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Newspaper
Wilmington Dispatch
Location
Wilmington, North Carolina, United States of America
Date
Apr 18, 1917
Page
1
Report describes heavy firing heard today as French forces continue to drive against German troops. The scene suggests ongoing battlefield clashes with intense artillery and small arms engagement details not fully confirmed.
Coast Guard stations around Race Point Peaked Hill Bar and High Head heard heavy guns this morning near Massachusetts Bay in rapid succession. Reports traced firing to a vessel off Cape Cod with no sighted ships. navy officials said the exchange may be a naval engagement or salutes.
A German submarine disguised as a sailing ship with three masts was sighted about 300 miles west of Lisbon by the steamship Southerndown. The British steamer escaped capture after a two hour pursuit when its true hull was revealed during a deck gun deployment. The United States cruiser Birmingham later verified the Southerndown’s identity near the American coast before it proceeded.
The report details French and Allied offensives across the Aisne and Champagne fronts with major gains. More than 14,000 German prisoners were captured in two days, plus heavy losses of artillery. French troops advanced near Soissons and Rheims regions while Haig’s forces extended their line near St Quentin and Cambrai.
Mayor Mitchel orders liquor sales halted after 1:00 AM and all night licenses canceled during the war. Hotels saloons roof gardens restaurants and cabarets face suspension from May 1. The move follows a hotel and restaurant owners conference with broad support.
Governor Bickett endorses the selective draft as fair equal duty in war. He argues volunteers finance and sacrifice by the flower of youth while others avoid service, calling the system discriminatory and urging selection by natural fitness as the nation’s stamp of distinction.
The House Military Committee backs the volunteer method for the draft. The bill heads for the Senate today as the president urges swift action without delay. Opposition lies largely in the House as the score over conscription versus volunteers tightens.
A submarine periscope was sighted submerged by the destroyer Smith’s deck officer, quartermaster, and deck watch early yesterday morning. A torpedo crossed the ship’s bows at about thirty yards, with the periscope visible at roughly 300 yards. Navy officials say the report confirms German submarine activity in American waters.
The Commercial Cable Company today announced that French English and Spanish are the authorized languages for use in cables to and from the Philippines. Code addresses or signatures are not allowed. Messages must be fully addressed and signed.
Eyewitnesses at Highland Light and nearby points heard no gunfire despite reports of distant shots. Navy investigators treated the claims seriously while surveying the area for possible sightings or evidence.
The Attorney General instructed U S marshals to remove alien enemies within a half mile of Raforts Scamp aircraft station by June 1 or face summary arrest. Exceptions may exist. Those found with forbidden articles after April 24 are to be arrested unless proven not dangerous. Suspects who desecrate the flag face summary arrest as public safety threats.
Five thousand scientists engineers and skilled mechanics have been listed by the civil service for wartime service. President Wilson discussed rapid mobilization with John A Melhenny head of the commission. Examinations will be sped up but no general relaxation of requirements is planned.
The North Carolina League begins its pennant race with Durham at Raleigh Asheville at Greensboro and Winston-Salem at Charlotte. The season runs through August 29.
Lima Peru April 18 reports that charges implicating several officers in a naval revolt plot are under investigation. The ministry of marine halted the conspiracy by dismantling weapons on ships and disabling engines, with critical parts secured in the arsenal under guard.
Petersburg Virginia April 18 The home of A B Ciszk in Chesterfield County one and a half miles north of the city was blown up last night just after 11 o clock. The two story eleven room building was practically demolished and the bomb origin remains unknown. Police rushed to the scene and bloodhounds are used to trail the bomber. Ciszk a Bohemian farmer long a resident of the area was unhurt except for minor injuries and knows of no enemies.
In Ocilla Georgia on April 18 farmers from Ben Hill and Irwin counties adopted the slogan Nail a flag to your plow and work for your country. A safety committee plans to supply flags after a mass meeting urging larger food crop production by South Georgia farmers.
Berlin factories largely reopen as a Labour wave ends. Strikers secured access to bread and potatoes, fair food distribution, and a pledge of promised Prussian electoral reform, according to reports from Berlin papers forwarded to Copenhagen via the Exchange Telegraph Company.
The Spanish steamship Tom Pom, a 2,400 ton vessel owned in Bilboa, was torpedoed without warning and sunk. Eighteen lives were lost, with news from Paris noting rising public anger in Spain as details emerge.
In Washington on April 18 the volunteer provision was added this afternoon by the gasery Committee by ayate of 19. The fragment notes action amid ongoing legislative drafting.
Washington reports the Military committee will send the administration bill to Congress amid pressure to pass selective conscription. President Wilson and advisers urge quick action, arguing only conscription can rapidly build a strong army, while some House Democrats push for volunteers and exemptions for farmers and war workers.
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