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VOL. XXVIL PLYMOUTH, IT. C, FEIDAY, JUNE 1, 1917 NO. 43,
C
RUSSIA FACING
N
INDUSTRIAL CRISIS IS SO ACUTE
THAT ONLY MIRACLE CAN
SAVE COUNTRY.
MAY BRING WAR TO A CLOSE
EGO
1G
1
Demands of Workmen So Enormous It
' Seems Impossible to Keep Industrial
Wheels Turning. Minister of Fl
t.ancs Speaks.
I'otrograd, via London. The Indus
trail crisis in Russia is so acute that,
according to a recent utterance of the
Minister of Finance, M. Shingaron,
only a miracle can save the country
frcTH economic ruin. The demands of
the workmen were so enormous, he
declared, that it seemed impossible to
keep the industrial wheels going for
any great length of time.
Tho Socialist ministers at a recent
ministerial council said that the only
possibility they saw of settling the
difficulty was to bring the war to a
-;'S9. ...
Neither the coalition Cabinet nor
the newly appointed Commission to
regulate the difficulties between capi
tal and labor has yet found a way to
i.ett.le the industrial crisis. The Com
mission is composed of the Ministers
of Finance, trade and industry and
labor, but since there is a wide diver
gence of views between the Minister
of Finance and the new Socialistic
Minister of Labor, it seems probable
that this Commission will be confront
ed with the same difficulties that at
tended previous efforts at reconcilia
tion. " ....
An investigation of the factory con
ditions in ' Felrdgrad" leads to the
alarming, but inevitable, conclusion
that unless the Government soon finds
a means of adjusting the present dif
ficulties, most of the Industrial enter
prises working for National defense
vill be compelled to close within a few
months. An Investigation shows that
virtually the same difficulties prevail
in all the big factories in Petrograd
and apparently authenticated reports
from the Moscow, Donets and Ural dis
tricts indicate general disorganization,
fn many of the factories, the demands
by the wworkmen for increased wages
are actually greater than the entire
profits of the factories under the best
conditions of production.
HOUSE PASSES FIRST OF
FOOD CONTROL BILLS.
Provides For Survey of Food Supply,
Appropriates $14,770,000.
Washington. The Administration's
food survey bill, first of the food con
trol measures, was passed by the
House without a record vote. It ap
propriates $14,770,000 for an immediate
investigation of the country's food re
sources and for measures to stimulate
production. A similar bill is under de
bate in the Senate.
The Agriculture Department expects
to present a fairly accurate estimate
of food resources within three weeks
after the bill is signed by the Presi
dent, Secretary Houston said. As
soon as the measure becomes a law,
the Department will start its 17,000
employes and the 150,000 voluntary
crop reporters to work on the investi
gation. The preliminary report to be
made within the three weeks will be
supplemented with monthly reports
and probably by a further complete
report within six months if necessary.
Material gathered will be turned
over to Herbert C. Hoover, who was
named as head of the food adminis
tration, as soon as the pending regu
latory food measures becomes law.
In the survey bill, passed virtually
as it came from the committee, Miss
Rankin, the woman representative
from Montana, inserted an amend
ment which would require the Depart
ment of Agriculture to use women In
the survey work whenever practica
ble. An amendment by Representa
tive McKenzle of Illinois would make
all persons employed under the bill
liable to military service, and another
would permit citizens to refuse to go
more than 300 miles from their homes
or places of business to testify in a
food inquiry.
RAPID PROGRESS ON
REVISION OF REVKNUE BILL.
Washington. Making rapid prog
ress in revising the House war tax bill,
the Senate Finance Committee decid
ed to exempt from taxation many
articles, to substitute stamp taxes for
the manufacturers' gross sales plan of
the House, and to .consider new taxes
upon second-class mail matter. The
latter were advocated by Senator
Hardwlck and Postoffioe Department
heads, and would- be based upon the
advertising space in . publications. '
OVER 150 KILLED III
DISASTROUS
SEVERAL SECTIONS OF COUNTRY
SUFFER DAMAGE TO CROP8
AND PROPERTY.
OVER THOUSAND ARE INJURED
Property Damage Amounts to Millions
in Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Ken
tucky and Tennessee Caused By
Winds Frightful Play.
Chicago. More than one hundred
and fifty were killed, a thousand or
more injured, and millions of dollars'
worth of property destroyed by torna
does which swept through Kansas on
Friday, Illinois and Indiana on Satur
day, and parts of Tennessee Arkansas,
Kentucky and . southern Dllnola Sun
day. Reports indicate that a large
amount of farm' implements, needed
to produce the bumper crop desired
this year, was ruined, although the
spasmodic wind struck only here and
there in its frightful play through the
rural regions. Crop damage is said
to be not heavy in grains.
The heaviest toll of life was taken
at Mattoon, 111., a city of 10,000 pop
ulation in the broom corn country of
Central Illionis, where 54 are known
to . be dead ' and 600 injured, with a
property loss of $2,000,000.
Charleston, 111., ten miles east of
Mattoon, was also partly, wrecked Sat
urday evening with a loss of 38 lives
and 150 injured. The property loss
there is a million dollars.
The-"next most serious loss was .at
Andale, Kan., where 26 were killed
and a' score injured' on Friday. Dub
lin, Ky., suffered 3 dead and 17 in
jured. ....
South Dyersburg, Tenn., was report
ed to have, lost 2 Jelled and 15 injured
in a tornado that swept Dyer tfoufify
Sunday. Near Blytheville, Ark., 9 per
sons were reported killed and 12 hurt.
Reports from Indiana show at least
seven persons killed at Hebron,
Kouts and other places and the death
list may reach twenty. More than
two hundred were injured in the In
diana territory swept by the storm.
Smaller towns in Illinois lost a doz
en dead on Saturday with two score
injured, while in the southern point of
Illinois windstorms' Sunday killed a
half dozen and injured a score.
Summary of tornado dead and in
jured: Dead. Injured
Mattoon, 111. 54 500
Charleston, 111 39 150
Andale, Kan 26 60
Other 111. towns IS 65
Arkansas 9 12
Indiana 7 200
Kentucky 3 17
Tennessee 2 15
Totals 157 1,019
Property damage, $5,000,000.
SEVENTY-SIX KILLED BY
GERMAN AIRPLANE RAID.
Most of Victims Women and Children
- at Foodstuff Sale.
A town of the southeast coast':of
England, via London. Women and
children who had stood for hours in a
long line in the busiest street hero
waiting to purchase potatoes were' the
principal victims of the German air
plane raid. The women and children
had little warning of the raid and
were easy victims of the air vultures
who dropped.' their deadly bombs in
di8criminately.
The raid,., which claimed the lives
of 76 persons and caused injury to
175 others, proved more deadly than
any raid made on England since the
beginning of the war.
GUARD SHOT IN
EXCHANGE OF BULLETS.
Norfolk, Va. Frederick Rooch, a
guard at the Virginia Beach wireless
station, was Bhot and slightly wound
ed in 'an exchange of bullets with two
men, who were apparently attacking
the net around the station. The men
escaped. . ' -
BRAZILIAN CONORESS ASKED
TO ABANDOON NEUTRALITY.
j Rio de Janeiro. The committee on
foreign relations in the Brazllan Con
gress drafted a measure recommend
ing the cancellation of the decree ;of
April 25, 1917, which declared the
neutrality of Brazil In the war between
Germany and the United States. Pres
ident Braz, under the bill, would be
authorized to' take necessary steps for
the carrying out of this law and to put
Into ..practice the acts which resvlt
from the cessation of neutrality. ' -
THOROUGHLY
iopy right.)
MORE MONEY FOR ENTENTE
APPROXIMATELY $400,000,000 WILL
BE ADVANCED DURING
JUNE:
Have Been Outlined Definitely. Ital
ian Commission Will Submit Pro
gram Soon. Russia's Credit Estab
lished. Washington. Treasury officials
have turned their attention to the fin
anvial requirements of the allies for
June, and are engaged In formulating
a more or less elastic program design
ed to stand for several months. Indi
cations are that approximately $400,-
000,000 will be advanced the allies in
June, bringing the total up to more
than $1,000,000.
The Italian commission has yet to
submit a program to meet Italian fi
nancial needs.
British and French needs have been
outlined definitely, and tentative pro
posals contemplate? loans to these Gov
ernments at a rate of approximate!
$250,000,000 to $300,000,000 a month.
Russia has not yet drawn against tho
$100,000,000 credit established for her
here, and it is thought that this sum
will take care of her requirements for
some time, possibly for the entire
month of June. Belgian needs already
have been anticipated for six months
by the establishment of the $45,000,000
credit recently authorized.
Thus far, the loans to the Allies
have been chiefly to meet their most
pressing requirements. Negotiations
have passed this stage and are now
proceeding on a basis of the payment
at stated periods, of fixed sums, all of
which will be spent in the United
States.
Offisials have allotted among the
banks of the Federal reserve districts :
the$200.000,000 offering of treasury I
certificates of indebtedness which was
closed. The allotment was made on
the basis of 72 per cent of the sub
scriptions, the offering having been
oversubscribed about 4,0 per cent.
In a statement issue officials made
it clear that subscribers to the so-eaM-ed
"baby bonds" of the Liberty Loan
the$5l) and $100 denominations are
not required to pay their full amount
of subscriptions in advance, but will re
ceive the same privileges of paying
by Installments as are granted sub
scribers to larger amounts.
HOOVER GETS MANY
OFFERS TO CO-OPERATE
Southern Grocers' Association Ten
ders Service Packers Will Help.
Washington. Offers to serve with
out compensation In the national food
administration were received in great
numbers at- the administration offices
Just opened by Herbert C. Hoover. No
names were made public, but It was
said a surprlsirg number of promi
nent and able business men were
among the volunteers.
Mr. Hoover, who agreed to act as
food administrator on condition that
he and most of his aides serve with
out pay, will select the men who are
to work, with him without delay, and
will proceed with organization of the
administration to be ready to start
work as soon as Congress passes the
food bills. He went over detail at a
conference with President Wilson.
The food administration will be di
vided into four branches. The first
will comprise a number of separate
executive bodies for regulation of cer
tain commodities, organization along
the lines of commercial Institutions
with a board of directors, a presi
dent and executive officers, who In
stitute measure necessary to regu
late distribution and prices. The mem
bership of the executive bodies will
comprise, leading producers, distribu
tors, bankers arid consumers.
AMERICAN
' T
WAR ' REVENUE BILL PASSED
MEA8URE 18 VIRTUALLY AS RE
PORTED BY THE WAYS AND
MEANS COMMITTEE.
Final Passage Is Not Expected Within
a Month. Designated to Bring Into
the U. S. Treasury $1,800,000,000.
Washington. The war revenue bill,
framed to bring into the Treasury $1,
800,000,000 through new taxation dur
ing the coming year, passed the
House by a vote of 329 to 76 in almost
the same form that It was presented
by the Ways and Means Committee
two weeks ago.
AH the opposing votes were cast by
Republicans, although there are many
members onr the Democratic side
strongly opposed to certain sections
of the emasure. Virtual re-drafting
of the bill In the Senate is regarded
as certain. Material changes already
are contemplated by the Senate Fi
nance Committee a3 a result of pub
lic hearings held during the long de
bate in the House. Final pasage of
the bill probably cannot bs accom
plished in less than a month.
Outstanding features of the bill are
the greatly increased income, inherit
ance, excess profits, liquor and cigar
and tobacco taxes, virtual abolition of
the present customs free list and a
10 per cent addition to existing tar
iffs, new taxes on manufactures,
amusements, clubs, public utilities and
insurance, a far-reaching stamp tax,
and a greatly Increased mail matter
rate based on the parcel post zone
system.
In only four particulars does the
measure now differ substantially from
the original draft. Surtaxes on in
comes above $40,000 have been In
creased about one-fourth above the
committee schedule. Several articles.
Including print paper and pulp and
gold and silver, slated for a 10 per
cent daily, have been kept on the free
list. Slight reductions in the second
class mail matter rate have been
made. A proposed five per cent tax on
all advertising except newspaper and
periodical is eliminted.
Attacks on the bill in the Senate
will center around the excess profits,
income and manufacturers' taxes and
the second-class mail rate increase
sections. Business men generally are
protesting vigorously against the
taxes, and virtually every publisher
In the country Is opposing the dras
tically Increased mall rate.
VIVIANA AND JOFFRE ARE
AT HOME IN FRANCE
Crossed Atlantic Before Many Knew
They Were Gone.
Paris. Marshall Joffre and former
Premier Vivianl arrived at Brest on
their return from the United States.
They went directly to Paris.
Washington. Vice Premier Vivl
ani, Marshal Jocre and the French
mission sailed from New York Tues
day, May 15th, unknown except to a
few officials and many American news
papers. 'So well was the secret kept
by, the volunteer censorship by which
American newspapers are co-operating
with the government that the French
commissioners generally were suppos
ed to be still in Washington and up to
yesterday invitations to them to visit
various sections were received in great
number.
The party slipped away on the same
steamer which brought them over, and
convoyed by a French warship
BRITISH
MISSION
ENDS CONFERENCES
CONCLUDE THEIR WORK HERE
AND CROSS OVER INTO
CANADA.
NATIONS ON CLOSER BASIS
Efficient Co-operation Made Possible
By Their Visit. Understandings
Reached in Traae Matters. Joint
Buying Committee.
Washington. The British War Mis
sion left America and crossed into
Canada after six weeks of conferences
which have reached into every phase
of American life and are expected
vitally to affact the future of this
country, if not of the world.
Uncertainty has been removed and
an efficient co-operation made pos
sible by an exact definition of the re
sources and needs of the United
States and Great Britain. This coun
try knows the Allies' needs in detail
and in the order of their importance,
the Allies know America's resources
and the degree of their availability.
There have been no formal agree
ments or binding treaties.
Much that has been tentatively
agreed upon cannot finally be put in
to effect until legislation has been
passed by Congress. As a result of
the Mission's visit, Great Britain and
the United States undoubtedly have
been placed on a closer ' basis of
friendship than ever before.
The immediate diplomatic result
has been to lenthgen the British view
from a near-sighted absorption in the
immediate war needs to a broader
consideration of world reconstruction
afterwards. Similarly the American
viewpoint has been foreshortened
from absorption in the future to the
immediate pressing emergency.
League of Nations.
President Wilson's plan for a league
of Nations has beben discussed infor
mally, but not conclusively.
The most far-reaching understand
ings arrived at have been in trade
matters. In general, the United States
will give the Allies preferential treat
ment in commerce.
IMMENSITY OF NATION'S
TASK IS OUTLINED
Cabinet Members Address Meeting of
Editors.
Washington. Members of the cabi
net and others actively engaged in the
conduct of the war outlined the war
alms and needs to a meeting of editors
of the country's technical and trade
publications. All emphasized the mag
nitude of the task facing the nation,
and urged the publishers to support
the government in the change from
peace to war conditions in industry.
The food situation was presented by
Herbert C. Hoover, who will be named
food administrator. The country, he
said, faces a war that probably will
last from two to five years, and only
by the most careful measures can the
United States give the Allies enough
foodstuffs to keep them in the wr
with the constance demanded to bring
victory.
The Alliee' grain needs this
year,
Mr. Hover said-, will amount to
one billion bushels. America an
ada, with good crops, can fun.
per cent of this without depr
but the Allies must have, he d
at least eighty per cent of thei
to keep their efficiency at the
average.
SI
"That means some deprivat
us," said Mr. Hover, "but
fill their needs."
Food prices in the Unit
too high, and if they co:
present level, he said, w
ment3 must come or the
cannot live.
Secretary Baker dec
come of this war woul
the world really is pro'
Every resource of th
Baker said, was near e
the United States ent
There is no way to es
nent peace, he declared?
exercise of the superior
United States.
Secretary Daniels asked i
f J
1 P
i 1
r
r
to "get it into the heart of -nt&3tyftfa j
men that it is a crime to make more
out of the war than a normal profit."
The press, he said, is responsible for
letting the people know everything
about the government, and the spirit
and criticism are the very life of a
democracy."
The , purpose of the expert limita
tions and trading with the enemy bills
were explained by Secretary Redfleld,
who said the measures were necessary
as a protection for the country's com
merce and resources.
The government's attitude . toward;
ILIZIII6 ALL
AVAILABLE LABOR
FOOD CONSERVATION COMMIS
SION 18 ROUNDING UP LABOR
ERS FOR FARMERS.
OVERCOME GREAT HANDICAP
Mr. Lucas Says Men and Boys Whe
Work on Farms Render Nation a
Great Service.
Raleigh. The mobilization of the
labor available in the cities and towns
of North Carolina for the benefit of
the farmers who are suffering for lack
of labor is the latest movement in the
campaign being waged by the North
Carolina Food Conservation Commis
sion for increased production of food
and feedstuffs in this state.
One of the greatest handicaps to be
overcome if the stafae is to very greatly
increase its acreage and production of
food and feedstuffs is the labor short
age that exists on the farms of very
nearly every county in North Carolina,
according to a statement by John Paul
Lucas, executive secretary of ' the
State Food Conservation Commission.
Mr. Lucas emphasizes the point that a
man or boy who is able to work on a
farm can render the nation just as
valuable service on a farm as he can
in the training camp or in the
trences. "Provisions are Just as im
portant as men and the more provis
ionns we send abroad the fewer men
and the less blood this war will cost
us," declared Mr. Lucas. "President
Wilson and other high officials have
laid great stress on this point and the
fact that labor employed in agricul
tural pursuits will not be drafted for
military service is evidence that Con
gress looks upon the matter in the
same light.
"Many of our people have not real
ized how very serious is the food situ
ation in this section. We have been
solemnly warned time and time again
that we must not depend upon the
west and other sections for the tre
mendous amounts of food and feed
stuffs we have been importing, the
total for North Carolina last year cost
ing us the snug sum of $90,000,000,
while at present prices it would have
cost $175,000,000 or more. When it
is too late to plant It will be boo late
to realize. Even those who are not
particularly alarmed should realize the
truth of the old adage that it is better
to be safe than sorry.
"Tq offset the needs of thousands of
f armerB who require help and who
could largely increase their produc
tion of food and feedstuffs there are,
thousands of men and boys who could
be spared from our towns and cities.
In every town and city in the state
there are young men Just returning
from college and high schools and
other boys and men who at present
are either idle, partially employed or
employed at work they can readily
drop for awhile for the more import
ant work of producing food and feed
stuffs. Let these men and boys vol
unteer for this patriotic service. The
work, may be hard and the pay seem
small, but boys in uniform are
working hard too and their pay is
small and In addition to that they
are offering their very lives. Now let
those who remain at home and are
available for service volunteer their
services Don't be a slacker."
The county farm demonstration
agents throughout the state have lists
of those farmers who are needing extra
labor. Men and boys who are willing
to serve meir country in mis capacity
Would get In touch with these agents,
V with the Food Conservation. Com
sion of their county, or write to
V State Food Conservation Commis-
at Raleigh.
fender Defeats Stock Law.
4aw. The board of counamn-
jjers met here JsJ
the return f
AshevilleT'X
jfrrirmaa
Republican
k' the stand
of the Buncoil
Executive
at the hearing in the rebuttal of James
J. Britt to testimony of Congressman
Weaver, and declared that he had
never given Will Swink any money
to. vote for Britt or anybody else. He
also declared that he had no knowl
edge of any money given to Swink for
buying votes. Hill admitted that he
"stood" for a lumber bill for Swink at
at local lumber company but said that
he had nothing to do with the election.