VOLUME) 37.
THE SMITHFIELD HERALD FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1918
Number 100
government control of
ROADS FOR FIVE YEARS.
This Would Permit Fair Trial of Fed
eral Operation and Stabilize Condi
tions—Managers Want Roads to Go
Back to Private Owners But With
Some Remedial Legislation Per
mitting of Pooling of Resources.
Washington, Dec. 11.—Continuance
of government control of railroads
for five years, or until January 1, 1924,
was l-ecommended today by Director
General McAdoo in a letter to the
chairmen of the Senate and House
Interstate Commerce Committees.
This would permit a fair trial of
government operations, said Mr. Mc
Adoo, and eliminate the unsettled
condition under which the railroads
must be operated during the next year
or two if their status is not changed
materially by legislation.
This recommendation is not made
in support of any theories concerning
the best ultimate policy of running the
railroads, Mr..McAdoo explained, but
only to give the nation time to form
its idea carefully.
The director general explained that
it is impossible to retain the roads
under government control for 21
months after the declaration of peace
without further legislation, owing to
the-strain on the morale of officers and
employes, and pointed out the difficul
ty of obtaining comprehensive legis
lation on the subject soon.
President Wilson in his recent ad
di'ess to Congress said he was unable
to decide what should be done with
the railroads, and asked Congress to
take up the ouestion of discussion im
mediately. He declared that unless
action was forthcoming, he ■would be
forced to turn back the roads to pri
vate management.
Acting under this plan, the railroad
administration has been preparing to
relinquish control of the railroads, and
it was the general understanding that
the administration would wait two or
three months before actually starting
the relinquishment proceedings, to
give Congress a chance to act. Re
cent developments have shown the dif
ficult of determining a final policy
at this time, however, acording to
railroad administration officials.
Mos+ railroad owners and managers
are said to have urged that the roads
be relinouished, but under some sort
of remedial legislation giving them
power to pool their resources and
eliminate wasteful competition. Thera
have been no important advocates of
restoration of the old conditions, ac
cording to officials. On the other
hand, the friends of government own
ership have just begun to renew agita
tion for retention by the government
of permanent control, and later pur
crease of the roads’ prosperity.
When the railroad control bill was
enacted, Mr. McAdoo urged that the
period of control not be limited to 21
months after the formal close of the
war, saying this would not give op
portunity for a real test of govern
ment management. At that time he
expressed himself as opposed to gov
ernment ownership.
Recently he again expressed disap
pointment that government manage
ment had such limitations, saying1 that
there was danger of the railroad
ouesUon becoming a political issue in
the elections of 1920. This would be
unfortunate, he said, because the rail
road question was purely ecomonic.
and should not properly be entangled
with political issues.—Greensboro
Daily News, 12th.
INCREASED SHIPMENTS OF
FOODSTUFFS TO EUROPE.
Washington, Dec. 10.—Increased
shipment of foodstuffs to Europe fol
lowing the reduction of munitions
shipment was reflected today in the
weeklv report of the exports control
committee. During December, it was
estimated 1.500.000 tons of provisions
and frozen beef will move to Europe
through Atlantic and Gulf ports.
Flu in Army Camps Cost 17,000 Lives.
An official summary of the result
of the influenza epidemic in army
camps and military centers in the
United States made public by the War
Department Tuesday, shows that
there were 338,257 cases of the dis
ease up to December 1, with approxi
mately 17,000 deaths.
Because deaths resulting from in
fluenza and pneumonia -were not sep
arately grouped, only approximate
figures -were given for those due to
the epidemic.
Former Kaiser Attempts Suicide.
^ dliam Hohenzollern, the former
German Emperor, has attempted to
commit suicide, following mental de
pression, according to the Leipzic
Tageblatt, which is quoted in a Copen
hagen dispatch to the Exchange Tel
egraph Company. A member of the
former Emperor’s retinue who pre
vented Herr Hohenzollern from carry
ing out his intention, received a
wound, it is said.
i
MEN WHO DID NOT GO,
TO WEAR INSIGNIA.
Washington, Dec. 11.—Officers and
men of the army who failed to l’each
the fighting front by reason of the du
ties imposed upon them in this coun
try will not be denied recognition of
their service in the winning of the
war. By direction of President Wil
son, as commander-in-chief of the
army, General March, chief of staff,
today issued an order that hereafter
such men shall be entitled to wear a
silver chevron similar to the gold one
authorized for service overseas.
“The President,” the order says,
“desires, on behalf of the nation, to
express his appreciation of the vital
ity given by cffieers and men whom
military necessity has held and is
holding for performance of duties out
side the theater of active Operations.
Their contributions to military success
is no less than that of those who have
had opportunity for service at the
front. On them devolved the creation
of the great armies of the nation and
their supply with the equipment and
stores indispensable to military opera
tions.
“Without them, the troops abroad
could have accomplished nothing. In
many instances their retention on
home dutv has been due to their excep
tional military and administrative ef
ficiency. They have been in readiness
for any service which the interests of
the government required them to per
form and have been cheerful and
without thought of Self when given
duties not in accordance with their
own desires. The country holds in
grateful appreciation that fundamen
tal service they have rendered in
winning the war.”
The officers and men will be entitled
to wear one silver chevron for each
six months of service.
Russia to Be Denied.
Washington, Dec. 10.—Russia in the
opinion of officials here, will not be
formally represented at the Peace
Conference. It was said today that
there is no government in Russia
which the associated nations recog
nize as having the power to confer
upon delegates the right to represent
that country at the Paris assembly.
One official said that undoubtedly
influential Russians would be in
Paris during the sessions of the Peace
Congress, but that they would be
present purely in an advisory capacity
and without any official standing.
Russia’s voice in the conference will
thus be heard, it was said, but the
nation will have no part in framing
the great treaty of peace.
The industrial members of Presi
dent Wilson’s “War Cabinet,” which
met at the White House every Wed
nesday during this country’s partici
pation in the war, will join the Presi
dent as a unit in Paris and act as his
advisers at the Peace Conference on
economic, industrial and reconstruc
tion problems in Europe affecting the
future peace of the world.
Those who will make up the party
to sail upon word from President Wil
son are Bernard M. Baruch, chairman
of the War Industries Board; Fuel
Administrator Harry A. Garfield and
Vance McCormick, chairman of the
War Trade Board; Edward M. Hurley,
chairman of the Shipping Board, and
Food Administrator Herbert'Hoover,
already are in Europe.
The President’s intention to use the
“War Cabinet” became known today
after notification to Mr. McCormick
by Secretary Tumulty that the Presi
dent expected him to hold himself in
readiness to proceed to Paris. Dr.
Garfield and Mrs. Baruch already had
been notified, but until now it had
been assumed that they would go over
individually when called.
lT. S. Vessels Carried Over 46 Per
Cent to Battle Front.
With the Navy Department’s con
sent the office of Vice-Admiral Gleaves
commander of the cruiser and trans
port force, made public Tuesday fig
ures showing exactly the proportion
ate share of troops conveyed to
France in American vessels. Of the
entire army of 2,079,880 men taken
over, the statistics show 46 1-4 per
cent were carried in American ships,
48 1-2 in British and the balance in
French and Italian vessels.
Of the total strength of the naval
escort guarding all these convoys, the
United States furnished 82 3-4 per
cent. Great Britain 14 1-8 per cent
and France 3 1-8 per cent.
In actual numbers of men trans
ported. 912.082 were carried in Ameri
can naval transports and 40.499 in
other American ships; 1,006,987 were
carried in British bottoms and 68,246
in British leased Italian ships, and
.a? non by French and Itah'an shins.
From May, 1917, to November 11
last, there were 391 sailings of
American naval' transports, 123 of
other American troop ships, 546. of
British ships and 82 of other ships,
Not a single soldier of those carried
in United States naval transports
was lost.
SERBS LOOK TO WILSON.
Nicholas Pasitch, Premier of Serbia,
at Versailles for Peace Conference.
Paris, Dec. 9.—Serbia is the hub
of the new Jugo-Slav State.
Nicholas Pasitch is to the Jugo
slav State as Masaryk is to the
Czecho-Slovak nation.
Masaryk, first President of the
Czecho-Slovak Republic, crystallized
the national consciousness of the
Czechs of Bohemia and brought about
their recognition by the Allies.
Pasitch conceived the Jugo-Slav
State as it is now being organized. As
Prime Minister of Serbia he has fur
thered the movement of Balkan na
tions for a single state of Southern
Slavs.
On Hand for Conference.
Now Pasitch is at Versailles as rep
resentative of Serbia—and of Jugo
Slavia.
If he can bring into being a harmo
nious nation, he is greater than
Masaryk. For he has more turbulent
and varied forces to deal with and he
will have solved the Balkan problem
which has worried the world so long.
He will have seen created a nation
of 12.000,000 people hitherto oppress
ed—Serbs, Croats, Slovenes.
Pasitch is 72 years old. He served
.as an engineer in the Turkish War of
1876. lie founded ^he Serbian Radical
party in 1881. For seven years he was
in exile, under sentence of death, for
plotting against King Milan.
He was repatriated under an am
nesty and several times held the post
of Prime Minister, was Foreign Minis
ter and served the government in
other positions.
Once Sentenced for Treason.
Then in 1895 he was condemned to
five years in prison for high treason
—and almost immediately pardoned.
Mme. Pasitch has been a power in
the relief work of the Belgian nation,
having visited England to study the
methods employed by the Western Al
lies.
. An English governess has trained
the daughter of a Serbian leader.
And now he shows his further faith
in the Anglo-Saxon by his declaration
that the fate of Serbia, of Jugo
slavia, he trusts with Serbia’s Eng
lish-speaking Allies, particularly with
President Wilson.
Equipment of American Navy,
Twenty-nine battleships, manned by
40,000 men, will be maintained in
active service after March 1, accord
ing to the plans of the navy depart
ment as disclosed Tuesday by Rear
Admiral Coontz, acting chief of op
erations, in testimony before the
House Naval Committee in connection
with the 1920 naval appropriation
bill. Eight other battleships will be
held in reserve, he said and will be
manned by a two-thirds complement.
Other units of the navy to be in
commission after March 1 were given
by Admiral Coontz as follows:
Seventeen cruisers for active serv
ice, with two or five in reserve, and
manned by 12,000 men; twenty-four
vessels in the patrol force; including
gunboats and other craft, for which
3.900 men would be required; 165 de
stroyers, 20,600 men; ninety-nine sub
marines, 4.500 men; fourteen supply
boats, 2,498 men; 168 submarine
chasers, 5,400 men; seventeen Eagle
boats, complement not given; forty
two transports, 20,000 men; thirty
seven mine sweepers, 2,400 men, and
eighteen submarine and destroyer
tenders, 5,200 men.
PERU HAD UNIVERSITY
LONG BEFORE HARVARD.
San Marcus Has Turned Out Many
. Famous Scholars and Leaders
of Thought.
People of northern countries who
read of the threatening disturbances
in South America think of the South
American nations as but partially
civilized. As a matter of fact, nearly
a century before Harvard founded tbe
famous university at Cambridge,
Mass, the University of San Marcus,
in Lima, Peru, had been establishel.
Earthquakes and war have frequently
damaged it, but it rises greater than
before.
San Marcus is patemed after the
famous European university of Sala
manca. It. was originally chartered
by the Emperor Charles V.
The institution counts among the
scholars it has turned out not only
natives of Peru, but leaders of
thought and the profession in other
American countries.
Costs of Governor's Office S15.407.44
for Two Year Period.
According to figures compiled by
Mr. Ssntford Martin. Private Secre
tary. the privilege of having a Gov
ernor cost the State of North Caro
lina the net sum of S15.407.44 for the
two-year period ended -June 30, 1918.
This includes the salary of the Gov
error. Secretary, Clerks and all office
expenses.
TO READJUST POSTAL SALARIES
Appropriation Bill Makes Recent In
creases Permanent.
Washington, Dec. 10.—Creation of
a Congressional committee to deter
mine a readjustment of salaries of all
postal employes, including postmas
ters, is proposed in the Postoffice Ap
propriation bill for 1920, reported to
day to the House. Other provisions
would make permanent the salary in
creases of 15 to 20 per cent given
last year to most of the employes, au
thorize extension of house to house
delivery service in all communities
adjacent to cities having city delivery
and authorized a 50 per cent increase
of clerk hire allowances at third
class postofnees.
The measure would permit the use
of $2,185,000 for the purchase of air
planes for extending the air mail serv
ice and $1,000,000 for experimental
motortruck marketing service.
The bill carries $1159,657,577, or
about $2,000,000 less than 1919 bill.
The department’s estimates were re
duced more than $9,000,000.
In the 1918 fiscal year postal reve
nues exceeded expenditures by $19,
626,674, after deducting all losses, the
Postmaster-General reported to the
committee.
JUDGE PELL FAVORS
PRIV ATE O W NERSH11*.
In a letter written recently to Sena
tor Lee S. Overman, Judge George P.
Pell, of the North Carolina Corpora
tion Commission, pictures forebodings
which will occur if government con
trol of railroads continues. The let
ter follows:
“The people of North Carolina are
appealing to members of our commis
sion to do something to prevent the
calamity to the State threatened by a
continuance of the national control of
the railroads.
“Four years ago, you will remem
ber, we had an uprising in our State,
led by Honorable E. J. Justice and the
just freight rate association which
finally resulted in a compromise so as
to relieve North Carolina of her great
disadvantage in competing with Vir
ginia cities, the relief only applying
to goods shipped into the State
through the Ohio and Mississippi river
crossings. When this much of a vic
tory was won we thought we would
have a rest, but the Virginia cities
brought the matter up in another
form before the Interstate Commerce
Commission and, after a long strug
gle, we won out.
“Now, the National Railroad Ad
ministration is about ,to put into effect
a mileage scale of rates and a new
classification scheme which will not
only wipe out every advantage we
have gained, but put us in a far
worse position than ever. We are
hopeful that before this can be done
our delegation in Congress can make
some sort of racket that will force
the railroads back to private control.
“The question of government own
ership or absolute control is a very se
rious one for the South. It is not only
socialistic in principle but will re
sult in much that is harmful to us.
Aside from its effect on our rates, it
must ultimately result in the aboli
tion of the Jim Crow cars and the de
prival of the States of their taxes re
ceived from the railroads. Besides
the shippers all think it means the
same poor accommodation afforded in
countries where absolute control ex
ists.
“It seems that another railroad in
vestigation similar to the Newlands
investigation is going to be held to
determine the government policy as to
railroads. It is to be hoped that our
members of Congress will see that
some true blue Southerners are on
this committee of investigation, but it
is preferable that no Virginian or
Georgian be on it.
“I do trust that you will exert every
effort to avert the disasters mentioned
and especially the disaster of allowing
the Federal government to usurp the
police powers of the States over rail
roads.
“It might be well for you to bear in
mind the fact that notwithstanding
Congress attempted to safeguard the
States in the matter of State taxes on
railroads, nevertheless the national
administration is considering dispu
ting the right of the States to collect
its privilege taxes.”
LATIN-AMERICAN TRADE
SUBJECT OF DISCUSSION.
At the meeting of the Southern
Commercial Congress which convened
in Baltimore recently, the subject of
Latin-American trade was discussed
extensively. Development of trade
with the Latin-American countries
and the improvement and further de
velopment of the leading waterways
were leading subjects in the discus
sion of after-the-war problems and re
construction, by governors of the west
ern and southern States and mayors
of seaboard cities before the various
sections of the Congress.
U. S. NAVY LOST FEW
VESSELS IN WAR.
Enemy Submarines Destroyed Only
Twelve; 11 Lost of All Types
of Ships.
Only 41 vessels of the navy, includ
ing army and cargo transports mann
ed by naval crews, were lost from the
declaration of war, April 6, 1017, un
til hostilities ceased November 11,
and only twelve of these were destroy
ed by enemy submarines.
This is revealed by an appendix to
the annual report of Secretary Dan
iels made public Tuesday. Only three
of the twelve ships torpedoed were
war craft, the destroyer Jacob Jones,
sunk December 6, 1917, with a loss of
i»2 lives, and the coast guard cutter
Tampa, sunk September 6, 1918, with
a loss of 112 lives, and the armed
yacht Alcedo, which carried down 20
men.
Three ships lost by mines included
only one war craft, the armored
cruiser San Diega, which went down
off Fire Island, N. Y., last July 19.
with a loss of 50 lives. This was the
only loss of life on ships destroyed
bv mines, but a total 078 men on to
pedoed ships were drowned or killed
by explosions. These included 40 men
on two ships, the transport Mount
Vernon and cargo carrier Westbridge,
which were towed to port and re
paired.
Fifteen ships, including the de
stroyers Cahuncey and Shaw, the sub
marine F-l, four submarine chasers,
! the coast guard cutter Mohawk, the
cruiser Schurz, the yacht Wakiva IT
and the patrol boat Tarantula, were
lost in collisions. The other vessels
of the iifteen were cargo carriers. The
total loss of life was 77.
Fourteen vessels, including the Col
lier Cyclops, were given under the
head of miscellaneous sinkings.
These included three submarine chas
ers, two trawlers, two patrols, two
yachts and two tugs and the total loss
of life was 246. The Cyclops was giv
en in the list of “mysteriously disap
peared.” One of the patrol boats was
sunk by German shore batteries while
one of the submarine chasers was
“shelled by mistake.” Two of the
ships were destroyed by internal ex
plosions.
A total of 151 American merchant
vessels were lost between August,
1914, and November 11, 1918. Sub
marines accounted for 139 of these,
mines five, and enemy raiders seven.
Naval casualties in the enlisted per
sonnel' from April 6, 1917, to last No
vember 15, were 1,121 including fifty
five men of the U. S. Scorpion in
terned at Constantinople. The sum
mary shows: Dead, 893; injured, 130;
missing, 22; prisoners, 8; unaccount
ed for, 3; and in hospital, condition
unknown, 10.
There were 351 casualties among
the commissioned personnel, thirty
six officers were killed in actual com
bat with the enemy, 81 died of acci
dents, collisions, etc., and 234 died of
natural causes.
RECONSTRUCTION OF
LA BELLE FRANCE.
To reconstruct the destroyed por
tions of France architecturally as
they were before they were ruined by
the Germans is the purpose of the
French government as outlined by
Bernard J. Shoninger, formerly presi
dent of the American Chamber of
Commerce of Paris.
The French government plans to
accomplish this by reimbursing indi
viduals for their shattered homes,
mills and factories according to their
value before their destruction, Mr.
Shoninger recently told the executive
committee of the Philadelphia Cham
ber of Commerce.
Ultimately, he said, Germany will
I ?v the bill for restoration.
Throughout the war, he added,
French boards of appraisers have
been estimating the values of prop
erty destroyed by the Huns and now
have accurate data. To those who de
sire to rebuild, the French government
will issue indemnity bonds up to 80
per cent of the former value of his
property. While the external appear
ance of the buildings rebuilt will be
retained. Mr. Shoninger said, the in
teriors will be constructed in mod
ern, sanitary stvle.
Referring to the fact that the
French government has made ar
rangements to purchase materials of
reconstruction by pooling or combin
ing its orders, he suggested that
American manufacturers would be
asked to supply some materials and
that they promote the formation of
selling combinations so that possible
huge orders for construction materials
from France could be rapidly assimi
ia(ed.
From Arms to Arms.
The impetuous haste with which
returning German soldiers are seek
ing to enlist in the ranks of matri
mony is a case of rushing from arms
to arms.—Norfolk Virginian-Pilot.
TIHS STATE PROTESTS
AGAINST HIGHER RATES.
Corporation Commission Files With I,
C. C. Brief Opposing Consolidated
Classification.
Raleigh, Dec. 11.—North Carolina
Corporation Commission today filed
before the Interstate Commerce Com
mission a brief opposing the prejcted
consolidation classification and de
claring that increased rates predica
ted upon the classification should not
be made.
The commission takes the position
that representative Southern lines are
“showing better than average condi
tions of operating revenue on existing
transportation charges, and are ac
cumulating reserves on present basis
of transportation charges, largely in
excess\of operating costs and govern
ment rentals, while operating costs
may be expected to tend to a lower
level in the period ahead of us.”
Touching the disturbance of North
Carolina rates the commission says
that waiving questions of jurisdiction
there can be no finding on the testi
mony presented “without doing vio
lence to the principle of rate construc
tion that have found unanimous ap
proval of all the courts of the land.”
Tfye commission then contends that
ending June 13, 1013, the Coast Line
“shows excess of North Carolina
earnings per mile of road, over sys
tem earnings per mile ,of road of
24.36 per cent.” The Southern shows
23.84 and the Seaboard 67.42.
And finally declaring the people of
the State have met all demands which
war and patriotism made upon them
and avoiding-conflicts of authority by
submerging their rights and privi
leges, “guaranteed to them by consti
tution reservation, with the return of
peace the challenge shifts, and patriot
ism calls for a wholesome respect for
the constitutional privileges and
guarantees by all public officials, fed
eral and State.”
It urges no action with respect to
the North Carolina classification.
LOOKS FOR 24-INCH CANNON.
General Coe Says Nominal Range
Would He 40 Miles.
Ordnance Development during the
war has brought cannon makers to the
point where the 24-inch rifle is easily
practicable, Major-General F. W. Coe,
chief of Coast Artillery, said today
in his annual report. The nominal
range of a gun of this size would be
40 miles, the report says, but “longer
ranges for special types are possible if
desired.”
The limit has not yet been ap
proached in the size of tractor-drawn
artillery, declares General Coe, intima
ting that a successor to the German
“Big Bertha” is to be expected.
“In the case of harbor defenses,” the
report deejares, “the existing arma
ment lacks in power when judged by
latest standards. In order to provide
for the unhampered movements of our
own fleets in leaving important har
bors it will undoubtedly be necessary
in many cases to supplement the exist
ing defenses with the highest power,
largest caliber guns, placed as far to
the front as possible. Recourse will
consequently be had to fixed displace
ments.”
Vice-President at Cabinet Meeting
Vice-President Marshall presided
over Tuesday’s cabinet meeting at
the request of President Wilson, who
is en route to Europe and set, ac
cording to the White House staff, a
new precedent in the conduct of
American executive affairs. No other
Vice-President so far as records show,
ever presided at a cabinet session.
Tn taking his seat Mr. Marshall set
at rest any theories that he might be
acting as President. He said he was
attending the gathering “informally
and impersonally, not undertaking to
exercise any official duty or function.”
Before going to the White House
Mr. Marshall explained that the
President before departing for Eu
rope had asked him to preside at the
Cabinet meetings and had repeated
the request by wireless from the
George Washington.
Clemenceau Will Probably Preside at
First Sitting.
Paris, Dec. 11.—A Paris dispatch
says President Wilson will probably
not sit at the peace table at the pre
liminary sitting and therefore Pre
mier Clemenceau will probably pre
side. President Wilson is not ex
pected to return to the United States
before the end of February.
Abolition of Compulsory Military
Chance for George to Be Useful.
Wo see Mr. Wilson is to occunv
Prince Murat’s mansion while in
Paris, and if the regular butler is
away we shall be in favor of pu*t;ng
George Creel in ph’sb mnts ard lot
ting him buttle.—Grand Bepids Press.