TUESDAY IN THE BIG WAR. ACTIVITY ON WEST FRONT DAILY INCREASES IN VOLUME German I'rosoner Skys at Least One ill-' Attack is Due Next Month. Americans Constantly Exchanging Fire With the Enemy. Attacks Launched Against Both French and Italians. (Associated Press War Summary.) The military activity on the west ern front is daily increasing in vol ume. The movements are being car ried out with larger bodies than since the heavy winter set in and mora zest is in the fighting. The French near Epy and La Bas see have conducted further incur sions into the enemy positions in the latter region, inflicting numerous casualties on their antagonists and taking prisoners and machine guns. , French north of the Aiette river and in the Woevre section the French have made successful attacks, which resulte'd in the capture of nearly 300 prisoners. A somewhat * ambitious attack by the Germans in the Verdun sector was put down' by the French with severe casualties. Between the Americans and the Germans there is constant changcr of artillery fire and the Americans con tinue to carry out patroling maneu vers toward the enemy trenches. The Germans evidently are anxious to guage the positions occupied by the Americans and also ascertain the number of men they are employing, for daily their air craft are hovering over the lines taking protograps and making observations. Anti-air craft guns several, times have driven off the enemy. * Although the increase in activity along the entire front in France and Belgium is noticeable, there' is no in dication as yet as to when the Ger mans will begin their much heralded general offensive. A German cap tured by the British says that at least one big attack is due to begin some time in March. Meanwhile large con centrations of fresh troops daily are arriving behind the German line and carrying out practice maneuvers. On the Italian front the Austrians again have endeavored to test the strength of the Italians in the Zette communi plateau sector. The Ger man war office asserts that the Aus trians carried out a most successful attack hert^ but the Italian official statement declares that the Austrian columns were torn to pieces by the Italian artillery as they tried to get in the southern slopes of Monte Sasso Rosso and other positions and the of fensive completely routed. 31 RAIDS IN GERMAN TERRITORY LAST MONTH. Berlin Reports Five Killed, Nine Wounded and "Insignificant" Damage Done by Airmen. Berlin, via Amsterdam, Feb. 12. ? Entente allied airplanes made 31 raids on German territory in Janu ary, says an official statement issued today by the German war office. As a result of these air attacks, the statement adds, five persons were killed and nine wounded. Insignifi cant material damage* was done. The statement says that "although the number of attacks compared with those of the previous month was con siderably increased, owing to the favorable weather, the damage and losses fortunately were smaller. Five persons were killed and nine wound ed. The material damage was insig nificant. There was no interruption of work worth mentioning. The enemy lost four airplanes during these attacks." Mr. John L. Southerland Dead. Early Monday morning, February 11th, Mr. John L. Southerland died at his home near Wilson's Mills. Last i fall he had stroke of paralysis which was followed by another stroke last Saturday from which he never re covered. He was fifty-six years old. The burial took place Tuesday afternoon at the Perrian Jones place. He leaves a wife and six "children, three sons and three daughters. Wilmington is making an effort to get a big million-dollar industrial plant located in that city. A half millin' dollar trust compa.iy has been organized to induce the big plant to locate there. ARMY CONSTRI CTION PLANNED ON BIG SCALE. Expect to Erect $8,000,000 Camp Somewhere to Take IMace of Camp Greene. % TOTAL COST $268,650,000. Washington, Feb. 12. ? Many new construction projects for the army, including munition plants, ordnance depots, storage plants, port termi nals, hospitals, aviation work, can tonments and housing, were disclosed in a statement given the senate mili tary committee today by the war de partment. The work will cost a total of $268,050,000 and, while some of the projects had been announced before, in most cases the location and cost had not been given. The statement shows that $37,000, 000 will be spent in building a gas making plant at Edgewood, N. J., while 40 interior storage depots to cost an aggregate of $30,000,000 are to be erected at unnamed points. On aviation work, including a new can tonment, the location of which was not given, $46,000,000 will be ex pended. Ordnance depots are to be built on the south Atlantic coast at "some seaport" at a cost of $4,000,000 each and one on the mftldleT Atlantic coast at a cost of $6,000,000. An ammuni tion depot at "some seaport" is to cost $7,500,000 and a like sum is to be expended for an ordnance depot in central Pennsylvania. Hospitals for soldiers, suffering with tuberculosis, are to be built at Denver, Colo., and Asheville, N. C., at a cost of $500,000 each and $12, 800,000 is to be spent on hospitals at 32 army training camps. A division cantonment for the regular army is to cost $8,000,000, but its location was not given. It may take the place of the regular army training c^tmp at Charlotte, N. C.? which soon is to be abandoned be caused of unsuitability of the ground on which it is located. Eight million^ will be spent on a port terminal at Boston, Mass., and $10,000,000 on a similar terminal at Charleston, S. C. Two millions are provided for three powder bag load ing points at sites not yet selected. For housing for the shipping to relieve congestion in shipyard com munities the department plans to ex pend $35,000,000. This will represent a part of the $50,000,000 for this pur pose provided in a bill which passed the house today. In addition to this $600,000 will be expended at New port News, Va., for housing the negro stevedore regiments engaged there in loading vessels. Another item is that of $250,00 for a high explosives plant at Sandy Hook, L. I. Brigadier General Littell, in charge of cantonment division and other con struction jobs, also submitted state ments to the committee, showing that, in addition to the new work, his bureau has charge of construction now in progress calling for an expen diture of $135,900,000 making the total for present and future work $404,550,000. ? Associated Press. LIVB OAK NEWS. The School ha8 closed until the 18th on account of the German measles. There are several cases in school, among1 them Miss Harwood. Miss Bailey spent the week-end at home with her brother, Clarence Bailey, who is in training at Camp Jackson. * The farmers are very busy around here since the weather has cleared off. The school has been preparing the program for North Carolina Day which will be celebrated the twenty third. ? We are glad to state that the church has been ceiled, and when painted will be a nice community church. ? T. S. i Tine Level Safety League. Pine Level, Feb. 13. ? A very inter esting meeting of the students of the Pin^ Level public school was held last Friday morning in the Chapel of the school building. At this time they organized a Safety League. The fol lowing officers were elected: Walter Godwin. President; Bessie Stallings, Vice-President; ~~Plo3sie Stallings, Secretary; Flossie Warrick, Treas urer. Miss Mary Weaver from the faculty was elected as Honorary President. V FLOUR ORDER IS MODIFIED. Farmers May Now Buy Flour In Quantities Not Exceeding 24 Pounds By Signing a Certificate Stating That They Have Produced And Are Using Corn Meal, Horn ij>y. Grits and Other Cereals to the Same Extent. Raleigh, Feb. 13. ? By a ruling just issued by State Food Administrator Henry A. Page, North Carolina far mers who have produced and are us ing theip own corn meal, hominy, grits, or other cereal substances will be allowed to purchase flour in quan tities up to 24 pounds without pur chasing an equal quantity of cereal substitutes. This ruling has been made by Mr. Page in justice to North Carolina farmers because the Food Administration at Washington has granted permission to the Food Ad ministrators of all Southern States to make such a ruling and similar rul ings are being made in neighboring iMh. ministration forbidding the sale of flour except in combination with cereal substitutes did impose some in conveniences upon farmers who have their own corn meal or cereal sub stitutes, but no considerable number of North Carolina farmers wh, little Cecil, home to rest. Little Cecil was born July the 15th, 1917, and died Febru ary 7th,' 1918, making his stay on earth six months,' three weeks and two days. All was done for him by mother, father, physicians, and kind friends, that could bfe done, but God knew best and took little Cecil home to rest. The funeral setvice was conducted FrWay afternoon at the home, and the remains were laid to rest in the family burying ground. A living aunt, E. B. at Camp. Sevier, S. C., was discharged this week because of dependents and has returned to his home near here. Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Staneil, of Smithfield, are here this week on a visit to relatives. Messrs. W. E. Barbour and William Adams, of Four Oaks, were here yes terday on business. Rev. .Chas. E. Stevens, of Four Oaks, is here on a short visit to rela tives and friends. . Mr. W. II. Royal left yesterday for Rocky Mount where he will spend 1 m<>st of the week. THURSDAY'S WAR NEWS. Germans Planning to Make Sur prise Maneuver on the East . ern Front. (Germans and Aus trians Afraid to ^j-ust Hol sheviki Leaders. t Unofficial dispatches still indicate that in German and Austrian official circles there is very considerable dis trust of the Bolftheviki leaders in Russia, and that preparations even are in the making for stemming a surprise maneuver on the east front. One Bavarian newspaper asserts that the final conference between the Bol sheviki .and German and Austrian peaco delegates at Brest-Litovsk end ed in a violent rupture which bore all the seeds of a fufure^:<*nflict. Austria Hungary for Peace. In a manifesto to his subjects deal ing with the peace effected with the Ukraine, the Austrian emperor reite rates his desire for an early general peace. "In common with my hard tried peoples," says Emperor, "I trust that after the lirst conclusion of peace, which is so gratifying an event for us, a general peace soon will be granted suffering humanity." On the Battle Fronts. On the battle front in Franco the fighting activity between ".he British and French and the Germans hi: a as sumed somewhat violent proportions on at least two sectors, with the forces of Field Marshal Haig and v General Petain the aggressors. Prob ably the heaviest, encounter was hi the Champagne region where, aided by American batteries, which gave the French "very effectfve support," the French have captured and organized^ German trenches, southwest of the Butte du Mesnil. TJie German official communication admits the loss of this ground. North of Lens, the famous coal mining region, the British and Ger mans again have met in a sharp en counter, but no details of it have yet come through. The. artillery activity continues heavy on numerous sectors From Flanders to the Swiss border. ? ? Associated Press Summary in today's News and Observer. The Farmers May Buy Flour. Mr. Editor: I have just received notice fronY Hon. Henry A. P:'ge, State Food Ad ministrator, stating that Lhe recent order of the Food Administration with reference to ctonbination sale of flour and cereals has been modified with reference to the farmer who has produced and is using corn meal, grits, hominy or other cereal substi tutes. I ani copying the following paragraphs of this letter: "Retail merchants are hereby au thorized to sell flour alone in quan tities not exceeding 24 pounds to far mers who sign a formal certificate stating that they have produced and are using corn meal, gi'its, hominy or other cereals substitutes contained in the list included in the recent order of the Food Administration to the same extent as they use flour." "Wholesalers, jobbers, millers and * brokers are hereby authorized to sell to retailers flour alone in such quan tities as said retolieis have sold to farmers under the ruling above stated, balancing against such sale of flour the certificates recoived by tha retailer from the farmer. These cer tificates in turn may be* used by the wholesaler or other dealer to balance against purchases of flour from mills." The Federal Food Administration has also announced that "retail deal ers dc;ftg a business of less than one hundred thousand dollars are not subjret to license February loth." Therefore, only feed dealers doing a business of one hundred thousand dol lars a year need have license. F. H. BROOKS, Food Administrator Johnston County. Smithfield, N. C., Feb. 14, 1918. Irish Potatoes In Big Lots. Mr. Lacy John, of Lumber Bridge, is here on a visit. He says that in and r.round Lumber Bridge Irish po tatoes are being pfanted in largo quantities. Besides local shipments ten full car loads of seed potatoes have gone to Lumber Bridge. Five acres are supposed to make a car of potatoes for shipment next spring, and so farmers are planting from five acres to seventy-five acres each. Five tt> six hundred acres are being plant ed around Lumbef Bridge.