WEATHER
FAIR
oral
"TO4 F'S StfE.WS TODAY"
WILMINGTON'S HOME PAPER
1 .1 Ym
VOL. XXIV. NO, 344. : WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA, THURSDAY AFTERNOON, DECEMBER 19, 1918. ' V FIVE CENTS
Say Violence Caused- Girts Death; Piper Is Held
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COURT ORDER
RESULTS li
SY
MUSKEGON. Mich.fl Dec. 19 Miss
"Freida TVeichmaii carrte to' her death
by violence, according "to three phy
sicians, who today examined the body
of the girl, because of whose death
Milo H. Piper, of thip city, is held
here on a murder charge.
The autopsy showed, according to
the physicians -that the girl's skull i
was crushed by blows on the back ;
The body of the girl whom it is
charged Piper killed after- an extend- i
ed automobile honeymoon in 1916
was taken from its resting place in
tl cemetery this afternoon at the
Ion of the prosecuting attor-
s, to permit physicians to
examination. ;
riedaWfeichTna. of
;hi A.. J Jecause of whoswVrn'. h Mllo
Piper, (Tocal insurance:..' an is held
and a port mortem performed.
This was announced today by Harry
Jackson, assistant prosecuting attor
ney who is handling the case during
the tttness of Prosecutor Broek.
An effort will be made by medical
tablish the cause of death. The body
of the girl whom Piper is accused of
slaying after an automobile honey-
moon, was first discovered in a lonely
grave along the railway tracks be
tween here the Grand Rapids.
MUSKEGON. Mich., Dec. J.9. The
matrimonial experience of Milo H.
Piper, local insurance nian accused of
having murdered Miss Frieda Weic-h-man,
Chicago bookkeeper, afcer an
automobile trip lastingeveral months
in 1916, were being further investi
gated by the police here today.
Interest in the accused man's past
life was stimulated late yesterday
when it was established by statements
from him and his present wife, ac
cording to Sheriff ctarl Stauffer, that
In 1903 he was married at Benton
(Continued on Page Seven.)
He Tried to Form Alliance
With Hearst Papers,
is Told Senators.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 19. Activities
of Bolo Pasha, executed as a French
traitor, in promoting in the United
States the financing by the German
government of the Paris Journal and
in what was described as an attempt
to form a news 'alliance between the
Journal arid William Randolph
Hearst's newspapers, were recited to
day to the senate committee investi
gating German propaganda, by Alfred
Li. Becker, deputy attorney general of
"New York.
Mr. Becker explained that hjs in
vestigation was made at the request
of the French government to deter
minethe culpability of Senator Hum-
bert,.
proprietor of the Paris Journal,
on at
disloyalty charge, and that ene-
my.
(ropaganda in the United States
Vdisclosed incidentally. Bolo
tried,, Becker said,' to obtain from
Hear8ta declaration of French sym
pathies. Charles F, Bertelli, Paris
correspondent of the Hearst newspa
pers who came to, the United States
to introduce Bolo to Hearst early in
1916, was quoted by Mr. Becker as
having said every American loved
France and that consequently it need
ed no advertising. After Bolo's re
turn to Paris in May 1916, the Paris
Journal published a "fulsome account
of Hearst," the witness said, but oth
erwise no evidence of a news con
nection between the Journal and
Hearst was disclosed:
Bolo sought unsuccessfully in con
ference with E. G. Grace, .president
of the Bethlehem Steel corporation, to
get the company to purchase the Par
Is Journal. Mr. Bejsker stated in his
opinion this move by Pasha was en
tirely camouflaged Intending to cover
up the real purpose of his visit to the
United States.
Mr. Becker 'declared the investiga-
T
ai"i
tir. 1 V
BOLO'S ACTIVITIES '
TIGURE IN PROBE
New Wireless Telephone Apparatus With
Which Planes m Air Can Talk to Each Other
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This photograph shows an airplane equipped with the new 'wireless
telephone ready to give a. demonstration for government officials at Bill
ing Field, near Washington, D. C. This wonderf ni apparatus .makes it
possible to direct "the flight of a plane from the ground and for aviators
to communicate with each other wliilc in night. The helmet and mouth
piece are worn in such a manner that sending and receiving messages
while piloting a machine is easy. .
Desert R
Would
British War Secretary Tells of Obligation of
Allies to Support Unfortunate Country; By
1 Helping Russia, Entente and Allies are Fight
ing Russ Bolsheviki. . - -
LONDON, Wednesday, Dec. 18. In
reSyVa letter received from a cor
espondent, Viscount Milner, the sec
retory of war, gives the reasons why
British troops were sent to Russia.
rvL member goes over the
Nation creaVed by the success of
h- holsheviki in. gaining control of
rSJStSSw- and point out how
Russian a. --adversely, affecting
SI case JTtha allies in the : west
the cause u, lf win-
ninu isk me," says Viscount Mil
iS letter, "what right we ever
6 tn send British troops to Russia
SalS wiS the Internal affairs of
m rnunW and how. long W mean
aieS 8E there now tHat .the war
13 -The question, itself shows that you
Tne fh facts of the case
misapprehend the lc
aS Z Tn , ?eSon why, allied not
ment,' , Rritish forces-indeed the
flre only a small proportion of
British tare only a 8ent to
the total allied troop m what.
RuSSifhifr ultimate object, were in
re5 StiSlr our enemies in every
faCt,iaf wly It was owing to their
po.f tvIt hundreds of thousands of
action that Bn"L let looee to hurl
German troops i were et i
themselves Vas owing to the
western front. iz wa
ANOTHER TRY TO
N AIR
YORK. Dec. 19-The attempt
NEW
establish
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from New
hrnnirh airpost 'rr-.. lagans
. 4. c-orvi n.n
CARRY MAILT
York to Chicago g-pt
akiriff ."K-SE. S? any part 6f the
the mail by gg Qt the mill
distance. eway yesterdayvWas not
intervening ' , .'
' .-,,:'. ' ' - " "
i
t. - I M 11 K I- fill V
- ...r.;-tMH n utL
ussia Now and Land
Be Swept By Barbarism
into the hands of the Germans.
"It was they who handed over the
Black sea fleet to the Germans and
who treacherously, attacked the Cze-cho-Slovaks
when'the latter only' de
sired to get out of Russia in order
to fight for the freedom of their own
country in Europe. The 'allies, every
one of them, were most anxious to
avoid interference in Russia, but it
was an obligation of honor to have the
Czecho-Slovaks and it was military
necessity of the utmost urgent kind
to prevent those vast portions of Rus
sia which Nwere struggling to escape
the tyranny-of the bolsheviki from
being overrun by them and s6 thrown
open as a source of supply to -the
enemy.
"I say nothing of the enormous
quantities of military stores, the pro
perty of the allies which were still
lying at Archangel ahd Vladivostok
and whichwere in course xif being
appropriated by the -bolsheviki andr
transferred to the Germans until al
lied occupation put an end to the
process.
"I say nothing of the fact that a
vast portion of the earth's surface and
millions of people friendly to the al
lies have been spared the unspeakable
horrors of the bolshevik rule; But in
course ofe this -tfllied intervention
thousands of Russians nave taken up
(Continued on Page Seven.)
WASHINGTON, Deo. 19. --Definite
action toward outlining procedure for
railroad . legislatipn, including consid
erati6n of Direotor General MoAdob'a
recommendation for a five year ex
tension "of government control, wai
expected at the meeting today of the
senate JjitexEiatB coxom exca ccnamit-
- . ,
HOG ISLAND YARD
COST GOVERNMENT
63 MILLION PIEZ
WASHINGTON, 19. The
cost of the great ship building
plant at Hog Island was esti
mated today at $63,300,000
by Charles Piez, general man
ager of the shipping board's
emergency .fleet corporation.
He said the yard, which has
delivered one ship and has 50
keels laid shpuld be completed
in 60 days.
The original estimate of
cost for a pi
ant on a smaller
-scale, was
$21ve00,000 and
this was increased later
to
$27,000,000.
PARIS, Dec. 19. King Victor .
Emmanuel of Italy arrived here
today and was welcomed by Pres
ident Poincare. Premier "Clemen
ceau and other ministers. The
king was accompanied by his son,
the Prince of Piedmont.
Tlje Italian Iruler and his heir ar
rived at the Boise de Bologne station.
Notwithstanding unsettled weather
Conditions andfsqualls of wind, large
crowds lined the streets.
A luncheon' was ? given by Presl
den Poincafe: In honor of the Italian
and Prince. The ' guest included
Premier Orlando, Foreign Minister,
Sonnino and Food Minister Crespi of
tb3 Italian cabinet; Count Macch.i Dl
Cellere, Italian ambassador to the
United States; former President Lu
bet, former President Fallieres, Mar
shal Joffre, Marshal Foch, Marshal
Petaln and the ministers and ambas
sadors accredited to France.
PARIS. Dec. 19. -King Emmanuel
of Italy will arrive' here today. The
Lclty is hung with flags and a general
holiday has been declared. Rain is
falling this morning but there is
promise of the weather Improving.
The newspapers hail the king as a
man of honor who has been a real
(Continued on Pac Seven.)
HE PUT ON .LONG
PANTS TO FIGHT
A Wilmington Boy Gassed
Twice is Recovering
From Effects.
Wilmington has another war
hero added to. the list of young
men who have done their bit for
their country The latest is Pri
vate Sheldon C. Merritt, who en
listed when he was 16 years old,
to get a chance to take a crack at
the Huns. r.
He is a son of P. A. Merritt, of
North Front street, and enlisted
shortly after this country entered
the war. He hadnt put on long
pants then, but he got hold of a
pair and successfully passed the
recruiting officer.
-private Merritt has been gassed
twice, and la now recovering from
the effecta of the second dose. He
has-nover been wounded, although
he has been through several se
vere battles in the Argonne region.
In a letter to his sister-in-law,
Mrs, P. P. Merritt, 509 South
Front. street. Private Merritt de
scribes his sensations in going
over the top, . '
"I tell you, that if ever there
has been hell on earth it is going
over "the top. I have) never got
over the first shock yet. and donifc
like to talk about i$. I saw some
awful sights, ,Ono of my bunk
fellows had 'his head shot clean
(Gunihined on Page Seven.)
Sim's U-Boat Fighters Display Versatility
by Making and Baking Him a Birthday Cake
i 'LB'' C
i sS'w nlfcSSIa aSraHl
M4feiV. SIB
Admiral Sims is the Persbing 'of the- Amerkjutt .navy, "Just as the
British fleet worked on daily withont the issuance; of Hptmmpniques, the
nits of the United States navy on the other side did their harzardons hit
in the submarine zone. There was no praise, because praise would warn
the Hun. These boys are proudly displaying a birthday cake, which they
made for Admiral Sims. It was delivered and 'eaten. 1
Police Seek Romeo Who Failed
To Joia Pretty Bride at Altar
L. B. Willetts Mysteriously Disappears After Dis
appointing Church Filled With Friends of Wil
mington Girl; Foul Play Theory is Discounted
by Police.
Idystery today surrounded the sud
den disappearance yesterday afternoon
of L. B. Willetts, of Georgetown, S. C,
a few minutes before he was to have
been married to pretty Miss Leola
Griffith, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Fred Griffith, No. 7 Queen street, .in
the Immanuel Presbyterian church.
The police, who were advised of the
young man's dlsapearance after he
failed to show up at 5:45 -o'clock,
when the ceremony was to have, been
performed, were today investigating
the many angles of the case in an ef
fort to determine his whereabouts.
" The theory that foul play entered
Into his disappearance was discount
ed today when the police had failed
to secure any clues. His friends In
the city saw him several times yes
terday, and Miss Unity "Willetts, a rel
ative, who is employed in the Mur
chison Bank building, said she saw
him twice during the day and spoke
to)- him both times. Ben Griffith,
brother of the prospective bride, also
saw him yesterday afternoon in com
pany with a soldier whom he did not
know.
The church was filled almost to
evorfl owing at 5:45 o'clock, when
many friends of the bride had gath
ered to witness vthe ceremony. The
couple was to have left on the L45
noVth bound train. , At six o'clock the
prospective bridegroom had failed to
show up,- and a few minutes later it
was announced that the ceremony
would have to be postponed for rea
sons that could not be stated. It was
immediately following that the police
were notified and asked to conduct an
PARIS, Dec. 19. (Havas). Aus-tro-German
soldiers -who have been
rounded up in European and Asiatic
Turkey by the allies, will be trans
ported to France for internment un
til peace is declared. Admiral Amet,
French high commissioner at Con
stantinople,, has requisitioned all Ger
man vessels in Turkish ports and will
use -them in transporting the Austrp
German prisoners o .trance.
TO INTERN A0STR0
GERMANS IN FRANCE
1
investigation. . i
Miss Griffith said this morning that
she had heard nothing from Mr. Wil
lets slnce"he called at her home at 4
o'clock yesterday afternoon, and told
her he would return by 5. She said
she had heard someone say that
friends of the man yesterday after
noon urged him to return to George
town, where he was employed, tell
ing him that he" was not financially
able to support himself, much less a
wife. It wate thought possible that
members of vhis family had taken a
hand, for it was said Ihey were bitter
ly opposed to the wedding.
Little is known In the city about
Willett. He was originally from
Brunswick county. Miss Griffith said.
For the last several months he has
been employed in Georgetown, S. C.
Miss Griffith, indicated today that
she did not believe foul play was re
sponsible for his disappearance.
"I don't care if I never see him
again," she told a reporter. Miss
Griffith is about 19 years of age and
is pretty. She has a wide circle of
friends, many of whom were present
last night to witness the ceremony.
Miss Willetts, the -young man's rel
ative, said she noted nothing unusual
about his actions yesterday. , She
spoke to him twice, she 6aid, and he
answered her in the usual customary
cheerful manner.
The police-will continue their inves
tigation, it was said, until the where
abouts of Willetts are determined.
They, were today preparing to com
municate with his family in Bruns
wick county, and also his employers in
Georgetown,
SLAY U. S. Al
COPENHAGEN, Wednesday, Deo.
JL8, (By the Associated Press. -The
killing of Lieutenant ' "Coheeny, an
American airman in-the German pris
on camp at Sfralsund December 6, is
reported by threef British officers who
have A arrived herev rTue- - American
lieutenant, , tha, officers say, - went out
side the barbed : wtre ' for a, moment
and the German- guards fired three
times at him, ; . . .
RMAN
HI CABINET
SUITS JOB,
REPORTED
I :
i
! ZURICH, Dec
19 (Havas) Seriou
disorders have broken out In Daftzijr,
"West Prussia, according to dispatches
received here. Civil and milit&rjh
prisons have been opened and the in
mates set at liberty, it is said, and
street fighting is reported.
Convoke Conference. '
COPENHAGEN, Dec. 19. Tti
v 'Jr
illCLJi gUVCIlilllCllk 11CLO UCU1UCU u.
convoke a"i conference of representa-j
ttiyes of all the states of the fo"rneJ
empire on December. ,29 to elect? si-
president of the German tone, accord-.-'
ing to a Berlin report. This step is'
said to havebeen taken in : order to - '.
avoid fresh outbreaks.-'
1 PARIS, Dec. 19. rThe German gov-,
ernment, headed byFrledrich Ebert, 1
Tuesday, according" to a dispatch re
ceived at ' Zurich fromT Stuttgartj -says'
the Journal's, correspondent there?
Friedrich Ebert, who. was named a
minister of the interior in the cab
inet of Prince Maximilian of Baden
on November 3rd and became imper
ial chancellor on November 8th, took
command of the situation in Berlin
following the revolutionary uprising
there.
I On. November 13 it was announced
,! he had become premier and had
chosen his cabinet, naming Hugo i
Haase, Philipp Schiedemann, Wilhelm
Dittman, Herr Landsberg and Richard
Barth as the secretaries in charge of
the department created by the revolu-.
tionary government.
The central congress of the dele
gates from soldiers' and workmens :
councils met at Berlin on Monday.!
The first session resulted in disorder- '
ly scenes in which there were many
personal encounters.
On Tuesday turbulent ' scenes con
tinued," George Ledebour, a leader of
the independent . socialists, making a ,
(Continued on Page Seven.)
WILSON MAY VISIT
LONDON NEXT WEEK
Surprise in Evidence
Lloyd-George Hurries
to Change Plans.
as
LONDON, Wednesday, Dedl 18.
News that President Wilson consid
ers coming to London next week was
received by the British government
through an official channel today.
It caused considerable surprise and
necessitated a hurried reconsideration
of plans by Premier Lloyd-George,
who had intended to meet the pres
ident for a brief conference in Paris
and then proceed to Monte Carlo for
a few days rest.
The president will be welcomed
whenever he arrives, but the date now
proposed December 26 has handi
caps as far as the public and the offi
cials are concerned December 26 is
a holiday and is known as "boxing
day' an occasion peculiar to Eng
land. All who have country homes
and live in .London, from the king
downward, spend that day in the
country. Business In' London cus-
tomarily is at a standstill.
No "arrangement for the visit of v
the president has-been made up to
today because the government wish
ed to consult with John W. Davis,
the hew American ambassador. The,
American embassy had no informa
tion of the reported change in the
president's plans.
Premier Lloyd-George has postpon
ed his -visit to France and the pre
liminary conversations between the
president , and the premier, which
would have been held in' the French
capital will be held in London. ; .
The change in the president's ar-
rangement'is.held'to explain the has
tening of the formal reception-jj
Ambassador Davis by King George
toda-y. This " was done so that the
ambassador could bevproperly-accred-t
ited in readiness for the formalities in,;
connection with the president's visit.' -
Premier Lloyd-George had burriecv
conferences tonight with -.SIrvEri"r?.f
Geddes. first, lord of the admiralty,
and other .minister.
(Continued onPaee Seven.)
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