North Carolina Newspapers

if lie , 9 $1.00 Year In Advance "FOR GOD, FOR COUNTRY AND FOR TRUTH." " " : Singlt Copies, 5 Cnt, VOL. XXVII. PLYMOUTH, N. C, FRIDAY, JULY 21, 1916. N03 BIGGEST AND BEST OF BRIDGES GONE Southern, Seaboard, Interurban and County Bridges Over Catawba in Mecklenburg County Swept Away by the . Mighty Waters. Many Others Go. ftlANY COTTON MILLS ARE UNDER WATER Damage to Concrete Dams and Power Stations is Immense. Several Mills Along' Catawba Under Water. Wires Down and Communication Broken at Many Places. Train Ser vice' Demolished. The Catawba rampant, with waters Hooding cities and towns situated along its banks, submerging houses, cotton mills and manufacturing en terprises almost without number, smashing great railway and highway bridges spanning its tempestuous course, twisting great trees and do ing incalculable damage, ranging In to the millions, such was the record of the most destructive flood that ever visited the Piedmont section of the Carolinas. As though the mighty stream sought to shake Itself in one mighty protest against the almost superhuman efforts of man to con scribe its course and limit its activ ities it gave an exhibition of its al most irresistible power which result ed in many mighty steel railway bridges going down; three, four and possibly five or six state and county highway bridges, including the new steel bridge at Mount Holly, and ac cording to reports the elegant $100, 000 built-for-the-ages reinforced con crete structure at Sloan's Ferry, the partial submersion of doiens of cot ton mills unfortunately located too close to the banks of the stream, such as the East and West Monbo Mills, near Statesville, Woodlawn and Mount Holly Mills at- Mount Holly and various others, and of damage to Toads, crops, houses, timber that can not be estimated at this time. One of those who had " witnessed several fierce Ohio and Mississippi floods likened the Catawba to one of the tributaries of those streams dur ing the flood tide of their irrestible sway, when there was nothing that could withstand its fury. The dam age to the immense concrete dams and power stations of the Southern Power Company on the Catawba could not be figured but it will range into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. No big dam was washed away but the power houses of ever,y description were flooded, thus cur tailing operations and of course en tailing much injury to machinery and equipment. At Lookout Shoals, 12 miles north of Statesville, the water had washed over and carried away a great embankment fill on the Ca tawba side which, while It relieved part of the pressure on the dam proper, turned loose such a flood of water that the old West Monbo Mill below, with its 5,000 spindles was submerged and the East Monbo new mill directly across the river partially put under water, he warehouse was flooded and hundreds upon hundreds of bags and bales of cotton washed away. Passing down the river, the Sea board Air Line bridge at Mount Holly was the first to break, the middle pier being smashed which dropped down the two central spans. Later in the afternoon at 6:35 the Southern's steel main-line bridge across the Catawba near Belmont, on the direct route through to Atlanta, went down, the shock carrying a force of workmen engaged in seeking to . relieve some of the driftwood pressure on the lower end of the bridge. This bridge was built about 12 years ago and was regarded as one of the best on the line. The Interurban new all steel bridge at Mount Holly went out about 8:30 when all telephone connection with the river was lost. This break was almost inevitable when the Seaboard bridge fell, thus superimposing all the pressure on the already heavily burdened structure below. The re ports as to the Southern bridge on the line to Rock Hill indicated that the structure was holding but the crest of the flood had not reached that point at that time. On the South Fork of the Catawba, the damage was almost unbelievable. The mills, which hover close to the bMiks of these .streams were flooded and the damage to reservoir dams, power stations and textile machinery The Southern Railway's Charlotte-Atlanta steel bridge over the Catawba near Belmont was carried away by the flood at 5:35 Sunday afternoon., A dozen men are re puted to have been lost, including Division Chief Engineer of Mainte nance Joe Killian. At Mount Holly, the Seaboard Air Line steel bridge, the Interurban steel bridge and the county high way steel bridge were smashed Sunday afternoon. Driftwood ac cumulated against the Seaboard, then against the Interurban and early Sunday night against the county bridge, all being torn away. These three bridges were compara tively new and represented an In vestment of more than $125,000. The $100,000 reinforced concrete highway bridge at Sloan's ferry was covered and reported gone. Dravo Power Co. dam and sta tion on Broad river was washed away early near Gaffney, S. C. The C. & N. W., steel bridge across Catawba near Rhodhlss re ported washed away. The dam at Osceola lake, built seven years ago, by Hendersonville capital, burst early Sunday, morn ing. ..Kanuga lake dam owned by Geo. Stephens of Charlotte broke Sun day morning about 10:30 o'clock. One man and two women drown ed by the rising waters at Biltmore, just below Ashevllle. Railroad service out of Ashevllle to North and South Carolina points Is at a standstill. A big dam at Lake Toxaway was carried away. Hundreds of thousands of dol lars worth of timber Is reported car ried down the Yadkin river Sun day. Embankment fill at the Lookout dam broke at 5:30 Sunday after noon, sweeping away the old West Monbo mill, the East side ware house with 400 bales of cotton. The West Monbo Mill and Its 5,000 spin dles are submerged. East Monbo is half submerged. A waterspout on Little River, near Taylorsvllle In Alexander county, swept away a flour mill and some of the tenant tiouses are sub merged.. Part of the Llledoun mill Is submerged and the Alspaugh mill Is covered with several feet of wa ter. The Southern Railway bridge at Catawba broke. A highway bridge between Statesville and Newton broke dur ing the day. The Central highway bridge be tween Mooresvllle and Llnc-lnton was swept away. The Southern Power Company re ported all power houses at Lookout Shoals, Catawba, Ninety-Nine Isl ands and the steam plant at Mount Holly partially submerged. No power dams have yet been washed away. The flood has eclipsed the record of more than 100 years. excessive. At Laboratory, High Shoals, Long Shoals, Harden and elsewhere, the loss was estimated in to the hundreds of thousands. The Dravo Power Company dam and power station on the Broad River near Gaffney was carried away, de monstrating that the Catawba was not alone in its demonstration of mighty power. At Ninety-Nine Islands some 15 to 20 miles below, the water was tumbling across the top of the dam of the Southern Power Company sta tion but not doing any vast amount of damage when last heard from. The power house had been submerg ed but this damage can be rectified. The Broad was far ahead of anything ever known before In the history of the stream. Officials of the Southern Power Company did nothing but watch the rising waters. At Lookout the water was higher than ever before. Indeed there are no records In over 100 years that approach the present lev els. The dam was constructed to withstand anything imaginable but such a flood as this was never consid ered. The fact that the great pile of reinforced concrete was able to stand was a splendid tribute; to the work of the contractors and those that designed it. A dramatic incident in connection with the breaking of the Seaboard trestle In the afternoon was the pres ence of at least a hundred or more spectators along the trestle just a few moments before the crash came, but some wiseacre gave warning of the close proximity of danger and nearly everybody left the bridge before the break came. With the exception of two boys, who were almost in the middle of the structure when It be gan to bend and snap. Their quick ness alone saved thum. With a dash they escaped to an adjoining span before the broken part of the struc ture gave away and were greeted with cheers by many of the bystanders. SERIOUS FLOODS SWEEP CAROLINAS MANY PEOPLE ARE TRAPPED IN RIVERS LARGE NUMBER RE PORTED DEAD. ESTIMATE LOSS $10,000,000 Five Known Dead in Asheville and Biltmore. Western North Carolina Hit Hard. Power Lines Wrecked. Charlotte. Serious floods in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia Sunday caused five known deaths with 18 others known to be missing and rendered hundreds homeless,, dam aged property and crops to the "extent of $10,000,000 according (to first esti mates and demoralized railway, tele graph and telephone communications. Following the huricane that struck the South Atlantic Coast unprecedented rains have fallen, driving rivers and smaller streams from ttieir banks and Imperilling many lives. What are said to be the worst floods ever known in the Catawba, Broad and Yadkin Rivers did untold damage in the territory within a ra dius of 50 miles of Charlotte with the possible loss of 18 lives. Just above the Southern bridge, over the Catawba at Balment, the Piedmont & Northern Interurban bridge and the Seaboard Air Line Railroad 'bridge at Mount Holly were washed away Sunday afternoon and night Farther up the river, near MooresviWe and Statesville, two high way bridges went out, while at. Ca tawba, the Southern's bridge on the Salisbury-Asheville line, was washed away. At Monbo, below Catawba, the West Monbo Cotton Mill of 5.000 spin dles, is under water and believed to have been washed away, and the East Monbo Mill, across the river, is prac tically submerged, while a cotton warehouse with 400 bags of cotton has been washed away. Still further up the Catawba, the Liledoun and Als paugh Mills are under water. The damage to these mills Is laid to a waterspout In Alexander county that caused a section of the earth embankment of the Lookout Shoals power plant of the Southern Power Company to give away adding 15 feet of water to the already more than 20 foot tide in the Catawba. That volume j of water also caused the last two or three of the bridges to go. The Dravo Power Company's dam on Broad river near Shelby, went out late Sunday afternon, menacing the Southern Power Company's plant near Blacksburg, S. C, and cutting off the electric supply for Spartanburg and the textile towns surrounding that city. The Southern Power Company however, may be able to meet this de mand. Near .Winston-Salem, the town of Rondo was cut off from the outside world for several hours until a tele graph operator, flooded out of his of fice, carried his instruments to a high hill and cut in on a telegraph wire. Trains cannot be gotten to North Wilkesboro and will not be operated west of Donagha for some time be cause of the tide on the Yadkin river, which Is eight and one-half feet higher than known in 43 years. A Southern Railway train suposed to have left North Wilkesboro Sunday afternoon has not been heard from, while one that started from- Winston-Salem to that town had to stop at Elkln. Resi dents of Jonesville and adjacent towns were moving to high land. The French road River broke from its course near Ashevllle, flooding fac tories and homes in the lower part of the city. At Biltmore three per sons, Capt. J. C. Lipe, Miss Nellie Lipe and Mrs. Leo Mulholland were drown ed when the Lipe house was flooded. Two persons were drowned at Ashe vllle while trying to put food into the upper story of the Glenn Rock Hotel. Many are marooned in their residences along the river and rescue parties for hours have fought their way against the rushing current in an effort to reach them. s Swift streams of .water are flowing down some of the streets of lcver Asheville. The Southern Railway sta tion is flooded to a depth of six feet as are all other buildings in that vicin ity. The city proper, 300 feet higher, is without lights, but otherwise is not affected. Industrial plants everywhere suf fered severely, property loss in cot ton mills, woodworking plants and lumber yards along the French Bfxad tand .Swannanoa Rivers was estimated at. from f 1,500,000 to $2,-000.000. I OUR SUMMER HERO (Wt A HAVING K60O0 TlMO CHKKCH PWKtfci ANP ffttirt U (CoDVrlaht) SAYS VICTORY IS COMING THE CREST HAS BEEN CROSSED SAYS BRITISH MINISTER OF WAR. Change Is Due to Improvement In Equipment Russians Strike Terror to Foes in East and the French De fend Verdun. London. David Lloyd-George, Brit ish Minister of War, presiding at an Entente Allied conference on equip ment, declared that the combined of fenside of the Allies had wrenched the initiative from the Germans, never, he trusted, to return. "We have crossed the watershed," he said, "and now victory is begin ning to flow In our direction. The change Is due to the improvement in our equipment." The cenference was held at the War Office and was participated in by Albert Thomas, French Minister of Munitions; General Bieliaeff, Assist ant Minister of War of Russia; Gen. A. Dall Olio, member of the Italian Ministry of War, and the new British Minister of Munitions, Edwin S. Montagu. "Since our last munitions confer ence, said Mr. Lloyd-George, "there has been a considerable change in the fortunes of the Allies. On that date the great Champagne offensive in the West had just, failed to attain its objective, and the French and British armies had sustained heavy losses without the achievement of any particular success. In the east the enemy had pressed the gallant armies of Russia back some hundred miles, and the Balkans had Just been over run by the Central Powers. "The overwhelming victories won by the valiant soldiers of Russia have struck terror into the hearts of our foes, and these, coupled with the im mortal defense of Verdun by our In domitable French comrades, and the brave resistance of the Italians against overwhelming odds in the Southern Alps have changed the whole com plexion of the landscape. "Now the combined strength in the east and west has wrenched the Initia tive out of the hands of the enemy never I trust, to return to his grasp. We have crossed the watershed and now victory Is beginning to flow in our direction. GERMAN AMBASSADOR VISITS SUBMARINE. Bernstorff Spends Hour Examining the Wonderful Boat . Baltimore. Count von Bernstorff, the German Ambassador, spent an hour aboard the German submarine merchantman Deutschland. He in spected the vessel from stem to stern, had the intricate machinery and in struments aboard explained to him and personally congratulated Captain Keonig upon bringing his vessel safe ly through waters infested with hostile war craft. '.. ui'ji ' Two attaches of the, f 3fa, ?rn Em bassy and the German 'a 'nd ;trian Consults accompanied the'-i ' .Aassa- dor or. his visit to the submarine. The Ambassador informed Captain Keonig that he would send to him be fore the Deutschland starts on her return voyage several packets of of ficial papers which he desires to have delivered intact to the Berlin Foreign Office. n "It is a wonderful boat and with as courageous a crew as ever sailed the sea. has made a wonderful voy age," said he. "I climbed up and down every hatchway, looked- into every compartment and had my first experience with a periscope." MAMETZ WOOD IS TAKEN ALLIES GAIN IN REGION NORTH OF SOMME AND TRONES WOOD. ' Around Verdun and Right Bank of Meute Bitter, Fighting Ensues. Germans Make Few Gains But Pay Heavily. London. Fighting desperately in the face of determined German at tacks the forces under General Halg succeeded in gaining control of the entire Mametz wood, which had been entered the previous night by the Ger mans. In the same region, north of the Somme, the British made some progress in the Trones wood and repulsed- two heavy attacks against Contalmalson. The Germans are re ported to have lost heavily. The French and German forces south of the Somme apparently are resting as there has been almost no activity in the region of Picady sine the first of the week. Around Verdun, however, and espe cially on the right bank of the Meuse bitter and heavy fighting is In prog ress. The Germans, following up their success in the region of the Damloup battery, have undertaken a strong of fensive toward Fort Souville, the pos session of which would strengthen their position for further advance on Verdun. Attacking In mass formation from the village of Fluery and the Chap itre and Vaux woods, the Germans gained ground at the intersection of the Fleury and Vaux roads. The gain, however, Paris asserts, was made at the cost of 'enormous losses." Violent bombardments continue in the region of Chenois, Souville and La Laufee. There was relative calm on the left bank of the Meuse. HUGHES TO MAKE CAMPAIGN TOUR CROSS CONTINENT. Cornelius N. Bliss is New Treasurer of Committee. Make Campaign Ar rangements. New York. Charles E. Hughes con tinued the weekly conferences which he has held with party leaders since making Bridgehampton his summer home. . Chairman Willcox of the Re publican National Committee, Senator Penrose, Murray Crane, Mayor Thomp son of Chicago and other advisers of the nominee, unanimously endorsed his proposal to make a trip to the Pacific Coast beginning early in August. , Cornelius N. Bliss has been select ed as treasurer of the National Com mittee to succeed George R. Sheldon and Fred W. Upham of Chicago will be in charge of the western end of the work, with headquarters in Chi cago. Mr. Bliss is the son of the late Corenlius N. Bliss, who was treasurer of the committee during the Roose velt campaign of 1904. Mayor Thompson's invitation to Mr. Hughes to begin the spech making on the proposed western trip at Chicago, probably will be accepted. MEXICAN PARLEY SHOWS FAVORABLE PROGRESS. Washington. Informal negotiations for settlement of border disputes be tween the United States and the de facto government of Mexico are pro gressing favorably. Acting Secretary Polk said after his second conference with Eliseo Arredono, Mexican Am bassador Designate. Steps now being taken foreshadow appointment of com missioners by each government to for mulate a plan of action for the per manent relief of border conditions. 100,000 GUARDSME ON MEXICAN HORDE NO MORE TROOPS WILL E! SENT UNTIL THOROUGHLY EQUIPPED. 50,000 REGULARS ON B0RDE ( Statement That War Department Contemplating the Draft System i Reorult National Guard Is Not sense. Washington. Department con manders of National Guardsmen no mobilizing for service on the Mexlc border were instructed by the We Department to defer transportation 1 the frontier until the mllltiame have been thoroughly equipped an organized. This order revokes a it ing issued by the department wl ! the Mexican situation was act I which waived certain requiremeaj About 25,000 men are affected. ... " The latest information of the D partment is that about 100,000 .N tional Guardsmen now are 'at th border. With the 50,000 regular there are 5,000 additional men calle from the reserves, officials estimate that the American - strength on bo der service within a few weeks vrl be adeqaute to cope -with any presets emergency and will make unnecessar the dispatch of any more guardsme until they are completely equippe and organized. Published stories that use of general draft was being consider to fill the National Guard ranks weij wei 'Jii denied by the Department, The lowing statement was issued by VUAV A OtS AU. VMM. ' j "The statement that the War I partment is contemplating the drafs system to recruit the National Guar is nonsense. Statements to that e, feet are purely speculative and hay j no basis in fact" Reports that National Guard u are being supplied poor and 1 ficient food are not borne out preliminary telegraphic reports rt ceived.from all the Department com manders. A message from General Funstoi' reported that General Trevino haf sent many troops south with theJ tention of occupying the Guerre j San Barja-Santa Rosalia line a gal j any possible northward advance 1 j bandits. The dispatch added th ( newspapers in Chihuahua were urJ ing the necessity of an active caitii palgn against bandits "to preve their reaching United States forces and border." ' HURRICANE DOES SMALL H DAMAGE ALONG COA& Force of Storm Passes and Norma Conditions Are Being Rapidly j Restored. Charleston. S. C. Comnaratlvell little damage was - done here one, along the coast by the hurricane which swept the Carolina and GeorgW coast Reports from Sullivan's Island a summer resort across the bay from here, said damage was slight, whil from the Isle of Palms, another near-; by resort, came similar messages. Hun- dreda of persons were warned in tim to leave the exposed points. The force of the storm had passed here and normal conditions were be-! ing restored. A number of windows were blown in here, hundreds of trees blown down and trolley, tele phone and telegraph service was stop ped by the high winds. At one time the hurricane raged at 64 miles an hour. The barometer which fell to 29.02 was rising steadily. MEXICAN PARLEY GETTING AT DEFINITE STATUS Wa.shl-n Alton. Th informal nfcfimrl- .llAn f '1 ATV AH s tnaiiaa VA fl tween the United States and General Carranza are understood to have ad vanced a long step when Acting Sec retary of State Polk and Eliseo Ar redondo, Mexican ambassador desig nate, held their third conference since General Carranza's proposal for a diplomatic adjustment was received and accepted. Although both Mr. Polk and the ambassador declined to say what mat ters were under discussion, there were indications that the conversations had passed into the deflnte stage, where specific questions were being formulated for probable submission to a joint international commission. The commission plan of settling dif ferences between the two countries Is provided for in the treaty of 1848. Un official advices from Mexico indicated that General Carranza favored resort to it in the present case, and Mr. Polk is believed to have acceded to the suggestion. 4.