department today an
nounced that the names of Lewis Co
hen, boatswain's mate, previously re
ported killed, should be corrected to
read Louis Cohen, and that- his ad
dress should be Baltimore.
The man reported as Richard S.
Gallman, seaman, seriously injured,
was Richard E. Gallman. His oai'
gency address was Trouth, S. G.
EVIDENCE AGAINST
BISBEE CITIZENS
Washington, March 22. Gathering
of evidence against citiens of Bi?
bee, Ariz., who were responsible for
the deportation of 1,186 striking cop
per miners last July 12, has i about
been completed by the Department of
Justice, and a report will be made
soon to President Wilson.
Some Department of Justice offi
cials believe that Federal statutes
were violated in the seizure by the
vigilance committee of the Bisbee
exchange of the Bell Telephone Com
pany, and the attempt to exercise a
censorship over interstate connection
of both telephone and telegraph lines,
and, by the committee's measures to)
prevent the return of some of the de
ported workers to their home where
they were registered for the draft.
SOUTHERN MILL
TEACHERS GATHER
Charlotte N. C. March 22. A con
ference of educational workeCs in
Southern mill communities is in ses
sion here today. ' United States Com
missioner of Education P. P. Claxton
is in charge of the conference. It is
well attended by teachers, social
workers, mill superintendents and
others Interested in the community
welfare work in cotton mill settle
ments, many workers from neighbor
ing States being present.
MRS. J. B. GORDON
WITNESSED PARADE
Atlanta, Ga., March 20. Mrs. John
B. Gordon, widow of the noted Con
federate general, after whom Camp
Gordon here was named, was the
guest of honor today at the largest
military review ever staged at the
camp. The ' entire 82nd Division of
the National Army, with the excep
tion of two regiments, were in the
line of march, Brigadier General Bur
ham, Governor Hugh Dorsey, their
staffs and guests forming the review
ing party. Several thousand citizens
journeyed to the camp to witness the
spectacle.
FIGHTING ON WHOLE
ITALIAN FRONT
Rome;"iMarch 22. Fighting is be
coming more active along the whole
front, the War Office announces.
The Italians drove back patrols at
several points on the front and eject
ed ah Austrian detachment which had
forced its way into an advanced post
in the Frenzela valley sector. Along
the Piave the artillery fighting be
came more intense.
Flying Cadet Killed.
Fort Worth, Texas, March 22.r Ca
det S. W. Arnhein, Royal Flying
Corps, was the aviator killed yester
day afternoon at Hick's Field. He
was an American, but had. joined the
British service. His home was in
New York city. Officers say he raint-
ed vrhi& 4,000 feet in ih? air, - Nj
HAL TED
AMERICAN GUNFIRE
COMPLETELY WIPES
First and Second Line Posi
tions East of Luneville
Destroyed
ENEMY SURRENDERS
TO AMERICAN PATROL
Number of Germans Desert
ed and Are Taken in Charge
by Sammies Activity
Behind the Lines
With the American Army in
France, Thursday, March 24. Enemy
first and second line positions on a
part of the sector east of Luneville
have been destroyed completely by
American artillery fire. After thb
raid into the German positions last
night, the American gunners shelled
the positions heavily all night and
this morning Today a patrol with
out assistance from the tiilery
crossed No ""Man's v Land and found
that the first and second lines had
been wiped out.
The patrol also obtained additional
information and returned without cas
ualties, the Germans apparently hav
ing decided not to molest them.
Artillery firing by both sides on
this sector continued all day.
On the sector northwest of Toul a
number of Germans deserted JLast
night and surrendered to an Ameri
can patrol , in a certain wood. The
Germans approached the Americans
shouting: "Don't shoot." The prison
ers were turned over to the French.
Much information of value was ob
tained from the deserters who said
they were "fed up" with the war and
decided they would rather be prison
ers. Included in the information ob
tained from the men was the state
ment that during the gas projector
attack against the American lines on
February 27, 900 projectors were em
ployed. One-half the projectiles fired
fell within the German Jines and the
gas overcamj many of the Germans.
The next day, according to th? de
serters, 11 Germans were killed and
30 wounded, while taking out the
dead.'
American intelligence officers are
inclined to doubt the scory regarding
900 projectors. American information
is that, only 75 were used.
An American patrol last night en
tered the enemy first line and re
mained there six hours, but did not
see any of the enemy. It is reported
that the Germans recently had con
structed trenches that are concrete
half way up on the side. '
Great activity continues behind
the enemy lines. Within the last four
days a number of rock crushers and
concrete mixers have been brought,
and there are signs that the Germans
intend to construct a number of new
pill boxes opposite the American
front. Several trains of material
have arrived at towns in the German
lines during the last 24 hours.
Today's reports say that three Ger
man airplanes flew over various parts
of the American front line at day
break and fired their machine guns
on our positions. . Their efforts, how
ever, were without .result.
WILL ASK A PARDON
FOR THOMAS MOONEY
San Francisco, March 22. Applica
tion for the pardon of Thomas J.
Mooney is to be filed with Governor
William D. Stephens immediately af
ter the State Supreme Court issues
the remittur on its decision affirming
Mooney's conviction and sentence of
death in connection with the prepar
edness day bomb explosion here in
July, 1916. The remittur will be is?
sued, automatically on March 31 un-f
der the regular procedure which pro
vides that the decisiqn shall become
effective 30 days after it has been
rendered.
Maxwell McNutt, counsel for Moo
ney, said today that the issuance of
the remittur' will close any possibility
of reopening the case in", the courts,
and will leave the disposition of Moo
ney's "fate entirely in the Governor's
GERMAN LINES
hand
WASKINGTGN DOES
NOT BELIEVE THE
Very Doubtful That i Yester
day's Attack Was the
Real Offensive,
PROBABLY A CLOA
FOR ANOTHER MpVE
Military Observers Watching
Reports Closely Trying to
Ascertain Germany's ? 1
Immediate Object
DECISIVE BATTLE
SAYS NEWSPAPER
Washingtno, March 22. American
military observers, already having
cast their doubts, on whether the Ger
man drive begun yesterday really
heralds the long expected German of
fensive, were closely scanning the of
ficial dispatches today for evidence to
support their view that the German
onslaught, terrific as it may be, really
islheorerunner of some other move
ment. There is a marked tendency among
American army officers here not to
accept the present movement as the
real offensive until it is more fully
demonstrated.
Despite announcement from Londpn
that the German war machine is at-,
tacking on a wider front than ever
before attempted in the. West, there
is a distinct feeling hero that the
move may not prove more than a gi
gantic demonstration to overawe Eu
op.ean 4netrals itri,loak.some other
purpseerSSf '6as in" mind."
American observers think that the
military situation in France is
against the probability of a real Ger
man offensive at this time. The
view prevails that Germany .now
would hardly stake the issue of the
war on a desperate drive against the
all but impregnable Allied line in the
West.
Reports from Holland that Germany
semiofficially has made a peace offer
to the Entente coming at the same
time as the attack engaged immedi
ate attention. Although there was
nothing to confirm the reports it was
pointed out that the threat of G3rmauH
guns may be for its effect on the
people of England and France. Some
see significance in the fact that the
drive follows closely. on the seizure
of Dutch ships in American and Brit
ish waters.
Supreme confidence is expressed,
on every hand, however, in the Allies'
ability to arrest the Germans even
should the attack now reported under
way from La Fere to the Scarpe prove
to be the grand offensive.
KILLED DAUGHTER AND
COMMITTED SUICIDE
Ashland City, Ten., March 22. Ad
vices received here today from the
Ninth district of Cheaham county told
of the killing yesterday of Idola Dun
naway ,11 years old, by her step
father, Thomas Hamilton, 35 years, a
farmer, who, after shooting at A. P.
Dozier and Miss Mattie Dozier, with
whom the child was staying, killed
himself by slashing his throat when
Sheriff Knight went to arest him. The
child's mother died in October and
until recently she had lived with her
stepfather. Last week she obtained
a warrant charging him with numer
ous outrages on her. After a stay in
jail Hamilton made bond, returned to
his home and the tragedies followed.
GERMANS SUFFERED
SEVERE LOSSES IN
THURSDA Y'S DRIVE
London, March 22. The great bat
tle on the Western front continued
until late last night, the war office re
ports. The British are holding the
enemy.
The statement follows:
"The fighting continued until a late
hour last night on the whole front
between the river Oise and the river
Sensee. Our troops continue to hold
the enemy in their battle positions.
"During the enemy's attacks yes
terday, massed attacks offered re
markable targets to our rifles, ma.
chine guns and artillery, of which full
advantage was taken by our troops.
All the reports testify to the exceed
ingly heavy losses suffered by the
enemy.
"No serious attack has yet devel-
SHIPPING BOARD
AGENT EXPECTED
HERE THIS WEEK
M
Towle Here Todav or
r.
Saturday to Visit Ship
yard Sites
WORKING CAPITAL IS
STILL RATHER SMALL
Shipping Board Requires Lo
cal Interests to Have $1,-
000,000 Capital to Land
the Contracts
.
(By Geora H. Manning.)
Washington, D. C, March 22. Mr.
Towle, an agent of the United States
Shipping Board, is expected to reach
Wilmington today or Saturday to in
spect a site which the company being
organized to build ships at Wilming
ton plans to use as. the location of
its plant. Mr. Towle has be.en on a
trip to Charleston and will stop at
Wilmington on hjs way back. He
wil-.linspect the Wilmington, shipyard
site with a view to determining if it
is suitable for sliding completed ships
into deep water or whether a chjan
nel must be built from ;the . plant to
take the ships to deep water.
It will be at least two or three
weeks before any contract is signed
for building the fabricated ships, at
Wilmington, it was said by officials
of the Shipping Board today. Sev
eral visits have been made, here in
the past two weeks by men connect
ed with the company organized to
undertake the shipbuilding job at
Wilmington, and arrangements so far
are proceeding satisfactorily. There
may be some hitch in the plans un
less the company -is -pTepartyi to .show-
bigger financial backing than it has
yet exhibited, it was learned at the
Shipping Board today
It has been presented to. the Ship
ping Board that the newly organized
company has backing of about $500,-
00O. This is quite a large working
capital, but the board has insisted
that concerns undertaking the builcf
ing of ships have at least 10 or 12
per cent, of the total estimated cost
of the undertaking.
As the Wilmington concern is con
templating the building of eight ot
ten fabricated steel ships of abojit
8,000 tons each to cost in the neigh
borhood of $1,600,000 each, the total
job will cost about $12,0,00,000, it is
estimated, and officials of the Ship
ping Board are insisting that the
company have a working capital of
at least $1,000,000.
MANLEY VICTIMS TO
BE BROUGHT HOME
An Irish Port, March 22. The bod
ies of three men from the American
destroyer Maniey Jiave been brought
here to be embalmed for removal to
Amreica.
Announcement was made in Wash
ington yesterday that an officer and
three men of the Maniey had been
killed and 11 others injured by the
explosion of a depth charge on the
destroyer, caused by a collision in
the war zone on March 19 with a
British warship.
TRIAL OF TWO PITTS
BOYS NEARS AN END
Morganton, N. C, March 22. The
trial of Garfield and Aaron Pitts,
charged with the murder of Dr. E. A.
Hennessee at Glen Alpine, was near-
ing its end today.' J. F. Spain cour
made the closing speech for the de
fense, followed by Solicitor Huffman
for the State. Judge Cline will
charge the jury this afternoon.
is still to be expected."
The eagerly awaited British official
statement of today,; Vhich was .x
pected to give further details of the
tremendous fighting; indicated in last
night's reports, :was read with great
satisfaction insofar as it revealed that
the enemy had been held and had suf
fered great losses.
If this turns out to be the geat
German offensive that has been pre
dicted the preliminary round appears
to have gone in favor of the Entente,
although as the official report points
out, further heavjr fighting is still to
be expected.
The tremendous artillery duel was
heard more distinctly than ever in
Kent last night. Houses .were con
tinually shaken as the result . of . the
4f SSTX 4- All mm M
WAR INDUSTRIES
OF FUTURE FOR
SOUTH
KAISER WATCHES ATTACK.
London, March 22. Emperor
William, Field Marshal von Hin
denburg and General- von Luden
dorff have gone to the Western
front to witness the German at
tack, says an Exchange Telegraph
dispatch from Copenhagen. Bulga
rian and Austrian trops are now
on the Western front, the dispatch
reports.
Early Reports From Battle
Front Give Only Vague
Information
AN EFFORT TO PINCH
OFF SHARP SALIENT
Enemy's First Attempt to Cut
This Salient Was Check
ed After Hard Fighting.
t Swaying, Fortunes-: -r
London, March 22. It is not yet
possible to give more than a very
general and vague idea of the fight
ing Thursday on the front between
the Oise and the Sensee, which con
tinued with swaying fortunes, accord
ing to the accounts of correspondents
at the British front, in the morning
newspapers.
The German attack made on the
British front west and southwest of
Cambrai evidently aims at recaptur
ing all the Hindenburg line, says a
dispatch to the Morning Post frpnj
British headquarters in France, which
adds:
"The German army attacking south
of the Scarpe seems to have deliv
ered its first blow principally in the
triangle of the Arras-Cambrai and
Baupaume-Cambrai roads, while the
German army south of Cambrai is
striking against our trench systems
in the region west of the Scheldt
canal. No doubt the enemy hopes
that the attacking forces of these
two armies may succeed in forming
a junction and thus cutting off a con
siderable slice of the British front,
and taking back all the Hindenburg
trenches lost exactly four months
ago."
Struggles for villages and ruined
farm houses continued throughout
Thursday, according to the co re
spondent of the Daily Mail. "The
enemy bombardment," he says, "be
gan at 5 o'clock in the morning and
at 7 o'clock some of the German
units left their trenches and attack
ed the British with heavy and light
machine guns. Between 9 and 10
o'clock the engagement became gen
eral on a front of some 25 miles.
"The right of the German attack
was aimed at Croisilles, Bullecourt
and Lagnicourt, and thre was hard
fighting in a brick field near the first
of these villages. Along the Ba-paume-Cambrai
road the enemy also
attacked and toward Gouzeaucourt,
while his left wing was pushed in the
direction of Ronssoy and Hargicourt.
"The British front in the area of
attack forms a rather sharp salient.
If the enemy could pinch off this sa
lient and run his line straight in a
northwesterly slant instead of having
it ru at an angle first north and
then west, he would be able to hold
it with fewer troops. Also in pinch
ing it off he would hope to surround
and capture a good number of Brit
ish troops. These, itj seejns plain,
are his aims in the first stage of the
offensive.
"The enemy is trying to repeat on
a larger scale the operation by which
he won back some of the ground we
gained in the battle of Cambrai. Then
he pushed in on an angle of our "front
both, from the north and the east.
His two bodies troops did their best
to join hands but could not make it,
though they had at first considerable
success. Much the same design is
being followed now. We have good
reason to hope that it will be check
mated as was the previous one."
British Miners Accept.
London, March 22. It is under
stood that the Miners' Federation has
accepted the government's proposal
regarding the combing out of men for
military service.
GERMAN PLAN IS
TO RECAPTURE OLD
HINDENBURG LINE
IKS'
AND WEST
Complete Survey Being Macle'
With a View or Kelieving . pj
.i rr . r.!v,M
the bast - ifS i u is
SOON TO ANNOUNCE
A DEFINITE POLICY I
,m
Government Turns to
theTpl"
Relief Will Transfer far !j
Contracts From East
Washington, March 22. An extenj;:;b
sive survey of the location of war in-;):,:;
dustries, now being made by the War ,V ;!,-
Industrial Board and several other f'jl
government departments, may, result y
shortly in the transfer of many gov
Prtiinpiit rnn tract r from the industri KiUa
ally congested East to the West and J'
South where factories are worKinq
under less pressure, labor is not quite ;p?' i
so scarce and railroad transportation !jl;..,r;'
conditions are better. 1 " -hI
The subject has recently been dls-.;;1:,. f;
cussed, it was learned today, between if f
ronroaentativps nf thft War Industries i!ftf!i
representatives of the War Industries
Board, ' Railroad Adminlstratien
Treasury, Shipping Board and the
Labor Department. Attempts are be
ing made to formulate a definite pol
icy, which probably will be announc
ed soon.
The joint policy of the railroad and
port freight to South Atlantic nd ifB
Gulf nnrts. now besrinnine to mater-. !iKr!l
iallze, is certain to result ..evenuwiftpj
in the drawing or manufacturing
ward those points, it Is pointed ui
Reports -to- the War JAdnale-iJrt
already indicate a tendency or mam
facturers in the Mississippi 'Valley
and the South to figure bide on govr
ernment contracts in accordance with ; u'
few
these new alignments of rail and w'vri.
ter transportation. . -. . ,
A committee of traffic experts heai-fe
ed by B. L. Winchell, of the Ulrica- );
Pacific, is now in the South studying mjf
railroad trackage and terminal facil-;
ities with the intenton of recommend'
irig a scheme of routing more traffic 1
over lines not overburdened already ;t:
as are Eastern roads. Similar studies fXy
VriTra mola rf MMHla Wrt S -t i'Hl
and a report to Director General Mc-
Adoo is looked for soon.
POOL FUEL OIL EAST
nr nnnii mini hit mini
I I- Ml II H V U II INIfllMV r
ui iuuii muumnuw m j
Action Necessary Because -oitft.'
Transfer of Tankers From
Coastwise Service . v'Hiflj
i-t.J-' T (1
Washington, March 22. TMfeu;$vlt
of tank steamers from coastwise to :,' p.
other routes has been chiefly respond i
ciVila fn-n tVio Hofiolnn -if tiA TTSial A A. ;
ministration to order the poolinc ofMir .;
all fuel east of the Rocky Mountain hi
it was learned today. Difficulties offj
distribution have arisen which ,threat-f !
en an artificial shortage of oil in the) il !
ia ripemp.fi amnle for essential nAfirt t ':i '! ''it
Approximately 60 per cent, of the jr.. j ;
coastwise tankers have been taken 2 1 i
off to carry oil to the navy and to tha. f
Allies. vriii:
Greater economy in the use of tan& !-' I;
cars is being sought to offset the Ioss-. pyr
and free time for unloading oil .,lar.'v
the East has been cut from 48 to 2
hours. it
Suggestions for a pipe line . froni,
Beaumont, Texas, to Savannah. Gal1
as a means of quick transportation of
fuel oil to the Atlantic seaboard have!
been abandoned because steamers can
be built more quickly and more cheap
ly. The cost of the
pipe line wouWsf ( 4
),000,000.
UflSH -'mlim
have been about $29
ANOTHER SPANISH
CABINET FORMED
Madrid, March 22. Antonio Maurajt V r
forming a cabinet to succeed that ol'
the Marquis de Alhucemas. Senoe!
Maura will be Premier, former Pre-4
mier Dato will be Minister of Foreign
Affairs, Count Romanones, .Miniate.
of Justice, and General Marina,
ister or war. Tne Marquis de Ainu x , 4-1
cemas will take the interior portfolio,! cj i
Count Romanones also is a fonaeS'
Premier.
Snow in Texas Panhandle. VI ? f
Fort Worth, Texas, March ' 22ipj
Snow was reported falling early jto
day in the Texas Panhandle. ?Atic.'.
Perico the snow fall began last night
but the flakes melted as they struck f
the earth.
- lr S.;3' lit.
S it
mm
' i
m
r m
Mm
f'i SmI: t.l
l.4 S Uj .1
mm
r
tiii
4
if 4
mm
i
i.
1
'V ns
Si
If
m
tern;
mm
'X
m
r. I ,