North Carolina Newspapers

1 .'.... -ft - M- V I ''t-j t ; ' WEATHER: North and South Car 0,ina: Fair; warmer to night and Wednesday. H FULL LEASED WIRE SERVICE .1 VOL. XXIV. No., 77. WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA, TUESDAY AFTERNOON, MARCH 26, 1918 PRICE FIVE CENlSfi ATTACK 1MB ' , ' 1 J TODAY'S liEWSSll l today: i.m ' 1 .i ' '&m ;-if Si GERMANS FKENOl )!;- I BMTISH fPORTUM Big Events Expected to, De velop Favorably to Allies in Few Hours GERMAN GAINS MADE AT HEAVY EXPENSE In Five Days Germans Have! Covered About Two-thirds i of Ground From Which They Retired a Year Ago Although still giving ground at points before the desperate German drive, the British and French armies engaged in the great battle in North ern France are preserving their united tront intact and apparently awaiting the opportune moment for the deliv try of a counter blow to dispel the German dream- of world domination. Big events are impending in the immediate future, at any rate, and the j advices from the front indicate that these are expected to develop favor ably to the Allies, probably within the next few hours.; All accounts agree that Germany is paying heavily for every foot of ground she has wrested from the Al lied armies. ' Her casualties are shown by the British official state ment to have mounted so high that every part of the Western front has had to be drawn upon to provide badly needed reinforcements for the battle area. . . jri 5 Field Marshal Haig's report reveals that more tlian 70 divisions or be tween 800,000 and 900,000 men, have already been engaged in the battle on the German side, and the wide spread call for fresh troops makes it plain that the fighting forces are be ing rapidly used up in the terrific and costly onslaught. Forty divisions of the German reserve are reported to have been thrown into the line as early as the second day of the battle. The rearward movement in the face of the Teutonic attack has now brought the Allied iarmies well, toward the edge of their former battle lines in the Somme area and in the devas tated region to the southeast. Field Marshal Haig reports the new British line drawn somgwhat to the east of Albert and Roy. Paris indicates the French fighting front as extending southward from Chaulnes, past Xoyon, which has been evacu ated by the French, and then running eastward along the southern bank of the river Oise. The German troops have been 're ported as rapidly tiring from their breathless plunge into the Entente lines and they were evidently forced to take a breathing spell last night opposite the British front, as thejfcon don noonday statement reports the fighting to have died down. This morning, however, fresh forces prob ably had been brought up and the attack was being resumed south of the Somme in the Roye and Chaulnes areas. ' . It is in this sector and in the Xoyon region that the German wedge is being driven in hardest and it is here, or on the line to the east, should the Germans further expose their left wing, that the weight of the expected counter blow may fall. The French on their line are hold 's? the line of the Oise strongly. Their artillery is cutting huge swaths to the German columns and the French infantry is making frequent punter attacks, inflicting- heavy ' josses upon the Germans and retard JDg their advance. The British evidently aro maintain lng their marked superiority in the air on the battle front and are throw In? the German supply stations and lines of communications in the rear mto confusion by air attacks at close range. As the battle line now stands it is not much greater in length than the line which the Germans attacked, but the enemy now has exposed his front to flank attacks both from the north and south. ' . y In five days the Germans have ad Vanced over approximately two-thirds of the territory devastated and made urncst a barren waste, in the retire ment to the Hindenburg line a year onusn airmen continue to give strong help to the Infantry a,nd artil- ier and the latest statement, renorts that they accounted for 67 enemy ma chines, 45 of which were shot down. ine British loss was 10. Entente avia tors also have bombed Cologne and railway stations behind the battle line a well as airdromes and billets. Tc Palestine British troops, crossing Lne river Jordan in o free, c north of Jericho, are within three miles of Es Sait, south of Mount Gilead. mm ah com ALLIES CONFIDENT THAT THEY HOLD TRUMP When Germany Plays Her Trump, Allies Expect to Overtrump KNEW THAT ENEMY WOULD ADVANCE That German Troops Would Make Some Progress in Supreme Effort Was Realized in Advance French Front in France, Monday, March 25. Entire confidence reigns that ,the German's last trump in the world battle will be over-trumped when the proper moment comes. The Allied militaries were fully cognizant that the enemy's supreme - effort would cause a retreat until measures could be taken to check the irruption " Am- niwva fh sLtsmrAr "nnfisfiSsed i the advantage of knowing exactly where they would launch their on slaught whileFjiiie defenders were compelled to await developments of the battle before meeting the onrush with counter measures. There is every sign in today's situ ation that the terrific attack in which apparently somewhere in the neigh borhood of one million Germans, of all arms are engaged, is being slack ened. The resistance of the Allies seems firmer and the arrival on the scene of French reserves sent up to the Southern flank, brought welcome support to the British who sustained the first powerful rush. The German divisions which began what evidently was intended to be an irresistiDie iorwara movement, were so cut up that they were replac ed by fresh formations. The ground over which the fighting has taken place possesses small tac tical value but it permitted the Al lies to retire in perfect order. It had been devastated by the Germans before they retreated last yar and tire inhabitants had not had time or means to build it up again. While retiring across what was almost des ert land, the British inflicted enof mous losses on the enemy, who threw away thousands of lives in an effort to overcome the resistance he encoun tered. When the retiring British reached the Somme and the canal they turned about and gave battle, meeting repeated and long sustained endeavors of both infantry and cav alry. The initial rush of the enemy seems to have been stopped., -Military opin' ion generally is that this first phase of the great battle, in which even more troops were employed than in the battle of the Marne, gives no indication what the result will be. Nevertheless developments are await ed by the Allies without anxiety. LYNCHING REPORTED IN BERTIE COUNTY . Norfolk, Va., March 26 News has reached the city that a negro, named Peter Bazemore, 19 years old, was lynched Saturday night by an infuri ated mob, one mile from Lewiston, Bertie county, North Carolina. The negro was charged, and it is claimed, confessed to the criminal assault on the wife of a well-to-do farmer. The crime, it is said, occurred early Saturday afternoon. The negro caught the woman alone in the house and when she attempted to" attract the at tention of her husband, working in a nearby field because of the advances of the negro, he knocked her down with a piece of stove wood. In less than an hour a posse had been form ed and trailed Bazemore for more than ten hours before he was finally captured. The crowd, infuriated by the negro's deed, having received a message that the wftmata's condition was precarious, strung him up to a tree about ?0 minutes after he was captured. The woman's condition is said still to be critical. Her skull was frac tured the blow. fflt HIGH MOMENT fm BLOW GERMAN WARSHIP CUT IN HALF BY A BRITISH BOAT Details of the Naval Action Off Dunkirk Last Thursday ENEMY CAFT FARED BADLY IN THE FIGHT German Destroyers Were Bombarding When Briti ish and French Ships Rushed Into Action London, March 26. In the engage ment between Allied and enemy de stroyer squadrons off Dunkirk last Thursday, the British destroyer Botha cut a German warship in half and took a leading part in the fight, al though her main steam pipe had been severed by a stray shell. Early last Thursday morning the British destroy ers Botha and Morrls'and ""the French destroyers Capitaine Mehl, Magon and Bouclier, were patrolling the eastern waters of the English channel when they heard enemy ships bombarding the coast of Dunkirk. They fired star shells, which had the effect of silenc ing the bombardment and scattering the enemy. The destroyers started in pursuit of the Germans in a northwesterly direc tion and discovered eventually, tha: the enemy ships were making for their base. A grim fight ensued, ac cording to stories of eyewitnesses. None of the German torpedoes found a mark, but the Morris, emerg ing from an enemy smoke screen cut off a German destroyer of a large type and torpedoed her at a range o 500 yards. There was an explosion in the enemy vessel and she sank im mediately. Meanwhile the Botha had been crip pled and she began to lose her way The crew determined to do what dam age they could and fired both their torpedoes at the two leading enemy boats. Then, her helm having been put hard over, the Botha rammed an other boat clearly amidships, cutting the enemy vessel in half. ( Swinging around the Botha attempt ed to repeat the ramming .maneuver on the next German astern. The en emy craft, however ,eluded the effort of the crippled Britisher, but only to fall a victim t the French destroyers. Abiaze.i the German boat lay disabled while the Frenchman pounded her with torpedoes "and gunfire. The Morris lost the rest of the quarry in the mist and took the lame Botha in tow, while the French de stroyers circled around, picking up prisoners. From . the statements of prisoners it appears that 18 German craft participated in the raid and when they fled from the French coast, leaving three of their number behind, they were attacked by the British air squadron, which pelted them with bombs and scattered them in disorder in all directions. v Two German destroyers and two German torpedo boats were believed to have been sunk in the action off Dunkirk, according to an announce ment made by the British admiralty on March 21. It was said that noAl lied vessels were sunk and; that one damaged British destroyer' had reach ed port. 1 NEW YORK SHAKEM. New York, March 26. Thevdty was shaken and alarmed by tjhres or four violent explosions at v3:06 o'clock this afternoon, "he sounds came from the direction' of Jtfew Jersey. The explosions continued rabid ly. A column of smoke was ob servable .rising in Jersey City. . Flames shot upward, the smpka high enough to be visible ,ovef the tops of buildings. AULT irir TTh h II II II II II Ar in. b ? London, March 26. The fighting died down during the night, the war office' reports. selves in new positions east of The Germans this morning combined French and British The German losses have been been obliged to bring up reinforcements from all parts of the Western front, lhe war office has established the fact that more than seventy German divisions, An the neighborhood of 840,000 men, have been engaged. Violent Attacks on French. Paris, March 26. The battle continues with the greatest violence and the Germans are making still greater efforts along the whole front between Noyon and Chaulnes, the war office announces. Noyon was evacuated by the French during the night. The left bank of the Oise is being held firmly by the French. "The battle continues wtih violence. During' last evening and in the night the enemy multiplied his attacks on the whole front between Noyon anc Chaulnes. The French artillery, well established in the region of Noyon and supported effec tively by our infantry, is retarding the German thrust. Fre quent counter attacks have been made and heavy losses in flicted upon the enemy. j "Noyon was evacuated during the night in perfect order The French are holding the left bank of the Oise firmly' Important Development Expected. British Army Headqaurters is reason to believe important the new f ew IwiJshicIvrrly' f fk arvie vp eWmlno tK P.prman or. Un o-V, f 1' 1 i rtoX The enemy is righting desperately hard against -time J Un tko fii-of rpprvp wr . trV ii the end or tne second day some tu aivisiona rrom me reserves had been put in. A heavy German attack yesterday about Ervillers was com pletely smashed by the British artillery fire. The withdrawal was not due to pressure against this sector of the line. Reports from all along the front indicate that the German loss of life yesterday was heavy. The enemy ad vanced against allied gunners who were firing with open sights. Retiring Slowly. London, March 26. Exacting the heaviest toll for every foot of ground, the British line continues to withdraw slowly before the pressure of the German rhasses, Reuters corre spondent at British headquarters wires. Over a large part of the battle zone the retirement is being made voluntarily so as to maintain an unbroken front. Pris oners say the advance of the Germans is behind their schedule. T CHOICE OF SENTENCE Either Go to the Farm or Pay Fine and Quit the County Jessie Thomas, white, who was ar rested at her home in the Brooklyn section of the city Monday night on a charge of violating the prohibition law must either go to the county farm for three months or pay a fine of $100 and get out of the county by Friday. The last judgment is only possible upon condition that she en ter a pleaof nolo contendere which is equivalent to pleading guilty in that it is an admission that she is unable to establish her innocence. She was offered either of the two judgments following the taking of evidence in the Tuesday morning session of Re corder's court. Neither had been ac cepted early this afternoon and judg ment was still open. The trial of the Thomas woman was the feature case of i the day, since the cases against Nellie Russell, Dbrotliy Lane and other young white women, were con tinued until tomorrow upon request of counsel for the defense. The wom an's house was searched and her ar rest effected by Officers Tom" M. Hall, Leon Long and Williams. Joe Goldberg, white, was arraigned on a charge of vagrancy but was dis charged as not guilty, the defendant showing the court that he was regu larly employed. The case charging Bill Coleman, white, with violation of the prohibition law, was continued until Wednesday and $100 bond re quired for his appearance in court, . Judgment was left open in the case charging George Roderick with an as- HOMAS WOMEN GIVEN SON- RITISH REICH The British established them Roye and Albert. began new attacks against the forces south of the Somme. so great that the enemy has in France, March 26.- There events will be recorded within lead to a betterment of-the posi4harass ;-'iS iV$:1A&"4i&' rtAir.A tn S2 rlivisinfi? A At v r i Mustard Shells at Rate of Six a Minute Came Over With the American Army in France,- Monday, March 25. The American positions on a certain part of the Toul front were bombarded with mustard gas shells at the rate of six a minute last night, but inef fectively. The American artillery re plied with a heavy fire and demolish ed segments of the German front lines and other points. A German airplane flew over the American lines during the night, and dropped a shell which did not explode but dug a deep hole. At noon today a French airplane brought down a German machine opposite the German lines. h. American observers find increased activity behind the enemy lines. Many horses, vehicles and bicycles are mov ing along the roads. The patrols were active during the night and an Amer ican party found a camouflage suit abandoned by a German sniper. sault with a deadly weapon and sim ilar action was taken as regards the case charging Vergie Taylor, colored, with vagrancy. Solicitor Burton, in this instance was called upon to pros ecute his cook and while the natural conclusion would be that the solicitor is Hooverizing to the extent that preparation of a meal could not be classed as work, the evidence disput ed this, being to the effect that the Taylor woman had only accepted em ployment in his home in the last day or so. AMERICAN POSITIONS ON UNDER FIRE MYSTERY GUN WAS MADE IN AUSTRIA DECLARES VIENNA WAR DEPARTMENTS REASONS FOR NOT GIVING ADDRESSES General March Says the Old Method Gave Enemy Val uable Information WILL KEEP AWAY CLAIM ADJUSTERS deneral Pershing Upon Re quest of French Govern ment Asked That Ad dresses be Withheld Washington, March 26. An official statement of the War Department's reasons for announcing only the names of American troops killed or wounded in France was submitted to the Senate today by Major General March, acting chief of staff, with a statement that the department con siders it of best advantage from al points of view. General March said the old system of giving addresses and other details gave information to the enemy and bmweht - $wrnis. . of Claim agentsto The policy of the War Department, General March told the Senate, is "to put in the hands of the nearest rei- aUve or the last friend given by the soldier , in his emergency address, prompt" and accurate information con cerning the casualty before anything i sgiven to the press and to prevent any information appearing, in the pa pers which will be of any possible as sistance to the German cause." "The old system," General .March added, "which gave the date of the casualty, enabled the Germans to get exactly what effect was produced up on our troops in a raid of that date and you would be interested to know that the publication of the emergency address brought down upon the rela tives a swarm of claim agents who guaranteed they would get from the government the war risk insurance, which is guaranteed by laws to the proper inheritor. "In spite of the fact that the de partment has in each case advised the nearest relatives that their claims will be adjusted by the government, numbers of poor people have yielded to the importunities of these agents and are thereby deprived of a portion of what is justly their due. JThe raids along our front are for the purpose of capturing one soldier, if possible, with the object of obtain ing from him information about the organization on which is opposed to the German lines at this point. With the publication of the names of the nearest relative, the German agent in the United States approaches the rel atives and obtains from them the in formation which Germany is attempt ing to obtain from bur front by at tacks on our forces. In France they publish no casualty list at all and the information reaches the relatives from the mayor of prefect of the town where the relatives live who is re quired to communicate the facts to them verbally. The department is in receipt ot letters from men of high standing the country, who have sons abroad protesting vigorously against any change in the new system and de manding that no information shall be given to the press which could be in any possible way of assistance to the Germans confronting their sons in France. THIRD LIBERTY LOAN IS Interest Rate Will Be 4 1-4 . Per Cent, Says Announce ment Washington, March 26. The Third Liberty L,oan, to open April 6, will be for $3,000,000,000 and all over-subscriptions at 4 1-4 per cent, interest. Bonds of the first loan bearing 3 1-2 per cent, interest and of the second loan at 4 per cent, may be converted into the new 'bonds, but those of the third loan- will not be convertible In 31000.000 mi m Comes From New Shell and Explosives M THE GUN PRODUCES 'if'-. SURPRISE OF WAR British Expert Figures That Projectile Weighs About J 380 Pounds Enorm- ous Strain on Gun Geneva, Monday, March 25. ThevllSii range guns bombarding Paris, accord--jm ing to a Vienna dispatch received here, are of Austrian manufacture, having, if:!; been built at the Skoda factoryv Th$. gun itself is not new, but its novelty, comes from a new type of shell and the explosive gases used in the gun.- There are said to be only two or. three of the guns. "The Mystery Gun." 'I London, March 25. In the "mys&v ery gun" the name generally given t the weapon with which the Germans are bombarding Paris from a distance estimated at 75 miles, it is frankly, cdnceded by experts the enemy ha sprung one of the greatest surprises of the war. General Sir Desmond O'Callaghan, t formerly president of the army prd nance committee, says of the German gun: : "The projectiles must have been fired from longer and heavier guns and with a more powerful propelli4 than we have any knowledge ofv that"" the "extraordinary Tattgr r-;tW4 gun is due to the projectile being pro vided with a second charge which ex" plodes when the., first stage of tha flight is completed, giving it a fresh. impetus. This theory is scouted, by, General OCallaghan as is -also tha variant of it, that the projectile is fit: ted with a propeller enabling it to continue its journey when it is no longer driven by the projecting force from the gun. "It would seem," says General O'Callaghan, "that a new departure in ballistics can alone explain the enormous range which is three times that of anything heretofore accom- plished." ' x: ' One expert estimates that the weight of the projectile is about 380 pounds and that it leaves the gun with a muzzle velocity of about 4,000 feet per second, the gun having 'an elevation of about 65 degrees,' which "very quickly takes the projectile into, a stratum of rarified air in which re sistance, is greatly minimized." The strain upon the gun he says, must be enormous and probably it would be unable to survive more than a hundred rounds at the most ,the cost of each being nearly 1,000 pounds sterling. All the experts agree that at such a tremendous range even approximate accuracy is out of the question and therefore the gun is only of use where a target is presented on a vast cals f ' j like Paris. Thfi nhiflrt aiiripH at tfcoVj U say, is rather more moral than maw terial, but in both respects the gun is likely to prove less effective than airplane raiders. A Skoda Gun, Says Washington, f. Washington, March 26. The Ger man mystery gun was first identified as probably being an Austrian Skoda In Associated Press dispatches from Washington last Saturday. Ordnance experts of the Allies mis sions here, on reading of the lone' range bombardment of Paris, declar- in-fed that if the shells actually were being thrown by a gun, it undoubted- ly was the Skoda, as that was the on ly gun they knew of, susceptible to; such long range development. They did not consider, however the possi bility that the shells were being thrown such an unheard of distance ov a new eras. t to any future issue. V This announcement was made by Secretary McAdoo. in connection with the loan, tha If ssecreatry plans to establish a sink ing fund with which to purchase back any bonds of the third loan thrown upon the market, in order to aid ' in! if seeping me prices up to par. ' Tha maturity of the bonds is yet to be determined, but it was officially 'Stat ed that they would be long term, prob. ably between 20 and 30 years. Financial observers were surprised at the comparatively small size of tha loan and at the low interest rate. Re duction of- government expenses and Allied loans below former estimates T J .1 , . "1T4 5 1 is responsible for the loan's size,- See I retary McAdoo explained. He ' said ' the bonds were made non-converti! V indicating his purpose to maintain if the 4 1-4 rate for future loans.- ' 1 it;.' r H:'V;,i 1 vr. 1 8.1 3 -mm H. Mi: mi Mil I. II m ma Mill If 5 I ki. m ! ! r- .in? ,1 -If m Hi m it; m mi m in- h if it u : 't ' :1 Ml 1 s.-r mi '.4 fa mi m 7 1- ' A : ! iff