North Carolina Newspapers

- .j y - IP v ' - v ' -.v VOL. XX. NO. 33. RECT FEDERAL SENATOR NEWLAND'S PLAN SUB. MITTED TO ., INTER-DEPARTMENTAL CONSIDERATION. TO SUBMIT AN AMENDMENT To the Rivers and Harbors Appro priation Bill Providing "For the Commssion. Washington. Senator Newland'e plan, (generally approved by the Pres ident and the inter-departmental com mitteo of-the Cabinet, for a commis sion t p direct Federal waterway con trol and improvements, was the sub ject of an extended conference at the White-House recently. , Whether the plan should be pressed at this session of Congress was considered but left undecided. The question will be tak en up again at a date not fixed. Cab inet officials reported on their inves tigation of the subject and Secretary Lane announced their approval of the general plan.' Conferring with the President were Secretaries Garrison, Redfield, Lane and Houston, Senator Newlands and George H. Maxwell of Chicago, ex ectuive chairman of the National Irri gation Association. The proposed commission would have authority over questions relating to development, improvement and control of navigation as a part of in terstate and foreign commerce; and related questions of irrigation, " fores try, fisheries,, swamp land reclama tion clarification streams, flood regu lation and water power utilization. " It has been suggested that an amendment be submitted in the Sen ate to the rivers and harbors appro priation bill providing for the organi zation of the commission to invest!-" gateithe broad waterway scheme out lined. Such an amendment was de-' feated when the big rivers and har bors appropriation was blocked at the last session by a filibuster. Appropria tions for the scheme, according to the Newlands bill, would amount to $0, 000,000 a -year for 10 years or . a total of $600,000,000. Honors For Americans. Vienna, via London. Emperor Francis Joseph has conferred on, the American Ambassador Frederic Court land Benfield, Rear Admiral Aaron Ward, TT. S. N., retired, commander of American Red Cross ship Red Cross and the American minister to the Netherlands, Dr. Henry Vandyke, the Red Cross medal of merit for their services in connection witfi the Amer ican Red Cross mission to the dual empire. Recently the emperor deco rated Mrs.. Penfield with the grand cross of the Order of Elizabeth for es tablishing a hospital at Vienna. The Red Cross order was founded by the emperor in commemoration of ' the semi-centennial of the Red Cross So ciety, organized in 1864. Is Subject to Inquiry. Washington. Great Britain has ad dressed a note of inquiry to the state department in regard to charges which that government alleges Colonel Goethals had admitted were baseless against the conduct of certain British colliers in the waters of the Canal Zone. The "communication Implied that the British ship captains were harshly treated. So far. Secretary Daniels has not learned just what" led to the recent dismantling of the' Tadio apparatus of a British collier at Pana ma ,even the name of the ship being unknown. 1 - Money For Withheld Salute. Washington. The house passed an trgent deficiency bill carrying $4,730, 805, including $554,371 to cover un expectei expenses incurred by the Army in the occupation of Vera Cruz. During the debate Republican Leader Mann attacked the Administration's Mexican policy. , "This bill," he said, "carries half a million dollars to nay the expenses of our troops at Vera Cruz, sent there to obtain a salute of 21 guns, which has not yet been given." Thaw Back to New York. Washington. Harry K. Thaw lost bis fight in the supreme court of the United States against being "extradi ted from, Hampshire to New York. The court held that the celebrated prisoner should be turned over to the New York authorities to answer an In dictment for conspiring . to . .escape from Matteawan asylum. Whether his escape, while, as his counsel contend ed, he was insane, constituted a crime, the court dismissed with the comment that they, could not enter in a habeas corpus proceeding. WATERWAY CONTROL i . . . , - ! -r . iiuuncoo ur w to i mi mo i tn New photograph of the Duchess of Westminster, who, at her own ex pense, equipped and took to the war zone a corps of trained Red Cross nurses. . ARMIES NEAR THE BORDER GENERAL BLISS REPORTS THE RESULT OF HIS. DIPLOMATIC V RELATIONS. Denies to Secretary Garrison That He Has Made Definite, Final Demands on General Maytorena. Washington. Secietary .Garrison gave President Wilson the latest re-, ports from Brig. Gen. Bliss on the sit uation at Naco, where the Mexican generals have not yet moved their forces to avoid firing into American territory. V -r-- r-F- The reports showed that the situa tion had . undergone no , apparent change, although little firing was in .evidence. While the United States is determined, if necessary, to open fire on the two Mexican forces to com pel them to stop shooting into the State of Arizona, it was feared that no decisive action was planned, pend ing, efforts to Naco to influence the two factions to adjust the situation. . The general belief in official quar ters was that some satisfactory un derstanding would be reached. . Agents here of. the Gutierrez Gov ernment to which General Maytorena is loyal, claims that he is preparing to move his force down the railroad south of Naco, so that he can con tinue to besiege the Carranza 'force under General Hill with the Ameri can border out of the range of fire. While reports from General Bliss the War Daprtpment were not made public it is believed they indi cated that he thought he had persuad ed General Maytorena to stop firing across the line. Until there is a defi nite understanding on the whole situ ation, it is thought General Bliss has warned General Hill not to take the offensive, which would draw the fire of the Maytorena troops. RUSSIAN ARMY RETREATING. Falling Back From Poland to Get Better Base of Operations. ' - London. "The Russians are retir ing along the entire front in Galicia and Poland." This . statement officially issued at Vienna ii the outstanding feature -of news from the battle fronts. While there is no confirmation from other sources, such a move on the part of the Russians would be in line with the announcements in Petrrograd dis patches that the Russians threatened pf both flanks had decided to take up new positions where they could better meet the Austro-German onslaughts from the Carpathians to the East Prussian frontier. The Russian delay in; fulfilling ex pectations that, they would prove a serious menace to German territory is diappointing, the peoples of the Al lied countries, but military men ex press the view that it is better for Russia to fight in her own territory, where means of communcation would be more on an equality. Admiral Fisher Talks of Efficiency. Washington. Five years would be required to put the United States Navy tn the highest state of effi ciency to meet a hostile fleet, accord ing to a statement by Rear Admiral Fiske before: the House Naval Com mittee. The Admiral, who Is chief of the Bureau of Operations, membeT of the .general board and a former president of the Naval Institute, said the Navy was deficient In air craft, mines, scout cruisers, torpedo-boat de stroyers, submarines and in number of trained officers and men and had no mine sweepers. I ..y.v..?'.-:yov- i ,;"',.,. ? .- " ... SALUDA, POLE COUNTY, N. C!., n i nflnnT II nnnsn ; REPRESENTATIVES HEFLIN AND MOON COME CLOSE TO ACTU t AL BLOWS.. DISCUSSION OF POSTAL BILL Rule for Amendments Made Subject of Bitter Passages, Involving Several Members. . -' ' ? Washington, After two days of b,ot words which culminated in exchange of invitations to personal combat be tween Representatives HeflhTof Ala bama and Moon of Tennessee, thV house adopted a special rule to con sider legislation for reforms demanded by the postoffice in connection with the annual I appropriation bill. A de flection of democrates defeated a eim ilar rule, which provided for a con sideration of an amendment decreas ing postmasters' salaries, elimination of assistant postmasters, , experiment al substitution of contract senor the rural delivery service, incixjbf salaries for rural carriers, changv. ln the compensation paid railroads'"' for carrying the malls and other reorgan ization plans of the department. . ; The rule was passed late with pro visions for cutting postmasters' sal aries, albolishing assistant postmasters and the 4-ural service substitution scheme eliminated. ; A speech by Representative .Moon after defeat of. the original rule, In which he intimated that "some rail road influence" had operative ta shift Democratic Votes caused a bitter "de bate here. Representative Heflin de nounced Mr. Moon's statement as "false and untrue." Mr. Moon . chat; lenged him to, make the same states ment off- the floor of the .house a Mr. Heflin expressed his willingness to do so. The two representatives were advancing threateningly towards each other when half a dozen mem bers stepped in between them. Republican Leader ' Mann, who had led the fight against the original rule, later renewed the controversy. "The charge has been made on this floor," he sa'd, "that the influence of railroad interests has been felt "In this house. I believe it is the duty of the house, if the charge is not true, to re pudiate the charge and condemn the man who made it. If it Is true, then the house owes it to itself to investi gate the charge and punish those men whose votes have been changed by railroad influence;" Representative Ragsdale of South : Carolina said that "when the gentle men charge that there is railroad in fluence enough on the Democratic side of the house to defeat this legislation I do not believe it and repudiate It." "Well, the gentleman has his opin ion," replied Representative Moon. "If the hit dog yelps, let him yelp." Representative Webb of North Car olina said he "was not influenced by railroads, but by my own colleagues, who I think are high-minded, honest and conscientious men." A little later .Representative Moon in a brief speech disclaimed any in tention to "reflect onjthe honor or in tegrity of any, member of the house." He said that his speech was made "in the heat of debate" and -may have been a little , too rough." He offered to withdraw any "offensive language" he might have passed. , SMALL GAINS AND LOSSES. All Sides are Claiming Some Few ; Successes. ' In the offensive operations of the allies in the western war arena, In teresting features are the loss in the neighborhood of Nuve Chapelle of several of the trenches recently cap tured by the British and an advance by the East Indians toward Riche bourg l'Avouve, as reported .in the latest French official communication; This statement also indicates that the Germans have not been lacking In the offensive. It recordes, in addition, the annlhilalation of a German coiumn at Lihons. , j. - - ' ' v In " the east the' situation is still In doubt. , . ' ' .. - t - According to th official state-' ment from Petrograd, the . ; Germans have been repulsed in an - attempt to cross 1o the right bank of the Vistula river iff Poland and. fighting in the Bzura river district is developing. Re garding the victory which Germany was reported to have won in Poland, Berlin remains silent. - ' Austria claims important- successes in the battle of Limanowa in Gallicia, where 26,000 Russians are said to have fallen into their hands. - A Berlin ' dispatch says - that Em peror William has paid a visit to the wounded soldiers at Fotsdam. ft I nflnnT HLhluai A DbtlHr III LOWER HOUSE H m Mm ' ' wm FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25, 1914. i m inc kahm WW llllllll Representative Kahn of California is president of the National Defense league and holds that preparedness for war Is the only insurance against war. . GERMANS MAKE BIG RAID WHITBY, SCARBOROUGH AND HARTLEPOOL ATTRACTED BY SWIFT CRUISERS. Casualty List Totals 110, Dead 31 ; Big Property Loss Un usual 5f Excitement. London. For tht; first, time in centuries England has been struck by a foreign foe. A squadron of swift German cruisers" crept through the fog; to the eastern coast and turned their, guns against the Britons.;. ' When' day broke they began bom bardment of three important towns 7 Hartlepool at the -mouth of the Tees, Whitby, -noted as : a-pleasore resort, 15 miles beyond. Hartllepoei suffer ed most. " There two battle cruisers were engaged. The British war office fixes the number of dead at Hartle pool as seven soldiers and 22 civilians. At Scrabrough, shelled by a battle cruiser and an armored cruiser, 13 casualties are , reported while at Whitby two were killed and two were wounded. - Men, women and children of the civilian population were left dead or wounded struck without warning while at work. In all the casualty list totals 110, according to the of ficial estimates, of whom 31 are known to be dead. At Hartlepool, churches were dam aged and the gas works and lumber yards were set afire, while the ab bey at Whitby vtas struck. The Bal moral Hotel at Scarborough received the full effect of a shell. A number of houses and shops were shattered and partly burned in each , of the towns. The hostile squadron escaped In the mist after an encounter with coast guard vessels. - CARRANZA AND VILLA CRASH. Armies in First Big Battle East of . I r . : Torreon. , ' - ; ; El Paso. -The first Important battle between the Carranza and Villa . arm- ies is in progress near San Pedro de las Colonies, esst of Torreon. Several columns of Carranza troops from Coa hulla Statet, aggregating about 5,000 men undjr Colonel Ilifonse Vasquez, are engaged by a slightly larger force under General Villa. Both sides have ample artillery and the fighting is described as desperate. ' The Carranza forces made a threat ening movement to take Torreon and to shufj off Villa's communication with the North. Villa . garrison in Northern Mexico have been depleted by the movement into Mexico City and troops from the National Capital probably will be sent to the northern theater of war. . It appears that Carranza, from Vera Cruz, has ordered a general movement into the "North. Four hun dred men from General Hill's forces in the extreme east of , SOnora are moving on Juarez, held by a small Villa garrisoii. Five hundred Car ranza troops from-.Coahulla recently passed below 'Sierra Blanca, Texas, on their way toward Juarez. Goethals Again Asks for Fleet. Panama. -Governor Goethals has again cabled to Secretary Garrison setting forth need for destroyers in canal ports to preserve neutrality. Colonel Goethals says he has no means of preventing the use of canal or Panaman ports as a means of communication and that - these ports apparently are being used to that end. Colonel Goethals expressed opinion that there' was as much necessity for destroyers at canal ports as at any other American ports where they, were stationed to prevent breaches. i . i ' i f '. E T EASTERN RAILROADS ARE AL LOWED INCREASE OF FIVE PER CENT. THE PRESIDENT IS PLEASED Wilson Expects Decision, to ' Have Immediate Effect on business. -Will Add $30,000,000. K Washington. -Further increases in freight rates were granted to the Eastern, railroads . by the Interstate Commerce Commission in a decision from-which Chairman Hallan and Commissioner ' Cflemente dissented vigorously. . ,. t Except on lake and rail traffic, coal, coke, iron ore and certain other traf fic, upon ,which .the commission here tofore has fixed rates adjudicated "reasonable," all railroads operating in the territory between the Atlantic seaboard and .the Mississiippi, north of the Potomac and Ohio rivers, were allowed the flat five per cent increase for which' they have been asking for four years. The railroads hoped to get increases which would add to the annual rev enues some $50,000,000. The commis sion's decision is expected to give them additional revenue approximat ing $30,000,000. The roads east of a North and South line drawn through Buffalo, Pitts burg and ; Charleston, W. Va., won by today's decision; from the increases other than upon the traffic- excepted which were denied them - in the com missioner's decision last 5 Aueust The roads west of this line, which got par tial advances in the August decision. received further advances t&o. that now All , the xoads ?lnwhat Is describ- 'edas "official' classification - 'territory will enjoy uniform advances in both class and commodity rates. The majority of the commission held that the roads had established in the latest hearings a greater need of ad ditional net income than ever before. This was due, the decision held, to ex igencies arising out of the war and to an already existing necessity for addi tional revenues to maintain the rail road properties. N Chairman Harlan In his dissenting opinion, held that sufficient aid had been given the roads by the August decision and that the findings of the majority was "morally wrong.". Com missioner Clements based his dissent upon what he regarded as the Inabil ity in law, of the commission to take cognizance of anything in the making of rates other than their justice and reasonableness. UP AND AT 'EM NOW. England Rises In : Anger Would v Avenge Scarborough. London. Although there seems no doubt the Russians are retreating, and that for the present any expectation the Allies may have held pt an early invasion of Germany must be dis missed, considerable mystery,; sur rounds the reported decisive German victory which Berlin celebrated. Vienna gives a few details of fight ing in the East The claim is made that the Russians haye been driven from their positions north of the Car pathian mountains from Krosno to Zaklicyn which would indicate that part of the Southern line of railway in Galicia again Is In the, hands of the Austrians and that Piotrkow and another Central Poland town hare been stormed, but silence is . main tained as to North Poland where the German vicotry is said to have- been achieved. 1 "Avenge Scarborough! ftp and at 'em now." . . Mexican Bullets Still Flying. Naco. Five Bullets from the Mexi can fighting around ., Naco, Sonora, struck near I shelters built by United States troops on the border. Many other shots fell on United States ter ritory V" " . ' ' Intermittent ifrjng on the Mexican side continued all day. Hill's Carran za troops, defending , Naco, seemed to by doing most of the shooting. Methods Still Asunder. Atlanta. No definite action on the proposed amalgamation of the North ern and Southern branches of the Methodist, Church was taken by the Church Commission yon Federation, which adjourned here after three days of deliberation. Three bishops from the Southern Church, four bishops of the Northern Church, jaix ministers and six laymen comprised the com mission. All sessions were strictly executive, but it was stater that more progres was made than at any time previous. ' , INGREAS PRE GH RATES AR GRANTED ESTABLISHED MAY, 1894. NEEDS OF SOUTH TOLD BY HOUSTON SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURAL SPEAKS TO SAND HILL' FARM ER8 ON BETTER FARMING. GREAT CROWD AT ABERDEEff Native Carolina Man From President's Cabinet Talks, ; Diversification Livestock, Etc. "?"'; Aberdeen. Diversified agriculture. the , curtailment ;of the cotton crop. the raising of beef cattle, hogs and poultry, dairying, and the co-operative , work of the people were emphasized as the need of the South by Secretary of Agriculture D. F. Houston, who made a forcible address here," full to the1 core of valuable suggestions for farm and community life. : This was his first address in the South on agri culture since he became a member of President Wilson's cabinet. : . , The occasion was one planned by tha Sand Hill Farmers' Association, V an aggressive organization with' a membership from fifteen 'towns and surrounding territory in this section . Secretary Houston, a native of North , Carolina, was , secured to T make tha address at the rally and was , accom panied here by Congressman Page! Nearly four huadred people were in the auditorium of the Aberdeen school HONORABLE DAVI D F. HOUSTON. in the afternoon and the address, ol Secretary Houston met with .close attentio nand frequent applause. It deserved both. . r . Congressman Page was happily in troduced by Roger A. Derby, chair man of the executive committee of the association, and in a brief speech, In which the work of the association was praised and solid advice given, Con gressman Page introduced Secretary Houston, commending him for the service he has rendered the country, declaring that wisdom V'.fcad '.: guided President Wilson in calling, Mr. Hous ton into the cabinet. - i Secretary Houston made no set ad dress, but directed the . attention of his hearers to the urgent needs of farm life. The Department of Agri culture, he said, wanted to be of ser ice. He set forth the possibilities in agricultuf e and presented as a great need co-operative effort in crop mak ing and in marketing. Her commend ed the work of the Sand Hill Associa-. tion, and, following his "declaration for cotton acreage reduction, he - set out the need for other crops, that there are vast poss'bilities for them in North Carrolina. . He urged, too, the up building of the citizen, of schools and . of roads. Marketing the crops, he de clared, could .well be done by co operation.' . ' Sells $75,000 Bonds at Par. Asheville. City bonds to the amount of $75,000 take care of Bun combe's floating indebtedness and to enable the-heginning of much good roads worK' In the-county were sold, recently. tThe 35-year, five-per-cent bonds were bid In at par, there being but two bidders. Amateur Journalists to Meet. Rocky Mount. In preparation for -the twentieth annual session of the United Amateur Press Association, which Is to hold its national conven tion in this city in July, 1915, the local organization, The Blarneys, in session Inaugurated the preliminaries for a royaljBntertalnment and Inciden tally started a fund for this purpose. The -United Amateurs of the United' States is representative of the great' . r work by' amateurs in journalism throughout -the nation, and there are enrolled more than a 1,000 memberr ... '. ' a. - - "v -i .. .