Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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I Tl VOL. 11, No. 5& SEMI FEARFUL CONDITIONS v IN WITTENBURG WMF English Committee Describes German Treatment of British Prisoners as "Indescribable" CRUELTY IS NOTORIOUS U> 1U' vaui|i tillil HID irt'ilLment of prisoners and patients which the American ambassador, James W Gerard, in his report last Novembei said was "even more unfavorhah than I had been led to expect." According to the released officer^ there are 15,000 and sometime! more, prisoners in the camp, which the committee says "'s an enormou? population for so restricted an arer as 10 and a half nores. There wer? no proper heating arrangements am1 the men are Insufficiently clothed Rritlsh overcoats having been taker from them, their clothing being ir rags. Many had neither boots 01 porks. There was an insufficient sup plv of water and soap and Mtoi Priestly says he found the men 1r gaunt, of a peculiar gray palor anfl verminous." The supply of food was also In sufficient even In the hospital until supplies arrived.from England. "The only provision for persona cleanliness made for the men." say; the report, "was one cupful of soft soap Issued at Intervals of mant weeks to a room containing 120. Ir consequence, the men became In cieaslngly verminous, and the cond' tlon. coupled with cold and want, o proper nourishment, was undoubted ly the principal Inducing cause ol the epidemic." The epidemic hroke out In Decern ber. 1014. "Thereupon." says th< report, "the Oerman staff, mlUtan and medical, precipitately left th? A camp, and thenceforth, until August 1015, no communication was heir between prisoners and their guard! except by means of directions shout ed from guards or officers remaining outside the wire entanglements. "All supplies for the men wer< puahed Into the camp over chutes and no medical attention during the whole time was provided by th< Herman staff." Capt. I^auder reports that while lr the bungalows there was normal!] one mattress for three men. In ttu improvised hospital there were n< mattresses at all. rw?j in nim|ii(ni "In consequence," he *ay*. "then were man/ typhu* patient* scattered OT?r the compound* who were deter mined not to come into the hoapita If they could help it." In one compound, he found 50 hidden caaea of typhu* in the Aral month. The food rat'on for cart patient wa* a haif petit pain (roll) and a half cup of milk a day. Thf only aoup obtainable came from th< camp kitchen and a* it was brouahl In open wooden tub* it was full ol duet and dirt. < "la truth," *ay* the committee'! report, "the ratipn wa* not a ratlot at all. It waa a preten*#. It waa noi Appearance of Typliu? Caused Cup tors to Flee In Terror. Officer* Bring Tragic Story. The Government committee on 4 the treatment In Germany of 4 4? British prisoners of war, of 4 which Mr. Justice Younger is 4 chairman, has Issued a report 4 characterizing as "indescribable 4 the conditions prevailing in the 4 Wlttenburg camp during the ty- 4 pus epidemic of last year. The 4 epidemic broke out Dec. 1915. 4 London, April 9.?The report i! based on Information from prisoners and especially from Maj. Priestley. Capt. Vidal a?d Capt. Lauder ol the army medical corps, who wer? sent to the-camp shortly after lh? outbreak of the epedomic, and whc were recently released from Oer many. The three officers mentioned are the only survivors of six Brlt'sli doctors sent to the Wlttcnburg cajnr by the Germans "to take up" says 4 the report, "the place of duty almn oned by their own medical staff wher ihe presence of typhus manifesterl Itself." The records of the edidemic kepi by the British officers wero taken but the report gives In detail th< IE Li WEEKLY. ' OKLAHOMA MOB LYNCHES NEGRO ^ Slayer of Policeman Shot t< Death 5 RIDDLED BY BULLETS I ; ll<nly Was Tied to Automobile antl DiflRged Through the Streets ot i the Town. Daw ton, Okla., April 9.?Curl Dud * ley, a negro, charged with haviut; shot and fatallv wnundinc .lampi 1 Hayes, a policeman, was taken from ' the Commanche county jail here lnt* * to-night by a mob of several bunk dred men and shot to death in thf * prison yard. After the negro's bod> '. had been riddled with bullets it waf kjtied to nn automobile and dragged through the streets. None of thf ' niob was masked. One bystader waf j slightly, wounded in the fusillade in ' (the jail yard. ' J Hayes was shot and wounded whih ' | attempting to arrest the negro here j yesterday on a charge of disturbing ' the peace. The officer died this - morning. J Dudley was captured shortly at"^ ter the shooting and hurried to tin | army post at Fort Sill for oafekeep ! inc. After holding the negro ovci ! night, army officers returned him to the county authorities this morning . The mob formed quickly to-night I'and. gaining entrance to the quar( tors of the sheriff at the Jail, over ( powered him and took the negro j from his cell. At midnight the mob was dispcrs , Ing and no other disorder was antlI clpated. Shots fired In a negro settlement . shortly after the lynching gave rise to fears of a possible race clash [ Officers who luirrled to the seen* found a negro hiding In an alley ( armed with a rifle. He was arrested. [ even possible to give the patients warm water with their milk." Four British doctors were Infected and three died. It was then that MnJ. Priestley and Capt. Vidal went ' to the hospital to Join Capt. Txuider, who was down with typhus. MaJ. ' j Priestley says that the patients, aliv^ I with vermin, lay so close to one an) I I other on the floor that he had to strand stradle-leg across them eo ex ' amine them. 1 There were other conditions that 1 are indescriable. Theie was dlfficulty in getting sufficient drugs and dressings for a long time and extreme bed sores were common. In ' several rases the toes of the whole foot became tranerennus Tbo wnnh j iiR of patients was out of the que*I i tlon until a supply of soap was oh tained from England. I Dr. Aschenbach who was in charge of the hospital and who, the committee understands, received the ron cross for combating the epidemic, only paid one visit to the camp, accorlng to the report and that after some order was evolved. Sixty deaths occured among the British and the victims were burled outside the ' c. mp. | "What the prisoners found hardesr 1 to bear In the matter of burial," says itbe report, "were the Jeers with r [ which coffins were frequently greeted I by the Inhabitants of Wlttenburg who stood outside the wires and wore j permitted to Insult the dead." After the middle of April the conditions commenced to Improve and ^ with the arrival of warm weather the cases rapidly decreased and by the middle of May all the Britlah were , convalescent. Adequate provision ' j was made to deal with any future i outbreaks Improvements being effected as a result of the visit of Ambassador Gerard and members of bis J staff. The committee condemn the retention of I)r. Aschenbach as head of the camp, and a* evidence of his attitude , cite an Incident. When one of his (Staff reported the request of Capt j.I-auder for medical requisites, the I curtly' refused the request with the . words: "Schwelne Englander." I The report continues: "The cruel ty of the adminstration of the Wlt tenburg ramp became notorious. 8avI aire dogs were habitually employed i to terrorise the prisoners; flogging i with ? rubber whip was frequent. > Men were struck with little or no > provocation and tied to posts with r hands above their heads for hour*, r "Capt. Lauder reports that many of these men went so far as to look i upon the typhus, with all Its terrors i as a Godsend. They preferred It to t the presence of Oerman guards." \NCA LANCASTER, S. C READY FORFIGHT J OHATTLESHIPS , J Naval Appropriation Bill Heing Framed by Hou^e Naval Subi Committee r I j PLAN FOR MUCH SPEED J Scout Cruisers of Newest Type Will He Able to Travel at Hnpid Pace and Consume Ie?s Coal. i J ' Washington, Apr'l !>.?The house s naval subcommittee on appropria tions begin to-morrow framing the i naval appropriation bill which ln1 eludes the adminstratlon's half bil lion dollar five vear programme for ; new fighting ships. Chairman Padi gett hopes to lay the completed moassure before the house by April 25. .. The big fight is expected to come > 1 over the 1017 programme for capl;' tal ships. Secretary Daniels has i' recommended the authorisation of 1 two dreadnoughts and two battlel cruisers. The navy general board > contended for three battleships anl four battlecruisers. Present indications are that the i' subcommittee will recommend two ! battleships ad four battlecruisers. At the navy department work on j the designs of the new ships has 1 progressed rapidly. Plans for the i j battleships, large and ?mall sub1 marines, destroyers, gunboats hospital ships and ammunition ships are . virtually completed and it will take only a few weeks after appropriation for the vessels Is made to lay >j specifications before private builders. Plans for the battlecruisers and scout > cruisers are also under way but will > take some time to complete. An Illustration of the problems involved j became known to-day In regard to i designs for the scout cruisers, Th^ i general board fixed 32 knots as the ! minimum speed for these eyes of the fleet. Since designers began planfining the ships, however, they have hit upon a way to produce 3f> knot craft of enormous cruising radius. ' As now planned the scouts will far outclass anything ever contemplated 1 by any naval power. Consume Iioss Coal. The scouts will employ geared steam turbines, the system at present l installed In the most successful destroyers, which has been found best adapted to craft smaller than battlecruisers for which exceutional speed is desired. At cruising speed, howlever. these engines will develop less than 2 per cent, of their horse power although their consumption of coal Is enormous. i To meet this problem it is planned to equip the scouts with light power i electric drive for cruising, the high ,'power turbine plants being idle until they are needed for a swift dash. The 1017 destroyers also will he i of 35 knot speed instead of 32. the ' present standard. The whole question of speed has undergone a complete change in the departmental engineer'ng bureau., i in the last few months. The stan i dard long maintained hv the engine i designers was that they could pro vide horsepower in the ratio of 20 horsepower to the too engine weight. This was far below the figure set by Hritlsli and other foreign engine dci'Mgners uiul partly amounts for th<> i! slower soeed of Aniorlcftn battle > craft. Tho figure was raised to 3d > horsepower a ton some months ago. i and recently the possibility of 4 5 > horsepower per ton has been said to he possible through new engine tie* I signers. With the decision to Ini stall electric propulsion on battleships soon to be laid down, half a knot was added to their speed. They - will make 21 knots under normal ' conditions, despite the fact that they i will carry proportionately greater armor and underwater protect* on thnn any previous ships Offer Greater Defense. After long deliberation and much | study and experimental maneuvrlng at tne naval war college. It has jbeen determined that the additional . knot or so which foreign heavy ahip^ l.aay have does not effect the battle efficiency of the squadron a? corui pared to American craft. The additional cririalng radio* and armor of the American ships has been shown to more than offpet the speed difference. Enflrineerlr* officers of the navy ? believe that delay In the eonstmcfContinued on Page 81 STER A P1IIL 11. 1916 VOTERS TO CHOOSE nncnMcc cnri; ULLLUtt ILO OUUil County Conventions Assemble in Various County Seats May 1 to felect Delegates STATE CONVENTION MAY 17 ! Rarli County Untitled to Twice a> Many Delegates As It Has Representatives in General Assetnlilly. ! Columbia, April 10.?In accor-j j dance with the direct primary law passed by the general assembly at, its session in 1915 the democratic i voters of South Carolina will meet j In their respective club places on or j before the fourth Saturady In April and elect delegates to the county conventions, which assemble in the I xiiiwin uouiny seais on tne Tirst I Monday In May. The clubs will elo?t ' officers and one delegate to the county convention for every twenty-five ! voters or fraction thereof, based upon the number of votes polled in jtho last primary of 1914. ! The clubs will also elect a member to represent them on the county democratic executive committee. The rules governing the democrat- J i ic party as drawn up at the state I convention in 1914 were enacted into law at 1 ho session of the general as-; seniblv in 1915. This puts it beyond the power of the coming state con-! ' venttor to amend or modify the ex-1 isting provisions of the present rules j and regulations of the party. How-1 j ever, it does not preclude adopting : rules and regulations which are not i 'n conflict with the statute law. 1'rincipal Features The principal features of the law governing organization of the clubs' for the primaries every two years j provide that each voter must sign) his full name on the club rolls. Tin j personal endorsement provision is1 I considered nnp of the strongest safe . guards of the primary, and although its adoption created strong opositlon.j it is now an accepted principle of th>' party and its wisdom was justified in its workings two years ago. The county conventions will meet at noon on the first Monday in May, j at the various county seats and ori sranize. elect the county chairman. choose delegates to the state conven i tion and elect a member of the state democratic, executive committee. The county conventions will also transact: such other matters as might be of interest to the various counties. Kaeh county is entitled to twic i as many delegates as It has representatives in the general assembly. I The democratic state convention will meet in the hall of the house of representatives at noon on Wednesday, May 17. It will he called to order by John Gary Evans, chairman j of the state democratic executive i committee. The convention will l>o' 1 -on)posed of 3:16 delegates. ItusineNs of Convention The main business before the con ; vontinn wtll l>n * .. < ICI UIJII U1 1UUI delegates at large to the national (le- j mooratlc convention In St. Louis, the election of a member of the national democratic executive committee, a position now held by United States Senator H. It. Tillman, the election of a i state chairman, now held hy former I Governor John Gary Bvana. and the; ; making of such rules and regulations J governing the party primaries and ' the conduct of the campaign as it may see fit. The delegates from the various' ! congressional districts will caucus during the day and elect two dele-' ! gates front each district to the St ; Louis convention. This will give South Carolina 18 votes in the national democratic gathering. The fight to abolish the countyto-county canvass of the candidates will he one of the malr ? ??n uft(sin j to come before the state convention. If the canvaas is not abolished ther<> |is every reason that It will he safeguarded and amended. Completion of "Itln Four" The complexion of the "Rig Four" to St. liouis Is beginning to attract some attention. It is customary to! send tho two United States sena-, tors and the governor. The names of Senators Tiliuan and Smith, Gov- i ernor Manning, former Governor John Gary Evans, State Warehouse Commissioner John L. McLaurin, former Governor Cole L. Blease, Chris- j tie Benet. Senator Allan Johnatone. New SILENT SUNDAY I FOR WASHINGTON 1 No Dispatches From Force in Mexico OPTIMISM FOR BAKER i Secretary of War ami Other Officials Have High Hope* for in < apturing Villa. Washington, April j.? Sun .ay brought no dispatches to break the silence of several days regarding the operations of the American expedi tion In Mexico. Nevertheless Secretary Baker to-night reiterated hi* ptimism for early success of 1W bunt for Villa. ' Lack of news since last Tuesday had not shaken officials' hope. Th> i last Information to the war department was that the advance column1 apparently had located Villa and a considerable portion of hi* command near Saltevo. Th?- war department has been ?'?dvisod. it was learned definitely tonight, that the Thirteenth cavalry commanded by Col. Siocum. the vietlms cf Villa's raid upon Columbus, just r month aeo to-day, i= al th?front of the troops pursuing Villa. Secretary Baker said to-dny that a" far as ho knew consideration wac ? I not beine given to removal of the American border base from Columbus to Presidio. Texa^, as reported from the border. Purine this week liie war depart- ( itifnt hopes m send one or t' ne , aeroplanes to Gen. Funston Less than the average sick rat' for field service has been reported. Gen. Funston reported 'O the. wai department to-night the arrival at ( Gasas Orandes of an adequate quan , tity of hay. oats, food supplies and gasoline Secretary Raker said: t "This indicates that the general problem of provisioning the troop? has apparently been relieved.'' <i.\ I'l'MKl KM'HKnX \tiHNT SHOT IN \HM | .1. ii. liiiicc \Y<iiiikI- (lii' iid' ? !.?> i iftcr \ Recent ion Pvcr >lii|nti<'ii' Gaff ne>. S. <' . April 1 .1 11 Buice, and Glarenee Gr o . loiai ?-v. pre s agent hid an .?lt? s Pen lat< yesterday aft< moot. at the expres office ovt ; the sldpment of srm fowls, and Gray was sho' in the left arm by Bulce. Knit e.la:n.? that i Gray was advancing on him with knife, although it is said that tvi? statement will not be borne out by those who witnessed the difficulty Ruice snent the niuOit : mti ?.>.i is now out on bail. Gray was at hi?| place of business this morning i I though his wound w paining him i XKO.ooo Tt > IMPItOVK ( II tmiXKiN HAItHOK \cccptcd i>- I'art <>f tin* \ |ip' opr ia- , lion HI1L I Washington. April 10.?Eiahty i thousand dollars for th? improv? l ment of Charleston harbor. $70,)'.)0: of which i-- for improving tiu rhan-: nei of the sea. and $10,000 for Ash ! ley liter, together with the *1,000,OOrt for the Norfolk-Heaufort nland waterway project, were accepted as part of the annua) river- and harbors appiopriation bill in the house. Rep 1 reaentatlve Fear, of Wisconsin, fought the measure throughout th<-: session. i Congressman Lever, It. Goodwyni. t\iit*iit iii v jiiiruMun, presitieni 01 111k ; Chamber of Commerce of the United j States; Solicitor Robert A. Cooper, i former CJovernor M. F. Ansel. ar?' anions those mentioned for the do-11 legates at large to the national d'mo-'i cratic convention. !; South Carolina will undoubtedly < instruct for President, Woodrow Wil-ji son, and his administration will beji heartily endorsed by the Palnietto|< democrats. As this was one of then original Wilson states the South Car-j Mifia i?I11 V. ^ ?t -t umin uriliuviuin Will ue K1V?U i! JJia<? < of honor at St. Louis. i With the club meetings only two , weeks oft' .general apathy on the part < of lb* people .? the outstanding fea- , tnro if the general situation. The ( IntHffereace has never been moie no- , ticearilt, and it seema now as if the i orgs' i/.ailon of the clubs and the convention will be purely forma) affairs and there will be an entire avoidance of anything: like factional contests or partisan TooeedIn** i "V. . " /s $1.50 A YEAR. GERMANY'S DISCLAIMER j PROVES INSUFFICIENT I'nitod States Not Satisfied With Denial in Dace of Accumulated Evidence IN OPPOSITE DIRECTION Wilson and f tnsing Still Awaiting Otticial In formation on Which to [law Action. 4 Investipatlon of recent attacks 4 4 upon unarmed merchant vessels 4 4 carrying Americans has devel- 4 ? oped such a convincing array * f of evidence pointing to illegal 4 4 submarine operations tliat the 4 4 TTnited States government has 4 4 determined that the grave situ- 4 4 ntion cannot be cleared up by 4 4 . g responsibility. 4 4 + 44 + 4 + 4 + 444444 Washington, April 10.?Germany'.? not" denying that a German submarine torpedoed tb<- English channel steamer Sussex and disclaiming blame for attacks on other ships Inquired ;'bo'>t by American Ambassador Gerar.l, dees not satisfy the United States. The new- that Ambassador Gerird would be handed the German disclaimer ha *>eon forecast in press reports, ad to-day's rnnounceinent that he would receive the note to dgh? - to-morrow did not cause surprise. President Wilson and Secretory Lansing sMll are waiting both for the ommunle.atirn from Tlerlin and [or more information from other sources. Much Importance is attached affidavits and evidence gathered dv toe American embassy at Paris, tnd due to reach New York Thursday on the liner St. Paul. Probably the German note and ali lata ru'pded for determination of the position of the United States will be in hand in time for Flrday's cabinet meeting. Until then no announcement of attitude is expected. That -onto definite action will follow < "aptly i- fre. 'y admitted. 111 f i ?TF'\ir't FXAPKS r-BO.Vl Miirs-.ih-- \pril 8.?The larirFrench -=ten r Colbert was shelle-1 without warnlnR, it "s stated, hy a subnv no in ihe Mediterranean. She under a full head of steam at the time and escaped by superior speed. At the same time her wireliss earned other ships of the suborine's presence. i i imis daughter DEAD IN PATCH OF WOODS liba<tl> Discovery Made by C. H. Darin . nl' Fork Shoals Section. Mi;s i>or;i Darby, the 26 year-old riauplit'-: and only child of C. II. Dnliv, i well-to-do farmer of Fork Shoals sect on of Greenville county, v a- found dead in a lonely patch of woode about two miles from her father's home last Friday. The discovery was made by the girl's father, who had become anxious v<7 her disaimearanee from home, and had set out to look for v* her. Dazed at his discovery, th* father knelt over the deathly pale face of the young woman, and tried to revive her, but she had evidently been dead some hours. The young woman, who is popularly known in that section, was last seen during the morning, when she appeared in her usual cheerful mood, and no member of the family suspected the dark future. By the side of the young woman's k,,<a,- ?~ - i ?'? - mm invrsiiganon nnwpd, lay in empty vial, labelled "carbolic Kid.'* The young woman's lips ivere slightly scorched, according to reports from police officers of that lection, and all Indications seemed to ihow that the young v oman had voluntarily taken her own life. The motive for the deed is an absolute mystery. The father of the ronng woman, say the Pelzer police, an offer no explanation as to why ihe should have taken her own life, ?nd no note or menage, so far as can nc found, was left to give anv imitive tor the young woman* deterin nation to end her life, fh?- Pelzer officers, according to information from that place Saturday. are Investigating the case, hut up to a late hour, had been able to furnish little additional information. >' . *,]