Abbeville Press and Banner
1844. S2.00 the Year. Abbeville, S. C? Tue-l.y. Nov. . 19,1918. Single C.pi.., Fire Cert,. 75l^g . |
I, L
VERY ENTHUSIASTIC 1
MEETING WAS HELD
Court House Auditorium
Scene of Patriotic
Rally. y
i
wi? ADDRESSED
VAVVTM ?
BY PROMINENT SPEAKER
About Two Hundred Citizens, Both
WkiU and Colored, Gathered
ia Court House Saturday
Afternoon for U. W. W.
Meeting.
-
Despite the inclemency of the
weather Saturday afternoon, about
two hundred citizens, both white and
colored, gathered in the Abbeville
(bounty Court House for a * mass
meeting in the interest of the United
War Works Campaign now being
waged throughout the country.
The meeting was presided over by
Mayor J. Moore Mars, who explained
the purpose of the gathering, and
laiter introduced Dr. R. B. Elmore,
?a# fl>A Mn
traveling reprwBUMUTc vi >uV ...
tional Committee on Subscription.
Dr. Arundel], rector of the Green-j
wood Episcopalian church, was present,
upon whom Dr. Elmore called to
ask Divine blessing upon the proceedings.
After the invocation Dr. Elmore
told the audience of the temptations,
confronting the boys now, since hos-j
tilities had ceased, and of the great:
need of having someone to look af-1
tier their welfare, concluding his re-j
marks with a plea for the liberal!
signing of the Pledge Cards, which
was responded to very generously?
more than a hundred dollars being
raised among the few who remained |
thrnnchntit the meet inc. *
1/ ? \
Music for the occasion was for- (
nished by the Abbeville Mill Band, ]
which deserves great credit for the \
class of music tendered, considering j
the short time they have been organ- j
ized.
In speaking of the campaign Dr. ,
Elmore said, "No armistice has been
signed in the United War Works!
drive. The need of funds now that -1
the war is practically over, is greater! '
than ever, for the soldiers at the \
1 front, without the thoughts of bat-!*
t!c to engage them, will need the (
uplifting influenzes of the seven
great religious and educational or- J
ganizations if they are not to be en- 1
meshed in the snares which surrounds
an army at rest.
j "While armistice terms have been
signed and peace is practically here, (
j the army of the United States is not ; ^
I /liehanrlorl onH will nr?t ho fnr mnnfTia
I and possibly a year or two to come. I
If the Y. M. C. A. and the like agen- j (
cies were valuable in war times,! ^
they are invaluable while the soldiers
are yet under arms but not under'
the restraints that war entails."
There is mu ch interest being ^
shown among the colored people of (
the county, and indications now are
that the colored people, as well as:
the whites, in this county will re-;
spond generally and liberally to:
/the cause during the next day or two.':
f With $108,405,408 on hand' to- j
t wards the revised goal of $250,000,-j.
uOOO, officials of the campaign an-',
I nounced last Saturday, from National
Headquarters, that the drive i
scheduled to have closed last night,
would be continued until Wednesday!.
1 night. Their decision, it was ex- ,
plained, was reached after hundreds :
of requests from all parts of the.
country demanding an extension of,
time because two days of the cam-'
paign were lost as a result of peace
celebrations, were received.
Th campaign forces are well or-i
ganized and everything is going right]
through and "over the top" with the j
$25,000 allotted to this county.
Col. Pat McCaslan was in town1:
Monday an interested attendant at,
the horse sale and watching the j
price of cotton.
BOYS CAN COME HOME J f
AS FAST AS ORDERED |
To Arrange Detail* for Transporta-j
tion?Chairman of Shipping
Board Sailing For Europe?
Has Mission of Returning
Men in Army
to the U. S. J
Edward N. Hurley, chairman of the
United States Shipping Board, anlounced
Friday, on the eve of his de>arture
for Europe, that the governnent
intends to return to this counxy
speedily a large part of the Amsrican
expeditionary forces. The ^
purpose of Mr. Hurley's trip to Eu*ope
is to arrange the details for this
ransportation.
To offset the loss of transport tonlage
through the withdrawal of Britsh
ships hitherto engaged in carrying
American soldiers overseas, Mr. Hur- ?
ey hopes to utilize 25 or 30 German
md Austrian liners, with accomoda- 111
;ions for 4,000 men each. In compen- U
tation for the loan of these vessels, w
le said, food would be sent to the peo)le
of central Europe on their return 1X1
Ol
royages.
Mr. Hurley said the shipping board ^
would be able to bring troops back at
;he rate of 300,000 a month, "if the ai
var department wants them returned a]
82
is fast as that". He would meet GenS(
sral Pershing at American field headw
luarters, he added, to discuss the deails
of their home coming.
While he will go abroad with Her>ert
Hoover, federal food administra- p
or, to co-operate in arrangements for ^
he shipment and distribution of food- ^
;tuffs to the regions liberated under ^
he armistice terms and In a degree
. . . _ as
ater to be determined to Germany l ^
ind Austria, Mr. Hurley said his
nission was primarily to do with get-' ^
;ing the "boys back home". IF
Convalescent wounded, including j
nany who would have returned to
;he battlefront had the war continued ^
vould be the first troops brought out e<
>f France, he said. They would be fol- 03
fi
owed by units of various branches of
;he service, following plans already ^
jartly worked out fey Secretary Baker ?
ind the general staff.
?
NEW FIRE ENGINE. {>
?? si
? i i *
xne city council nas unaer con- ?
jideration the purchase of an auto- ic
truck fire engine. The horses and w
;}\e up-keep of the department is a tl
jreat expense and it is hoped to re- n
iuce expenses by the purchase. fi
All the children in town love Mutt 1
ind Jeff, the horses, and will be h
sorry to see them sold.
AN UPLIFTING SERVICE. si
w
The song and prayer service of
a
thanksgiving last Sunday night at
the Presbyterian church, was well ^
attended and will long be remember- ^
ed by our people. All the churches .
combined and the time was devoted ^
to a song and prayer service. !
I
Mr. Wilkins of New York, a friend j ^
?f Mr. J. F. Barnwell, who was in
the city for the night, added much
to the occasion by the singing a
3weet solo.
I n
HOME ON FURLOUGH.
I n
' I
Dr. Jack Pressly has been home!
Cor a few days this week on leave.; 1
He is looking well and has much tojSI
say about army life. He says the!
strap worn under his chin is to make!
6
him stop talking occasionally. Hej
thinks he is going across soon asj1*
America will invade Russia, Servia;
and other such countries with thou- n
j Q
sands of doctors, tons of soap and
millions of bath tubs.
The doctor is stationed at Camp J s'
Greeneleaf and says that army life!
certainly makes him love Abbeville. a
. : g
PLAY BALL. t(
, ti
The young people of the High
school have formed a Basket Ball
team and the first game was played n
Friday on the ground at the Graded w
school. Miss Logan is chief coach s
and she hopes soon to have the team r
in good shape for some games with r
out of town teams.
JEMOBIUZATION "
PLANS DEVELOPING
Movement of Troops
Across Atlantic Entirely
Stopped.
[EN IN CANTONMENTS
BACK TO CIVIL LIFE
wo Hundred Thousand Off for
Home Within Two Weeks and
Thirty Thousand to Be Released
Each Day With Program
Full Operation.
Washington, Nov. 17.?Movement
f the American troops across the
tlantic has stopped entirely and delobilization
of troops in canton*
tents and camps at home is under
General March, chief of stan,
ade this announcement Saturday,
utlining the war department's plans
t answer to questions the country
as been asking since the day the
rmistice was signed and it became
pparent that the war was over. He
lid orders already issued would
nd 200,000 men back to civil life
ithin two weeks and that when fche
rogram was in full swing about 80,90
would quit the army daily. ^
Fighting divisions of General
ershing'a army in France will ' be
^mobilized as fast as possible in
leir home communities. The chief
f staff would make no predictions
? to when the first divisions would
art home. It appears probable,
%?fMrAw 4>1?A flnw A# matu
Ci 9 ^AtOV HUO UUW? VJL
oops can be in. full tide before
ebruary. . ?. $
Some officers regard it as possible
rnt certain divisions may be recall*
i in advance of the general return
lovement. General March indicated
lat the ^Forty-second (Rainbow)
ivision, because it is composed of
ien from 26 States and in recognion
of the fighting record it has
Lade in France, would be marked
jr special treatment. The Twentyxth
(New England National Guard)
nd the Forty-first (Sunset) Divis>ns
are in the same class, so /it
rould not cause surprise if these
iree organizations should be desigated
by General Pershing as thei
rst to return. With six weeks of
918 left it is possible they may be
ome before New Year's day.
-C P i
uiuujr ui vaniODOicnii.
Supplementing General March's
;atement, Secretary Baker s^id it)
rould not be necessary to maintain
11 the existing cantonments for delobilization
purposes and that a
tudy was now being made of those
esirable for that purpose. The
thers, with all the divisional camps,
e indicated, will be abandoned as
3on as the men now occupying them
ave been mustered out.
The demobilization will be carried
ut in the following order:
First, development battalions; 71
i number and comprising 98,199
ien; second, conscientious objectors
ot under arrest; third, spruce prouction
divisions; fourth, central
raining schools for officers with
sme modifications; fifth, United
tates guards, now numbering 135,00
men; sixth, railway units; sevnth,
depot brigades; eighth, replacelent
units; ninth, combat divisions.
"We have in the United States
ow something like 1,700,000 men
nd a muster out of a force of that
ind, of course, will take some time,"
aid General March. "Each man has
3 be examined physically, his final
ccounts made so that the men may
et compensation they are entitled
3. Blank forms are being shipped
o the various camps for use as
hese orders go into effect.
"In handling this problem of delobilization
one of the features
rtiich had to be considered was the
ubsequent retaining of men for the
egular army, or what will be the
egular army, when congress passes
(Continued on Page 4.)
. , / : v ' a . . .
'AMERICANS NOW IN!'
MOUZON TERRITORY'
Pershing's Men Occupy
Ground Abandoned
by Hun Forces.
* t
i
NO CHANCES TAKEN %
ON FORWARD MOVE y
Engineer Unit* Precede Soldier* in
E
Search for Mine* end Tainted Wa- j
ter?March Toward Rhine Be- ^
tween Thiancourt and Mouzon ^
in Cold and Mud.
With the American Army in '
France, Nov. 17, 7:30 P. M.?Gener- c
al Pershing's forces moved forward *
early today in territory just abandoned
by the German troops^ On
the old line between Mouzon and
Thiaucourt lying from the region of 8
Sedan to the south of Metz, the *
troops had been stationed to await
nr^ora ft\r tlio 9(tvnTi(>A nnd K.SO ?
o'clock this' morning the patrols *
marched out, not in line of battle,
but in columns along the high roads
which are only slightly impaired.
Il
The first steps of the Americans h
into regions so lately controlled by ^
Germany were not spectacular. The t
men were keyed up and keen for e
the new adventure, but like they
were on the day of the signing of n
the armistice there were compare- f
tively no demonstrative manifesta- p
tions of their enthusiasm. v
Erery Soldier "PoIiilntL" p
Many of the men had been newly ^
SM -? J _ II ll _ +1
unuormea ana bu oi uiem were i
"poUshed" as though for inspection. 8
The men appeared eager for the ^
word to go forward.
The relatively small units that are *
moving forward as advance guards ^
were sent to the line before daylight.
gj
The night had been cold and the ^
mud that yet marks the roads, not- ^
withstanding there have been two or
three days without rain, was slightly ^
frozen. The men shivered as they
rested by the roadside.
i
When the command finally was
given for the advance, the elements ?
wuu were tu jjubu luxwaiu, iu avrnc ^
cases miles apart on the long line j.
between the extreme left and right, j
moved off into the mists that appear ^
always to shroud this part of the ?
country and disappeared.
For the first time since the Ameri- ]
cans had been ordered to advance <
into enemy held territory there was (
assurance that they would encoun- c
ter no hostility. The intelligence de-j
i
partment, which has never ceased to
function, had accurately reported j
that the Germans were carrying outj
their agreement of evacuation and!
there was evident the belief both by!
officers and men that no trap was'
awaiting them.
No chances were taken, however.
The engineers were the second units
to press forward and they carefully i
u~_ xt 1. i i . < I
uegau ineir wurit 01 loosing out iori
mines and tainted water. Every ob-'
stacle was tested before it was mov-: j
ed in order to find out if it masked (
explosives. For some time the Ger- c
mans have shown a spirit of cooper-: j
j ation in informing the Americans t
where mines were located and in!
themselves destroying them.
Entire Army Moving.
It was some time after the engi-s
neers moved forward before the I
heavier columns took the roads. The f
entire army finally was moving, and t
! moving along the lines of peace days
I But it was in such order that it r
- . . - , . . I ;
mignt De quickly translorraea into i
battle array. Each brigade was cov- J
erad by a regiment of 77s, the heavier
artillery following close behind.
It has been impressed on officers
and men alike that this is an operation
under an armistice, that war I
still exists and that the possibility I
remains that at any time it may be I
necessary for them to play their part f
with the same grimness of the past ^
.year. *
MONTHS YET AHEAD
FOR MEN OVERSEA!
~rowder Appeals for War Worl
Fund?Must Police World?Nation
Should Show Gratitude
to Soldiers by Supporting
the Welfare Organizations.
New York, Nov. 16.?In a stat
nent issued Friday night in whicl
ie declared that the allied soldier:
nil have to be the policemen of th?
Torld during the period of demobil
zation and that our boys : will re
nain in service many weary months
*rovost Marshal Crowder stressec
he necessity for the support of th<
Jnited War Work Campaign.
"The feeling that there is no neec
or further large contributions be
ause of the fact that hostilities hav<
eased should certainly not exist,'
leclared the provost marshal. "Oiu
oys", he said, "will remain in ser
ice many weary months. The new
:overnment has not been formed ir
i day. The period of reorganiza
ion and rehabilitation has to b(
rone through with. During thii
ime the allied soldier will have t<
ie the policemen of the world. The]
rill be doing as valuable service it
he interest of world peace as thej
lave been as world soldiers. The}
iave ' men'8 work before them anc
hey have now to assist in gathering
he fruits of victory they have gaind
1.
"During the period of waiting the
len will continue to need every welare
organization. Our soldiers have
roved themselves willing to put ui
nth any hardships and endure an]
irivation as long as allowed to fight
mt now that the incentive for fight
rig" is' removed,"the" excitement anc
rlamor of war are cone. m?nv whf
lave gone successfully over the stora
teriod of war, now may succumb t<
he relaxation incident to the cessa
ion of hostilities. If the United Wai
Vork agencies can make their camp:
ind huts, their shows or motion pic
ures and their athletic sports so at
ractive that the boys will accept th<
:lean amusement offered by them
hey will have met the supreme tes
>f efficiency. They can not do thi
iniess xne American people promptly
md generously replenish their wa
:hest. They are at the front looking
ifter our boys; we can not refus<
o hold up our end and we must se<
;hat our soldiers have every safe
Hiard. Now is our opportunity ti
lecure it for them.
In a statement made by Secretar;
3aker in regard to the campaign hi
leclared the drive to be a direc
:hallenge of the measure of Ameri
?an appreciation.
GETTING BETTER.
Dr. and Mrs. J. R. Nickles havi
>oth been very sick at their hom<
>n Upper Main street, causing thei:
'riends much anxiety. Both are bet
er now. Miss Nelson came ove:
Vnm A+lan+o +/* V>q nrl+l
? w? **v?v?nww MMVU1UWJ VV WC VTXbJ
hem.
TAKEN TO HOSPITAL.
Mr. John Penney, who was s<
>ainfully hurt last week by slippinf
>n a banana peel in front of Bow
len-Simpson, was taken to the hos
>ital in Chester Monday for specia
reatment.
MAJOR NANCE SICK.
Major F. W. R. Nance is verj
ick at his home on Magazine street
Despite his eighty-five years, hi!
riends hope that he may soon gei
ip and be around town again.
The Major has long been a promi
lent figure in Abbeville county, hav
J i?_ !ll. A.11 _!_ __ /*
rig served iaiiniuny as snenn souh
rears ago.
BUYS HOME.
Mr. and Mrs. Louis Levi hav<
mrchased the home of Mr. R. L
Dargan on Wardlaw Street, and the}
)lan to move into it about January
irst, when Mr. Dargan expects t<
vacate for the purpose of going tc
Spartanburg.
AMERICAN MPS
' PLAYED BIG PART
, ,;:vMuch
of Credit for Winning
Decisive Battle
Due Americans.
1 ^ ;
* hti
, HUN'S DEATH BLOW
FIRST OF NOVEMBER
Men Under Perthing Show Mettle
j When Celled Upon by High Commend
to Take Ai'gonne Sector,
PmV.1.1. M..I n:?...u T..U
Ahead of A1U??.
i *
Out of the confusion and daze of . '
the crowding military events on the
western battle line since late in September,
when battle followed battle
until from Flanders to Verdun there
was ceaseless action, it is now per*
missible to outline to a certain extent
the part played by the American ar>
mies in the final decisive battle of
the war, which ended with the arm* I
iatice of last Monday.
Military reasons heretofore have
prevented accentuating the accomplishments
of the Americans, except
. in a most general manner. The di*?
I
patches from the field have been
' necessarily fragmentary and possibly
were overshadowed bv the accounts
of the more dramatic operations
over, the historic battle fronts to tha
west. ' ; A
21 American Diruiong.
Bat it now may be stated that
twenty-one American divisions, totaling
more than 750,000 American
combat troops, participated in the action
beginning September 26, known
variously as the battle of the A*gonne
and the battle of the Mease,
but which history may well call Sedan?the
battle that brought Germany
to her knees and as far as human
foresight goes, ended tha
world's bloodiest and costliest war..
In order to understand the military
situation which made the Argonne op
A.: It - M it- it
j. ciitnuna ui? vnu ox wie war it is necessary
to go back to the redaction of
the St. Mikiel salient in the middle of
j
September. The brilliant American,
accomplishment is still fresh in history.
It cut off at one stroke a menacing
projecton towards Verdon and
weakened the enemy's defensive by
threatening Metz, one of Germany's
two greatest advanced railway centers
for distributing troops and sup- t
plies along the Montmedy-Sedan line.
. Metz also was the pivo on which
the enemy swung through Belgium
into France and therefore obviously
it was the pivot on which his retirement
must hinge. The Argorine, the
I next step below here, threatened the
| great railway arteries, running west- ,
BI ward from Metz.
I
j With the conclusion of the St
' Mihiel action, the steady .inflow of
I American forces caused a displaceP
*
I ment of power as between the Allied
1!
and German armies. Thus it no longer
was necessary to pursue a policy of
reducing a salient of nibbling at it.
I The American troops had shown what
ithey could do.
j A broader policy of general attack
i along the entire line was then adoptI
ed and the high command called upon
Gen. Pershing to take the Argonne
sector, admittedly one of the most, if
not entirely the most difficult of the
r whole front. The broken terrain, the
_! topography and the like of roads
5! made a problem difficulty to describe.
I;1 uermany naa in iour years iorcinea
with superb roads , both rail and
J motor,, connecting up to the rer.r poJ
sitions and basis.
J The outstanding feature of the
Argonne forest is a long chain of
hills running north and south, cov
ered witn a dense growtn 01 trees ana
undergrowth, making an advance dif2
ficult and offering superb defensive
.1 qualities. Virtually no roads exist
p! in the forest, except for a few tranf.versal
passes running east and west.
>'The soil is such that the least rain
) converts it into a slippery, miry
(Continued on Page 4.) '