The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, November 09, 1917, Image 1
I Abbeville Press and Banner
Eitablished 1844. $1.50 the Year ABBEVILLE, S. C., FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9,1917. Single Copies, Five Cents. 76th Year
(CANADIANS CAPTURE
IMPORTANT POSlIi
CANADIANS GAIN IMPORTANT
PRIZE
Allies Secure Firm Footing or
? -* D.mnlnn
I. OI ?IJU>9
Northeast for Miles.
FASSCHENDAELE CAPTURED.
London, Nov. 6.?The town o
Passehendaele, lying northeast 0
Ypres, has been captured by th<
British forces, according to the of
communication issued tonight.
' %
Canadian Headquarters in France
Not. 6. (by Canadian Press, Limit
ed) .?Possession of Passchendaele
dominating Roulers and Rouler
Plain, gives the allied forces a firn
footing on the series of great spur
extending from Gheluvelt on thi
south, including Bellevue Spur, am
Passchendaele Ridge running north
oast for miles. Its capture marks J
great triumph in the long struggle
to win this higher ground. The al
lies now have the advantage of posi
tioa in the salient and have relegat
d the enemy to the lower levels
dominated by our guns.
iBOwing too well the vital neces
sity of maintaining the Passchen
daele position secure, von Hinden
burg, after the successful Canadiai
advance on Belevue Spur and th<
capture of Great Farm and Meet
ckeele, issued a special army orde
ommanding that rasscnenaaen
should be held at all costs and if los
Must be retaken. For days the en
amy had been rushing up guns an<
new formations of troops to insuri
his hold on the position. His effort
proved unavailing. The enemy's bes
troops have given ground before oui
forces who have moved steadily to
ward their objectives since the be
ginning of the Passchendaeie opera
tions, October 25. At 6 o'clocl
this morning our guns opened a tre
mendous barrage fire, and two min
utes later men from Manitoba, Sas
katchewan, Alberta and Western an<
Eastern Ontario were out of thei:
shell holes and temoprary mud wal
trenches in an advance which by 7:3<
o'clock had carried them beyonc
their objectives. It was an artillery
machine battle. For an hour and :
half our guns were never silent.
Protected by splendid barrage, ou
infantry moved slowly forward whili
our counter batteries dominated thi
enemy's guns and swept his assem
bled artillery positions with thei:
fee. Details of the fighting are no
yet to hand, but our forces on th<
right plunging towards Passchen
daele have advanced well beyon<
the ruined village, overcoming th(
fortified enemy shell holes and con
crete strong points in advance an<
eapturing numerous machine gui
positions.
QUARTERMASTER AT CAMP
SEVIER IS ARRESTED ON
ON EMBEZZLEMENT CHARGI
Admits Shortage in a Statement Is
tied Wednesday?Explains by Say
inf No Vouchers Were Issued
Raleigh, N. C., Nov. 7.?Majo:
George L. Peterson, of the quarter
master staff of the. Thirtieth Divi
sion at Camp Sevier, Greenville, S
C., was arrested Tuesday nigh
charged with the embezzlement o
$7,600 of State funds while pay
master general of the North Caro
lma Guard.
T? - * 4- X. 3 U
in it sigiicu statement luuuy u<
admitted the shortage, but said tha
it was due to disbursements properl;
made for which no vouchers wen
issued.
S.
V COTTON MARKET
V Cotton .28
V Seed $1.12%
%
BRITISH MAKES |
I IMPORTANT GAIN!
. BRITISH TAKE GAZA AND
TURK DEFENSES
i Roulers Bombarded and Passchendaele
Held By Gen.
Main's Force.
London, Nov. 7.?Capture of Gaza
f by General Allenby's expeditionary
f army in Palestine was formally ane
nounced today.
The British have made an advance
of nine miles, carrying the whole
Turkish system of defenses in this
, region and capturing two towns in
. addition to Gaza.
I
s The new British offensive in Palt
estine, which is being prosecuted vigs:
orously now that the oppressive heat
3 of the summer season no longer
j causes enforced inactivity, is being
developed along a front extending
j eastward from the Mediterranean
s coast. Gaza is thirty miles north of
_ i the Egyptian border, near the coast, j
It is about thirty miles southwest of
Beersheba, which the British captured
a few days ago, and fifty miles
southwest of Jerusalem.
British Bombard Routers, Key to
U-Boat Bases.
j (By William Phillip Simms.)
With the British Armies in Flane
I j
I ders, Nov. 7.?British artillery to-1
: day. was bombarding Roulers, key to
r {
i the German line of communications
3'
11 to the coastal submarine bases.
J Capture of Passchendaele in yes-j
j; terday's great push brought the
3! British lines to within five miles of
.! the railroad center.
t! From behind the lines, British
pi heavy guns immediately began their
-I pulverizing of Roulers. The bom-i
bardment was unceasing today.
i
Capture of Passchendaele and
< neighboring villages puts the British'
- on the very top of the Passchendaele j
-j (Continued on Page 6)
:! i
3 FOLLOWERS OF VILLA
r MURDER AND PILLAGE,'
1 ?
^ j One Hundred and Twenty-five Sol-1
! diers and Passengers Killed on !
Mexican Train, Which Was
1: Completely Wrecked By Dynamite
Placed By Bandits.
ri
e| Juarez, Mex., Nov. 7.?With blood
e i stained floors, shattered windows and
"j coaches crowded with frightened
ri Mexican men, women and children,
. i '
^who were shivering half naked in!
31 the bullet broken seats, the Mexican |
"i Central passenger train which wasj
*j attacked by Villa followers at Aman-'
-1 deriz station bunday, arrived nere j
"[last night. One hundred and twen-]
V'ty-five soldiers and passengers were!
1 j killed on the train. The peon pasi
sengers were still so badly frighten|
ed they could only tell disconnected
J stories of what occurred Sunday
[ morning on the desert 50 miles south;
- of Chihuahua City. The locomotive
and two cars were completely wreck-ed
by the dynamite which had been
; placed on the track. The 60 train!
[ guards from the federal garrison at
I Torreon were either killed during the
r dtuiciv UI CACLUICU dUUIl ailCl. XJVCXJ,
-!one on the train was robbed and
' I
.'made to disrobe, even the clothing
j of the women and children having1
tj been taken by the Villa followers fori
f the bandit followers.
The messenger for a large Ameri-j
- can company in Mexico is missing I
land the $100,000 worth of silverj
e i bull'on which he was bringing to the ;
t! border is also missing. The express |
yI messenger was killed as was the;
ej train conductor and other railroad i
I empjuvcta, tue ni^uic ticvr lu^ui^ !
their lives when tne engine was!
k, j blown uj
Villa'* men fir?d vci'.cy after volley
into the train killhij many
j guards -i^id passenger*?. They then
(Continued on Page 6)
A GLANCE OVER
THE COUNTRY
AUAnv i"rr*?o nr ilUTrnPOT
onun i i i cmo ur 111 i cn?
The News In Condensed Form
to Be Read Easily By the
Busy Reader.
In Raleigh a burglar choked a four
months old baby to death to prevent
it from crying out.
A boy age twenty, walked 119
miles to enlist in Kansas but was
turned down on account of a defective
heart.
The first woman mail carrier was
put in service in Washington this
week. Shortage of men forced the J
move.
Siamese Twin girls are going to
be separated by an operation. It
is hoped that it will be successful.
X-ray examinations show that they
are entirely separate in every way
except the flesh wall that joins them.
Atlanta is going to get all of the
personal tax money. An ordinance
passed by the city council makes it
necessary to give in the name of every
man over 21 and if anyone employs
a person over 21 it has to be
given in.
PREPARE BURIAL FOR U. S.
TROOPS SLAIN BY TEUTON
Wounded Men Tell How Large German
Force Overpowered Them in
Small Trench Cut Off by Barrage.
With the American Army at thej
Front in France, Nov. ?They are
making ready to bury in the hallowed
soil of France the first American'
soldiers to fight and die to make the
world safe for democracy.
Three of them died, four others:
sustained wounds, and thirteen are
somewhere behind the German lines
in this first encounter?and today
every man is making ready for the
battle line warded to them the su-i
preme .ommendation that in their j
fight thty sustained the best tradi-j
tions of vhe American army.
They were outnumbered, this little [
detachment of soldiers. The fact that
they fought against overwhelming!
odds and were irretrievably cut off I
from reinforcements did not deter;
them in striking back with all their j
power.
In the narrow trenches, where'
there was no room for rifle shots,;
the Americans fought with their i
clubbed guns, their bayonets, their
trench knives, their intrenching
spades?even their hands. Flares,
and the sudden glare of exploding;
shells showed occasional rapid pic-1
tures of struggling groups?one on
two American soldiers surrounded
by a solid mass of Germans, a;
whirling maelstrom of arms and
hands and kicking feet, flashing;
bayonets, shouts, muffled yells and
the sound of pain wrung from the|
wounded.
!
This was the story as survivors'
told it. The Americans did not have,
a chance against overpoweringly su-j
perior masses of the enemy. The
fact that they didn't have a chance!
didn't make them stop fighting, how-:
ever, until they had literally been1
smothered under the Germans.
.
The small American detachment
was in a front line trench. The usu-,
al desultory fire suddenly rolled to;
an intense rumble. The enemy puts;
down a heavy barrage of shells com-,
pletely round the single unit. Then!
a big party of Germans?American j
wounded estimate them at 210 in)
all?suddenly swarmed over.
"Shock Troops" Attack.
The German raiding party was!
composed of picked and veteran!
"shock troops"?specialists in attack.
They charged over in a powerful
rush. The American troops had |
just entered this particular bit of |
trench. They fought back like wild |
cats until literally smothered in the!
weight of the superior attacking,
forces. Then the Germans scurried
back to their own lines, dragging!
their own dead and wounded with'
them, together with their American
(Continued on Page 6)
ITALIAN ARMIES
nniiTiiiiirn nrroriT
UUlilmUto KIllKml
ITALIANS STILL RETREAT
Forces of Cadorna Continue
Their Retreat From Banks
of Tagliamento.
The Italian armies an; continuing
their retreat eastward over the Venetian
plain from the Tagliamento
River and southward from the Dolomites
and Carnic Alps region toward
the plain. The retreat is declared
by the Italian wair office to be
an orderly one, with the rear guards
on both fighting fronts holding back
the enemy and with airplanes playing
an important part in harrassing
the invaders, destroying bridges that
have been thrown over the Tagliamento
and bombing troops trying
to cross the streams.
Although the Berlin official communication
asserts the Germans
have reached the Livenza River on
the Venetian plains along which it
had been expected General Cadorna
would fight a retarding action, it is
believed that is only in the certter,
and that the greater portion of General
von Bulows forces still is negotiating
the passage of the Taglianento
or working its way westward over
the flat country harassed by the
Italian cavalary.
There has been no indication as
to where theline of Italians retreating
from the hills southward has
reached. I for is there any infoi-mation
conceriing where General Cadorna,
Enforced by the British and
French, will make his stand, but the
belief still prevails that the Plave
River will be chosen for this purpose.
That aid by the allies is required
?and in no stinted measure?has
bef'n asserted in semi-official quarters
in Rome.* The Teutons are declared
to- have staked everything on
their attempt to crush Italy and the
allies must rush up assistance with
the utmost speed if Cadorna is to
check the enemy.
GREAT CAMPAIGN
FOR INSURANCE
Soldiers and Sailors to Buy Policies
A ? i D-?_.
t f vi j l.utt ivaioo.
Washington, Nov. 6.?The greatest
insurance selling campaign in
history will be undertaken soon by
the government to induce every sailor
and soldier to buy life insurance
provided at low rates under the recent
act of congress.
Thousands of insurance agents
and other public spirited citizens will
be enlisted in the government to
preach the gospel of government life
insurance among civilian populations,
on the theorv that pressure from
home will be necessary to persuade
many soldiers to subscribe and that
most of America's future soldiers
still are civilians.
Secretary McAdoo on his return
to Washington tomorow from a va-i
cation will decide whether the na-|
tionwide campaign can be directed j
legally by the treasury's war risk i.i-1
surance bureau which has charge ofj
administration of the insurance. If
he decides the bureau's function'
should be limited to operating the in-l
surance machinery the solicitation!
probably will be turnud over to at
committee of leadnig citizens withj
headquarters in Washington. Thej
war department will have exclusive;
charge of distributing application j
blanks within camps and arranging j
meetings of soldiers to hear exposition
of the government insurance'
Lchc-me.
About 20,000 applications for insurance
hnvj ' cen rteaveJ mainly
from the Rain'>o%7 Division of Na
tional Guardsmen.
Target practice will commence atj
Camp Sevier about the 15th of this
month. Practice will be started* with
rifles only, but machine gun firing
\rill be started at an early date.
JAPAN IS WITH
THE UNITED STATES
AGREEMENT WITH JAPAN
BIG EVENT OF WAR
Effect Expected to Be Far
Reaching Upon Future Developments
in Far East.
Washington, Nov. 7.?Formal announcement
today of the agreement
between the United States and Japan
in regard to Chip a was greeted
in diplomatic and official circles as
one of the momentous events of the
war period. Its effect is expected to
be far reaching both upon future
developments in the Far East and
upon the prosecution of the war
against Germany. In addition to
the notes exchanged between Secretary
Lansing and Viscount Ishii, the
special Japanese ambassador, recording
an agreement recognizing
special interest in China, guaranteeing
theindependence and territorial
integrity of China and reaffirming
the "open door" policy, it is announced
that a satisfactory understanding
has been reached as a military,
naval and economic cooperation
Informally it is expected that this
agreement is in no sense an application
of the Monroe Doctrine to the
Orient, but instead is rather an
application of the Pan-American
doctrine of "hands off." It does not
alter the Root-Takkahira "open
door" agreement in any way, though
it supplements it.
In differentiating between the Monroe
Doctrine and Pan-Americanism,
officials said the former was distinctly
a national policy while the latter
was altruistic and international.
No intimation was given as to
what would be considered the "special
interest"*of Japan, but the comI
?<> ? r* s-v iiTrt tA ??n in n iiri 4-Vi 4-l-? AW
| panauii wa^ uiawu WILII UIC puaiiiwiii
] of the United States as regards Mex-|
I ico. The text of the notes has been!
i communicated to China through the j
(Continued on Page 6)
AMERICAN PATROL
SUNK BY SUBMARINE
i
1 Alcedo Torpedoed By Germans in
War Zone?One Officer and 20
Enlisted Men Unaccounted For
i
Two Having Nearest Rela*
tives in South Carolina.
Washington, Nov. 7.?The Ameri-;
can patrol boat Alcedo was torpedoed:
and sunk by a German submarine in;
the war zone early Monday morning
and one officer and 20 enlisted menj
| are unaccounted for. The Alcedo,1
la converted yacht, carried a crew of;
j seven officers and 85 men.
The navy department announced
; the disaster tonight in this state-'
ment:
"The navy department has been
i advised by Vice Admiral Sims that
j at 1:30 a. m., November 5, the
American patrol boat Alcedo, a con-;
verted yacht, was torpedoed and
sunk by a German submarine in the
war zone. One officer and 20 men
are missing. The ship/sank in four
minutes after being struck. Several
vessels were searching for possible
survivors at the time the report was
made. The Alcedo carried a crew
of seven officers and 85 men."
The Alcedo is the first American
war vessel to go down in the war. ;
The destroyer Crossin on patrol duty
was torpedoed recently but she made '
port safely with the loss of only one |
man. No details of the engagement j
were given in the brief dispatch an- ,
+Vi a tro nVi f'c 1 app
IIU UIH-iIIg W1C jravub O IVdOt 1
The list anounced by the navy ]
department as follows: i
Lieut. (Junior) John T. Melvin,
father Bishop Stewart Melvin of '
Selma, Ala.
E. R. Gozzett, seaman, mother,'
Mrs. A. G. Gozzett, Astoria, L. I. ;
James J. Cleary, seaman, mother,!1
Mrs. Albertina Cleary, White Plains 1
N. Y.
i
(Continued on Page 6)
SECOND LOAN
OVERSUBSCRIBED
SECOND LIBERTY BOND 18
OVERSUBSCRIBED
Subscriptions $4,617,532,300,
Only $383,000,000 Less
Than Maximum.
Washington, Nov. 7.?Americans
responded to the call for a second
Liberty war loan by subscribing
$4,617,532,300, an oversubscription
by 5_ per cent of the $3,000,000,000
asked, and only $383,000,000 less
than the $5,000,000,000 maximum
fixed by the treasury.
i _ J. _ * ' ?
xauuiaiions completed tonigiu, 11
days after the close of the nationwide
bond selling campaign, showed
that every federal reserve district
exceeded its quota and 9,400,000
person subscribed in the big war financing
operation, which Secretary
McAdoo described as the greatest
ever attempted by any government.
Half of the over subscribed sum
will be accepted making the actual
total of bonds to be issued $3,808,766,150.
Ninety-nine per cent of
90 per cent allowance on subscriptions
between $50,000 and $100,000
to 40 per cent for the largest single
subscription of $50,000,000.
"The success of the second Liberty
loan, like that of the first, is a
distinct triumph for the people of
the United States," said Secretary
McAdoo, announcing the loan results
tonight. "It not only demonstrated
their ability, patriotism and '
resources but augurs the certain
success of any future loans that may
be offered by the government."
The secretary added a denial of
reports that the third loan would be
solicited in January, 1918. "In view
the subscribers vwill receive the
amount for which they bargained, all
subscriptions for $50,000 or less being
alloted in full, and those above
that amount being pared down in
varying proportions, ranging from a
of the large oversubscription of the
second Liberty loan," he said, "I am
glad to state that this will not be
necessary." It has been generally
understood that the third loan would i
be sought probably in late February
or early March next year.
FRENCH CHAMBER
DEPUTIES CHARGE
WAR EXTRAVAGANCE
Paris, Nov. 6.?Discussion of extravagance
and wastage in war expenditures
during the recent debate
on the appropriations for the fourth
quarter of this year in the chamber
of deputies developed the fact that
France is paying the equivalent of
$100,000,000 a year for gasoline.
The upkeep of cars placed at the disposition
of the military authorities
.outside the war zone amounted to
about $500,000 a month during th?
year 1916.
Emmanuel crousse, wno is sometimes
called the "watch-dog of the
treasury," remarked that part of
this waste was due to the fact that
motor lorries intended to carry loads
of from three to five tons were used
to transport single cases weighing
no more than a hundred pounds.
Another speaker declared that discarded
stallions belonging to the
state were sold by the agricultural
department at the equivalent of $70
- * v _ L-?
to private inaiviauais, wno suuscquently
sold them to the war department
for the equivalent of $300.
It also was asserted that in purchasing
40,000 horses in America the
government lost about $5,500,000.
[t was claimed that these horses were
bought in the United States at $80
to $85 a head and cost $140 to $16?
ivhen the freight and feeding were
pand, but that the French government
paid $300 each for them.
r.f<rir>fPii lir A CTTDITQ
KLrmoaL iHtnjuni-u
ADOPTED IN BRAZIL
Rio Janeiro, Nov. 7.?The chamber
of deputies today adopted all th?
measures recommended to the congress
by Pres. Braz as reprisals against
German aggressions, as well as supplementary
annulment of contracts