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of BALES USED 3IUA TUKNO FOlDER EOF ALL NATIONI New sabhnshmenta Have Sprung and are Manufacturing Cotton I mnikelme Powder for Use of En pean Nations Now Warring M Each Other. By Richard Spillane, in Comme and Finance.) 'An article on gun cotton, prin I' Commerce .and Finance on J vary 20, has been copied widely. '.- told how smokeless powder is m and gave the capacity of the pow .--lants of America and Europe. While everything that was sta the article was correct at ot its publication there has b suh an extraordinary change in -entnlon since then, and the cot irad. Ia concerned so deeply In chan'ge that the whole subject Maumes'a new and much more imi tUtaspect. Ia ' ordinary years the pow plants of America turn out 10,01 O0. pounds of smokeless pow( means they use 20,000 bale! Alaters or cotton. Their extreme was 15,000,000 pounds or, bales of cotton. So tremend ebeen the demands of the. Et sen governments for powder t the Duspont establishment, the Is %at in the United States, has exten -plants so that to-day they hav of- between 100,000,000 1 O,000,000 pounds a year. T aa consumption of from 21 to 240,000 bales of cotton. ut big as the Dupont establi tR are, and rapidly as they h =ixtended they -have not b to keep up with the needs of %Wrring nations. The high price governments are willin a'hasaled various persons to -In the manufacture of pow( i no secret process to iof smokeless powder, and idde from its :atte -at aku constant danger-, is compi ougply speaking,. one rund makes -one pound c. - w4 bet cotton for- the powder z Is the deHintered stuff 1 Tibased from .the seed after , cotton of commerce is ginm horted the linters the better der maker's purpose, for -. Put -through a machine i for eight hours by kn. 1il the fraigments are reduced smaller than* three one-b of an Inch. Then 'the i tIs-eatewith nitric and i - nedd until the liquid gets the fibre. nest treatment is to get urglus acid for thin as is e -ie it is formed like of 5 tree and has a cover Sathe'bark of a tree, into or valler or which the i Neart the cotton is mixed wit] of-ether and alcohol. W imergeso from. this treatment naot look anpthing like cott - lastic like clay. Its colo largely, by the charam tesurplus acid -out. ow Knany Independent pha spruhg' up- In the last - atckdlfficnlt- t determ are reporits of stch plants ivmnia, Ohio, Illinols and e SThe principal establishm4 the Dupot company are N. 3., and at Kearnt m.&DammOth one Is being eaWIkgtielb &eshore of the James .river. of the independent conce w rder from the Russian i -. for a-U the powder It The first order was for znds, buft tbssoon lias -its present unlimited sci -ompay thus far has been sI athe rate of 100,000 pound and expects to increase thec nwplant whiich is to begin soon has contracted witi Yokcotton house to- suppl3 Cotiat the rate of 100 be of 3000 Mles ayear. TI aton comes from the lE cotton exchange people who the cotton. Chicago, Ill., a new pow 2mbeen-established which 7~ad.has a capacity of 30,1 ard4ay, which means a c of 60 balesa dny, ~9(powder -works in New E are reported to have been edand others are said to be course of refitting for use. all the people who say they ha 'oenfrom abroad for powder hconsulted with powder exp< '~r~gthe establishment of pla akIn the business the prod -ofAmericarwill be immer 33allowance must be given for igealn'the talk of these E 1m~ bt there Is no getting away fr :tefact that the plants of the sta j~powder concerns have been ~'ad&amazingly and that such de 4pendent companie~s as are in ;tatbth gross output of the D&p .-wrsin ordinary times. '3 tkwas-poInted out in the article lasJanuary thxat the plants abri ~had .a capacity from 10 to 20 tir Wrester -than those of the Uni Maes, but all of the foreign pow mot made of gun cotton. WJ ~Ksa, France and Germany dept guoi!n cotton exclusively, Engla ~?rItaly, Sweden and Nors ..trinitrotolulol and pieric acid ~~tmaking of some powder. ~~lnd's production of pow obby70 per cent. Is of gun< Ao.OfsAustria's, Italy's, Swede .Tand Norway's, the percentage Is fr l o 70 of gun cotton. They wo fa.gun :cotton exclusively if t] emaUld not get trinitrotolulol. , The American authority on pt restimated the maximum capa< ithe foreign plants at 300,000,( :-usor 600,000 bales of lint4 Sif all the manufactories used cotton exclusively, which, usua New this interesting question p i ects itself before us: If the Smands of Europe for powder neces tated the remarkable increase in< powder-making industry, how bar ly have the Europeans increased th own production? Logically ti would do their utmost to provide their needs before turning to Aim -ca for their supply. If they he done so. It may explain In part a our cotton exports are of so mi greater volume than the vast majc ty of the people in the cotton tre expected. Few persons looked: heavy exports. The textile. Indus abroad was disorganized partly such mill centres as Muihausen, R. -bai, Lille, Lodz( etc., being wit: the war zone; partly by operati, being drawn into the armies: par ,by blockades on sea by hostile sh and on land by movement of troo and partly by the general derani sment of .finance and trade. And ~.exports may approximate 7,50 #0 or 8,000,000 bales! There Is-one powder man of pro 1 ASKED TO ENFORCE LA1 GOV. MAINN'NG HOLDS CONFE] ENCE WITH MAYOR GRACE. The Gambling Law and Liquor la Were Especially Pointed Out f the Mayor's Attention. "Definite action must be taki within a weak," Gov. Manning to p Mayor Grace of Charlozton Mond afternoon at a corference betwe ato them. "I asked Mayor Grace," sa the governor, "as head of the gc ro- ernment of Charle:ston, to enfcree t law. I specially mentioned the ga bling law and the liquor la-7. I as ed for enforcement :.nd not regul tion. I pointed out to Mayor Gra rce that as so much has been said a written on the situation, and as ted much time has already elapsed on; an- count of his illness, since I had fi It taken the matter up with him, ti ide definite act'on must be taken witt der a week; that the public is so well:, formed on the situation that nothi ted could be gained by further delay." the The statement of the governor f een lowed the publication in the local i the ternoon newspaper of an intervil ton with Mayor Grace, In which he w the quoted as saying: as- "Gov. Manning told me unequil or- cally to enforce the law in Charl ton. I took his order." Continui der this Interview says: "Mayor Gra ),- was rather reticent In discussing t ter. liquor situation in Charlestcn, sz I of ing that everything apportaining ca- the illegal sale of intoxicats h o- 'een aired by every one on every ous casion. He averred, however, ti Lro- Charleston should be granted au hat nomy, that the people of the c . should be allowed to regulate th led own affairs as to liquor selling im e- a progressive way. ind "The Charleston mayor is of 1 hat opinion that the State needs a n )01- constitution, which will do away w the -present cumbersome system . legislation and allow progress ave measures to be passed. He a een thinks that Charleston needs a n the city charter, but it can not be gra the ed unless there is a change in t to organic law of the State." im- Mayor Grace reached Columi er. Monday on the Carolina Special a the went into conference with Gov. M the ning at the executive offides, th nd- talk lasting about an hour. At fl .ra-. the -governor would have nothing say for publicatiok, and it was z of his intention to give out anythii ter. but when he saw the statement an. Mayor Grace in the local paper hat dictated the interview in which the said that- Mayor Grace had be ed. given one week in which definite i for tion must be taken. the What he will do if the mayor fa and to take definite action 'within I ves specified time was not intimated to .Gov. Manning. un ot- GIRL SAW MEN FIGHT. all Shouts Encouragement to Her Ese rid During Pistol Battle. ach Miss Agnes Farmer, 18, was fo the ed to act second for two young m friends Saturday who fought a di thd on the highway. Harvey Hurt, ' had Miss Farmer in a buggy on th - a way home in the country. He n enIra Scott, 24, coming to town on ite load of cotton. The men had qui Srelied over an affair. of no Interest Miss .Farmer. When they met in I read the row was resumed. The g ~tpleaded for peace, but the men wal mied to fight. She stood up in t buggy and told Hurt to fight for Lits life. The men stepped off 20 f1 few and opened fire. During the di -e 'Miss 'Farmers would call to Hurt n be cool, aim straight- and fire quid s each was wounded three times. Ha nts was hit twice in the left should at and once in the neck Scott was si ay twice in tbe left lnng, and Is seri t a Iy injured. Anoth~er shot broke I ilt rit arm. rs AIRSHIP OVER CANAL. an Panama Mnliary Authorities Maki 1, in- - an Exhaustive Inquiry. ie. Lip- Military and canal authorities a a a investigating a report that an e:1 ut- plane had been seen flying over t Pedro Miguel and the Mirafi *locks. oP- Gov. Goethals, of the Canal Zoi andBrii Gn.Edwards,comn of the military forces, both detail -i men to make an exhaistive sear ifor the machine, which is said rhave been se and heard .over t Slocks Thursday night. The air ci is also reported to have flown o'v dr Hill 15, which is heavily entrenche , it and 'also located east 'of the Ped )00 Miguel locks, of whose- defense on- fom a part. It Is known that a Bleriot machi g- is owned on the Isthmus, but re- whereabouts has not yet been asee in tained. ve smokeless powder Is being made 1 mnd day the powder mills of the wor rt will consume a minimum of 1,20' nts 000 bales of cotton. He says cott< uc because the powder people are t. such a hurry to get supplies-on whis ex- to work that they can not wait f o- linters. The European plants are t om ing cotton and the contract for t: d. American plant, which will requl ex- 100 bales a day and to which reft in. ence has been made, is for cotto the not linters. ont The truth of the matter probat ithat this war Is such a gigantic fair that-estimates relating to cott< aIn connection with it can not be mal esa according to ordinary standards nreasoning. Never was powder us trso lavishly as now. There are sa to be 57 warships engaged In t dIe bombaifdment of the Dardanell mnd Thie big ones are burning up cott d, at a monstrous rate. A 12-inch g' uses 300 p~ounds of powder eve time It is fired. It is theoretical Of possible for a battleship to use frc der 5,000 to 6,000 pounds of powder t-minute or from 10 to 12 bales of cc n's ton a minute in firing all Its guns. om It would take a fair sized plant uld tion to supply enough material f icy the powder of the Queen Elizabe alone. The fleet at Symrna has sh . enough cotton at or Into the Tur *ity to clothe an army corps, perha ~00 And what of the millions of men 'rs the rifle pits and those serving t ohundreds of batteries from Oste: 'down to the Swiss border and frc the Baltic to Bukowina? ro- Rusa, England. Germany, Ti dkey. France and Servia have bei msiaking or buying all the powd r they possibly could. Italy, GreeC gRoumania and Bulgaria have bei e piling up as large st ores of 'the gre fer essetial, as possible. HolnSpai or andual Sweden, Norway. Denma: "~dSwitzerland have had to increa ire their stocks of powder as a matter -precaution. ich And now the period is approac ~ing whien, according to Kitoee detewar really begins. or To the cotton trader the statisti of supply and consumption are n so dependable this year as ordinaril If 1.200.000 bales or more of cott< ~o into powder they are not likely appear in the mill figures. 9 Vote Down Bonds. e- By a vote of nearly thirteen et one, citizens of Anderson coun 0- Tuesday voted down, 168 votes, 2,230, a proposition authorizing ti -Issuance of permanent road bonds itethe sum of $'s50,000. READY FOR ACTION FORTS AND SHIPS READY TO EN FORE NEUTRALITY. W rSEA ROVER'S TIME IS OP ld Prinz Eitel Frederick Has Choice of ly an Flight or Internment-Battleship id v- Alabama on Hand to See That no Unfair Advantage is Taken or Se 1' cured. ce A dispatch from Newport News id Monday says it is generally believed so there that the German auxiliary LC- cruiser Prinz Eitel Friedrich does not st intend to intern. at It is rumored that the delay of in Commander Thierichens in making n- a move is due to no unpreparedness ag on the part of his vessel, but to the failure of the United States govern )I- ment to provide warships to protect xf- the Eitel in territorial waters. w Reports from WasLington say that as Capt. Thierichens has asked the gov ernment for protection from the al o- lied ships while in neutral waters, as- and that he has been assured that he ag will not be molested while in the ce three-mile limit outside the capes. he Other than two torpedo boats and -y- the submarine D-2, there are no war to ships that could protect the Eitel ad against any hostile move by the for >c- eign vessels now reported lying in at wait outside Cape- Henry. It is also :0- believed that the arrival of the bat ty tieship Alabama from Philadelphia ir may be closely followed by the long a expected dash of the German cruiser. The guns at Fort Monroe can only he protect the Eitel as far as the capes ,w and the Alabama will be used, it is th said, in .convoying the German ship of outside while she remains ii the ve three-mile limit. Should she go to so New York to intern as reported, 3w there -is a question as to whether or it- not she can find enough water in the he three-mile limit. Not many more h'urs remain for ia the German merchant raiding cruiser nd Prinz Eitel Frederick to hold her m- status in American refuge at New ir port News. rst Government officials remain silent to as to the time given the vessel to Lot make- repairs, but it is known the g, time limit has almost expired, and of Capt. Thierichens either must dazh he soon for the open sea or submit to he internment of his ship for the ie en mainder of the European war. Xe- Although the prevalent opinion in official quarters at Washington has ils been that the Prinz Eitel would in he tern, the dispatch of the battleship by Alabama to Hampton Roads on neu trality duty has served to indicate that navy department officials may have reason to beliove the warship will put to sea. Reports are current that the German government has given notice of such intention. In view of the fact that British and French warships are reported re- outside the three-mile limit off the en Virginia Capes, it is declared the iel Washington authorities deem it es 3, sential to have means of enforcing air neutrality within the7 waters of tet American jurisdiction. a While It is not believed that Brit tr- ish or French ships would violate to neutrality by coming inside the three he mile limit to attack the Eitel Fred ir erick as she left, it is said to have it- been regarded as necessary for this he -government to provide means to meet 1s any possible emergencies. ~et On leavirng Newport News tho Eltel iel could remain in coastal waters within to the three-mile limit, proceeding up ~k. or dcown the coast, until twenty-four Lrt hours after reCeipt o-f notice from er the American government to depart. ot To see that neutrality regulations are s- not violated in this regard is advanc is ed as one of the reasons for the send ing of the Alabama to Hampton Roads. For some reason unusual activity has been displayed by the United aStates navy around Newport News, Va. The German merchant cruiser, the Prinz Eitel Fredick Is still tied up at a pier, but her officers say she no will leave some time. 'o Fortress Monroe ud Fort Wool, fi In the centre of Hampton Roads, Fri as day night exhibited unusual activity. All the troops stationed at the forts e, were ordered to the barracks and the en big gun crews and mine companies ed were sent to their stations. At 9:30 h o'clock the engines around the guns to were started and the searchlights . t ie both forts were in operation. ft Subsequently it i as discovered en that one United States submarine and d, three destroyers had arrived in the ro Roads and drappeu anchor between it the two forts. Col. Ira F. Haynes, commandant of ie Fortress Monroe, went to the Ports ts mouth navy yard, it was said, and r- the acting adjutant in charge said that he could make no statement con - cerning the unusual stir at the forts. o- The searchlights ere constantly play Id ed over Hampton Roads and Chesa - peake Bay out toward the Capes. mn The Prinz Eitel Frederick was still in tied up alongside a pier at the ship :h yard, and has made no move as if to or leave. The lieutenant in charge said s- the cruiser would not leave Friday ie night, but "some other night." Smoke re was seen rising from the funa el and r- it was e.vident that fire was up in at n, least one boiler. The battleship Alabama, of the re ly serve fleet, was ordered to Hampton f- Roads Saturday night on "neutrality mn duty,'' according to an announcement le from the navy department. The bat of tieship is at the PhIladelphia yard. ad Secretary Daniels said it was In Id tended to place one large vessel on lie guard to support the submarines and ~s. destroyers, which have been on duty m since the German cruiser Prinz Eitel in F'redenick reached Newport News. ry 1-Ieavy ships had been employed in ly neutrality duty at Boston and New m York, the secretary said, and it was a thought best to take similar precau it- tions at Hamptor. Roads, as the smaller vessels would be handicapped a- in the event of heavy weather. or The Alabama is the flagship of th Rear Admiral James M. Helm, comn ot mander-in-chief o1 the Atlantic re kserve fleet. Secretary Daniels said >s Admiral Helm would decide whether in he would accompany his ship. le There were unconfirmed reports id that Commander Thierichens, of the m Prinz Eitel, had made inquiry of the Washington government as to what r- protection he might expect within the in three-mile limit should he decide to er attempt to run the gauntlet of enemy e- warships said to be awaiting him. 3n Capt. Thierichens was said to have at taken the position that his vessel was 't. entitled to prctection from any mo yk lestation while. in the territorial se waters of the United States, and in o tha't view it was understood govern ment officials concurred. i- A dispatch from Washington says r. the German commerce destroyer Prinz Eitel Frederick will be intern e ed at Newport News by order of the Ot Washington government within a few y days, according to opinions expressed n in official quarters. No one in au :0 thority, however, would discuss the ship's status. There was little doubt that a time limit for the making of repairs to the o0 Eitel had been set by the govern vy ment and that the limit is close to o expiration. When the period grantedl eexpires. Commander Thierichens, of n the. Eitel, will be formally notified +e thah must either put to sea withn 24 hours or his ship and crew will bi interned for the war. The German captain could appea for time to make further repairs, bu this would be granted, it is thought only on a new and unexpected show ing as to the unseaworthiness of hi vessel. It appears to be the general opim ion that Commander Thierichen would not ask that his ship be im terned, but would wait out his tim limit and compel the government t act. Officialsv recalled the statemex of Capt. -Kiehide of the American shi William P. Frye, sunk by the Eite who declared when he reached shor from the cruiser that she would nc put to sea again during the war. H refused to say on what he based hi prediction, but officials believe hi long association with the Eitel's o: ficers qua'ified him to speak wit some authority. It was suggested to officials thg the presence of numerous Britis horse transports at Newport Neu might serve to delay the departure c the 1Eitel should her commander d( termine to attempt a dash to sea pa, the patrol of warships said to t maintained by the allies beyond th three-mile limit. Under neutralit laws no belligerent warship such e the Eitel may leave port within 2 hours after the departure of an enL my merchant craft. By sailing in and out of the ha: bor at frequent intervals the Britis merchant skippers could delay ti Eitel's dash if they so desired. was thought, however, that no suc manoeuvre would be attempted as tl conclusion was general the Eit would not put to sea and the alli were not desirous of delaying tl time of her internment. Secretary Daniels and Acting Sei retary Breckinridge of the war di partment conferred regarding ti measures to carry out neutrality lav in the case of the Eitel. Mr. Brec inridge said no orders had yet beE given to the post commander. He di clared that even in case of a nav. battle within the three-mile limi should the $itel make the dash, thei would be no firing from forts withoi express orders from Washington. COTTON TERMS EXPLANED. U. S. Department~of Agriculture Tel What They Mean. The meanings of various cottc terms, according to the United Stati Department of Agriculture: Gin-Cut Cotton-Gin-cut cotton cotton tha:. shows damage in ginnini through cutting of the saws, to an e tent that reduces its value more tha two grades, said grades being of ti official standards of the United State Gin-cutting of a less extent than th: mentioned above which reduces tl cotton belowsthe value of a Good 0 dinary would render the cotton ul tenderable though the extent of i jury weie less than that described, the fifth subdivision - of section states. specifically that cotton tI value of which is reduced below thi of Good Ordinary shall not be d livered on, under, or in settlement 4 a contract. Reginned Cotton-Reginned cottc is such as has passed through ti ginning process more than once, all such cotton as after having been g~i ned is subjected to a cleaning pi cess and then baled. Repacked Cotton-Repacked co ton will be deemed to mean factor. brokers', and all other samples; ail "loose" or miscellaneous lots collec ed together and rebaled. False Packed Cotton--Cotton bal< will be deemed false packed whe: ever containing substances entire: foreign to cotton, or containing dat aged cotton in the interior with < without any indication of such dat age upon the exterior; also whe plated (that is, composed of goC cotton upon the exterior and decide' ly inferior cotton .in the interior)i a manner not to be detected by cu tomary examination; also when co: taning pickings or linters woraced n to them. Mixed Packed Cotton-Mixed pac1 ed cotton shall be deemed to met such bales as show a difference < more than two grades between sat ples drawn from the heads, top an bottom sides of the bale, or wht such samples show a difference color exceeding two grades in valu said grades being of the official co ton standards of the United States. Water Packed Cotton--Watt packed cotton shall be deemed 1 mean such bales as have been pent trated by water during the balim process, causing damage to the fibe or bales that through exposure to ti weather or by other means, while a: parently dry on the extericr, has been damaged by water in the i: teior. Cotton of Perished Staple--Cottc of perished staple is such as has ha the strength of fiber as ordinari. found in cotton destroyed or undu] reduced through exposure, either 1 the weathe'r before picking or afts baling, or to heating by fire, or o account of water packing, or throug other causes. Cotton of Immature Staple-Co ton of immature staple is such as ha 'asen picked and baled before tI fiber has reached a normal state< maturity, resulting in a weakene staple of inferior value. Cotton of Seven-eighths Inch Sta ple-After investigation it is like] that a standard for cotton sevex eighths of an inch in length of stapJ will' be issued. In the meantime, th ainers authorized to hear dispute will pull the cotton so that the end will be squared off fairly well witi out unduly reducing the bulk of th drawn sample. When the measurei applied a fair quantily of the cotto must remain in order to show thx the sample has not been pulled to fine before measuring. When thu pulled and measured as cotton ex perts are accustomed to do its fai average length shall be not less tha seven-eighths of an inch, in orde that the cotton be tenderable under contract made in compliance wit sec 5 of the act. Non-Explosive Movie Film. What is stated to be a completel satisfactory, non-iflammable motiot picture film has recently been prc duced by a French company, but o: account of European conditions iti not availabe in sufficiently larg quantities for general use in thi country at present. Its basic con: position is acetate of cellulose, whic is not explosive, is difficult to ignitE and burns only when held in a flamE The principal constituent of ordinar: films is nitrate of ceilulose, whichi highly explosive and readily burst into flame when subject to high de grees of heat.--From the March Pop ular Mechanics Magazir. Saw Three Submarines. Three German submarines wer< sighted off the Hook of Holland b: the Holland-American liner Potsdam which arrived at New York Thursday They followed the Potsdam for short distance without attempting t< stop her, then branched off in differ ent directions. Over Five Thousand Lost. Since the beginning of the war the British army on the continent has los 1503 officers killed and 2,833 wound ed while 705 have been reportet missing. American Guns for Russia. Eighteen long-range guns of Amer ican make are at Vancouver, B. C. awaiting shipment to Russia. A1 NOTE CABLED TO LONDON WILL BE PUBLISHED AFTER RE CEIPT IN ENGLAND. s The United States Claims Neutral's e Right to Carry on Trade With Neu D trals. ' The reply of the United States gov ernment to the British order in coun e cil decreeing a virtual blockade t against commerce to and from Ger e many, was cabled to Ambassador s Page at London Tuesday night for s presentation to the British foreign office. As soon as the communication has been delivered, it will be made public in this country and in London. Mean while officials decline to intimate s what its contents are. Beyond the fact that the United I States stands firmly for its right to carry on legitimate trade with neu e tral countries, even though they be e contiguous to belligerents, little is y known of the administration's posi .s tion in view of developments since 4 the last note was dispatched inquir- i ing how Great Britain and her allies intend to enforce their prohibition - against trade of "enemy origin, own h ership or destination." e Officials have pointed out, how- 3 t ever, that the Ameritan government wanted more definite information as e to the radius of action of the allies' blockading fleets, and that the ques s tion of whether the order-in-council e was to be enforced under interna tional law governing blockades or under the rules of contraband, had not been answered. e Diplomats of other neutral coun s tries have displayed great interest in 6 the note. Several were among See n retary Bryan's callers. Since efforts to bring about joint representations Ll regarding the rights of neutrals on t, the high beas failed, it is understood 'e that the Latin-American republics are it anxious to move along lines set by the United States to establish their record, which will form the basis of claims for damages suffered by their citizens through the activities of the Is allied fleets. It was said at the state depart ment that the usual practice of await n ing judgment by prinze court was fol s lowed in the case of the cargo the American steamer Antilla, seized last is month. The records show that the V steamer carried lard and machinery, ' both of which . have been declared n contraband by Great Britain.. As to e the ship herself, no reason for her . detention, now that the cargo has Lit been discharged, is known, and de Le partment officials expect her to be re c.- leased soon. SHOULD CONSIDER THE FAIMER LS 5 Office of Pablic Roads Issues Bulletin Lt on Radiating Roads. A bulletin issued by the Office of Public Roads of the United States De n partment of Agriculture contains a e map of Dallas county, Ala., as illus o trating the intelligent handling of the problem of road improvement so as to benefit the largest number of far mers. t- The map shows five Improved roads centering at Selma. One of these o branches a short distance from town t- making six radiating roads. Only two relatively unimportant roads s leading out from Selma are unim i- proved. The total length of improv y ed roads ini the county is 19? miles. i- While this is only 19 per cent. of the r total road mileage, as a result of the - policy of improving part of the mile n age of each important road leading d out from their principal market town I- and shipping point, the farmers in n nearly every part of the-county have s- an improved road for at least part of a- their haul to market. As was point a- ed out by President Harrison of Southern Railway company, in his i- address before the American Road n Congress at Atlanta, the farmer t should be given first consideration in - the selection of country roads to be d improved and the greatest possible n number of farmers will be benefitted n by a system of radiating roads such , as has been adopted in Dallas Coun t- ty. r WILSON ON FOREIGN SOIL "President Visits Argentine Battle r', ship as Guest of Honor. -. President Wilson, accompanied by e Secretary Daniels and party of aides, - arrived at Annapolis, Md., shortly after noon Monday on the Mayflower n and went aboard the new Argentine d gattleship Moreno, as the guest at y luncheon of the Argentine ambassa y dor, Dr. Naon.. o As the Mayflower neared the Mo r rena the entire crew of the Argentine a battleship came to the ail and ship's h band played "The Star Spangled Banner.'' At the last strains Presi dent Wilson's flag was run up and s the Moreno fired a presidentials e lute of 21 guns. Little difficulty wil experienced in transferring the presi d dent's party from the Mayflower to the Moreno. The president was greet -ed at the rail by Ambassador Naon, y Rear Admiral Martin, president of -the Argentine naval commission, and e Commission and Capt. Galindez, of e the battleship. The luncheon was an s elaborate one and the entire battle s ship had been made spick and span -for the occasion. s .Oen-Going Lumber Rafts. aSeveral times each year during the t shipping season, ocean-going log rafts as large as some of the greatest sintercontinenta liners are towed down the Pacific coast from the lum r ber camps of Oregon into the harbors< at San Francisco and San Diego. This r is the way certain lumber interests ot the Nodthwest are solving the prob lem of transportation of rawv timber; for in contrast to a charge amntunting to $10 per thousand board feet,1 which was made a few yearns ago1 for shipment by rail, the cost by this medium is reduced to $1. It does - not only mean lower prices and an immense saving .to the consumers, t but it also enables low grades of a material, which otherwise would rep-t resent a loss, to be placed on the 1 - market profitably. S"In the .last few years 29 of these 1 -titanic log barges have been success- 1 -fully floated to San Diego," says the March Popular Mechanics Magazine in an iklustrated article. "In no a case, so far as is known, has any seri - ous trouble been experienced, and in - most cases not even a log has been lost, despite the fact that the average length of these rafts is about 700 feet, the thickness approximately 30 feet, and the breadth amidships 55 feet. Between 4,000,000 and 5,000, ,000 board feet of timber is contain .ed in each one." T' >Turks Assure Protection. -Assurances that protection would e given to the entire population of Urmiah, Persia. where attacks on Americans and other foreigners and " on native christians have been re .ported, has been given Ambassador u -Morgenthau at Constantinople by r Turkey. Hawser Breaks Again h Efforts to raise the sunken subma- a rine F-4 off Honolulu harbor were o temporarily suspended Tuesday after If a hawser with which the boat was p bein Adrae toard shoe snapped. MORTANT ATTACK V1 !ARRING NATIONS LOOK DECISION IN THE EAST A BATTLE IN WEST SLACK th Righting on the Dardanelles Forts th be Resumed by Allied Fleetr-Germans pa Claim Successes Wednesday-Brit- of ish Vessel Sunk-French Ram Ger- W bc man Submarine. so to After a brief lull in the fight for a possession of Dukla pass in the Car- E, athians, the Russians brought up re- tr nfcreements and resumed the attack N Wednesday. At Vienna it is said the ni Russians have not been able to gain of .hleir objective at any point along the th 'arpathian front for the invasion of vi Frungary, and that they were defeated tl it. Lukowina. Dispatches to Swiss Lewspapers, however, say the Aus- 01 trians have suffered enormous losses Ti n. northeastern Hungary. It is esti- N ated that they lost 18,000 men on tr fionday and the Russians are credited with annihilating a column of 4,000 at ustrians in an hour. ul The increasing pressure of the Rus- P1 -ians on this front, together with the w fall of Przemysl, may have an in- e fuence on the operations in the west. ec rhe report is being spread in Holland aI that the Germans are-contemplating I ti: the abandonment of their present line 31 in Belgium in favor of a less extended ec front running slightly west of Brus- C ;elg, and that withdrawal of German tb cavalry from the Yser line already has begun. fr London reports Wednesday say the rc battle of the Carpathians now rivals G the bombardment of the Dardanelles in rolitical possibilities. German ex- g perts assert that Russia's efforts are t of such vital importance politically N that the supreme command of the hi Teutonic allies is justified-in exerting i every effort to check the invader t there. A sudden and dramatic influx of Muscovite hosts into Hungary g1 might, it is argued, stir the Balkan U nations to quick action. ti German reports also attach great 0 importance to this struggle. Major f Moraht, the military expert, in a dis- f patch from Austrian headquarters to d4 the Berlin Tageblatt, attaches great P importance to the present fighting in 8 the Carpathians. Major Moraht says: b "Without going so far as to consid- t er that the result of the entire war, t on even the eastern campaign, de pends on the issue of this battle, nev- h ertheless victory here indubitably will F exercise a strong effect on the entire s situation. Nor can we completely ZI exclude the possibility that the politi- d cal situation may be affected in one way or another. Russia, in any case, 9 had political reasons in choosing pre- s cisely this ground for a *decisive bat- tl tIe. This is the view of intelligent U Hungarians and also of the Vienna a press. The supreme army command g has grounds enough for employing all t disposable forces fo avert a Russiaa irruption into the Hungarian plain." C The fighting the Dardanelles has b been slack. Petrograd has officially. c warned the Russian people not to ex-f pect an early capitulation of Constan- D' tinople. There are no signs, how- ~ ever, that the allied fleet has given up the attack, as battleships again are ri shelling the outer defenses. The et Russian assault on the Bosphorus has been interrupted by a thick fog.. From London Wednesday comes the news of a Reuters dispatch re- A celved from Constantinople by ways of Berlin says the allied fleet has re sumed its bombardment of villages near the outer forts of the Darda nelles. Turkish aviators are making a: daily reconnaissances..g In the western area little was W transacted. The -Berlin office's an- tc nouncement Wednesday says: - s "West of Pont-a-Moussen French el attacks near and east of Regnieville tc and in the forest of Le Petree were repulsed. The enemy sustained heavy s~ losses, and at only one place to the 1s west of Forest of Le Petre in the en- el gagement still continuing. am "Hostile aviators yesterday threw It bombs on the Belgium towns of m~ Bruges, Ghistelles and Courtral with- tz out doing any damage to military es- di tablishments. In Courtral, near a pl hospital, one Belgian was killed and pl one wounded. "On the Russian frontier in the Is district north of .Memel tire banks of em the river were cleared of the enemy. km The Russians were defeated near w Turoggen an'd retreated in the direc- m tion of Szkaudrwly. . W "Russian forces- which during the last few days advanced north of the di Augustowo forest against the Ger-| T] man position were repulsed by Ger-| ri mans who advanced into the forest, ni lake district near Sejiny. The num-|f ber of Russians taken prisoner In the em0 engagement near Krasnopol and to: fl the north and east was Increased by 500. Near Klimki, on the Skwa, 2002 more Russians were captured." The French report Wednesday was exceedingly brief. It merely said: I "No modification of the situation has been reported since the last commu nication.". A British ship was sunk by a sub- ca marine Wednesday. The Ellerman be ine steamer Flaminlan, with a gen- m eral cargo, from Glasgow to Cape ca rownfi was sunk off the Sicily isles tr: Monday, March 29. by the German we submarine U-28. The crew of 39 ar took to their boats and were picked ap by the Danish steamer Finlandia in md landed at Haly Head. bc Then Flaminlan sighted the UT-28 at M 1:15 Monday afternoon. While the sh :rew prepared to lower the boats, the of ressels was sent ahead full speed. "" [he-submarine easily overhauled her, ax iowever, and fired three shots, sig- fo aling her to stop. The Flaminlan se ;topped and the crew abandoning all ax 'ersonal belonsings, got off in small ci oats. The submarine then fired 10 so hots at the steamer. These appear d ineffective, so a torpedo was dis- flu hared. That sent the Flaminlan to th he bottom. to The French claim a success against he German submarines. A statement ca y the ministry of marine Wednesday th *ays that Tuesday afternoon a French ight cruiser sighted a German sub- pe narine manoeuvering on the surface Tc ff Diepne. The cruiser immediately an :ave chase, forcing the submarine to tai ive. firing meanwhile at the pern cone and turning In order to ram It inm vith the bow. wi The cruiser passed above the sub- sic narine at the moment the periscope sappeared, and from the snot where Iof he submarine was last seen quanti- sh is of oil floated on the surface. lem From Germany comes reports of a fo: iore extensive submarine campaign, a the shape of a leture, in which ofD faxiillan Harden, editor of Die Zu- tre unft, predicts a further extension of o 'ermany's submarine activities.ta "As soon as we extend the radipus o f action of our bigger submarines." we fer Harden is ouoted. "they will be ed sed for the wholesale laying of ines. Then England will find her astery of the sea will be at an end. ma "In every resnect Germany can ae confidence after eight months of tremendous struggle. Even If some ] f th present neutrals .ioin the allies fro will make no difference to the real wit roportions of the conflict." bal WMIS ON ARTILLY LLA PREPARES TO RENEW FIGHT AT MATAMORAS. other Battle Is Brewing at Lam pazos, Southeast of Uuevo Laredo, Where Troops are Going. While Villa forces are delaying Dir attack on Matamoras pending D arrival of artillery, the stage is I ing set for another battle at Lam zos, about seventy miles southwest Nuevo Laredo. Border advices to the state and Lr departments said the Villa forces und to attack the Carranza garri as at Nuevo Laredo were expected reach Lampazos Tuesday, "where battle probably will be fought." rlier messages said Carranza )ops were being assembled at ievo Laredo. The garrison will tmber 1,200 and presumably a part the force will be sent out along e National Railway to meet the lla troops at Lampazos, if the bat Is not already in progress. Should more troops be necessary the American side at Laredo, ,xas, in the event of an attack on ievo Laredo, a regiment of infan r is in readiness at Texas City. The situation at Matamoras and Brownsville, across the border, was Lchanged. The Villa troops, re ilsed Saturday in their first attack.. re encamped five miles -from the by, the stAte department was advis , expecting to renew the assault on rival of ther artillery. Latest es nates of the losses Saturday said 0 Villa troops were killed and an *ual number wounded, while the Lrranza garrison had ten killed and irty-eight wounded. On the American side a dozen gunw om the third 'field artillery are ady for an emergency. Secretary trrison said-the instructions sent to mn. Funston were similar to those ven when bullets and shells fell on e American side during fighting at xco. The secretary refused to say. >wever, whether ord'ers had been ven to return to the fire if the same - ing happened at Brownsville. The state department had but mea r advices from Mexico City, Secre ry Bryan characterizing the situa n as "uncertain, but with no dis ders." No report tending to con-. -m. statements that the Zapata rces were again preparing to aban n the capital had reached the de irtment. The food situation is again =mewhat critical, Mr. Bryan said it Gen. Garza had given assurances tat something will be done to meet Le emergency. Reports from the border that Villa id demanded of Zapata that Gen. elipe Angeles be installed as rovi onal president in place of Gen. Gar 6 lacked confirmation at the -state apartment, or at the Villa agency. Some officials were Inclined to -edit the reported action of Villa. ying that he probably considered .at Gen. Garza was coming too uch under the control of Zapata id his advisers, and that Gen. An ales could dominate the situation in te capital. No foreigners have yet left Mexico [ty, Secretary Bryan said, although )th the Carranza and Zapata offi als have promised to afford 'ther cilities to reach Vera Cruz. A re >rt from the latter place said El atrera sugar plantation, sixty miles om Vera Cruz, had been looted by a bel band and the manager had ask for a military guard. MADE NO OFFERS. ustria and Italy Have Had no Direct Interchanges. Contrary to stories in the French id the British press, Austria-Hun try opened no direct negotiations ith Italy concerning nossible terrn rial concessions. From the highest urces~ at Rome it Is affirmed tha erything done in this line was due Germany's Initiative.. The action of the German ambas dor to Italy, Prince von Buelow, it said, was animated by a desire to iminate the causes of the ancient tagonism between Austria and. ly, but even the work of the for er mperial chancellor of Germany this direction was cautious, so that ~cided statements wh'ch have ap ~ared In one sense or the other were emature. This, prominent Italians point out. why Italy vigorously continues her tensive military preparations, not owing what the future may bring hen, next day, according- to the ost reliable opinions, the European in will take a definite turn.* The council of minist'ers did not scuss the International situation. ie ministers considered proposed les to prohibit the publication o! tws of a military character, a plan r a partial reopening of the stock change and measures for -The bene of the unemrployed. LVOIDS COTTON CONGESTION.. ilns to Allow All American Car goes to be Exported. As a result of the efforts of Amern a Ambassador Page, Instructions .ve been issued from the foreign inistry at Rome to allow all Amern n cotton bilh~d through this coun r to be exported. Difficulties In the ty c-f moving the commodity now e due to congestion. There are 158 shIps at Genoa wait. g to unload, while outside the har r 116 vessels are waiting to enter. athods employed In unloading the ips prevent more than 3,000 bales cotton entering the port daily. attack upon the port of Liban, as llows: "On Sunday a German yes lapproached Liban (on the Baltic) d fired 200 projectIles, killirng one ilian and wounding another. No diers were injured."1 The French report of Tuesday's hting Is as follows:t a enemy continued, wIthout results. bombard th~e Nieuport bridges. I "There has, been an intermittent :onade on the entire front from a sea to the Aisne. "In Champagne, in the region of rthes, Beausejor "nd Ville-Sur urbe, there was an artillery action d mine warfare, In which we ob- C ned the advantage.4 "In the Argonne determined fight continues at several points, but Lhout appreciable results to either "On Monday Fort Donamont, north t Verdun, was struck by German 9 alls. Our artillery immediately si- r ed the German batteries. The D t was not damaged. In the western part of the forest c Le Pretre we carried a line of P nhes, in which we took 100 pris. e re. Despite a violent counter-at- d k, we maintained the greater part ' the trenches won. c 'To the west of Pont-a-Mousson d carried a German post and repuls- a three counter-attacks. b 'On the battlefield at Harteqmanns- e' :lerkorpf the bodies of 700 Ger- P n have been counted." Five Steamers Sail for Europe. rive steamships Tuesday cleared 12 m Galveston for European ports C h aggregate cargoes of 27,000 1 es of cotton and 722,800 bushels d 1AR SHIPON iOARD 1ATTLE3IIP ALABAMA AT IN CROR IN NEWPORT NEWS PRINZ EITEL AT OCK teporta That Merchantmen Have Been Supplying Allied Warships With Coal Are Denied-Need of Battleship Protection is Now Ev. dent. Enforcement of neutrality of the Jnited States in the port of Norfolk nd Newport News, was the subject >f a protracted conference at the Nor olk navy yard late Tuesday follow ng the arrival in Hampton Roads of he battleship Alabama, which took , commanding position in the chan tel to the sea, and remained there, aking on ammunition and supplies. Participating in the conference were Rear Admiral Beatty, com nander of the Norfolk navy yard, :lear Admiral Helm, commander of he reservd Atlantic fleet, who arriv ,d on the Alabama, and Norman R. 4amilton, collector of customs for :he port. - Whild the" conference at the navy' rard was in progress Capt. Max rhierichens, commander of the Ger nan converted cruiser Prinz Eitel Friedrich, still in dock at Newport gews, was closeted with customi offf :ials in the- Newport News cme.. At the conclusion of the conference at ,he Norfolk navy yard, government :fficials refused to discuss matters with which it dealt. Primarily, it was learned, the Ala bama came to Hampton Roads to guard the neutrality interests of the United States between a German man-of-war within an American port and asfleei of warships of the Euro pean allies, which is reported hover-. ing off the Virginia Capes. That the situation thus presented demanded the presence of an Amei:an warship was generally admitted. Reports that allied warships which have been off the capes since the Ger man commerce ~raider arrived at Newport Neivs and ventured within the three-mile limit and that mer chant ships had furnished them with supplies had been circulated at New port News for several- days before the sending of the Alabama. As to mer chant ships, it was said that they had taken deckloads of- coal after filling their bunkers and taking on other cargo. "I have investigated thoroughly one case in which--a merchant ship was reported to have taken coil to a foreign warship off the capes and found it not true," said Collector Hamilton. "This ship may have de livered to vessels. at sea coal which she took on board at some English port, later arrived at Newport News and departed with a full cargo of grain. She took from here 300 tons of ooal, merely-enough for ship's use. iportion of this may have been plac ed on -her decks, this for the reason only, however, that the ship desired all space for cargo purposes." Henry B. Holmes, agient of British. shipping Interests, declared that he had absolute knowledge that no mer chant ship had taken fusi or supplies to any of the warships. Taking deck loads of coal, Mr. Holmes said, was necessary on account of extra heavy cargoes carried for foreign ports. Commander Thierichens would not talk about his visit to the customs officials. He returned late in tlh afternoon to the Eitel Friedrich,. which is still moored to her dock in the shipyards. In official quarters the opinion still prevaIs that the German riider -will'ferce the United States government to intern-eher, but there are many who have a;ssociated with officers and men of the ship who say that she will put to sea and take a chance on escap,lng the blockade of the illies when served with notice to depart. Allied merchant ships continue to depart from this 'nort almost daily. One which cleared Tuesday was the Belgian steamer Iris. In this con nection officials pointed out that the successive departure of merchant ships of enemy belligerents could not indefinitely postpone departure of the. Prinz Eitel after be.ng served with notice that time for ' repairing in American waters had expired. They pointed to a clause, which after stating that a belligerent war ship can not leave a neutral port, for :wenty-four hours after departure of :h6 merchant ship of an enemy, says: 'No ship of war o. )rivateer of a bel-1 igerent shall be detained in any port, barbor, roadstead or waters of the Lnted States more than twenty-four aours by reason of the successive de partures from such port, harbor, roadstead -or waters of the United tates of more than one vessel of an )pposinlg belligerent." Authorities are stolidly silent as to :ircumstances which actuated the government in sending a warship to Newport News, but that that, purpose van not to protect the Prinz Eltel ~riedrich within the three-mile limit f- the American coast, as had been uggested, now seems apparent. The. 1erman sea raider, in all probability, sill be interned in this port before nany days, although persons who iave talked with officers of the Eitel leclare they- are ready to brave the langers of a dash for liberty. Just when the government has do ermined that time expires for the ~itel to make repairs still remains a nystery. When that time arrives, lowever, opinion is prevalent that ter ensign will t'e hauled down, her ;uns dismantled and ship And crew nterned under terms of The Hague :onvention governing noutral nations n naval warfare. Capt. Thierichens, commander of he German raider, it is insisted, had toped to have his ship taken to New cork within the three-mile limit of he American coast before time for nternment arrived. Overtures had leen made to Washington authorities n this regard and protection against rarships of the allies lurking off the oast had been asked. Marine uthorities, however, 'nformed the ierman commander that it would be aipossible to get his ship around the apes within the three-mile limit and hat it also would be necessary to go eyond the three-mile limit and that :also would be necessary to go be ond the three-mile limit off the New ersey coast. Outside this limit au hority of the United States to give rotection doec not extend,- and the lan of the German commander ap arently has been abandoned. Marine men assert, however, that ne reason for the Alabama at that ort is to see to it that British mer hant ships which leave almost daily, o not violate neutrality by carrying iel to the allied warships off the apes.. Scores of men at the docks eclare that British merchant ships, ter taking cargo and coaling their unkers. have taken on deck loads of a1, such as would not be contem ated for an oversea voyage. Sails With Cotton. The American steamer City of emphis sailed from Wilmington, N. ,Tuesday, carrying approximately )000 bales o~f cotton for Rotter ti. Her cargo is valued at $600,