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Abbeville Press and Banner ] C-Uiblic-icd 1511 $1.50 the Year ABBEVILLE, 8. C., FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 2.1917. 8lngle Coplea, Five Cento. 78th Year GERMANS BLAMED. I 1 FOR BLAZE, THREE DEAD, 26 MISSINGj* IN MUNITIONS FIRE PLOT 1 British Steamship Is Sunk and Warehouses Are Destroyed, In Baltimore Fire. Baltimore, Oct. 31.?Chief Gunner t Brownley and two sailors of the British steamer Kerry Range are known to be dead and twenty-six sailors i and employes on the piers of the Bal- < timore and Ohio railroad which were wrecked by fire are missing. It is believed that some of these made ' their escape and the number of dead j' probably will not be definitely established today, but officials of the railroad are convinced that more 1 than fifteen persons lost their lives ? when the big piers burned. J Tha tthe fire was of incendiary origin has been established beyond a doubt, and one suspect has been ar * rested and turned over to the United I States authorities. He is John Wit t terman, said to have been seen running away from the pier a few mo ments before the blaze. The federal 1 authorities expect several other ar- I rests this afternoon. 1 All doubt as to the origin of the ' lire was removeu oy sujwh?:iii? uvw the Baltimore and Ohio's guards and 1 firemen stationed at the pier. A few * seconds before the flames broke out ^ in five sections of the pier these t men saw what appeared to be rock- s ets going up from half a dozen places on the pier. These were followed by muffled explosions and the s flames came immediately. Less than } five minutes before the entire struc- 1 ture was in flames the chief had * made a complete round of the pier. c Officials of the Baltimore and Ohio a this morning fixed the loss at $5,- * 000,000. This is covered partly by the railroad's replacement fund and policies with insurance companies. , Declarations that the fire was of * * c ' incendiary origin, probably started . by German spies, were made by se- g cret service men and the police. Huge quantities of American muni- j i tions were destroyed. c While secret service operatives ? this morning were pushing their s probe into the disastrous blaze that s last night and early today destroyed z vast quantities of grain and muni- c / tions of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad piers at Locust Point, another bkize broke out in the Baltimore and Onio shops at Riverside Park, about a mile from the scene of the first blaze. The blaze this morning was promptly checked. Latest estimates place the loss in excess of $5,000,000. Vice President J. M. Davis, of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, said it was the belief of the railroad officials that the blaze was of incendiary origin, as credible witnesses stated that they saw flames leap from piers 8 and 9 at five points almost simultaneously. The total loss will be over $5,000, 000. Of this, which is said to be a v conservative estimate, the piers represented a value of $1,500,000, the goods stored on them $3,000,000, and the steamer and cargo $500,000. ^ The steamer, which docked yesterday afternoon, had on board eighty anti-submarine shells from a British port. These exploded with loud re- j, ports when the ship took fire. The ship was scuttled and sunk. r Chief of Police Leigh, of the Bal- p timore and Ohio, began an investi- p gation immediately of the report of i the pier watchman that he saw five j t or six men jump from pier 9 just as1 a the flames broke out. The piers c have been under guards for a num-j ber of months. J r Several months ago a quantity of | v dynamite was found in a loaded: d grain car in one of the elevators of i 5 the railroad at Locust Point. The t grain was intended for one of the' 1 allies . The car was traced to its r loading point in the central west and found to have been loaded by Aus- t trian stevedores. li 4 a l ^11 ?a1_ 1 x ^ n rier iu, loaaea wnn wneat lur ex- port, was in danger of being burned early today, and only a fire wall t stood between the fire and this pier c and two others. Baltimore and Ohio f officials felt confident of saving these ?iers. s V number of departments of jus- t \ GLANCE OVER THE COUNTRY SHORT ITEMS OF INTEREST ?_ i The News fn Condensed Form to Be Read Easily By the Busy Reader. Seven alien enemies have been ;ent back to Ellis Island for talking ;oo much. The birth rate in Germany has alien below normal with a decrease )f more than forty per cent. Florence is to have a Tobacca Stemmery to be ready for operation )y the time the next crop comes in. Plans are being made for adequate lousing accommodation for the thousands of workmen employed by the! jovernmenl. j The lumbermen have been warned ;hat Uncle Sam can seize their >lants to use for shipbuilding, only jiving six days notice. A wealthy widow of Salem, Mass., eft $100,000 to Tuskagee, (Ala.) institute. Other institutions were ilso remembered. On the pilot fender of an Alabana Coast Line train the mangled >ody of a boy eight or nine years old vas found. Neither the engineer nor| he fireman knew when the child was! truck. The first German merchantman ieized by the United States at the jeginning of the war has been sunk n. Mediterranean waters by the zermans. Clara Mennig was under harter to the Italian government ind homeward bound from Italy. No ives were lost. The sheriff collected the license noney $500 from a carnival com>any for holding its shows for five lays at Camden. It seems the Camlem Fire Department and Krause ihows entered into an agreement to how together for a week, the Fire Department was to furnish the li:ense and will have to pay the $500 iccording to the contract with the how people. It was a satisfactory irrangement with most of the citi:ens and the action of the sheriff :ame as a surprise. k FEWER SHIPS SUNK. V k V i London, Oct. 31.?Fourteen V k British merchantmen of over V t 1,600 tons were sunk by mine V t or submarine in the last week V k according to the admiralty V t report tonight. Four vessels V| k. under 1,600 tons also were V l sunk but no fishing craft. V l The JBntish losses or mer- v k chantmen for the current V. k week show a considerable de- V k crease as compared with the V k previous week when 17 ves- V k sels of over 1,600 tons and V k eight under that tonnage V k were sunk. V * germany's loss 6,000,000 men Washington, Oct. 31.?Germany ost six million men in three years of var, according to the declaration nade in the Reichstag by the Indelendent Socialist Ledebour. A retort of his speech reaching Washngton through Switzerland states hat, contemplating the prospects of i fourth winter campaign, the soialist leader said: "You have not evidently, gentlenen ,an exact conception of what var means. We" have had 1,500,000 lead; three or four million of whom 00,000 are crippled for life, and wo million absolutely invalided. ?hat makes it altogether six million nen lost during the three years." It is stated that official informaion confirmatory of these figrues tave been in possession of American fficials for some time. ice operatives were reported to be m the scene several hours after the ire was discovered. The customs house authorities aved their records on pier 8, but hose on pier 9 were destroyed. What Foodj Sign the pledge and enrc btates rood Aaministratioi t these things: Eat plenty, but wisely, and without s i wastt. ' iWf Buy less; cook no LV imore than necessary; \Nii serve smaller portion?. Whenever possible use | j plsce of b?ef, mutton am Use potatoes and o*her 1 Save wheat by substitul other cereal flours for wh Save butter and lard. Us stitute vegetable oils for c Save sugar. Use less can gar in tea and coffee. "This is a duty of ne As a free people we have not under autocratic decree iU A /Vi i?/4 A A /\ ? man uic ? mud iilc ui muiv U. S. DM WAR. ON AUSTRIA, ALS( WOULD DECLARE WAR 01 AUSTRIA, ALSO President Urged to Call Extr Session of Congress Soon For That Purpose. New York, Oct. 31.?Presidei Wilson was urged to call a speci; session of Congress at an early iia1 to declare war on Austria in a rest lution adopted by the board of tru tees of the American Defense Soc ety at a special meeting here toda; The resolution further urges tl transportation to Italy of a coritii gent of American troops and wt material, using all ships possible, ii olniliniT cDT7or1 Ancfrilin aVlins f I VJUU"'6 r"? the purpose. It sets forth that "tt complete defeat of Italy's armies wi endanger her national existence an imperil the use of the war for den ocracy" and "that to preserve Italy existence and maintain her efficiei cy as a fighting force immedial moral, military and economic ai from her Allies is imperative." German Agents Busy. The resolution declares that Ge: man agents throughout Italy ha\ steadily emphasized the fact that tt United States has never seen fit t declare war against Austria-Hui gary. Italy's greatest neighbor an enemy, and that it is patent to th entire eWorld that Germany and Aui tria are working as a unit for th same end which America has declai she will not endure." A copy of th resolution was telegraphed to Pres dent Wilson. Prior to its adoption the trustet of the society adopted a minut which declares that an inconclusiv nao/ia tttaiil/1 vta an inoiilf f a fV ac tt \j uxu uc an Alio ma v w mivu who have fallen in the war and a b< trayal to the living. Ten Million to France. The sending of an "overwhelmin force" to France, because, it sayi "the more men we send the fewe will be slain," is counselled in th minute, which declares that consic ering the great numbers of me poured into the war in the last thre years by England and France, th J * 1 A f\C\f\ l\f\ sending ox as many as iu,uuu,uu from its population of over 100,0( 0 000 would be no more than thi country's proportionate share. The minute urges that Congrtisi at its next session, be asked to <i? clare that a state of war exists a Is between the United States, Bulgari nnrl Tnrlffv www vvvvvvvvvv* V I V COTTON MARKET ' V Cotton 27% 1 V Seed $1.20 ' * ' \ ' ' J&ii-.' i?'. ;* > >r . ' '-i'v i&ll'-W |.< Saving Involves )\\ as a member of the United n, and you will be asked to do Preach and pracrice Hie "gospel of the clean plate." Use local and seasonable supplies;? "?-t for waste. poultry, game and sea foods in d pork. vegetables freely. ting, in part, corn meal and eaf flour. e butter on the table, but subooking. dy and sweet drinks and less su\ cessity, humanity and l\onor. elected to discharge this duty, !, but without other restraint ridual conscience." ?Herbert Hoover. "GERMANY PUNSTO ) CONTROL BRAZIL N TEUTONIC INTRIGUE MORE FULLY SHOWN a Two More Messages From iL II II ..UL..^ 4/Ourii. von uuxuusy IVIade Public. it Washington, Oct 30.?Two more al of the notorious Count von Luxte burg'3 messages to the German ford eign office from Beunos Ayres were s- made public tonight by Secretary i- Lansing. They provide official cony, formation of Germany's plan to conte trol Southern Brazil, shed additional a. light upon Teutonic intrigue in South ir America generally and reveal that j. Luxburg appealed vainly for a squad)r ron of submarines with which to awe ie some Latin-Americans and to flatter ill others with salutes. These dispatches l(j like others that have gone before, j. were given out by Secretary Lansing >8 without discussion of their contents, j. The only comment was in this stately ment attached to the copies: id "In view of the face that the substance of certain tele,?rams addressed by Count Luxburg to the German r_ foreign office has been published, the rA secretary of state makes public the ie actual text of the telegrams." The messages follow: "No. 63. July 7, 1917. d "Our attitude towards Brazil has ie created the impression here that our 3_ easy going good nature can be countie ed on. This is dangerous in South d America where the people under thin ie veneer are Indians. A submarine j_ squadron with full powers to me might probably still save the situation. I request instructions as to ' whether after a rupture of relations legation is to start for home or to remove to' Paraguay or possibly Chile. The naval attache will doubtless go to Santiago de Chile. (Signed) "Luxburg." "No. 89. August 4, 1917. ? "I am convinced that we shall be s> able to carry through our principal ir political aims in South America, the e J maintenance of open market in Ar[_| gentina and the reorganization of n | South Brazil equally well whether with or against Argentina. Please cultivate friendship with Chile. The e announcement of a visit of a isubma0 rino cinno^rnn fn cnliihp fViP nrPQi dent would even now exercise decisjs ive influence on the situation in South America. Prospect excellent for wheat harvest in December. s' (Signed) "Luxburg." After the state department made o public the "sink without a trace" a messages which caused Argentina to hand von Luxburg his passports, the Argentine government sent to Washington a number of the former Ger^ man minister's dispatches for decodt ing. Whether the two now published ^ were among them or were obtained by the United States at the same ^ (Continued on page 8.) I . * ?... CLAIMS REVERSED" I AND AFFIRMED THE DI8TRICT BOARD ACTS 1 mmwikaii a# aaaa* daiiahaa#! am/4 ivuiiiuci vi vaaus ncici sou aiiu Number Affirmed. Abbeville I Men to Report for Duty' The District Board for the Western District in session at Greenwood on Wednesday acted on appeals by the government from exemptions granted by the local board. In cases which are reversed the parties will report for duty on notice. The cases affirmed mean that the exempted persons will not report for duty. The following are the Claims Reversed C. L. Evans x f W. L. S. Douglas Lorenzo Belcher y C. S. Osborne M. R. Campbell Robert D. Wilson William E. Bowen W. P. Benton Thomas Washington George W. Mundy W. D. Purdy I Jesse E. Morrison H. J. Martin R. H. Carwile John T. Cheatham L. P. Powell L. G. Botts C. A., McClelland 1 W. L. Stevens L. C. Brinkley P. C. Ellis L. H. Wilson 4 Robert Carter F. Clinkscales L. W. Ayres ' / Lace Calhoun Arthur Cunningham J. L. Bowie , F. L. Sizemore. liie following are the Exemptions Affirmed W. J. 600k C. M. Magaha H. Bratcher ? W. Fisher Horace Alien William Brownlee. J. B. Branyon C. V. Ashley J. B. Temple S. A. Cochran G. T. Burton Cain - Elmore Wiley Coleman; A. B. Hollingsworth Horace Martin. The following cases re-opened were acted on and action taken as follows: z Cases Re-opened and Discharges granted: Lonzo Evans, serial No. 107. John G. E. Loftis. serial No. 726. . j Cases Re opened and discharges refused: John B. Thomas, serial No. 692. ! AMERICAN STEAMER GETS U-BOAT BEFORE SINKING | Luckenbach Officers Express Sur-j prise That Exploit Was Unknown j ? In the United States I i1 b j An Atlantic Port, Oct 31.?Three Q hours before the American steam' ship Lewis Luckenbach was torpe- * doed and sunk by an unseen submarine on October 11, naval gunners aboard the vessel planted a shot between the twin periscopes of an enemy submarine and sent her to the bottom, according to an officer of y the Luckenbach who arrived here to- ^ day. * I The officer expressed surprise that the fact had not become known in ^ the United States, and declared that ^ American naval officers on the other p side knew of the incident and con- t' ceded the sinking of the undersea tl i boat. The Luckenbach, a steel ves- ^ | sel of 3,906 tons, was sunk while tl bound for Havre with a general car-j P SO. o HALLOWE'EN PARTY AT niun stnuuL iu-niuni a Th eschool children are going to p I have a Hallowe'en Party at the 0 c? High School to-night, beginning at r d 7:30. They are making great preparations and a big time is to be had ! by all who attend. ir The price of admission is 5 cents, w 'RESIDENT HIS 1 TO WAR IN ITALY A/ILSON AND ADVISER DI8- i| CUS8 SITUATION ' 'WM Furnishing of Supplies, Espe- H clally Coal, Believed to Be Part of America Now. Washington, Oct. 30.?The Italian : ^ lituation was discussed at length by President Wilson and his advisers at . ^ loda^s meeting, the discussion touch ; ng immediate military aspects and '.^Js ;he extension of assistance"by the : /aM lilies. Furnishing of supplies, espe:ially coal, ?badly needed for Italian nunition factories, is said to be re- * jarded as this country's particular sphere, of immediate action. Although the administration shares egret and concern over initial sue- -fa :esses of the Teutonic drive, high oficials here are said to utterly reject . \ ;he opinion, advanced in some quar;ers, '"hat even this initial drive can ' jecome decisive of the war or even ? in important turning point It is jig Jelt that setbacks in Italy will act as v \^f| i spur rather than a discouragement :-.3m )oth upon Italy and the other allies. There is no apprehension that Italy . , vill break down or weaken in ad lerence to the common cause against Germany. Further advices concerning the rereat are anxiously awaited in offi:ial and diplomatic quarters. Army jfficers as well as officials- of the ' tahan embassy appear to be entire- [ y confident that General Cadorna ^ will be able to hold the Teutonic - J| 'orces in check. Word that the British artillerynen with the Italian army had )rought their guns through the re- , ;irement without the loss of a bat- y ?ry was welcomed today as indicat- : Jreifi ng that General Cadorna's men were lolding their organiation in the face' < >f the smashing Austro-German aslaults. The British guns are all '-fa 'heavies," big pieces that it takes ime to withdraw. xIf all of them lave been saved, American officers ; hink there is every reason to beieve that much of the Italian artil- . '3 ery vital to defense in a final stand ,r$| ilso has been brought back. Today's reports are taken to indi:ate that the artillery losses of the * talians, claimed by the Germans to QnArm/Mia nrvm nricn otmoIIaw rii aa 'V VViU|/ii>3^ OlllulIvA |/l^v is and mounted guns. On the new ine, laid out years ago as the Italian lefensive front, there are emplacenents, charted ranges and factors 4^ riiich will aid in stemming the tide if the enemy advance. The British >ig guns will become doubly useful here. Substantial evidence of America's ; aith in Italy in the hour of her trial pas given at the treasury today in he form of a loan of $230,000,000. ^ rhis brought the total of credits exended to Italy to $485,000,000 and he grand total of loans to the allies o $3,091,400,000. With this money ' v taly will pay for vait quantities of oal and other supplies purchased tere for her armies and industries. ' \> carry the supplies the shipping oard already has agreed to turn ver 25 merchant ships. IO EXCITEMENT v FOR AMERICANS v With the American Army in France,' ' ^ >ct. 31.?Conditions in the sector in ? rhich the Americans are stationed rere normal today. The artillery >ork continued. The weather was howery and much colder. For the last two days there has : tg een considerable aerial observa ion; late yesterday three lierman lanes flew over the American renches. So great is the enthusiasm among ^ le Americans to go on patrol that le French commander has ordered lat none of the higher grade officers erform other than their regular dues. It is the duty of the junior ommand officers and the non-comlissioned officers to go with patrols, ut the officers of higher rank, such s majors, were anxious to go out. The quartermaster now has suplies for several days within reach f the American position as a preaution against any transportation ifficulties with the bases. W. E. Haddon, of Antreville, was 1 the city yesterday on business and as a visitor to our office while here. .