POLK COUNTY NEWS, TBYON, N. C
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SKPlLEI) farmers
111 DEFERRED CLASS
THEY ARE TO BE LISTED WITH
THOSE NECESSARY IN OTHER
OCCUPATIONS.
BUILDING WORK IS CHECKED
Government Act to Step All Need
less Construction at Once Naval
Lieutenant Shirk Is Commended for
a Daring Rescue.
(From Committee on Public Information.)
Washington. Agreement h;ts been
reached by the war labor policies
board. Provost Marshal General Crow
der, the secretary of war. the secret
tary of agriculture and the secretary
of labor ou a plan to put into deferred
classification such persons in the new
draft as are necessary in agriculture,
industry and other occupations.
Three advisers are to be associated
with each district draft board to pre
sent facts respecting the supply of
necessary workers in these three occu
pational groups. The agriculture ad
visers will be nominated by the sec
rotary of agriculture. They will
gather accurate facts concerning the
requirements of agriculture for the
various classes of workers In their own
districts. They should have informa
tion also as' to the needs of such
classes in other districts that workers
not sufficiently necessary in one dis
trict to entitle them to deferred classi
fication may have opportunity to go to
other districts In which they are
needed. : -m
The department t agriculture"" has
sent a questionnaire to each county
agent asking him to furnish reliable
Information regarding the farm labor
needs in his county. The facts are re
quired fo assist .the district draft
boards in keeping in agriculture the
(a) "necessary skilled farm laborer in
necessary agricultural enterprise" (de
ferred class 2) ; (b) "necessary assist
ant, associate, or hired manager of
necessary agricultural enterprise" (de
ferred class 3) ; (e) "necessary sole
managing, controlling or directing head
of necessary agricultural enterprise"
(deferred class 4).
What the draft boards desire are
facts as to .necessary skilled workers.
The unskilled workers apparently are
not to be considered for deferred
classification; they are regarded as
more important for the army than for
agricultural enterprises and general In
dustry. 'The department of agriculture
points out "fYiathe'csiajr; 'filled farm
labor should not be confused with ln
.rimped j help that, with a little
train ig, can do very well some kinds
of. farm work. ; . . ' .
The commander of the United States
naval aviation forces, foreign service,
reports the heroic action of Lleutl El
bert Walker Shirk, United States na
val reserve force. In rescuing a Bel
gian soldier who had fallen overboard
from the U. S. S. Lorraine on June, 23,
1018.
On hearing the cry, "man . over
board," Lieutenant Shirk dived from
the promenade deck of the vessel, 30
feet, and supported the soldier, who
hd been stunned by his fall into the
water. A swift title carried both men
a third of-a mile from the Lorraine by
the time a lifeboat reached them.
During this time the soldier twice re
leased his hold upon the life preserv
er and sank, but Lieutenant Shirk
dived and brought the man back to
the surface.
Secretary Daniels has officially com
mended Lieutenant Shirk for his dar
ing action, and has recommended to
the3 secretary of the treasury that a
gold life-saving medal be awarded him.
The recent creation "of motor trans
port corps to take over from all other
corps complete control of all motor
vehicles In the army will entail the
execution of plans of great magni
tude and scope.
The personnel and equipment of
this corps with each American army
will comprise almost as many men
and officers as were engaged on both
sides in the battle of Waterloo, enough
motortrucks to stretch in an unbrok
en line across the" state of Ohio, if
they were parked end to end with five
foot spaces between them, and
enough motorcycles and other ve
hicles to stagger by their numbers
the great masters of warfare in other
times than these.
The actual number of men and offi
cers provided by the motor transport
corps to each American array Is to be
154,747. The army motortrucks
with this unit will number 40,803.
There will be 24,250 motorcycles,
7,905 , passenger carrying motorcars
and 6,598 ambulances, with a total of
approximately 100,000 drivers and
riders. The officers will number
4,298 and the noncommissioned offi
cers 30,090. '
Following a call Issued by the na
tional council of . defense, applica
tions for enrollment -In the volunteer
medical service corps 'are growing
rapidly In number. A total of 19.225
letters were received In less than a
week.
Information received from nearly
20.000 physicians who responded to the
appeal and that which, k is expected,
will continue to be received, will be
at the disposal of the government au
thorities for their consideration fwi
ue. especially so far as the doctors
wouer iortj-uix years are concerned.
In addition to barring a long list of
industries from theuse of , various ma
terials, the war industries board Has
asked 48 state councils of national de
fense and the county councils
throughout the country to act for the
board In order that all building and
construction which Is not absolutely
necessary may be stopped at once.
In future permits will be required
for all bui'ding, except In certain gov
ernment work. Jn cases where per
mits are requisite, the local contrac
tor may first obtain the approval of
his county council of defense before
the permit may be issued.
The United States employment serv
ice has o'so appealed to the bankers
of the coui.try o refuse loans which
would result in the employment of la
bor for unnecessary construction, and
has requested all states and cities to
scrutinize their pay rolls In order to
release unnecessary employees in
parks, public buildings and elsewhere,
so that they may engage in war work.
The procedure approved by the na
tional council of defense and the war
industries board contemplates that
any person interested in a construc
tion project must apply, wifh a full
statement of the facts under oath, to
the appropriate local representatives
of tlie state council of defense having
Jurisdiction. The state .council wi 1
investigate and transmit its recoin
mendfitions to the non-war construc
tion section of the priorities division of
the war Industries board. The non-war
construction section will grant or
withold the permit and so notify the
state council of defense and the indi
vidual concerned.
Pigeon training has become an In
teresting as well as valuable activity
in the new army of the United States.
Pigeon lofts are maintained at many
of the army camps and aviation fields
throughout the country. Each loft
is numbered just as every air squad-, v
ron and every regiment of infantrj,
cavalry and artillery Is numbered. The
birds are taken over by the govern
ment before they are old enough for
raw recruits; are fed and conditioned
to make them strong, and then are
given a course of training just as are
human recruits in the regular estab
lishment. When the training of these young
pigeons is completed they go over
seas, the same as the soldiers. . The
birds play their part on the battle
line, are killed and wounded, and some
are taken prisoner, but like the horses
an'd dogs with which they serve In the
great war. they are never decorated,
never cited for bravery In action and
never appear In the reports of casual
ties. Two of the flying centers where
pigeons are specially trained are Kelly
and Cnrruthers fields In Texas. Not
fewer than 75 pigeons are sent over
seas from Kelly field every six weeks.
They come to Kelly lofts when about
three months old and are trained hy
experts over a period of six to eight
weeks before they are considered fit
for duty. The lofts are mobile, cor
responding to those In use In France,
and when the training of the birds Is
finished at Kelly field they are ready
to go directly to the trenches.
The first period of advanced training
of these pigeons conies with flock toss
ing, after they havo learned to return
to their lofts when liberated at dis
tances of from two to twenty miles
from the field. That is, they are set
free In groups to prevent their being
confused and consequently separated
and lost. As soon as thry have been
liberated several times in tMs manner
and have found their way home again
they are taken out and tossed Indi
vidually. Each pigeon has a number,
and by bell devices at the entrance of
the eoop, their arrivals and the time of
their flights are kept dn record. As
soon as a bird shows unfailing ability
to return home quickly he Is ready for
service overseas.
A white flag is the signal most com
monly used for training these messen
ger birds. They soon learn that when
this white flag Is raised over their lofts
they are to stay away for exercise, and
when the flag comes down they may
return for their food. On some fields,
when the birds stray a considerable
distance from their loft, they are called
back "by the rattling of a tin pan.
To help the pigeons recognize their
cotes the latter are painted In yellow
and white stripes. No matter where a
pigeon from Carruthers field Is taken
thereafter or In 'What direction. It will
not alight on any building except ltd
own loft, which means, of course, that
wherever the pigeons go, the loft from
which they were trained goes with
them. It Is only recently that the use
of pigeons as messengers has been at
tempted from airplanes. The birds
when used for this purpose are carried
In baskets In the fuselage and great
care-must be exercised In releasing
them to prevent the propeller blades
from striking them. The aviators or
balloonlsts who handle them also have
to be instructed in the manner In
which they release the birds for flight.
Dropping the birds at high altitudes
also requires specjal forms of training
for the birds and instruction for th?
aviator.
The war trade board has authorized
the Importation of fresh toroatoe.i
frum the Bahamas to New York when
they are moved as deck cargo on
Cuba-New York mail steamer. Fruits
and vegetables are on the restricted
Import list, but In this, as in other
similar cases. It is explained, the war
trade board has found It possible to
aid vital West Indlun Industries by
permitting, tomatoes to be carried as
deck load without excluding other
more essential cargo and without Im
posing any further demands upon tonnage.
w;wwTrwwwrr';iT-va.iiii' Kir- - '
iheneri Hsian of the American
German guns captured by the Canadians. 3 King George of Great Britain
Fiench soil for distinguished conduct on the firing line.
NEWS REVIEW OF
THE GREAT WAR
Reorganized Serbian Army Starts
an Important Offensive on
the Saloniki Front.
BULGARIANS ARE IN FLIGHT
Franco-British Forces Closing Down
on St. Quentin Despite Strong Re
sistance Americans Shelling
Metz Austria's Peace Sug
gestion Promptly Re
jected. By EDWARD W. PICKARD.
With a regenerated and reorganized
army, Serbia took the lead last week
in smashing the Hun and his allies.
Aided by French" and Greek contin
gents, the hard-fighting Serbians struck
rt the Saloniki front -held by the Bul
garians and certain German units.
They struck hard, too. and within three
days had advanced 12 miles on a 20
mile front, taking 50 towns. Including
the strongest of the enemy positions.
At first the resistance was stubborn,
but by Thursday ihe Bulgarians were
reiorted In full retreat and the Ser
bians pursuing them day, and night.
The enemy threw in fresh divisions,
but in vain, for they too were com
pletely defeated. So swift were the
flight and the pursuit that the Serbians
had not had time to count the great
number of prisoners taken or to esti
mate the quantities of material that
fell into their hands.
This Serbian advance by the end of
the week was seriously menacing the
city of Prilip, one of the chief bases
of the central powers In Macedonia. It
Is not beyond the bounds of possibil
ity that It may later be connected up
with the operations of the allies In Al
baniaof which little has been heard
lutely. A good many authorities long
have held the opinion that the war can
be brought to a successful end soonest
by a grent offensive In the Balkan re
gion, cutting off Turkey and Bulgaria
fiom their allies and threatening Aus
tria Troin the south.
1
With the Franco-British pincers
slowly but surely closing down on St.
Quentin, the French and Americans
in possession of the'-wtestern end of
the Chemin-des-Dames and steadily
pushing toward La on and the Yankees
firmly established on their new lines
in Lorraine, shelling Metz and threat
ening the great Iron and coal fields of
the Brley basin, the German high com
mand last week was still clinging to
the Hlndenburg line through most of
its length. The Huns had massed vast
numbers of long-range guns and were
resisting desperately, but their increas
ing dearth of man power was becom
ing more evident dally, and the pris
oners taken, though well fed and
clothed, were despondent and tired.
After several days of preparatory
operations Field Marshal Halg on Wed
nesday attacked on a 16-mlle front
northwest of St. Quentin, from Gou
zeaujourt south of Holnon Wood. Be
fore nightfall the British had smashed
ahead to a depth of three miles, taking
Peizlere, La Vergulere, Epehy, Rons
soy, Vllleret and other towns and bag
ging more than 6,000 prisoners. The
primary object of the drlve,which was
made in a hard rainstorm, was to gain
possession of the old British trench
system of last March, running along
an Important ridge. Many of the best
fighting units In the German army were
opposed to Halg's men, but the latter at
tained their object in the. main and at
some points went further than had
been expected. The artillery work of
the Germans, especially with, high ve
locity guns malsed: .tehind the St.
Quentin" canal," was niore severe than
for a long time before.
1
Simultaneously with Halgs attack,
the French hit th Boches on a ten
mile front sduth of St. Quentin, advanc
ing more than a mile' and taking four
villages and" hundreds of prisoners.
Military critics express- no doubt of
tho ultimate fail of; St. Quentin, but
he enenfy j'sure to put u& long,
army reviewing French and American
herd fight before he evacuates that
keystone position.
fa
Stubbornl hanging on . to the west
end of the Chemin-des-Dames and im
proving their positions there, the
French repulsed many fierce attacks
last week and advanced toward Laon
along the southern edge of the St.
Gobaln forest. The entire plateau
southwest of Laon Is under the fire
of their artillery, and though they were
moving forward with due caution, they
showed no intentions of stopping.
, fa
On the new American front In
French Lorraine the infantry activity
during the week was confined mostly
to- operations for the solidifying of po
sitions, though the Yankees did push
forward along the Meuse for a con
siderable gam. This brought Metz un
der the Are of their artillery and the
bombardment of that great fortress
city began at once and vigorously. It
seems that the-allies are now In a po
sition to keep up the shelling of Metz
during the fall and winter. If neces
sary, and thus Its reduction, virtually
impossible by direct attack, may be
accomplished. The Germans now ad
mit the Importance of the American
drive on the St. Mlhlel salient, but thq
deception of their people through the
official reports continues, as exempli
fied by the statement, one day last
week, that American attacks on Hau
n.ont had been repulsed and the Yan
kees also had been beaten at Thiau
niont. At that time Hauraont had been
safely held by the Americans for three
days and Thinumont was already five
miles behind Pershing's lines. Fresnes,
an Important city, also was taken by
the Yankees last week, and the line
built by them now runs parallel with
the Hlndenburg line, at an average disf
tance of a mile and a half. Every day
the German artillery has been deluging
tho old salient with explosive and gas
shells, and the American gunners have
replied most effectively, battering the
towns held by the Huns and several
times breaking up attempted infantry
attacks, with severe loss" to the euemyi
The airmen on both sides were extra
ordinarily active and the Americans
carried out a number of highly suc
cessful bombing expeditions over en
emy territory. In one of these, how
ever, a superior force was encountered
and five of our planes were lost. Inci
dentally, the British reported that in
tho St. Quentin sector the Germans
were using a new type of plane that
carries eight men and bombs 13 feet ,
long and weighing 2,000 pounds. '.
fa
All along the west front the air
fighting was most intense. In one
day the British brought down G6 enemy
planes and lost 16, which indicates the.
fierceness of the struggle for the mas-'
tery of the air. The independent' Brit
ish air squadrons kept up their fine
work in the bombing of German cities,
notably Mannheim, Metz-Sablons,
Treves and Frankfort. This brings
howls from the Huns which are .music
to the allied ear.
fa
The bolshevik forces in Russia, for
which some victories were claimed
early in the week, later were reported
to be retreating on both the northern
and southern fronts. The Czecho
slovaks along the Volga continued
their advance, and the fact that they
captured Perm, capital of the govern
ment of that name, indicated they were
In a fair way to effect the junction of
the forces which are fighting in west
ern Sibera with those which have been
engaged in southeastern Russia.' As
was predicted, the Japanese censors do
not permit much news to come from
the allied expedition in Siberia, but
what does come is satisfactory.
In Hussla the reign of terror Insti
tuted by the bolshevik! to suppress the
counter-revolution continues and un
known numbers of the opponents of
Lenine and Trotzky have been mas
sacred. The American government last
week issued a series of articles expos
ing those two precious rascals as the
paid agents of Germany, giving the
text off many secret, d&cuments ob
tained by an agent of the committee
on public information. All this made
Intensely Interesting reading, but no
one in America except a few highbrow
"intellectuals" is surprised by the facts
revealed, and there doesn't seem any
way to get those facts before the Rus
sian people whom Lenine and Trotzky
and their crew, have tricked and be
-.dffiRh.- bflr OfiFliFlSas
troops in Alsace. 2 One of he large
decorating an American soldier on
All the allied ministers who former
ly were at Jassy, Roumania, Including
Charles Vopicka of America, have
been arrested in Petrograd, according
to a report reaching The Hague.
fa
Austria's suggestion of a "nonbind
ing" conference of all the belligerents
to make clear their war aimsand peace
demands met witty the promptest kind
of rejection by the allies, President
Wilson taking the lead in refusing to
consider the idea. In two sentences
he replied that America's terms, had
been repeatedly and cle&.rty stated and
therefore no proposal for such a con
ference would be entertained by It. In
this Mr. Wilson was heartily supported
by the entire nation, and his position
was also thoroughly approved by the
allies of the United Stutes. Austria's
suggestion, made with the consent of
Berlin, admittedly was merely a
"peace flyer," and there was little ex
pectation in Hunland that it would re
ceive favorable consideration.
'No better reception was accorded the
German offer of peace to Belgium.
With unblushing effrontery Berlin
asked the nation the Huns have rav
ished to drop out of the conflict, not
even suggesting that they would make
reparation for the horrible crimes they
have committed there, and making the
insidious proposal that the "Flemish
question" should be considered and the
Flemish minority that aided the Ger
man Invaders should not be penalized.
Belgium, of course, said "No" to all
this claptrap. ,
fa
The political situation in Hungary
is becoming extremely critical and the
opposition to the government is grow
ing bolder. Its leader, Count Karolyi,
Is quoted In dispatches as declaring
that the central powers should accept
President Wilson's 14 peace points as
a basis for negotiations and that the
treaties of Brest-Litovsk and Bucha
rest should be abrogated. .The pope
seems to have scented chances of
peace once again, for it was stated at
the Vatican that If a diplomatic repre
sentation should be received by him
from one of the parties, he Would ask
the other party if if desired to re
ceive such a representation.
fa "j
Substantial support fdr President
Wilsons peace plans w
from the labor conference
as received
of the allied
nations In London when the interna
tional relations committee recommend
ed that the conference subscribe to the
14 points formulated by Wilson, "thus
adopting a policy of, clearness and
moderation as opposed to a policy dic
tated exclusively by . changes on the
war map." m '
fa
According to figures received up to
date, the total registration of the coun
try under the new draft law was at
least 12,800,000. or 100,000 above the
estimated total. Of thesek the govern
ment proposes to call to the colors
2,700,000, o be added to the 3,200,000
men already under armsi It is planned
to have 80 divisions in France before
next summer, and to finance so great
an undertaking the war department
has asked congress to provide It im
mediately with an additional $7,000,
000,000 In cash. Granting this! the ad
ministration and congress has the
choice of increasing the amount of
taxes provided by the revenue bill
from $8,000,000,000 to $10,000,000,000.
or raising all the additional $7,000,000,
000 from the sale of bonds and aban
doning the plan of raising one-third of
the cost of the war by taxation.
The various features of the revenue
bill were swiftly approved by the
house of representatives, one after
another. Representative Moore of
Pennsylvania proposed ja tax of $3 a
bale on cotton, but the Southern mem
bers rose In a body to the defense of
the main crop of their part of the
country.
fa .
That there is no abatement In the
stream of American soldiers being sent
over to France Is shown by. the state
ment that 313,000 embarked for Eu
rope last month. Of these, 180,000
were carried on British ships. One big
sucress by the U-boats from the view
point of the chivalrous Hun was re
ported last week.. The British steamer
Galwny Castle, carryldg disabfed sol
diers returning to South Africa and
many women and children was tor
pedoed. One hundred and elgbty-nlne
persons were lost, of whom 120 were
dvlllan passenger. '
NAZARQTH
IN
AcA,J
CHR!5?IAN
Ma,,.
A'JD t0NTRCLt
THE ADVANCE !S iS
Airmen Pay lmp
inn II- r- d in f
a h enemy in c, W
,sh Losses Sliflht. "
Ollr Irnn
moment at irt " :;M0r J
of the Brit h.i. ' ' ' ' U(i op.."
I " ''rcp'd -y;
forces in Palfs-Hn. ' 1 A:wv,
than four day, ",h. n,
! forward in the c. nav?ft
RlVPr TrTvln 0eIWPf.n .,
ruver Jordan nnr' "
Nazareth, while thli ' .'ae
round in a swift
U W 'V, rr
and nipped . within v' 6 n0Tas
great pincer a!i thf rv. 0f
in the coastal ...... J .n.
Sharon, the hill roKQ
and also the westpm t. , Ce3!:'
More tlior. 10.,.,
..tun in. in . I
made prisoner by th Brith - ,
in excess of 120 had been '
when the last reports fro
Allenby were receive ?
great quantities of war stor?,
been captured, and still othe
not been counted owing to the
ity of the movement. u
Although the Turks at some m,
offered considerable resistance in 1
British, at no point were they abv7
stay the advance, even on the fal
field of Armageddon, wh'ch the Br
ish cavalry swept across and occW,"
Nazareth to the north t .v "
C1UUU" Ul sewing me enemv w,
the sack, airmen played an impori
role, vigorously hnmWT,,, .l."
" '-'mug me :f.
treating Turks, inflicti
ruurmjin I
casualties on them. The losses A
uenerai Allenby are described
sngnt, in comparison with ih impcr
tance of the movement carried out.
ITALIANS HAVE JOINED THE
. FRAY IN MACEDONIA
In Macedonia, the Ttalians hav
joined the fray with tlfe British.
French, Serbian and Greek troops aci
are hard after, the Bulgarians ari
their allies, who are being dnm'
northward through southern Serbia.
Between the Cerna and Vardar river,
although the Bulgarians and German?
are sending up reinforcements, the
allied troops have continued their 1
pressure. The Serbians west of th
Vardar river have crossed the Prllepe
Ishtib road at Vavardar, which cor
stltutes an advance of more than!
' miles into- their once-held territory.
To the east' of Monastir the Italia
have begun operations in the famou?
Cerna bend and have taken several
positions.
PLANS TO SECURE ALLOTMENT
OF MEN NEEDED IN NAVY
Washington The program unfe
which the navy and the marine cor?-:
will secure the men hereafter needed
was aannounced by Secretary DanitS
after conferences with representatiw
of his deDartment. the marine corps
and th a provost marshal general's o.
fice. The navy is to have an aversp
of 15.000 men -raonthly. while the u
rine corps will get 5.000 monthly
four months and 1,500 each won-3
thereafter.
Of the navy's allotment cf tt1'1
it may enlist or enroll men who W
special qualifications for certain na
. 111 nnfi'f
work, but the remainder -(
from "the run of the draft," navy or
ficials culling out skilled men to m
as far as possible the special
of the service.
Men desiring to enter either t
marine or marine corps will &
quired to make application at
proper 'rscruitng. office. When
are accepted for the navy, the nw
ationz officers will aPP for.
through their draft boards, but m -of
men qualified to enter the oa
corps the recruiting officer wiJ &
request to the provost marshal ge
for their enrollment.
HAIG SMASHES HUN LINES
AT FOUR DISTINCT P0IN"
London. - Field Marshal Ha:l
troops smashed into the GerI"a3
at four distinct points on the -front.
English troops, near w .
north of the River Searpe, aa
on a two-mile front. East oi .
the British captured several orga
points of resistance.
North of Epehy, Haig
men P
2 3
ed forward m tne sen"- ke!j
lers Guislain. They also repu
German attack on Mouvres.
... -vr Cf
south o:
t Vii-
TWO AVIATORS ARE K'pnWAr
AT INDIANAPOLIS SPE
Indianapolis. Ind. Captain
mond, of the British roja
corps, and C. Kinder, oi im
ma., were lnswuu; - -viaJ0"
Roy Pickets of the speech ,.
field, Indianapolis was er
Jured when an airplane in ,
were returning to the nem
Liberty loan trip to Greenfly
into a nose-dive and fe fflaki
while thy were PreParlD6fl
landing At the speedway
- ' "' -