& fir
' m m m. ir. e i n
VOL. 16. NO. 48.
, KINGS MOUNTAIN, N. C, THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 1918
$1.50 A YEAR IN ADVANCE
STRENGTHEN LINE
DE8PITE OBSTINATE RESISTANCE
ENEMYjBATTLE LINE FORCED
BACK AT ALL POINTS.
ENEMY LOSES ARE
AMERICANS ARE CREDITED WITH
ONE-FOURTH OF LOSSES IN
FLICTED ON GERMANS.
THE FIGHTING IS SANGUINARY FOCH'S TRAP MAY BE SPRUNG
Americans Prove Themselves Matter!
of Picked Enemy Troops In Sev
eral Bloody Combati.
Will
Notwithstanding (ho fact that -the
UerniatiH huve powerfully strengthen
ed their battle line running across
the Solssons-Ithcims salient wllh' ad
ditional reserves and have stubbornly
disputed further passage northward to
the entente allied troops, the enemy
front has been compelled to bend back
appreciably on all sides of the salient,
except at the anchor points resting
Immediately on Solssons and Rhelms.
South of Solsaons further wedges
have been driven eastward Into the
enemy front down to the Ourcq river;
eastward along the Ourcq, French and
American troops have crossed the
stream at various points and advanc
ed their line well to the northward,
while southwest of Rhelms the allies
have debouched from the wooded sec
tosr and gained the plains, notwlth-
. standing the violence of the enemy's
counter maneuvers. At some points
. the Germans succeeded somewhat In
checking the forward movement.
The retirement of the Germans still
remains orderly, but everywhere the
allied troops, and especially the Ara-
erlcans near Fere En-Tardenois, are
pressing them hard. Particularly bit
ter fighting has taken place around
Fore-En-Tardenols and at Sergy, both
of which towns are now well In the
hands of the French and Americans.
At Sergy the Germans paid the Amer
icans the compliment of reinforcing
their battle line with two divisions of
well-trained Bavarian troops, men
whose courage previously has been
. tested when the tide of battle was go-
. lr,g against the Germans, It was an
effort either to destroy the Americans
or to herd them back across the
Ourcq. The effort resulted In failure.
The battle line shifted back and
forth and Sorgy changed hands four
times, but the Americans proved to be
the masters of the picked enemy
troops and finally drove them out and
retained the village. Heavy casu
alties were Inflicted on the Germans.
Foes Yield to Fate and With
draw, or Continue the Fight
to a Finish?
GERMAN RELATIONS
WITH TURKEY PART
London. "The relations 'between
Germany and Turkey have been sev
T ered. according to direct Information
from Constantinople."
This announcement Is made by the
Copenhagen correspondent of the Ex
change Telegraph company.
The excitement against Germany,
the advices further say, has been
. growing, particularly after last week's
events.
The Germans recently demanded
the cruiser Hamldlch, the only large
ship then in possession of Turkey, as
compensation for the Brenlau. the for
mer German cruiser which was de
stroyed In the Dardanelles, while un.
tier the Turkish flag. Despite Tur
key's protest the Hamldleh departed.
With the American Army on the
Aisne-Marne Front. With the sides
I of the Solssons-Rheiuis sack coming
Bteadily cluser together, the German
crown prince's gencials are driving
their men mercilessly in an effort to
hold them off long enough tu extricate
the armies threatened at the bottom,
north of the Marne.
The American and French troops
are never far behind the retreating
forces, and the vicious rear guard ac
tions are not sufficiently resistant to
enable the Germans to proceed In the
orderly manner planned.
At Dorroans. north of the Marne and
east of Chateau-Thierry, the Germans
counterattacked, taking the position,
: but wcer promptly driven out.
! Minor advances have been made by
j the allies In the woods In that part of
the sector
! The Americans have occupied Cour-
I poll on the road to Fere-En-Tarde-nois.
and the French positions have
been advanced until Oulchy-Le-C'ha-
, teau Is dominated by the guns
It is estimated unofficially that the
enemy losses are more than 210.000.
of which 50.000 were Inflicted by the
Americans. The prisoners alone num
ber over 20.000 and the losses in dead
- and wounded are appalling.
i Should the Franco-British forces be
able to enlarge their advance mate
rially, the great trap might be finally
sprung by final overwhelming blows
on both sides. In that event, all of the
victories pictured In tonlghfs ru
mors might be well realized,
j To the cool judgment of army offi
cers, however the situation did not
warrant, on the hasis of any informs-
tlon available at a late hour, the as
j sumption that the time had come
1 when the Jaws of Foch's great vise
might be crushed together. Knowing
what they know of the strength of th"
i Germans massed to hold, back the
: menacing flank attacks, they believed
; it entirely possible for the enemy to
escape northward. The question In I
! their minds was whether he had Anal
i ly determined to retreat and snrren
i der all the ground gained In his ef
' forts Blnce he struck the French
lines on the Chemin-Des-Dames last
May, or had resolved to fight it out .
; to a finish where he now stands or on 1
lines slightly withdrawn from their
present position near the Marne.
Late advices Indicated that further '
withdrawal was in progress along the '
southern loop of the line. Franco-
American advances north of Dormans 1
shows that pointa to which the enemy ;'
has clung tenaciously for days am j
being taken. Pressure all along the I
line from Jnulgonne to the 'Ourcq '
probably has mode these most south- '
erly German positions untenable, it 1
was said. I
4 S
f ,.v
IS -
C - " ;
V: . x
ALLIES ARE STILL
AI DEADLY GRIPS
EDITORS ENJOY
E.P
ALONG MARNE AND SEVERAL CONVENTION OF N. C. PRESS AS
OTHER SECTORS, 8TRUGGLE SOCIATION AT ASHEVILLE
CONTINUES UNABATED. WA UNUSUALLY LARGI.
IMPORTANT POINTS ARE TAKEN WHITEHEAD ELECTED PRES'T.
Considerable Fighting In Macedonlj Sherrill Again 8ecretary-George
and Albania with Allies Hold- Cr"' "nd Senator Overman Make
log the Upper Hand.
Many People Come From a Distance to Hear Powerful Sermons by Cyclone
Mack Attendance Continually Increasing Results Already Apparent.
' The attendance from the beginning has been growing and the 2000 seat
ing capacity of the McLendon tent Is being taxed already. While the attend
ance at the four o'clock services have not been large the crowds pour in from
far and near at night. Many who heard McLendon at Clover last year are
coming here. Folks at lied Springs where McLendon has Just closed a cam
paign are writingjiere for accommodations that they may enjoy another
of his meetings. Some object to the clean-rut way Mack has of putting things
sometimes but the objectors are on the decrease and pessimistic ure falling in
line. Mack contends that It Is time for plain talk in preaching and he Is prac
tising his doctrine, with telling effect. There is no kid glove handling of the
I subject with Mack. He is condemning sin In high places as well as low. His
discourses so far have been devoted mainly to "stewing over" church mem
bers who are falling so far short of their Christian privileges and obligations.
. The devil Is on the Job as usual, but Mack shakes his first In his face and open
ly defies him. Muck says that he has come to Kings Mountain to have a re-
vival and that a revival will be forthcoming. To this all good men and
I women say, Amen.
j The above Is the likeness of Prof. G. C. Pledger, music director in the
McLendon tent meeting. He was horn and reared in Dallas, Texas, and was
educated at the Boston Conservatory of Music and the Moody Bible Institute..
Chicago. He started bn his career about thirteen years ago and during that
' time has directed the music for some of the country's most noted evangelists!,
among them being the great Gypsy Smith, who said of him that "he is one of
the best choir leaders in America. He has been with Mr. McLendon 'threy
years. Mrs. Pledger and their 12-year-old daughter accompany him. Mrs.
' Pledger is a personal worker and goes Into the homes and conducts cottage
prayer meetings. Mr. Pledger has as his assisstnts In the music here Mr.
Wiley, blind pianist, of East Kings Mountain, and Mr. Ralph Richardson-,
blind corneti8t, of Atlanta, Ga. They did not come here officially with Mr.
Pledger but were attached after arriving here. Mr. Richardson is visiting
at Mr. E. L. Campbell's.
I To complete the McLendon organization Is Fred Selbert, the utility man.
Mr. Seibert is a Jew, born in Iowa. A number of years ago he was converted
tp the Christian religion and since that time has devoted his life to evange
listic work. He doesn't preach but in a Scripture quoting bout he can give
chapter and verse for about as much of the Bible as anybody we have beard.
He was with Billy Sunday at the beginning of his career as an evangelist and
remained with him for ten years. Sunday says that "Fred," as he likes to be
called, will bring more people to Christ during a revival than fifty ordinary
church workers. Fred does the flunky work. He attends to the tent and
sleeps in it at night and does up the little odd jobs. He is always in fine
humor and has a great time with the children.
Rev. Mr .McLendon, the evangelist, is boarding at the hotel. His wife and
four children are here with him, also a nephew.
Prof. G. C. Pledger, Music Director in the McLendon Meeting.
The ninth day of the allied offensive
on the Solssons. Itheinis salient saw a
lessening in the intensity of tile battle
along the western side of the salient,
where only mutual Imnilinrdineiits
were In progress. Along the .Marne,
however, and nouthwest of Kheitns.
the Kraiico-Amerlcaiu. British and
Italian troops were still at deadly
grips with the enemy on various sec
tors. The Germans stnne hard in the
forest region north of the Marite to
hold hack the French and American
troops, debouching from the woods in
strong counter attacks. The enemy,
however, everywhere was forced
slightly further back to the north and
the forests now have been almost en
tirely cleared of Germans.
I Southwest of Rheims heavy rein
j fbrcements evidently have been
thrown along the front, where the
j British, French and Italians are fight
ing. In the Immediate region of Heull.
; where the battle line turns sharply
: towards Rheims. the French have cap
I tured several Important pni-tts of
vantage, including the village of Ueuil
! and also advanced their lint north
' ward, notwithstanding the violence of
the German counter move.
Before the fighting died down along
the western side of the Rhcims-Sois-sons
salient the villages of Ouichy le
Chateau and Vllle Monolre were cap
tured by French and American troops.
' Big allied guns have been pulled up
in this region find are heavily
shelling the sectors before them over
which it Is purposed to push forward
' for the capture of Fere En Tardenois.
Tn France and Flanders the British
have been eompeled to withstand
several violent .attacks by the Ger
mans, near Hebuterne and in the vi
cinity of Meteren. The enemy in both
sectors was repulsed with heavy cas
ualties.. On the other battle fronts the mili
tary activity Is nominal, although con
siderable fighting In Macedonia and
Albania with the allied troops holding
the upper hand.
MAY BE SETTING STAGE
I FOR DECISIVE BATTLE
SIX NEW DIVISIONS TO BE
ORGANIZED AT EARLY DATE
WASHINGTON OFFICIALS
NOT MUCH SURPRISED.
Waslilngton.-rWhlle no official no
tice of the brooch of relations be
tween Turkey and Germany or rath
er the central pbwers, for without
doubt Austria Isj involved with Ger
many In the jtlispijte with the Ottoman
governments-hast reached Washing
ton, officials expessed little surprise
at the Copenhagen dispatch that
Germany and Turkey had severed re
received from London saying that
latloni. In official circles here for
some time past, It has been realized
that Germany, In her efforts to serve
both Turkey and Bulgaria in the divi
sion of saolls resulting from the en
forced peace treaty with Rumania, had
Incurred the ill-will of tioth her allies.
Atmmsndous STORI OF
GERMAN AMMUNITION
With the American Army on the
isne-Marne Front The tremendous
tores of German ammunition found
y the Franco-American troops In the
forests of -Fere and Rla.-.leads officers
to believe that the Rifled offensive
nipped In the bud German plans for a
momentous drive upon JEpernay,
The forests and the' surrounding
-country north ot the Marne were vir
tually ne treat arsenal fat German
:' ammunition of all kind.
Washington. "With reference to
the American program," General
March said, "I have directed to be or
ganized in the United States six new
divisions during the month of July.
These six divisions will be organized
at Camps Devens, Meade, Sheridan.
Custer, Funston and Lewis, and will
he numerically designated from 9 up
tol4. In the organisation of these
divisions, we intend to use as a nu
cleus in each one of them two regular
regiments of Infantry which have been
taken from the regular regiments still
left In the United States" guarding util
ities, quietly replacing them during
the last month or two by home guards.
These regiments are now moving into
the designated camps as the national
army.
MOUTH OF POCKET REDUCED
TO 21 MILES IN WIDTH
London. British and French troops
have advanced to Gueux and Mery
Premecy, In the battle seotor just
west of Rhelms, according to infor
mation received here from the battle
front. The new line shows an ad
vance ot about two - miles toward
Flames. - The mouth of the pocket la
now only 21 miles wide and the whole
distance between . the two sides Is
under the range of the entente al
lied Ons. -
Site for Home for Women.
Admirably designed buildings ex
cellently equipped, including a fine
library and other desirable features,
located on a farm of 224 acres In the
sandhill section of Moore county, was
procured by the directors for the
State Home and Industrial School for
Women, provided for by the last leg
islature through an appropriation of
$25,000. This work of reclamation
through state support is to be started
at once, without the delay which
would be necessary if a ,new plant
were to be erected for the purpose.
Dr. A. A. McGeachy, Charlotte, is
chairman of the board of directors.
" This site and plant is the school
property of Dr. Henderson, located
four miles from Samarcand. a station
on the Norfolk-Southern. Dr. Hender
son, who came from Vermont four
years ago and established his school,
decided to go to France for rehabili
tation work, after the young men of
his faculty went into war service and
the difficulties of maintaining such a
school for boys in war time became
manifest. He closed the plant and
sold furnishings and livestock, library
and bedding. The property Is provid
ed with a fine 'water system with
standpipe, baths and other conveni
ences. Miss Agnes McNaughton of Penn
sylvania has been chosen superln
tendent and will at once assume
charge in preparation for opening the
instiutlon.
Regimental Road Completed.
The 24-foot concrete road through
Camp Greene has been completed and
opened to traffic. : It required only six
weeks to build the road which runs
from Liberty Park, on the Turka
seege road, to the Dowd house on the
Dowd road. It is known as the Reg
imental road. Within a couple ot
months the Dowd road will be linked
up with Mint street and then It will
be possible to go completely around
the loop from lhe city on paved roads.
The- construction of a large bakery
and nurses home has' been authorized.
Charter for One Million.
The Secretary of State issued a
charter to the Granville Iron Cor
poration, a million dollar concern,
to do business In Durham. Mar
tin B. Bloomer, Daniel F. Lewis and
R. O. Everett are among the incor
porators of the new concern. This
concern was chartered some time
ago with a half mlllon dollar capital
but did not begin business. It Is char
tered to buy and sell iron and iron
products. One-fourth of the capital
stock will be preferred and three
fourths common.
Boom In Navy Recruiting.
With the acceptance for enlistment
in the navy of 54 applicants last week
and 10 so far this Week the total num
ber of men aocepted at the local re
cruiting depot since April 1 Is Increas
ed to 277. Never before have as many
men been accepted for the navy or
even applied for enlistment at the lo
cal depot as have since "ApVil. For
merly It was considered femarkable
if 10 men applied In a single week.
Now the recruiting officers are sur
prised If as many as 10 or 15 fall to
apply" In a single "day. - : ' ,
Washington. Behind the apparent
lull in the struggle around the Aisne
Marne salient the high command of
the allied and German armies may he
.setting stage for. the decisive battle of
the war. In that event it seems m jre
than likely to observers here that
the fourth anniversary ef the begin
ning of the world conflict will see a
flame of fighting raging from east of
Rhelms to the North sea; hut with the
crucial conflict in prorress somewhere
Just north of the fhistoric Marne where
the Germans hove twice tasted the
bitterness of defeat.
There is nothing as yet In unofficial
reports, however, nor In official ad
vices so far ns known, to show the
plan of General Foch. Flickers of
fighting have occurred to the north
that may have more than local signifi
cance behind them. There is some
evidence of a feeling here that the
time has not yet come when a suffi
cient American army has been assem
bled In France to warrant passing def
initely to offensive tactics. It was
recalled that General March recently
Indicated to members of Congress that
this was not to be expected until later
in the year. The situation has chang
ed greatly at the front since then,
however, and only developments there
will show what decision has been
made.
Addresses
With a ; I iiJi' :,.l;iiii e jiml one of
the ir'o;i alii- in the litory of
the oiK.imza ion ;lic North (.'.mlina
Press As-iMia'ion met in A-hevllle
July I'l and for a two das' con
vention. The features of the program were
speci lies by tieorge Creel, hairman
of the Conniiltiee of Puhlje Informa
tion. Washingion. and Senator Over
man. President Martin's annual address,
, an address on "War Savings Stamps"
by Judge Gilbert T. Stephenson, of
Winston-Salem, anil the annual ora
tion by W. T Host, of Raleigh, were
enjoyable numbers of the first day.
Dr. J. V. Joyner. State superintend
ent of schools, in an address, urged
the editors to work for six months'
school terms throughout the Slate.
An Important step was taken for the
press of the state when the editors di
rected the formulating of a resolution
asking the State legislature to place
legal advertising on the same basis as
commercial advertising. Previous to
the instruetlon for the resolution,
M. L. Shlpinan. commissioner of labor
and printing, of Raleigh, and 11. II.
Varner. publisher of The Dispatch,
Lexington, spoke on "Legal A.lvertis
ing." maintaining. .that under present
arrangements the publishers do 'not
get just compensation for their space.
"The Kiliior's Duly in War Times'
was discussed by T W. Ctiambltss,
Times. Ashevillo; W II. Harris. Ob
server, t'harlotte, and Archibald John
ston. Charity anil Children. Thomas
ville. R. F. Ileasley. Journal. Monroe,
fpoke on "Democracy In Action."
The executive committee reported
new members as follows: J. Leake
Carroway. Charlotte; W. G. Campbell,
Winston-Salem; W J. Marl in, Ra
leigh; L. M. Allen, Gastonia; Dion II.
Butler, Southern Pities.
Officers elected for the following
year are as follows:
President, 't. W. Whitehead, of the
Southern Labor Journal, Wilmington.
First vice president, R, T. Wade, of
the Morehead City Coaster.
Second vice president, Ike London,
of the Rockingham Post Dispatch.
Third vice president. Miss Beatrice
Cobb, of the Morganton News Herald.
Secretary. J. B. Sherrlll, of the Con
cord Tribune.
Historian, M. L Shipman. Commis
sioner of Labor and Printing.
Orator. H. R. Dwire. Winston Salem.
Poet, Dr. William Dnurle Hill, Ra
leigh. Executive committee, II. B. Varner,
W. C. Hammer, J. F. Hurley, Jnmes
H. Cain, and Santford Martin.
Henry M. London and W. T Bost
were made members of the legislative
committee.
In electing Miss Beatrice Cobb third
vice president the association will
have a woman president in three years
if precedent is followed at subsequent
meetings. Miss Cobb Is a zealous
worker in the association and her
newspaper, the News-Herald. Morgan
ton, reflects her ability to handle the
presidency of the association.
The election of J. B. Rherrill as sec
retary is the beginning of his thirtieth
year in this position.
BRITISH CRUISER AND
DESTROYER TORPEDOED
London. The Brl ilsh armed cruiser
Marmora was torpeloed and sunk by
a German submarint, according to an
announcement made by the British
admiralty. Ten members of the crew
of the vessel are missing and it Is pre
sumed they were killed. The admi
ralty also announces that a British
torpedoboat destroyer ran ashore and
later sank. Thirteen of her crew are
missing and it la presumed they were
drowned. ' i - : ?
ORGANIZATION U. S. EMPLOY
MENT SERVICE PERFECTED
The organization of the United
States Lmpolyment Service in North
Carolina is about perfected now for
the mobilization after August 1 of
unskilled labor in North Carolina for
the benefit of employers, contractors
and industries engaged in war work
and employing more than one hun
dred men.
8TATE BOARD SUCCESSFULLY
COMBATS 8PREAD OF TYPHOID
The nine counties In North Carolina
which are co-operating with the state
board of health through the bureau of
county health work were particularly
active during the past month In their
efforts to combat the spread of typhoid
fever, the great scourge of the sum
mer months. These large and popu
lous counties contain large negro pop
ulations. These counties reported 46
cases of typhoid fever for the montk
cr less than five per cent -- .