North Carolina Newspapers

VOL. XXIV. NO. 122. 1 . . WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA. SATURDAY EVENING, MAY J 1 . 191 8. FIVE GENTS ENEMY'S TROOPS ARE STILL BEING HELD BACK German Big Guns Bombard heavily the Allied Lines. SOME LOCAL FIGHTING Berlin Claims Repulse Small Attack by the British Forces. of AMERICANS ARE BUSY Bombarded Germans West r Montdidier and in a Raid Northwest of Toul Artil lery Actions in Italy. Whatever big move the Germans may be preparing for on the western jattle front, they are lnding an active ind alert foe confronting them. The French official statement, in particular fairly bristles - with ac jounts of intensive artillery and raid ing activities and nore . important minor thrusts against the eGrmans in various sectors. In addition the lat ent British aviation report indicates s:ch thorough command of the air 'hat in one day's fighting 27 German machines were brought down while :he British losses were only six ma rines. French troops figured in the most telling strokes delivered by the infantry last night, both in Flanders and south of the Somme. . In the former area an operation was carried out which advanced the French line somewhat in te regios east of Locre, an importast olding point against t'anking operations directed at Mont Rouge. British troops made a suc :essful raid near Merville, to the west y. this area. On the southern battle i.xnt. besides carrying out fceveral profitable raids, the French bit into :ae German line on the front erween .Montdidier and Noyon. Ail apprecia te gain of ground was made here northwest of OrvillersrSoreJ, seven aiiles southeast of Montdifln,.,., There - ndicatf oris that; th$ Ger mans ha in into serious .trouble as the n of their recent ; high handed a. in the iplrjrilne'- V-!TTie people are .eported toCAawe taraad patches froc Dutch oitrces "report that Bavarian cavalry detachjaaests are being withdrawn from" the west ern front and sent to the Ukraine:" UKKRAIXIA London, May 11. The sitrration in Uirainia has become so disturbed, that the eGrmans have despatched arge detachments of Bavarian caral T from Flanders on the way" to ' krainia, the correspondent . at Am rerdam of the Exchange Telegraph ' sports. ' . ' eurmany s attacking troops are am. ueiu m leasn, wmie me oig eat- my guns bombard heavily" the allien lines on the Flanders and Somme battlefields. Southwest of Ypres the Germans have not attempted to re peat the futile attack of Wednesday against the FFrench and British be tween VoVormeetle and La Clytt. Tke German artillery along this line, however, is violent. On the southern leg of the Lys 5a!ient. the Germans are bombarding the Robecq sector and also are pay- n igattention to the British positions about Vimy ridge on the Arras front. On the Somme battlefield the British -1 nave enjrased in some local fichr.mr I around Aveluv wood, between Albert I and Arras, and Berlin claims the re Pulse of a local British attack here. The French hold on Grivesnes park, on the front south of the Somme is still secure. The Germans are shell ing the new French positions intense ly but have not yet attempted coun ter attacks in force. West of Mont didier American gunners have been bombarding the Germans in the vil lages of Cantigny and Mesnil St. Georges, fires resulting. South of the sector the German guns have been active between Noyon and Lassigny. American troops on the sector nosthwest of Toul assisted the French in a successful raid into the German positions in Apremont forest Friday. The American guns aided he French, and east of the raided section, American patrols made a di version by entering the village of Apremont, which was found to be de serted. Active artillery fighting is going on n some sectors of the Italian and Macedonian fronts. There also have een patrol engagemnts on these 'ronts, but no heavy fighting. Lyinj; 150 to 200 yards within the entrance to the harbor of Ostend, the W British cruiser Vindictive, it is believed, will hamper the passage of German destroyers. Whether she be able to keep the submarines from coming in or going out is yet uncertain, but she serves a useful Purpose in narrowing the submarine Passage. The action of the tides and he movement of silt against the old nulk will tend eventually to close up lhe passage unless the Germans can remove the obstruction readily. Low Mark for Bonds. Xew York, May 11. The new lib ty 41-4 per cent, bonds sold down 2 a new low record of 98.30 today, tQe second day of the trading in them & the stock exchange here. The transactions were comparative! small ATTACKING Official Report BRITISH. Londoi.. May 11. French troops, advanced their line slightly yes-' terday evening, east of Locre, on the Flanders front, the war office announces. The statement follows: 'French troops advanced' iir nne - sugntiy yesterday ev g, east of Locre, and capture r eral prisoners. We carrle at successful raids during the fL it west of Merville and broHgh k a few prisoners and mi e guns. A raid "attempted hV e enemy east Of Ypres was st d by our fire." FRENCH. Paris, May 11. Heavy artillery fighting on the front below Amiens in the region of . Griyes nes and Mallly-Raineval, is report ed in today's official communica tion. The French gained ground on the southern side of the Picardy battlefront, near OrviUers-Sorel, southeast of Montdidier. The statement follows: "During the night very spir ited artillery fighting continued all along the front in the region of Grivesnes and Mailly Raine val. North of Grivesnes our troops carried out a raid and took 15 prisoners. In a local op eration at Mareul wood, northwest of Orvlllers-Sorel, we made an appreciable gain of ground. Thirty--nine prisoners and several ma chine guns fell into our hands. A German counter attack, was brok en up completely by our fire. "French detachments made sev eral incursions into the German lines, especially southeast of Montdidier, northeast of Thisu court, in the sector of Sapigneul and in the Woevre, taking prison ers and material. , "There Is nothing to report elsewhere on the front." RUSSIA IS FACING A ermati-'Fih3s : Economic Dominion Insufficient and and Seeks Military. London, May 11. Russia has been suddenly faced with events that may again change the political outlook, the Petrograd correspondent of the Daily Express telegraphs. Germany, he says, has apparently found tht economic do minion over -Russin territory is in sufficient and is seeking military oc At, dtt.0 cpaain ftf Bolshevik government council has been held in Petrograd to discuss the situation created by the ultimatum recently de livered by the German ambassador, Count von Mirbach, which embodied demands of a character apparently cal culated to turn Russia virtually intd a German colony. Premier Lenine'3 speech at this meeting was extremely pessimistic, the correspondent reports According to the newspaper Poinia the uqestion of transferring the capi- tal to Nijni Novgorod was broached as was the subject of immediate military measures for tbe defense of Moscow against possible aerial attacks. TO LAUNCH FRENCH SHIP IN SAVANNAH. Savannah, Ga., May 11. The .Sav annah Engineering and Construction company is to launch an 1,800-toa vessel for the French government on Wednesday of next week. While the vessel will be christened the Lees hr name is to be changed at once to the Vrdun. commmorating the great battle of that name. The verdun will cost $250,000. War Labor Administrator. Washington, May 11. Felix Frank furter, of Harvard university, was ap pointed by Secretary of Labor Wilson today as administrator of war labor activities. 1,300,000 MEN HAVE BEEN CALLED INTO SERVICE BY DRAFT. Washington, May 11.-More than 1,300,000 men have been called in the, draft so far and either are in France, in camp, or under call to go into service be fore June 1., The total ' of 1,300,000 includes all men summoned in the May contingent. There is every indi cation that even a larger Incre ment will be summoned in June than was suummoned in May and a progressive monthly mobiliza tion continue through the summer and fall months as the canton ments are expanded. It is ' ex pected that at such a rate, the army will reach a full strength of wel lover 3,000,000 within the next 12 or 13 months. It Is possible, some officials say, that the num ber will be closer to 6,000,000 3, OSTEND BLOCKADE M WRECK YESTERDAY IS ONLY PARTIAL CAUSED NINE DEATHS While Not Completely Ef f ective, it is Very Useful. WILL HAMPER EGRESS Vessels Will Have to Use Ex treme Caution in Entering the Harbor. OBSTRUCTION GROWS Tide and Silt Aid Work Start ed by the Vindictive- Zeebrugge Blockade Partially Effective. London, May 11. It Is declared on unquestionable authority that the sunken cruiser Vindictive lies in the neck of the channel at the entrance to Ostend harbor at an angle of about 40 degrees. It Is obvious that a ves sel 300 feet long lying at this angle does not effectively block a channel some 320 feet wide, but a useful pur pose has been served A partial and very serious block ade has been achieved and under the conditions of tide and rapid silt pre vailing on the Belgian coast the ob struction will certainly tend to in crease. It Is not claimed that the sunken cruiser will prevent the egress of submarines or even entirely stop that of destroyers. However, it will materially hamper both, German light craft will not be able, wnen pursued by British forces, to rush full speed nto the harbor, Conditions were fairly favorable for the venture. That part of the Bel gian coast is heavily armed and the small number of British casualties in dicates the enemy was surprised. With regard to Zeebrugge i the Brit ish government .is satisfied the Ger man stories of unrestricted ingress and egress are inaccurate. Air pho tographs are said to demonstrate l-clearly the falsity of the enemy state ment. In the case of Ostend it is com puted that at least three or four days must elapse before, the channel f-can bQ cleared and Jtapys placed rjbe- Urcroiser and, the land. In the meantime the tide and silt wil lbe at work. In the Zeebrugge case the silt is collecting very fast, despite the work of . enemy dredges. The position of the block ing cruisers at Zeebrugge is such that any attempt to blow them up would be fraught with considerable danger to neighboring permanent structures. The smallness of the casualties sus tained at Ostend Friday does not in dicate bad shooting by the Germans. The weather conditions Were favor able to the raiders and the Vindictive carried only sufficient men to work her properly. The old cruiser Vindictive went to her last berth 150 to 200 yards with in the piers forming the entrance to the harbor of Ostend, one of the Ger man submarine bases on the Belgian coast, under a terrific fire from the German naval guns and machine guns on the shore, according to the Cen tral News. Preparatory to the raid into Ostend, the naval air force bombarded the town and dropped bombs continuously on the harbor works, causing fi-es. Later the airmen were assisted by destroyers and monitors in bombard ing the enemy positions heavily. The entire operation was carried out on similar lines to the raid of April 23 of Zeebruugge. For the sec ond time in a month a smoke screen was used successfully. About 2 o'clock in the morning a large force of destroyers and coastal motor boats steamed up toward the shore, the mc u . tor boats going alongside it. ThJa"m average being .316 for the til 15 minutes before the Vindictive was sunk, when a sea fog drove in shore and reduced the visibility to a range between 300 and. 400 yards. The Vindictive experienced the greatest difficulty in finding the en trance. The enemy employed star shells and searchlights extensively and for 20 minutes the' vessel was in ful view of the enemy batteries. As she cruised up and down seek ing the entrance she was hit repeat edly and several casualties were sus tained. It was 2:20 o'clock when the piers were sighted almost alongside, and then the German machine guns opened a fearful fire. Having found its bearings the cap tain swung his concrete-laden cruiser around and rammed her stem against the eastern pier, leaving his lieutenant to work the engines with the object of sending the ship across the chan nel. He then , discovered that the cruiser was aground aft and it was impossible to turn her any farther. He called his crew from the engine room and stokehold and set off explosive charges. Airmen, according to the Central News report, say the Vindictive is ly ing submerged at an angle of 40 de grees at the eastern entrance with her stem against the pier. While the vessel wes- being aban doned two motor launches went along side under a heavy machine gun fire and succeeded in bringing off the men, including the wounded. A large number of the officers and men who took part in he operation Private W. C. Bryson, of Can dler, N.C., With Victims, Died Last Night; Columbia, S. C, May 11. The - toll of dead from the wreck yesterday at tamp jacKson or an outward bound troop train stood, at nine this morn ing. Military authorities this mornlne confirmed tne 'unofficial -report last night of. the death of Private W. C. Bryson, of Candler, N. C, which oc curred In the base hospital: A thor ough Investigation of the wreck has been begun by a military board with Lieutenant Colonel Halstead, of the 321st infantry, as president.- CLUB STEWARD IN COLUMBIA KILLED. Columbia, S. C, May 11. James Mc Laughlin, steward of the Eagles club, was found dead in his room at the club this morning, his skull iver his left ear crushed.- Police immediately began an investigation, but there is no clue as yet to his slayer. Mr, Mc Laughlin had been dead several hours when his body was discovered by a member of the club. He was a na tive of Springfield, Mass. every american soldier Armed Washington, May 11 AlthmiB-h American troops are going overseas in large numbers, the ordnance de partment has been able to keen ud with the ne wprogram and every sol dier wno boardsa transport is fully equipped with arms, the ordnance bu reau announced today. ' Artiller yand machine guns already are in France in sufficient quantities it was said, to meet immediate de mande. WOULD POSTPONE POSTAL RATE RAISE Washington, May 11 Notice waa given in the Senate today by Senator Watson, of Indiana that next Mondav Khe will move to suspend the rules to "Introduce a bill - postponing for one Tear, enforcement of the provision in the war revenue act increasing second jCla pstaJ rAtes, wbticlL goes intar ef- lecp on jwy l. . : Newspaper publishers have protest ed that the act is unowrkable and that its operation should be suspended until .congress oan put the increases on a scientific basis. Swanson on Rules Committee. Washington, May 11 New commit tee assignment in senate include: Senator Swanson. of ViVrginia, to the rules committee. Jimmy Johnston would like to match his heavyweight Gunboat Smith against Jim Coffey, but pro moters -evidently are hot keen for the clash. Joe Wood has developed into quite a fancy gardener. The former star pitcher of the Red Sox is putting up a nice game for the Cleveland In dians. Mike Brady, the well known pro fessional golfer, has left Boston to oin the naval reserves at San Fran cisco. On the way across the conti nent Brady will play exhibition ames in several cites. Boxing experts who have been giV Ing Benny onard the up and down say the lightweight champion has grown so heavy it is doubtful if ae an again make the weight limit. The Giants appear to be' using high ill 4 mm - . Ill , mw M" jbfe, " - i Members of the Camouflage Squad working on a model in which they, will develop - me'uVdds'?: bt concealing batteries roads, etc., from the enemy view. , ' ti -t ;t ,'4t.fit Copyright, Underwood & Underwoo. The 'Old Man in the Navy" and Hi$ Qrandson it i On the left is Gaston V. Lowe, 20 City, Mo., in 1917. On the right is served in the navy from 1861 to 1865. 1917, as carpenters mate. Copyright, Committee on Public Information, Underwood & Underwood. STOCKS VIGOROUS AND ACTIVE1AST WEEK This is Accounted For by the Constructive Tenor of Conditions. New York, May 11. The construc tive and helpful tenor of the week's many developments accounted for the extraordinary actiyity and vigorous rlse ln stocks those bing furtherseBf hanced by favorable tecarfeal condi tions. The amazing success of the liberty loan campaign, the additional check to the German offensive, excellent - crop prospects and the forward strides re ported in various industries embolden ed speculative interests to a degree not witnessed before this year. That banking interests were not al- together averse to the bull movement was indicated by the stable monetary conditions, although, time money re mained firm with no increase of of ferings. United States Steel's undisputed leadership at an entrance advance of over 12' points was accompanied by gains of 3 to 10 points elsewhere. Encouragement extended to rails also in consequence of the receipt of numerous new March statements of earnings. In well-informed circles be lief in an early advance of freight rates was general. Further reaction in liberty bonds, which' later embraced four and quar ters lacked explanation, but had little effect upon the investment' market Foreign remittances were unchanged. Washinet.nTi Mav 11. An a.nxrr.- nriation of X33.000 000 tn nrnvirte fnr the medical necessities of the forces now under arms and about to be as- sembled under the new dratf, was aske of congress toay by the war de partment. This estimate is in addition io ap propriations already made for the medical branch of the army, totalling $130,000,000. as? :m 4 it- S3 m 3 years old, who, enlisted in Kansas Adolph L. Lowe, 77 years old,, who He re-entered the service on May 9, E TO ELECT SIX BISHOPS Committee'sJRecornmendation Adopted and Voting Will Begin Next Tuesday. 1 Atlanta, Ga,, May. 11. On -suspension of - the rules, the general confer ence of the Methodist Episcopal church, sou-Shottly after therppen ing of today's session,, adopted ;?fhe treport -of tfi coniiaHtie?! pacy, recommending the eelction of six. bishops. It was, ordered that bal loting for bishops be started next Tuesday morning. , When Bishop Walter R. Lambuth, of California, took the chair as pre siding officer he was greeted with cheers from the delegates. The Rev. T. H. Dorcey, of Corinth, Miss., con ducted the religious exercises. One hour was set' aside for prayer serv ices for the success of the centennary movement. The committee, on. education, after much debate, has decided to ask ; the re-appointment of a commission to have charge' of Emory university, At lanta, Ga., and Southern Methodist university, Dallas, Texas, the two leading educational centers of the church. A strong effort was made in the committee to recommend to the conference the placing of both insti tutions under control of the general educational board of the cnurch. GENERALLY FAIR AND NOMAL TEMPERATURE. Washington, May .11. Generally fair weather with nearly normal tem peratures is f orecast for the south western states during the week begin ning Monday. There will be showers early in the week in the south At lantic states. Eddie Riekenbacher, whphj won fame as an auto race driver. Is now distingujshiBg himself as a lieutenant in the Flying Corps Jn; France. DECIDES BRITISH AVIATORS - - -' RE Been Much Air Fighting DurV ing Last Few Days. TR I U M P H S RECORDED Score of Victories Over Supe rior Enemy Forces Have Been Reported. . BOMBING EXPEDITIONS Great Work Done in Destroy ing Railroad Billets, Am- j munition Dumps, etc.- Also Attack Infantry. With the British Army in France,' May 11. There has been much ail fighting during the last few days, and the British airmen have fully sustain ed the great reputation they estab- lished early in the war. Scores of battles may be recounted in which the British triumphed over greater' numbers of the adversary. All of these stories were only as to details. Several days ago, near Ypres, one Britisher attacked the Germans sin gle handed. The Britisher engaged one enemy and fought him until ha turned tail and fled. The English pi lot then went after another German and pressed th eattack so hard that the enemy was forced into a nosa spin in an atempt to escapes The ruse was futile, however, for the Brit isher followed him down, firing stead ily into the helpless German machino unty. the latter finally turned on its back an fell plummet-like. Another British plane was attacked hy six enemv machines, which cam a at it from below and behind. The Britislf observer opened fire at close rasge, -riddling the leading German machine.- wrich dived an Then burst Into flames. This finished the work of tha -British pilot, who got away safely. But fighting plases are not the only ones that'haye been busy. The Brit" ish. bombing squadrons have been do iucg .-wonderful workd estroying rail road . bidets, ammunition dumps and -boiift4ng-''Seneia3r troops vand ., trans- -;- ports. Tons " of high explosives hav& been dropped amomasses of tha ' enemy at night, causing heavy casual ties. The British machines also havs ,. been employed constantly in attack -ing the infantry from low altitude with machine guns and in many case veritable slaughter has resulted. Th artillery planes also have been doin invaluable service directing the lira ; of their guns, and this represents one of the most important phases of the., duties of the air corps, or the pilots , : are the eyes of the gunners n addition to destroying eight of ' the 20 German airplanes which, as re lated yesterday, were engaged so suc cessfully on Tuesday by two British machines, the British aviators sent down five others damaged. The bat. . tie began when the British aviators ; : attacked seven German planes. Twa --, other enemy formations came up, raising the total of German machines f to 20, but instead of retiring, the two British fighters pressed the attack,' - n and out amosg the large enemy"', force these two planes with their gallant little crews, swiried ami-.; charged, working tneir rapia-nrera like mad. One enmy airplane, na- -died with bullets, hung iquivering in, the air for a moment an then turn In.? its nose toward The earth crashed - down with sheets of flame bursting from it. 1 The seven other German macmnea , were shot to pieces in rapid succes sion and took the Anal plunge, threfts of them leaving a wake or ire anv j wo.ir smnVft to tell the story of tha- fate suffered by the men strapped in their seats. The fire otner enemy machines were forcedt oaandon the fight because of their crippled condi- - tion were seen to mve away m , hope of reaching the ground safely. , DUPLIN PEOPLE BUY WAR STAMPS (Snecial to The Dispatch.) Warsaw, May 11. The sale of war savings and thrift stamps is going briskly on In this county.. The tour' of O. B. Eaton, of Winston-Sal en gave quite - an impetus tl the can, palgn, 37,000 worth having been sold in the county, which added to tha amount reported to the Warsaw post office, which is headquarters for tha . stamps, in Duplin, makes something ; over $50,000 sold to date. Several organizations are buying -the stamps as an investment and through patriotic motives. The East- -ern Star chapter of this place voted to buy $50 worth at its last, meeting, and, the I. O. O. F. lodge purchased;' $400 worth. r Charles Carroll, chief clerk, railway mail service, of this district, turned In to the P.ocky Mount postoffica more than $6,000, for stamps sold by him and his clerks, during the montll s cf April. In this town the largest purchaser of the stamps Is Dr. J. C. D. Herring, who bought the 11,000 limit Tht purchase, of. the stamps Is not con- fined to the white people alone, many, negroes; having purchased to tha HOLD PUTAIN 1 tent of their means. 1 1 Continued on Page Sixl