The Lancaster news. (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, July 27, 1915, Image 1
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VOL. 10, NO. 84, SEMI-A
SUBMARINE SINKS I
AMERICAN VESSEL
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I
Leelenaw Filled With Flax Tor- [
pedoed Off Coast of Scotland.
LOAD OF CONTRABAND.
Crew and Captain of H team ship
Were Saved and Will Give
Their Deposition*!.
London. July 26.?The American
freight steamer Leelenaw bound !
from Archangel, Russia, for Belfast |
, with a cargo of flax, was torpedoed '
and sunk Sunday by a German sub
* marine off the northwest coast of
Scotland. Captain Belk and the1
crew were saved, landing at Kirk-!
wau in ineir own Doats.
Kp?i interest was displayed in
British official circles today over the i
news of the torpedoing of the Leelenaw,
but comment was withheld until
the receipt of further details
which the admiralty has requested.
Tomorrow the Leelenaw's crew
will be sent to Dundee, where the
American consul will take their depositions.
American officials will make a
rigid investigation especially with
regard to the point whether the crew
was removed before the torpedo was
fired, as the Leelenaw was carrying
a conditional contraband cargo from
one belligerent port to another.
The Leelenaw left New York May
17 with a cargo of cotton consigned
to Russia. She was detained at Krkwall
but was released June 26 with
permsslon to proceed to Archangel,
where the cotton was discharged and
a cargo of flax was loaded for Belfast.
No details of the torpedoing of tjie
Leelenaw have been received bevond
a message stating that that the craw
"V* had been safely landed at Kirkwall,
Scotland, from which place they notified
the American consul at Dundee
of the sinking of the vessel.
An official statement of the German
government issued April 18,
1915, set forth that flax is contraband
of war.
The Leelenaw was commanded by
Capt. D. B. Belk. Her crew consisted
of seven officers and 32 men and
she was owned by the Harby Steamship
Company.
The Leelenaw was formerly called
the Earn well. She was 280 feet
long and of 1,924 gross tons.
Under the rifime of Earnweil she
was wrecked some years ago in a
tropical storm off Colon and the
steamship company abandoned her
fVa Insiinonaa nwHoeweltoeo TV o
latter brought the venae! to Norfolk,
where she was rebuilt and sold.
ONE D^AD, ANOTHER DYING.
Negro** and Officer* Exchange Shot*
at Nichols.
Mulltns Special to Charleston
' News and Courier, July 25.?One negro,
Jake Davis, Is dead, and another,
f)' i.ame unknown at this time, is fatally
wounded, as the result of trouble
between about thirty negroes and
several officers at Nichols, this county,
about eight miles from here, last
night.
It seems that the negroes were at
a church and dissension arose among
them, and that the mayor, magistrate
and policemen went to the
church to stop the quarrel, when the
negroes opened Are on the officers.
who returned the Are. Policeman
Waiter Powell wax shot through the
? arm, but the mayor and magistrate
were unharmed.
The coroner arrived on the scene
about 1 o'clock this morning, but decided
to postpone the inquest until
after daylight.
One arrest has been made and
others are expected shortly.
Cherokee County Ktrurk by Hail.
Oaffney Special to Spartanburg
Herald, July 24.?A destructive hailstorm
passed over the western section
of Cherokee county yesterday
* afternoon, doing considerable damage
to growing crops in that section.
J. C. Prldmore, local agent for companies
which write hailstorm insurance,
is now investigating the extent
of the Humnrp A mimtior nt
? ??? ? ? ?? 1
In that portion of the county have
polldefl with Mr. Prldmore'e agencies.
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SUMMER WORK OF I
HIGHEST ORDER 1
Session at Winthrop School One of
Most Successful in History.
New Attendance Record.
Rock Hill Special to The State,
July 24.?The session of the Winthrop
summer school, which closed
Friday, haa. been from every point of
view the moBt successful in the his- I
tory of summer schools in South
Carolina. The attendance of 680 is (
in advance of any of previous years,
and the unanimous opinion of teachers
is that the quality of work done
is superior to that of any former
session.
The short course for prize winners
in home demonstration work not only
brought over 100 people to the college
to enjoy for a short time Its opportunities.
but carried back into
homes all through the state inspiration
for better and nobler home life.
The lectures were of an unusually
high tone and all had a practical
touch, which made them of immediate
use.
The social life of the school was
enjoyed to the utmost and was varied
from the evening games on the
campus begun by Dr. Wyche and carried
on through the session to the
tennis tournament, which brought
out the best in the line of good players.
This was concluded Thursday
and Friday, when Dr. Thomas and
Miss Henderson won the championship
in mixed doubles and Dr. Johnson
and Mr. Brown the championship
in men's doubles.
iV. % A A. ? % A- ? M
v/ii lue ibhi iwu mgaib bdu me biternoon
of one day the Coburn playera
gave three of their outdoor plays
on the beautiful campus to an exceedingly
appreciative audience. Theae
plays were "The Yellow Jacket,"
"The Imaginary Sick Man," and
"Jeanne d'Arc."
One young woman who attended
summer school at one of the largest
Northern universities last summer
said that she got as much, and In
some respects more, from her course
here this summer at one-fourth the
cost.
This week President T. W. Palmer
of the State Normal and Industrial
College at Monticello, Ala., with two
of his board of trustees, paid a visit
of inspection to the college. Ho
made a careful study of the plant
and of the methods of Instruction.
g.nd he and his trustees departed
highly pleased.
MEXICAN ENIGMA
INVITES ACTION
United States Will Take Steps
Unless Differences Are
Accommodated.
Washington, July 26.?A definite
step toward settling the Mexican
problem will be taken by the United
States government in the near future.
Authoritative announcement
to this effect was made today at the
state department, although the nature
of the contemplated action was
nM VIM 1 I. I
uvit iimviuocvi. m a cniuciu ff nuuii id
understood to be revolving several
suggested courses in his mind, but his
decision probably will not become
known before his retdrn to Washington.
Mr. Wilson is known to have been
reviewing the situation for some
time, the warring Mexican factions
having failued to heed his suggestion
of two months ago that they accommodate
their differences and restore
peace in the distressed country.
Apparently he has determined
that the other measures which the
Washington government announced 1
it must take if the battle of the factions
continued must now be resort- 1
ed to.
Officials in close touch with tho
President think that he has not final- '
ly determined what is to be done 1
J
His most probable course, it was reported
tonight, would be to urge (
(Sonpnl riarran?* fnr H o ln? lima
to confer with other faction leaders
in an effort to bring about peace.
Should Carranza again refuse this ,
plan, it is said, he contemplates efforts
to assemble other Mexican '
leaders who will represent a majority
of the Mexican people.
This conference would arrange for
a constitutional convention which
would plan for an election and the
establishment of a government which t
the United States would recognize
and help to maintain.
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LANCASTER, S. C. T
FREEDOM OF THE SEAS
MOST BE PRESERVED
And Will be at Any Cost by the
American Government.
STRONGEST MESSAGE YET.
Germany in Given Clear and Renewed
Understanding as to What
United States Will Demand.
Washington. July 23.?The text ot
the American note on the submarine
warfare, presented at Berlin today
by Ambassador Gerard, was made
public here tonight. It reveals that
the Imperial government had been
informed it is the intention of the
United States to regard as "deliberately
unfriendly" any repetition by
the commanders of German naval
vessels of acts in contravention oi
American rights.
The-United States announces thai
it will continue to contend for the
freedom of the seas "from whatever
quarter violated, without compromise
and at any cost.' '
In official and diplomatic quartert
the communication was viewed ai
the strongest and most emphatic
pronouncement that has come fronc
the Washington government since
the beginning of its correspondence
with the belligerents of Europe
President Wilson returned to Cor
nlsh tonight to await developments
On the assumption that German>
has already admitted the Illegality 01
her practices by attempting to justi
fy them as retaliatory moves against
Great Britain the United States ex
presses the belief that Germany wil
no longer "refrain from disavowing
the wanton act of its naval comman
der in sinking the Lusitania or fron
offering reparation for the Americar
lives lost, so far ae reparation ear
be made for a needless destructioi
of human life by an illegal act."
Referring to the German govern
raent's expression of hope in its lasi
note that the freedom of the seai
may be established in some measun
before the end of the present war
the United States declares that thii
object can be accomplished and in
viteB the practical co-operation o
the Imperial government. Th<
American government adds, more
over, that it "holds itself ready ai
any time to act as the commoi
friend who may be privileged to sug
guest a way" to assist in establish
Ing the freedom of the seas.
At the outset, the German note 01
July 8 is declared "veryvunsatisfac
tory because It fails to meet tbe rea
differences between the two govern
ments and Indicates no way In whlcl
the accepted principles of law anc
humanity may be applied in th<
grave matter in controversy, but pro
poses, on the contrary, arrangement!
for a partial suspension of those
principles, which virtually set their
aside."
Contending that "the defense ol
an act as retaliatory ts an admissior
that it is illegal," the American government
then argues that it cannot
discuss actions of Great Britain with
Germany and regards as "irrelevant"
in the present negotiations the conduct
of other belligerents.
"Illegal and inhuman acts," says
the note, however justiflr.ble thpy
may be thought against an enemj
who is believed to have acted in
contravention of law and humanity,
are manifestly indefensible when
they deprive neutrals of their acknowledged
rights, nnrtiriilarlv when
they violate the right to life itself."
Asserting that a belligerent should
give up its measures of retaliation if
unable to conduct them "without injuring
the lives of neutrals," the
note declares that persistence in
such measures under the clrcumitances
would constitute an unparionable
offense against the sovereignty
of the neutral nation affected.
The United States, it is further aslerted.
is "not unmindful of the extraordinary
conditions" created by
he present war and is "ready to
nake every reasonable allowance for
hese novel and unexpected aspects
>f war at sea," but cannot consent to
'abate any essential or fundamental
-Ight of its people because of a
nere alteration o| circumstances."
The not* says events of the
wo months clearly' Indicate that it
(Continued on Page Eight.>
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gz|m&Y
ITESDAY, JULYT7, 1915.
FIFTY SCORE DROWNED
I WHEN BOAT TURNS OVER
Excursion Steamer Turns Turtle
in River.
ALL CHICAGO SHOCKED.
? Projected Dny of Joy for Western
Electric Company Employee
Turned to One of Mourning.
Chicago, July 24.?Approximately
I 1.000 persons lost their lives in the
Chicago river today by the capsizing
> of the excursion steamer Eastland
while warping from its wharf with
i more than 2,400 employes of the
s Western Electric Company and their
relatives and friends on board,
' bound for a pleasure trip across
1 Lake Michigan.
After working ceaselessly all day
anu iar into me night, the bodies of
; j 842 victims of the catstrophe, most
> of them women and children, were
collected in temporary morgues and
> taken to the Second Regiment armory.
When these bodies had been
, tagged. Coroner Hoffman, taking
, into consideration estimates of bod?
ies thought to be in the hold of the
, ! steamer, lying on its side in the river
?' and in the stream itself, said he be;
lieved the total dead would not exceed
1,000.
The Eastland, said by marine ar.
1 chitects to have been top-heavy and
f ballasted In an uncertain manner,
f turned over within Ave minutes after
it began to list, pouring its gala past
sengers into the river or imprisoning
them fn- its submerged hull.
1 Every effort was made by thous5
ands of persons on the river wharf
iu rescue me drowning men, women
and children, but many went down
almost within graap of the river
bank. Mothers went to death, while
their children were snatched to
safety. Other children died In the
arms of their parents who finally
were saved. Hundreds of girls,
freed for a day from their tasks of
making telephones and other electrical
apparatus in the factory of the
Western Electric Company, dressed
in their smartest white frocks, were
drowned.
A pall of sorrow hung tonight over
the entire West Side of Chicago,
where the majority of the victims
i lived.
- ; Kolin avenue, a small street near
* the factory of the Western Electric
Company, was in universal mourning,
t Every house lost from one to sMl its
- occupants in the disaster. And many
1 of the resilents of th*s street tonight
- lay in the morgue or beneath the
1 steel hull of the Eastland, over which
1 searrhligsts shot their blinding glare,
5 i while hundreds of men searched for
more bodies.
J Efforts to discover the cause of the
5 accident were begun long before the
1 work of rescue was over. Federal
and county grand Juries were ordered,
a coroner's Jury was empaneled
' and all of the officers and crew of the
Eastland were arrested.
I
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... W. u.uviv, nv-v ir.ini y auu LI fttB.
urer of the St. Joseph-Chicago
Steamship Company, which owned
' the Eastland, built on I^ake Erie in
( 1903, and remodeled later, because
, top-heavy, it is said, was arrested to,'
night and locked up at a police sta(
tion. The steamer was leased by the
Indiana Transportation Company,
( I whose officers said they were not re,1
sponsible for the licensing of the
ship and did not control the crew.
SEARCH AT NIGHT.
Under Hie glare of search lights
i tonight scores of men worked in the
hull of the vessel to remove the bod,
les. The steamer lay on the bottom
of the river, one side protruding like
a monument to the hundreds it had
I .
drowned as It turned over.
The cause of the capsizing had not i
| been determined tonight, but federal
and state officers were conducting
investigations to determine whether
the ship was topheavy from faulty
designing, was improperly ballasted
or was poorly handled in leaving the
wharf.
Marine, architects asserted that
the Kastland was faulty in design;
that the top deck had been removed
because of the tendency of the ship
to list, and also pointed out the possibility
that the ship had been un;
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(Continued on Page Eight.)
WILSON SETTLES
IN SUMMER HOME
| Not a Vacation but a Period of Hard
Work on (iroup of Subjects He
Has Wanted to Study.
Cornish. N. H., July 24.?Freed
from the minor worries incident to
his official life in Washington, President
Wilson settled down here to a |
I period of hard work on a group of
J subjects which he has desired to
, study for some time. He arrived at
! Harlakenden house this afternoon '
for an indefinite stay.
The reports from Secretary Garrl- j
son and Secretary Daniels on nation- j
al defense which the President has
requested will not be placed before '
him until his return to Washington, i
but he plans to give preliminary consideration
to the subjects while here.
Mr. Wilson brought with him data
on the Mexican question and next ;
l week he will receive from Secretary j
Lansing the draft of the note to i
j Gfeat Britain protesting against in- 1
lerference with commerce between
i the United States and neutral nations
abroad, which has been under
, preparation for some time.
The President's object in coming
here at this time was described by
I him today in speaking to an admirer
at a station on the way.
i "I am not expecting a vacation,"
I he said, "but am coming to Cornish
for an uninterrupted opportunity for
| work."
SUBMARINE SENDS
FRENCH SHIP DOWN
In Waters Around British Isles Germany's
Undersea Boats Again
Become Active.
London, July 25.?German subma:
rines today resumed their activity in
1 Unglish waters, sinking a French
steamer and four British trawlers.
One undersoil hnat i?j
owuv 10 ic|iuntu IU
have been destroyed by bombs and
gunfire.
1 The French steamship Danae,
l Liverpool for Archangel, was sunk
off Cape Wrath, Scotland. The
trawlers Henry Charles, Kathleen,
Activity and Prosper were sent to
the bottom in the, North Sea. The |
| crews of all the vessels were saved. I
The Danae was attacked by two i
submarines. Crews of the trawlers 1
say one underwater craft was sunk
j by bombs and guns fired from the '
trawlers.
The Danae was a vessel of 1,505
gross tonnage and was 3 57 feet long,
35 feet beam, and drew 14 feet of
water.
Sunk in North Sea.
London, July 26.?The British
steamer Firth of Aberdeen, bound
from France for Firth of Forth, was
torpedoed today by a submarine in
the North Sea. Four of the crew
; were drowned by the explosion. The
vessel was of 406 tons.
The Grimsby trawler Perseus was
destroyed today by a mine. Her
crew of ten was killed.
i
PRESIDENT ORDERS PROBE.
Gets Assurance of Activity of Commerce
Department.
Cornish, N. H., July 25.?PresiI
dent Wilson today ordered that the
department of commerce investigate
thoroughly the sinking of the excur|
sion steamer Eastland in the Chicago
river with a loss of many hundreds
of lives. Acting Secretary Sweet of
the department sent the President
word that the cause of the disaster
u>o..1/l * ? * -? "
nvuiu uc luuAfu iiiiu una me rrefli- !
dent directed that nothing be left
undone to fix the responsibility.
( APT. OTIS P. Mil .I,S DEAD.
Prominent Mill Official nn<l fiti/cn
of Greenville.
| . Greenville Special to Charleston
News and Courier, July 24.?Capt.
Otis P. Mills, president and treasurer
of the Mills Manufacturing Company,
and one of Greenville's most prominent
citizens, died suddenly last
night at his summer home at Cedar
Mountain, N. C. The news of his
sudden demise reached the city late
last night and the entire town is
mourning his loss.
Dardanelles Bombardment.
Paris, July 27.?a Havas dispatch
from Athens says homhardment of
Turkish positions inside the Dardanelles
has continued for the past !
three days, the allies' object being to
destroy the enemy's positions on the
Asiatic shore.
IS.
.
$1.50 A YEAR.
AMERICAN RED CROSS
WILL WITHDRAW HELP
Organization Will a.it- *?
_ .. ? vnv u|i wont
on Foreign Battlefields.
FUNDS ARE RUNNING LOW.
CJeneral Fund Collected for the Work
Will Soon bo Exhausted?Service
Ijong and Efficient.
Washington, July 25.?American
Red Cross doctors and nurses will
be withdrawn October 1 from the
Kuropean battlefields because of lack
of funds to maintain them at their
stations.
The two units in Belgium, where
the greatest need exists, may be continued.
but the other 1 <1
. * ? uviavuuiOUll
will return to the United States. The
Serbian Sanitary Commission and
other work supported by special contribution
will go 011 as long as those
contributions are available, but the
general fund collected in the United
States, amounting to $1,560,000, will
be exhausted October 1.
"The American Red Cross by October
1 will have maintained its personnel
in each country a year with
the exception of the Belgian units
and the sanitary commission," says
the statement made public today by
Miss Mabel T. Boardman, chairman
of the Red Cross Relief Committee.
"The tour of duty required of each
surgeon and nurse does not exceed
six months so that a number have already
returned and substitutes been
sent. The cost of the transportation
of these surgeons and nurses makes
considerable financial demand upon
t llP- R Proco frooonwt.
. VOOIIIJ. 1 iiC IUMUIUIX
payroll is also a large item of expense
In view of these facts, and because
its funds are rapidly becoming exhausted
the American Red Cross has
decided by October 1 to withdraw the
personnel now In Europe; possibly
with the exception of the units In ?
Belgium. Much as it regrets this
necessity, it realizes that no Red
Cross of a neutral country ever before
rendered so long and extensive
service in the way of personnel to
nations negaged in war.
"The work of the American Red
Cross Sanitary Commission under
Or. Richard P. Strong, for which the
Rockefeller Foundation has made
generouB contributions, has been
most successful. The American minister
at Bucharest reports to the
state department that the epidemic
of typhus has been suppressed."
tu n-J ri -?*- - -
i nc neu tjross, ine report snows,
sent to the warring countries 367
persons engaged in humanitarian enterprises.
Of that number 71 were
surgeons and 253 nurses while 43
were members of the Serbian Sanitary
Commission. England, France,
Russia. Germany. Austro-Hungary,
Serbia and Belgium each received
one or more complete hospitals with,
doctors, nurses and other attendants
and with all necessary supplies and
equipment. Thousands of wounded'
and sick have been cared for. Financial
aid was sent also to hospitals
and other institutions in many countries
and supplies of bandages and
drugs ha'e been rushed to the war
zones by every steamer. The administrative
expenses of this undertaking
have already amounted to
411 ogi o rt si >*?? 4 - *
r. .,.v a, muu hud nanc ueeil paid Dy
the Red Cross itself, and not taken
from the fund contributed for reiief.
This report shows that the Red
Cross has sent into the war zone almost
1,000,000 pounds of cotton for
the hospitals, 82.000 yards of surgical
gauze, 65,000 yards of crinoline,
72,000 assorted bandages, 35,000
yards of adhesive plaster, 0,24 0
stretchers, 10,267 blankets and 19
motor ambulances for the Red CroRa
personnel. Besides great quantities
of various kinds of anti-toxins and
vaccine, disinfectants, surgical instruments
and anaesthetics and medicines,
there were four array field
hospital outfits, 50 army hospital
tents and 30 field medical tents.
Kle-rtrocution of Becker Postponed,
New York, July 26.?On Supreme
Court Justice Ford's request for
more time to consider the application
for a new trial made by Charles
Becker, under death sentence for instigating
the murder of Herman
Boaenthal, execution of the former
police lieutenant was postponel tonight
from Wednesday until FrMay.