The Bamberg herald. (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, February 07, 1918, Image 1
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One Dollar and a Half a Year. BAMBERG, S. C., ^THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1918. Established 1891.
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DON'T ELECT COLE BLEASE
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ADVICE of ex-senator john L.
BTLlAURIN, once supporter.
1
Bfease is Hostile to President; Till- 1
h man is Willing But Worn Out, 1
Says Marlboro Man. ^
<
Bennettsville, Jan. 28.?Some time j
ago in response to the action of the
grand jury of Anderson county and ,
others, Senator McLaurin promised t
to state some time this month whetn- j
er or not he would run for governor. <
The following is the statement made '
in response to this promise: (
Mr. McLaurin's Letter. ,
Bennettsville, S. C., Jan 27, 1918.
Mr. Editor:: I take this method
of reaching the various people who ,
by petition and letters have request- <
ed me to become a candidate for gov- (
ernor. I promised them an answer
during the present month. At this (
time I feel that I can perform a bet- j
ter service by announcing clearly my j
political views than by becoming a i
candidate for governor. It is proba- 1
ble after I do that many who would (
have supported me will not do so and j
that conditions will make it best that (
I should not run for offi'ce. It is
evident that factional lines are f
drawn in the senatorial race and j
while I believe that I could be elected
by avoiding this issue I do not '
want office on these terms. I have t
given the matter careful thought and i
I want everybody to know'before- t
hand -inn* hnw T stand. In order to 1
get the warehduse bill made a law j
I had to reckon with the veto power ?
of the governor, and without the as- 1
6istance of the faction then in power
I could not have moved a step. IV
have always recognized this obilga- ^
tion and do not intend to forget it. (
I would like to be in a position while <
I yet have the mental and physical j
strength to further develop the State (
warehouse system by establishing di- t
^ rect.sales. - I would also like to or- (
ganize the machinery for State in- j
surance, not only for cotton, but oth- l
er property. I would like to see a ?
budget system for appropriations, so
as to fix individual responsibility for ,
the waste of tax money, such as is j
~ now going on in South Carolina. I
have made up my mind, however, ^
that I am not going to keep my mouth
shut nor compromise my convictions ^
for the sake of any office on earth. ?
Should I go on the stump this sum- t
mer I shall unhesitatingly say that I
regard the election of either ex-Governor
Blease or Senator Tillman as
a stupendous blunder. So far as the
, State is concerned it will establish
\ more firmly than ever the present 3
v* factional lines and whoever is elected 1
governor will necessarily have to line (
rtn nn nna otilo r?r thft ftthAr Thifi I ^
up vu wuv ??uv
absolutely refuse to do. Outside of 1
the local issue the consequences are 1
more far-reaching. The attitude of 1
Governor Blease before the war has
been bitterly hostile to the present 1
federal administration. Everybody s
who knows him understands his at- f
titude toward the questions relating j
to the war and that he will go any (
length once he has^the power to ob- t
struct the policies of Woodrow Wil- j
son. He is bold and has great abil- ?
Ity in certain lines, his advent into ^
r the senate would greatly strengthen ?
La Follette and a "little group of j
willful senators" who are doing all ?
in their power to* hamper the conduct T
of a war upon whose results depends g
the future not only of America, but ?
mankind everywhere. I could not
make campaign speeches and dodge t
this issue. I cannot by silence make a
myself a party to a national calamity t
of this character. Senator Tillman i
is incapacitated by physical weakness i
for the strenuous work now required, f
I am glad to be able to say that I am r
sincerely -sorry for. this, and in spite f
of the unjust treatment that I have t
received at his hands, were he phy- t
otaq 11 tt fit tr* norfnrm thp dutips. T r
uv vv Jk/v* *v* *** v?? ? ? 7 ? j v
would rise above personal resentment 1i
and say that he should be left where 'r
he is. This talk about "dying in i
harness" is all^rot. A broken down \
horse "dying in harness" is cruelty l
to animals; it is more merciful to c
loose the traces, knock off the shoes a
and turn him out in the pasture to t
ruminate on things that have been l
and are to be. It takes a strong p
horse to "tote" his side of the sin-il
gletree in these perilous days. It is c
unfair to the balance of the team'a
when the load is heavy and the pace id
so fast to be handicapped by bog spa-; C
vin and heaves in an old horse which s
won't work at all unless he is in the j fc
lead. The work is too heavy now for i 1
a spike team, though that is better is
WHY SUBS WERE LET LOOSE.
[>utch Paper Publishes Illuminative
Secret Document.
Amsterdam, Feb. 1.?The Handels3lad
today published a series of doclments
obtained secretly from German
archives, showing the steps
tvhich led to the adoption by Gernany
of her unrestricted submarine
campaign a year ago. The following
s a summary of the documents:
"At the close of 1915 the German
idmiralty prepared a memorandum
"> n.hrtflt war.
,U suu rv mat uiu&>)iriu.i,v.u ?
'are would compel Great Britain to
sue for peace within six months."
The wording of the memorandum iniicates
that the admiralty had already
decided to adopt this intensified
warfare, but desired to convince
the emperor, the imperial chancellor
and the foreign office of the certainty
of the good results on economic and
general grounds rather than merely
>n military grounds.
Accordingly, the memorandum bassd
its arguments on statistics of food
prices, freight and insurance rates
n Great Britain. It pointed out the
iffect which even the restricted subnarine
warfare had shown on prices
)f the essential commodities on the
balance of trade and on the morale
t ?
)f the "English people.
The memorandum first was submit;ed
to Dr. von Bethmann-Hollwegg,
;he imperial chancellor; and then to
Dr. Karl Helfferich, vice chancellor
rhe latter rejected it on the ground
:hat it was impossible to set a limt
on England's staying power and
he absence of authentic estimates of
ler stock on hand, also because he
'eared the action, which would result
from neutrals, especially the
Jnited States.
* ? - - i n a
internal siiuauuu.
The authors of the memorandum
;hen sent a reply in which they point;d
out the gravity of the internal
situation in Germany and assured
Dr. Helfferich that a desperate rem;dy
was necessary. They reinforced
heir argument as to the seriousness
>f the internal state of affairs by callng
in nine experts, representing Gernan
finance, commerce, mining and
tgriculture.
These experts included Waldemar
duller, president of the Dresden
>ank; Dr. Salomonsoh, director of
he Discontent Gesellchaft; Paul
teusch, Prussian councillor of comnerce;
Dr. Springoru, iron and railway
magnate; Max Schinkel, presiient
of the Hamberg Norddeutsche
>ank, and Herr Zuckschwardt, councilor
of commerce of Madgeburg.
As experts, these men were invitid
to reply to three questions: <
First, wh^t would the effect on
England be of an unrestricted subnarine
warfare; second, what be the
iffect on Germany's relations with
he United States and other neutrals,
ind, third, to what extent did the
nternal situation of Germany denand
the use of this drastic weapon.
All the experts agreed on the first
Joint that England would have to
lue for peace in almost six months.
;han a horse that won't even try to
jull, bites his mate and kicks at evsrything
in sight. I am not going
;o help harness either team. Whut
s the use? One horse is not able
ind the other will not pull a load
vith Woodrow Wilson as a driver,
md we can't get sl new driver (even
f we wanted to) for the next two
'ears. It is a bad plan, anyway,
vhen you have to change drivers to
iuit a horse. My experience is that
t horse more interested in kicking
he driver off the seat than in pulling
he load won't work with any driver
ind will make every horse in the
earn balky before he is through,
rhen, too, we now need Gatling guns
nstead of old rusty worn-out pitchorks.
I know this letter will offend
nany of my friends and I regret it
rom the bottom of mv heart, but if
1 l: V +Vv Ttrill
Livy live iuug cuuu^ii iuc) wiu occ
hat I am right as they have found
>ut before when they differed with
ne. I am saying what I feel to be
ny duty, and if every political friend
have turns against me it will not
>e the first time that a sense of duty
las left me alone without a party
>r political faction. I feel that I
im capable of rendering good serrice
to the people of South Carolina,
:>ut I am not going to dodge an im>ortant
issue in order to obtain po- j
itical support. I am in the middle
>f the road unfettered by factional
,lignments of any kind. Those who
tesire to be of real service to South
Carolina must be courageous and unelfish
or our petty factional squabiles
will continue to make us the
aughing stock of the nation. Repectfully,
JOHN L. M'LAURIN.
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IN TIE PALMETTO STATE
SOME OCCURRENCES OF VARIOUS
KINDS IN SOUTH CAROLINA.
State News Boiled Down few Quick
Reading.?Paragraphs About
Men and Happenings.
The house- last week passed
and sent to the senate an ironclad
prohibition bill, the only exception
being that the manufacture of five
gallons of home made wine annually
is permitted.
A. G. Thompson, of Charleston, j
president of the State Federation of
Labor, has sent to the State senate!
a protest against suspension of labor
laws during the war, as was advocated
by Governor Manning.
J. G. Harrell, an Atlantic Coast
Line roadraaster, was run down by
a passenger train Monday afternoon,
and instantly killed. Harrell was
traveling on his motor car during a :
dense fog and the train was on him j
before he saw it. j
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AUSTRIA NS CAUGHT ASLEEP.
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First Rush Against the Huns Made
at S O'clock A. M.
Italian Headquarters in Northern j
Italy, Jan. 30.?Eye-witnesses of the
Italian attack of the past few days;
on the Asiago plateau tell a story of j
thrilling interest. From their ac- j
count it appears that the first Ital- I
ian rush was in the darkness at 3*
o'clock Monday morning. The sleeping
enemy forces were taken completely
by surprise. The Alpini were
in the thick of this fighting and by
daylight they had swept the first
line trenches and taken an old church ;
I
which formed a strategic point in the |
enemy line of defense. They were
vigorously supporting the heroic Sassari
brigade, which took and retook
the height of Col Del Rosso three
times against the stubborn, deperate
resistance of the enemy.
To Screen Main Movement.
Those early movements were a diversion
to screen the main movement
on the right where a stroke was
delivered for the dominating height
of Monte Di Val Bella. It was here
that the most severe fighting occurred
through Monday night and in the
early hours of Tuesday. Italian
storming troops took the eastern and
western slopes and by 7 o'clock Tues- j
day morning had cut tl^eir way to
the summit and were establishing
themselves firmly in definite control
of the key position.
It was hand to hand fighting up
the slopes, with heavy losses on the
Austrian side and the enemy clearly
at a disadvantage.
Singular Feature.
A singular feature of the struggle
was supplied by a considerable Italian
force which fought its way far
beyond the first day's objective and
was such a distance within the enemy's
lines that the troops were giv- j
! en up for lost. When the final charge
was made up Monte Di Val Bellai, this
Italian force disengaged itself from
the enemy encirclement and took an
important part in the final capture of j
the summit. Throughout the day
yesterday the enemy sought to redeem
the situation by bringing forward
large reinforcements and it is
estimated that fifty new batteries
were added to his fighting line. But
his efforts to move the infantry led
to such confusion that all his counter-attacks
were rendered abortive.
Austrian prisoners declared that the
reserves hurrying forward were met
by steady streams of beaten troops
moving backward until* all orderly
formations were broken up. Attempts
to merge the fresh troops with
the decimated front line units only
added to the confusion.
^ Virtually Destroyed.
According to prisoners the twentyfirst
Schutzen division of Austrians
and the 101st Austrian landstrum division
were practically destroyed,
while the 90th and 52n^ mountain
brigades were similarly decimated.
The large percentage of officers i
among the prisoners is a noticeable'
feature, and the casualties show a '
! similar heavy proportion of officers. 1
No exact information is available 1
as to the number of casualties, but 1
; the total mounts high for the enemy, i
Besides yielding a considerable num- 1
ber of prisoners and war materials,
the engagement resulted in restoring
the Italian lines to the dominating
position they occupied before the enemy
made his forward movement in
this sector just before Christmas.
Read The Herald, $1.50 a year. i
CRUM FOR DEFENSE COUNCIL.
Speaks Very Plainly in Advocating
Measure in the House.
Columbia, Feb. 1.?There were several
tense moments in the house of
representatives this afternoon when
some of the members objected
to what they believed were disparaging
remarks made against
some of the personnel of that
body by Mr. Crum, of Bamberg,
in the course of his discussion
of the measure legalizing the
State council of defense. Mr. Crum
satisfactorily explained his criticisms.
The Bamberg member said, in his
opinion, opposition to the measure
sprang from three sources: rnose unfamiliar
with the objects and the aims
of the council, those opposed to it
from political reasons, and those who
are against the government in this
war. Mr. Crum said that those who
were against the bill through lack
of knowledge and who, when their
doubts had been cleared away and
they were fully cognizant of the' work
and the aims of the council, if they
still opposed the measure they were
leagued against this government. Mr.
Long, of Greenville, Mr. McLaurin, of
Marlboro, and others wanted the
speaker to explain just what he
meant. Mr. Crum said that he desired
to cast no aspersion on any individual;
what he desired to impart
was that, after the bill had been
amended in whatsoever manner the
house desired, then if a member was
opposed to it because he did not desire
a State council of defense, that
member was not wholeheartedly behind
the government in the prosecution
of the war.
The measure was still under debate
when the house adjourned at
2 o'clock to reconvene ne$t Tuesday
A
afternoon at 3 o'clock.
Apparently, judging from the conversation
of the members in the hall
and the lobby of the house of representatives,
opposition to the bill creating
the State council of defense
is gradually dying down. Some of
the members object to legislating the
present personnel into office and the
amount of appropriation asked, but
opposition to the council as such has
not made its appearance. There is
no political significance in the fight
on the original bill, as members of
both the Blease and the anti-Blease
factions are lined up against the
present personnel and the amount of
appropriation, and the partisans of
each side are for the passage of the
measure as prepared by the legislative
committee of the State council.
It is thought that the ways and
means committee amendments providing
for the selection of one member
of the council from each county
and the reduction of the appropriation
from $50,000 to $25,000 will not
be acceded to by the general assembly.
When the bill legalizing the State
council of defense was reached today
J. Howard Moore, of Abbeville, moved
to adjourn debate until 3:25 p.
m. Tuesday. Mr. Moore said he did
not know whether he was in favor of
the measure or not, but several members
of the house who are interested
in the bill were absent and they
should be considered before the
measure was voted upon.
The house, by a vote of 37 to 39,
refused to postpone debate on the
measure.
Mr. Crum, of Bamberg, said that
the bill should be passed, particularly
as Secretary of War Baker had
urged the State council of defense
as a war necessity. Objections to the
bill can be grouped under three heads
said Mr. Crum :: First, that it is
not doing any good; second, dislike
to the personnel of the council; and
third, objection to the appropriation.
The Bamberg member said that
the publicity given the State by the
State council of defense and its efforts
to counteract German propaganda
justified that body's existence.
He told of the splendid work done
in the second liberty loan and the
Y. M. C. A. campaigns and the
achievements accomplished by the
body. The first liberty loan canvass
was a failure; tne second campaign
was taken in charge by the State
council of defense and the loan was
Dver-subscribed 55 per cent, in South
Carolina, said Mr. Crum, who claimed
that sufficient funds should be
given the council. He said that poor
men are connected with the council,
men who are leaders in intellect and
patriotism, but who have not the
money to spare for their expenses
when they attend meetings.
The personnel of the present council,
to which there is so much objection,
consists of some of the leading
men of the State, asserted the
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AMERICAN GUNS THUNDER
ANSWER GERMANS SHELL FOR
SHELL.
Two Americans Killed and Nine are
\
Wounded.?Germans Used Barrage
Fire.
With the American Army in France
February 3.?A German barrage fire
at sundown last night opened the
heaviest bombardment of many days
along the American sector, the American
artillery replying shell for shell
as the firing of heavy guns spread
nlnn? spveral kilometres of the front.
* ??o Two
Americans Killed.
Two Americans were killed and
nine wounded during the bombardment
and one suffered shell shock.
It was ascertained today that the
American gunners had wrecked several
of the enemy dugouts and so
badly damaged the first line positions
that at one point the Germans were
unable to occupy them Sunday.
Concentrated Fire.
When the bombardment had reached
its greatest intensity, the Germans
suddenly concentrated their fire at
two points throwing about 250 shells
1 into a town in which the headquarters
of a certain regiment are located.
After the bombardment a wound9
' ed soldier was discovered in a position
where it was necessary to carry
! him over a trench to afield dressing
' station. A medical corps man displayed
the Red Cross and the Ger'
mans ceased firing until the man was
removed.
Early in the day'an American was
wounded by a sniper.
On the Lorraine FrontWit
h American Army in France,
Saturday, Feb. 2.?American troops
are now occupying a sector of the
[ Lorraipe front. The military censor
has permitted publication of this announcement.
[ The correspondents permanently
accredited to the American army
1 have been informed they may pro!
ceed to virtually any point withiir the
' zone of fire, except the trenches, with1
out escort, and without special per1
mission- Arrangements werg made
; today whereby newspaper men may
proceed to any brigade headquarters a
few kilometres behind the trenches
after first reporting their presence
; within the zone to the headquarters
of the division of which the brigade
is a part. Unless there is some occurrence
which makes it advisable in
the opinion of the brigade command"
er for correspondents to move nearer
the front they may walk from his
headquarters to regimental headquarters
behind the lines.
Since all roads immediately behind
the front are within easy German
gun range and under German observation,
not more than two corres;
pondents may mave forward together.
They must wear gas masks, in alert
positions, and helmets. Newspaper
men must obtain special permission
to visit the trenches and must be accompanied
by an escorting officer.
The fact that American troops were
in the trenches in Lorraine was re
veaied by t(ie lierman war omcer
three months ago, according to an
official German announcement, the
Americans were on teh front at the
Rhine-Marne canal which intersects
the battle line near the German border,
due east of Nancy. This announcement
was made in the official
report from Berlin of the first German
raid on the American positions,
in which three Americans were killel,
five wounded and twelve captur-l
ed.
The eastern end of the battle line
in France and Belgium runs through
French and German Lorraine. French
Lorraine, in which is the American
sector, is included in the departments
of Meuse, the capital of which is Verdun;
Meurthe-Et-Moselle, whose capital
is Nancy, and Vosges, with the
capital at Epinal. The length of the
front in French Lorraine is about 150
miles. This section of the battle
line extends into tlie Meuse from the
Marne near St. Menehoujd, and runs i
; eastward to the north of Verdun, j
! speaker. They are leaders in every J
iwalk of life and are giving unstint-1
!ed service to the State. The coun-j
j cil is non-partisan, harmonious in j
jits deliberations and unpolitical in!
jits work. He claimed that the adop-|
ition of the committee amendment j
requiring one man from each coun- j
ty would rid the council of some of I
its strongest men, as several of them
come from the same counties. It
was brought out that the council
! spent $3,718.41 since its inception.
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FARMER KILLS ANOTHER.
M. C. Kirkland Says He Shot L. N.
Jefcoat to Defend His Home.
Lexington, Feb. 3.?L. N. Jefcoat,
a well-known farmer of the Edisto
section of Lexington county, was shot '
and mortally wounded by M. Cordie
Kirkland, a large and successful
rvlonf or flirt o Vi aaIi n cr horintr fo Iron
fiauici, tuc 011UUHU5 uanug
place within thirty yards of the home
of Kirkland on Friday night about 7
o'clock. Jefcoat, with five buckshot
wounds in the arm and back, was
rushed to the Baptist hospital in Columbia,
at 3 o'clock Saturday morning.
..
Everything possible was done for
the wounded man, butxdeath came at
about 8 o'clock Saturday night. Kirkland
was brought to the county jail
by Sheriff Miller on Saturday afternoon,
where he will remain until
bond is arranged, in the event that
bond is secured.
It seems that Jefcoat had been going
to the Kirkland premises two
nights in a week for a year or longer,
without the knowledge of Kirkland,
and that two or three weeks ago
i Kirkland became accruainted with
the alleged arrangement carried out
on Tuesday and Friday nights. Kirkland,
enraged, it appears, at what he
thought was going on around his
premises, planned for the coming of
Jefcoat on Friday night. Kirkland,
it is said, lay in wait fol Jefcoat, who
soon appeared in the darkness, at or
uear' a hay stack some thirty yards
from the home of Kirkland. Seeing
Kirk land coming, according to the information
received, Jefcoat began to
move in the darkness and Kirkland
raised his gun and fired. Both barrels
of the gun were emptied, only the
second, however, taking effect. Jefcoat
screamed in agony, but went to
the home of a negro some 200 yards
distant, where he remained until the
arrival of relatives and friends.
When seen at the county jail today
and asked for a statement, Kirkiand
declared that he had nothing to give
out at this time; that he had not employed
counsel and until he had done
so he would i^ot give out anything.
I He expressed much regret, though,
rover the necessity, as he said, of protecting
his home, and especially did . ,
he regret the cause which led up to
the tragedy. Mr. Kirkland is fortynine
years of age, is one of the largest
and most successful planters in
the county and has a wife anti eight
children, five sons and three daughters.
He stands well in the community
where he resides.
The dead man was about fifty-five
years of age and also has a wife and
several children. He also had a great
many friends. Since Jefcoat fifed in
Richland county it is presumed that
the inquest will be conducted by the
coroner of Richland county. Sheriff
Miller was immediately notified of
Jefcoat's death and left for Columbia
to be present at the inq.uest.
This is the first homicide to occur
in Lexington county in several years
where all the parties connected are
prominent.
south to St. Mihiel and east to the
German border. Then it turns to the
southeast and almost parallels the
border to the vicinity of Leintry. Below
Leintry it cuts across a section
of French soil, past Badonville and
Senones and to the east of St. Die,
and again crosses the German border
at a point west of Colmar. The remainder
of the line to the Swiss
boundary is in Germany.
Since the battle of Verdun there
has been no fighting of great importance
along this front. For the most
part it runs through high and broken
country.
Whole Sector Resounds With Guns.
With the American Army in
France, Feb. 2.?The whole American
sector is resounding with the
boom of guns. Airmen became exceedingly
active along the American
front on Saturday. Enemy snipers
wounded two Americans slightly early
this morning.
A shift of the wind today cleared
away the mist which has hindered aerial
operations and other activities
for several days. A 'number of battles
in the air were fought by patroling
planes early this evening. In one
instance the French aviators defeated
an attempt of German fliers to
cross behind the American trenches.
The artillery and snipers have become
increasingly active. American
75's are harrassing traffic behind the
enemy trenches. The Germans are
confining their fire largely to American
trenches. Throughout Friday
night machine guns rattled ceaselessly
from German positions.
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