The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, December 04, 1917, Image 1
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Abbeville Press and Banner |
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Established 1844. $1.50 the Year. Abbeville, S. C., Tuesday, Dec. 4? 1917. Single Copies, Five Cents. 76th Year
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BRITISH LI
AG
Germans Pay Dearl;
For Effort to Regain
Trenches at Cambrai
BRITISH LINES
ARE AGAIN INTAC
Attempt of Teutons at Encirclin
Movement Results in Heavy Casualty
List?Turks Continue Attacks
on British Army Near
Jerusalem But All Assaults
Are Repulsed.
With the British Army in Frana
Dec. 2.?3 p. m.?Nine separal
counter attacks launched again:
Masnieres by strong German forc<
yesterday, were all repulsed aft?
most sanguinary fighting, althoug
the British pulled their line bac
somewhat to lessen the sharp sal
ent there. An intense battle rage
all day and it is stated that th
British killed more Germans b<
tween daylight and dark than i
any similar period since the war b<
gan. It was virtually a continuoi'
fight from start of the first cour
ter-attack.
Mowed Down.
The enemy infantry kept surgin
forward in waves and as each cam
it was caught by the fire from th
British artillery, rifles and machin
guns, ine attaching luitca
mowed down like grain before th
reaper, but with characteristic Pru.<
sian discipline they continued t
fill their ranks and advance unt
after the ninth assault had failed.
During the afternoon the Gei
mans succeeded in capturing Le
Rues Vertes, a suburb south c
Mesnieres, but a British countei
attack delivered at 5 o'clock pushe
the enemy out again.
British Withdraw Again.
German guns on elevations sout
and southeast of Masnieres late ye:
terday were conducting a heav
bombard .nent against the town. Th
British line at that time bulge
around Masnieres in a very shar
salient, which made the position a
unenviable one to hold at best. 1
semed quite apparent that if th
British should decide to withdra1
slightly in the neighborhood c
Masnieres and establish their lin
on the southeastern outskirts o
the place their front would be muc
improved, as the British line wa
entirely dominated by the hig
ground in the possession of th
Germans.
WAR STAMP TAXES ARE
EFFECTIVE ON SATURDA"
Expected to Produce $100,000,00
Annually As Part of War
Measure.
Washington, Dec. 1.?The wa
stamp taxes, counted upon by treas
ury officials to produce $100,000
000 annually as part of the gre*
revenue measure enacted by coi
gress last October, became effectiv
today. .
From the beginning of today
business hours every broker, e:
change, clearing house and perso
engaged in stock, produce or mei
chandise transactions must kee
strict account of the taxable dea
ings.
The internal revenue bureau ha
issued comprehensive regulation
to govern the collections. The ta:
es do not apply to bonds, notes o
other instruments issued by th
United States, by any foreign go^
ernment, or by my state or simila
governmental subdivision, or t
stocks and bonds of co-operativ
building and loan associations op
erated exclusively for their menbers
and loaning only to thei
shareholders, o rto mutual ditch o
irrigation companies.
The taxes include: Indemnity an
INES
AIN INTACT
y A GLANCE OVER
I i TUP rniTNTBV
M. A 1JU vvy V/ l 1 A A\ A
News in a Condensed
T Form to Be Read By
the Busy Reader.
?j
j The German Chancellor has ask'
; ed for another large war credit oi
fifteen billion marks.
President Wilson enjoyed a quiet
' day reading in his study on Thanks
eJ giving Day.
*! ?
iti Surgeon General W. C. Gorges
;s visited Camp Sevier Thanksgiving
:r Day and inspected the sanitary conh
dition of the camp.
k
i- The death rate at Camp Wheelei
d seems to be higher than any othei
ie camp. The pneumonia situation
>. continues to be serious.
n
?. Lieut. Patrick O'Brien, of the
1S aviation department, has escaped
j_ | from a German prison. His mother
thought he was lost.
g A force of American engineers
e in France won praise by the British
e authorities for efficient work in
e handling railway service in the
,e great drive at Cambrai.
I
0 ;
i A woman branded with the letter
*"| "R" burned distinctly on her back,
?: and a crudely drawn butterfly
burned in the flesh on her breast,
'
! was found in a semi-conscious conP
dition in a Chicago depot.
:s
Herr von Waldow, president of
the German food regulation board,
said on the floor of the Prussian
1 lower house that the food condi,
! tions in Germany were good. There
hi - - - ,
J was plenty ot nour ana pienty ui
"'potatoes which form the basis o/.
y
: the food supply.
e
J
; To avert confusion in distinguishing
p second lieutenants and enlisted men
n Secretary Baker has authorized a
^ | distinctive insignia of rank for the
e lieutenants. They will wear a gold
^ bar on the shoulder of the uniform
'^jcoat and a loop of brown braid on
e; the overcoat sleeves similar to the
*! black loop on the overcoats of first
hj lieutenants.
is!
While a lady was attending a
e j smart concret at a hotel in Chicago
j her apartments were gone into and
i her clothes were all stolen, among
! thp articles lost were four suits,
y! seven dresses, two sets of furs, most
j of her lingerie, fifteen pairs of
01 shoes, a cameo pin, two bracelets
| and a strand of beads.
: surety bonds, 50 cents, except
i where premium is charged for exelI"|Cution
of the bond tax will be 1
>_! per cent on each dollar of the prem1
ium; and reinsurance policies are
lt i exempt.
1-j Capital stock, issue, five cents or
ejeach $100 of face value; sales or
! transfers, two cents per $100; pro3
j duce sales on exchange or agreec"
| ment, "for future delivery," two
n'cents per $100, or fraction over
H $100.
P; Drafts or checks "payable otherI
wise than at sight or demand, promisj
sory notes except bank notes issued
is | for circulation and for each renews
I al," two cents per $1,00; deeds and
c-! conveyances, 50 cents per $100r!
$500 and 50 cents for each addie
I tional $500, with all debt papers
j exempt.
ir! Custom house entries, 25 cents
Oiper $100 to $1 per $500; withejdrawals
50 cents; steamship tickets
>-:$l to $5; election proxies, 10 cents
i- ; power of attorney 25 cents,
r Playing cards, 5 cents per pack
r in addition to present two cents
tax; parcels post packages, one cent
d ifor each 25 cents charged.
CONGRESS BEGINS
j LONG GRIND TODAY
Second War Session
Promises to Last Till
Fall Elections
GAVEL FELL AT
NOON ON MONDAY
I
I President Wilson to Deliver Address
Before Joint Session in
House.
: Washington, Dec. 2.?Congress
reassembles tomorrow at noon for
its second war session.
t Most of the Senate and House
members tonight had arrived and all
arrangements were complete for
what promises to be another epoc'ichal
and lengthy session. Increased
'I determination of the American peo"
I pie for vigorous prosecution of the
j war to victory was the message unij
versally brought by the returning
I members.
Brief Sestion Today.
j Brief and routine opening sesI
sions are scheduled for tomorrow
! in both Senate and House. Immedi'
! ?
I j Siciy aiter cuiivenmg ctuu ayyviuv,ing
committees formally to notify
President Wilson and each other
that the second session of the Six(
ty-fifth Congress is in readiness, ad-j
Jjournment will be taken out of,
respect to members who died dur-l
ing the recess?Senator Husting, '
of. Wisconsin, who was accidentally
I shbt, and Representative Martin, of
! Illinois.
i
| Anothe rfeature of the opening
; day will be receipt of appropriation
.'estimates, aggregating many bilI
lions of dollars, for war and gener;
al governmental purposes for the
next fiscal year.
President's Address.
,1 The keynote of the legislative
i # |
program both in its effect on war
j and domestic concerns, will be
fjsounded on Tuesday by President'
' Wilson in his annual opening ad|
dress, to be delivered in the House j
j chamber at 12.30 p. m., at a joint
session. It will be the President's!
; first appearance before Congress
since the historic night meeting of;
I April 2 at the opening of the spe-j
j cial session called to permit him to,
I ask foi< the declaration of war!
'against Germany.
i
j GREAT SOLDIERS
' ON FRENCH FRONT!
I
? |
United States Forces Set New
j Record?First Class Troops. !
J 1
'! 1
,j With the American Army in i
I France, Nov. 29.?The development!
* *1 -' . A rviori^Qn i
j oi tne men ui me mat muvuv... i
contingent in France in the science
. of war was described today as truly!
remarkable by the general com-j
manding the division.
; "I have been in the army since I j
was a boy," he said. "During that
time I have observed many Ameri
can and many foreign soldiers, but
t never in my life have I seen anything
equalling the men now here.
i When my division landed we had
j shockheaded boys by the hundreds.
They were clerks, mechanics, day
* l-?rvl.4 on/J
| laborers, iarmer uyus, viu c*,.v.
>j young from every walk of life.
I Some spoke English and some did
I not. There were Poles, Bohemians,
I Russians, Jews and Gentilesi. But
j in this short time they have become
first class soldiers, energetic to the
extreme and have fallen into the
ways of army life as I never
thought possible.
Game to the Core.
"They are game to the co:re and
1 their one idea is to beat ths Ger
I mans and give a good heating.
There isn't a streak of yellow in the
('whole lot, and their morale, even in
I the trenches, is fine.
j "Here is an example: One night
recently an officer called for volunteers
to go patrolling in No Man's
Land. He asked for 20 men. The
j whole company volunteered on the
THRIFT CAMPAIGN
10 START TODAY
Sale of War Stamps
and Certificates Have
Opened
CAMPAIGN WILL
CONTINUE FOR YEAR
! Officials Anticipate Wide Popularity
for Plan to Help Country
to Victory.
Washington, Dec. 2.?America's
newest plan for raising war funds
and encouraging habits of thrift
will go into operation early tomor!
row morning with the opening of
sales on war savings stamps and certificates
at post offices and banks.
The campaign is to continue for a
year in expectation of receiving the
$2,000,000,000 maximum authorized.
The smallest unit in the war sav
ings plan is the thrift stamp, which
costs 25 cents; the largest is the
war savings certificate, which costs
$82.40 an dis redeemable in five
[ years at $100, at the rate of 4 per
j cent, interest, compounded quar- j
I terly. Officials expect many millions i
of persons to invest regularly in the!
I stamps as a means of helping thej
j nation win the war and laying asidej
money to be returned to them later, j
Every post office in the country j
has a big supply of the stamps. By!
the end of the week arrangements;
will be made to supply millions of
agencies, such as retail stores,
schools and savings societies.
-Allotments for each State and the
six districts into which the ccuntry
has been divided for organization
purposes have been made and will
be anounced tomorrow. Every;
State director then will assign a certain
portion of expected sales to
each county, city, town or other?+Viq
Viacia nf shout
SUUUIVISIIMI uu tnv
$20 for each person.
.
D. A. R. MEETING.
Andrew Hamilton Chapter Daugh
ters of the American Revolution
will meet Wednesday afternoon,!
December 5th, at four o'clock in;
the Chapter Room. All members i
are urged to be present.
!
spot. Twenty were picked and
lamp black was provided for them!
to put on their bayonets so that the |
light would not shine on them. Dur-;
ing the blacking one private who;
had been in the army for fourj
months stopped a minute, turned to j
a comrade ana saia: uee, ix * ut?n|
run this into one of those boches|
I bet he'll get blood poisoning, and |
I hope he does.' The boy knew
the place he was to patrol was extremely
dangerous and that he
might be a casualty within 30 minI
ues.
I
Do Not Forget.
J "At another time I had just passI
ed a line of soldiers walking along
j a road in the rain when I came
| across one who was hatless, mud
' covered and limping. I stopped my
J automobile and asked him what wasj
I the matter. The soldier stood on
I one foot, the other being injured.
He saluted and said his horso had
started to run into a stone wall, so j
he threw him down but fell under
him. That's the spirit we are getting.
The man was badly hurt but
even that did not make him forget
his training of a few weeks.
"I was returning at that time
from the hospital where I saw a
few wounded men. Some of the
men's proudest and most valuable
| possessions on earth are bullets and
! pieces of shrapnel which thoughtful
! surgeons saved for them on extract!
ing. Every man wanted to exhibit
| the cause of his wound. Their
1 thoughts were all aoouc recovering,
; rejoining their regiments and get.
ting a chance to pay back the enemy
in his own coin."
i
HAD HUN'S
IN SI
AMERICANS PUT
UP BRAVE FIGHT
j
Engineers Are Praised
for Work at Cambrai
By British.
With the British Army in France
Dec. 1.?Large number of Amerij
can army engineers working on the
British railways in the region of
Gouzea-court caught in the German
turning movement, escaped by lyr
ing in shell holes and prone on the
ground while the British fired over
them. There they remained until
the British were near enough to
enable the Americans to join the
ranks, when the yfought valiently
and played an important part in replying
to the enemy. The British
commanders refer to their gallant
behavior with the greatest enthusiasm.
Americans elsewhere took a busy
hand in the fighting and were un
der hot German shell fire. Numbers}
of them volunteered for patrol workj
in the danger zone and all acquitted j
themselves finely.
A British general told the cor-J
respondent that he could not praise
them too highly. It is reported that
several Americans were captured!
but escaped after a few hours and'
rejoined the British.
The engineers were mainly from
New York.
MR. HUGH WILSON SICK.
The many friends of Mr. Hugh1
Wilson, formerly editor of The
Press and Banner and for nearly a'
half century one of the leading'
business men of this city, will hear!
with regret that he has been seri- J
ously ill, being confined to his;
apartments in the Peoples Bankj
Building under the care of his phy-;
sician.
i
Mr. Wilson has not been well;
this year. During the summer he!
went to a health resort in North!
Carolina and returned home some-,
what improved, and his friends had;
thought that he was on the road to j
recovery. He was about the streets j
every day looking well for a man of
his years. Only one week ago he
took a trip to Due West and spent
the day with his friend, Mr. R. S.
Galloway.
He was taken sick, however, on I
Thursday night, and has been seriously
ill since then. On Saturday
his life was almost despaired of
but his condition showed a slight
imnrnvement on Sunday, and Mon
day, Dr. L. T. Hill, the attending1
physician, held out hope for his recovery.
A number of Mr. Wilson's relatives
have been here for the past|
several days to look after his wants i
j and to be with him in his serious
I illness. Constant inquiries have
i been made by his friends about
| his condition, and everybody hopes
I for him a speedy recovery.
i
WENT TO HEAR BILLY.
'
! Miss Eliza Gary and her mother j
! Mrs. E. B. Gary, went over iu |
Atlanta Friday to shop. While in j
the city they intended to hear Billy i
j Sunday but as luck would have iti
i he had such a bad cold that he!
'didn't preach that afternoon. That1
was the first time in his career that;
1 he has missed filling an engage-,
ment.
| !
CONDUCTING A MEETING
; i
Rev. H. Waddell Pratt left yes- j
terday for Calhoun Falls, where he
will hold a meeting in the mill hall j
j for a week or ten days.
I I
REPLY
HORT TIME j
'< 3
n r> r
Russian reace envoys
Received With Much
Ceremony By Huns.
? M
HAD GERMANS REPLY
IN SHORT TIME
m I
Bolsheviki Agents Tell What Hap-.
pened When They Crossed Into
Teuton Camp?Agreement to ,
Armistice Conference Signed >
by Commander-in-Chief of
German Army.
_______
Petrograd, Nov. 30.?The report
of the representatives sent through
the German lines by Ensign Krylenko,
the Bolsheviki commander-incief,
to begin negotiations for aa
armistice, was given out here yesterday.
It shows that the agree
ment to taice up negotiations was
made on behalf of the Germans fay
their commander-in-chief. It waa
jm
agreed, as reported yesterday, that
the conference should be held Sm>day,
December 2, at German headquarters
in Brest-Litovsk. The text
of the report follows:
" Cross the Line.
. "
"We crossed the line, preceded
by a trumpeter carrying a white
flag. Three hundred yards frtaa
the German entanglements we were
met by German officers. At 6 o'clock
our eyes blindfolded we were co|h.
ducted to a battallion staff ot r fib
German army, where we handed
over our written authorization from
the national commissioners.
"The negotiations were conducted
in the French language. Oor
proposal to carry on negotiation*
for an armistice on all tfte iroma
of belligerent countries in order
later to make peace, was immediately
handed over to the staff of the
division, whence it was sent to tke
chief commander of the German
armies.
An Early Reply.
"At 6.20 o'clock we were taken
in a motor car to the minister*!
house, where we were received by c<
Divisional Gen. von Hoffmeister,
who informed us that our proposal
had been handed to the highest commander
and that a reply probaWy
would be received in twenty-four
hours. But at 7.50 o'clock the answer
from the chief of the general
command had already been receiv
ed, announcing agreement to uu
proposals and leaving the details of
the next meeting to Gen. von Hoffmeister
and the parliamentarian*.
After a nexchange of opinion and
further communication by wiring
chief of the general command at
midnight we were given by Gen.
von Hoffmeister a written answer
to our proposal. In view of .tiM
fact that ours was written in Rq?sian
the answer was given in G?rman.
Germans' Reply.
"The reply was:
"The chief of the German eastern
front is prepared to enter into negotiations
with the Russian chief
command. The chief of the German
eastern front is authorized by
the German commander-in-chief te
carry on negotiations for an armistice.
The chief of the Russian armies
is requested to appoint a commission
with written authority to
be sent to the headquarters of the
commander of the German eastern
front. On his side, the German
commander likewise will name a
commission with special authorisation.
"The day and hour of the meeting
are to be fixed by the Russian
eommander-inchief. It is demanded
that the German commander be
warned in due time to prepare a
special train for the purpose. Notice
must be given at which part it
is intended to cross thrf frontier.
(Continued on Page 6.)
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