Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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VOL. XXVIII MANNING, S. C., WEDNESDAY. NOVEMBER 4, FIGHT HAS CEASED II AlIES REST AFTER TRE MENUSUS ACIVITIES REINFORCEMENTS NEEDED Uermans Lose Heavily in 'Iolding Vrossing of Ysee Canl--Belgians One kn ?r haise-New Attempt to Erie& Allied Lines is Expected Vafther Inland, Safe from Ships. The limit of human endurance has been reached in the battle in West Flanders, and the fighting which slackened on Tuesday, has come to an almost complete stop They may have been some infantry attacks, and these may continue, but dispatches from points along the Dutch frontier state that the artillery fring has ceas ed. Passengers who crossed the Chan tel brought the same news. The fact is that the two armies have fought themselves out tempor artly and that the Germans' first ef Yort to break through the Allies' line bas failed. Neither side could con 'inue any longer, then men having been without sleep or rest for the ten days that the battle has been in pro gress, over ground which at best is a morass. The Germans succeeded last Satur day in getting some men across the Yser canal, and they put more men across on Sunday. But the force fac Ing them was too formidable, and 'now the opposing armies are taking a long needed rest. There is every evidence, however, that the Germans intend to renew their attempt to force their way through to Dankirk. They are bring Ing up fresh men and more ammuni tion and guns. but at the same time are taking the precaution to prepare a second line of defence should their forward movement again meet with defeat. The new attempt. it is believed. will -be made further inland, for the failure of the first one was largely due to the bombardment that the troops and artillery had to undergo from the British and French war ships off the coast of Belgium. This. cessation of heavy fighting seems to have extended along the line as far as Arras, the result of it all is - that the Germans, while they have suffered heavy losses and have in ticted similar punishment on the Al 1le, are further away from the French coast than they were at the beginning of the battle. "The Belgians.never entirely dis lodged the Germans from the footing they obtained across the Yser near Pervyse. though the Germans suffer ed terTible losses in keeping the strip of ground thus won in the bend of the 'river. Again and again they have been practically swept away by 'Begian shrapnel, but they have con tinued to pour men into the death trap. which served them as a bridge head. At Dixmude and Nieuport the struggle has been equally severe. At Dixmude the- French marines were obliged to withstand a forty-hour continuous attack before they were able to expel the Germans at the point of the bayonet. Last Saturday thie Germans made another crossing further south, near Saint Georges Capelle. and a fright ful struggle ensued between the river channels The Germans occupied the village of Stuyvekenskerke and were driven out, -but not for long. The Germans concentrated theiyr mitrail leuses on the eanal bank and raked the Belgians, compelling them to re tire again. The fighting continued till Surnday morning, when the ar rival of the French force" resulted in driving th' Germans back over the river, except the little forces holding the bridgehead at Tervaete. The main point at which the Ger mans crossed -the river and where the situation has been most critical is north of the village of Pervyse. on the railway line from Nieuort to Pix mude. They crossed last Thursday. but were prevented from- advanicing over the main waterway at that time. On Saturday they succeeded in gret ting across the second channel and nearly reached the railway line. They were finally driven back after flere fighting and it Is the railway embank-, ment which now forms the ma'in line of the Belgian 'defence from Nieu port to Dtxmude. The corresnondent pays a high t-i - bute to the Belgians for their valor and tenacity. He says: "On top of two months' hard fighting, followed by a long, discouraging retreat, and while tried and disoraanized. they were called upon to hold the line of the Yser when they well deserved ' rest. Yet they fulfilled the task longer than was exnected under the trying conditione. The inant-- has been in the troenew" anne"t w'+hnut repose for ten days. Prinr"" ouuV the wafer from then ea.'as wHhM ther are guarding. with lt'na onnortuiy to nreuare a hot u'oa, ned m"nntly under a rain of German shells." CRUSHED TO DEATH. White Man and Negro Mashed While Working rUnder Cott)n Press. At noon Wednesday a fatal acci dent occurred at Brooker Zorn's gin nery at Govcn. Two men. Lewis Ken nedy. white, age about 19. and Luth er Nimmons, a negro. age about 2-. were entrapped beneath the press and mangled' beyond recogrnition. They were in the act of setting the press preparatory to packing a bale of cot ton when the follow block slipped. catching them. Germans Claim Progress. The report of the German general staff on Thursday claimed advances in the northeastern warfare and at several points in France. Belgians Lost Heavily English newspapers have estimnat 'd the Belgian losses along the Yser canal. based on official statements. at 10.000 men. Gets Big Contract. All twine to be used in the United States post offices next year will be miade from cotton at the Beanmont mil in Snartanhurg. URGES SUPPORT OF PLAN McADOO APPROVES FUND FOR COTTON GROWERS' IUNLIEi 0 Secretary of Treasury Declares Chat Subscriptions Will Act in Bringing About Improvement Secretary Mcdoo Thursday night made public a letter he has sent to clearing house chairmen throughout the country urging support of the $125,000,000 cotton loan fund. 'The secretary said the cotton situ&, ation presented a problem "of the most urgent character," aid declare! his conviction that piompt subscrip tion of the lban fund would "be pre ductive of immense benecial results." The contempiated acceptance of subscribers' certifleates as a basis for emergency currency issues, he added, "should greatly facilitate the banks in naking and taking care of their subscriptions." More replies favorable to the loan fund plan reached the federal reserve board Thursday but members of the board pointed out that consideration by clearing house associations and then by individual banks might deloy final action in the mctter for several days. Secretary McAdoo's iet'ei' to the clearing house chairmen follows: "The. cotton situation -in the South presents a problem of the most ur gent character. It is imperative that some intelligent financial measures shall be immediately adopted to re lieve that situation. The problem is not local but national, because a se rious hurt to the South affects the entire country. To help the South in this emergency must appeal, there fore, not only to our better instincts, but also to our material interests. "Gov. Hamlin of the federal re serve board has sent you a letter to day, together with a plan which the board has approved for raising a fund of $135,000,000 to be loaned on cot prompt subscription of this fund ind its use as proposed ih the plan will be productive i immensely beneficial re sults. "I wish earnestly to urge uDon you the importance of the banks in your city and in your federalereserve dis trict promptly subscribing the amount. allotted to you. New York has already led off with a $50,000, 000 subscription, and I sincerely hope that there may be no doubt whatever about the raising of the remaining $50,006.000 in the other leading financial cities of the country. "I am sure that we may confident ly count upon the local and patriotic support of the bankers of your city in this emergency. The federal re serve board itself, notwithstanding the onerous duties which now de volve on the federal reserve system, will constitute itself a voluntary com mittee for the purpose of sulpei'visibg the administration of the proposed fund becaase of the seriousness of the emergency and the hecessity for un selfish service on the piart of every citizen who wants earnestly to help his country. "In order to assist the banks which may subscribe to this fund, I desire to say now that, in the exercise of the power and discretion vested in me by law, I shall upon compliance by the banks with terms and provisions of Aldrich-Vreeland act, as amended, ac ent the Class A certificates referred to in this plan as 'securities' at 75 per cent of their face value as a basis for issues of so-called 'emergency-cur rency' when presented to me through ational currency associations. This should greatly facilitate the banks in making and taking care of their sub scription. "Will you be good enough to tele graph me on receipt of this letter if we may count upon your co-opera tion?" The secretary said that in order to help the Southern banks which may subscribe for Class B certificates, he had determined to accept them also as "securities" a basis for the issue of emergency currency. TILLMAN AT FAIR. Senator Enjioys Outing and Adver tises New Health Menu. Senator Tillman arrived at the State fair grounds Thursday from his home in Trenton and put one of the features of his new dietary into ef fect. He inspected a few of the exhi bits and then went to the headquar ters of the demonstration work in the main steel building, where he was greeted by friends. He ordered dinner and here is the menu: One cup of hot water. One basket of Delaware grapes. "Say, boy, bring we another glass of hot wvater. Don't bring it in a up. I never did like water in a cup," said the senator, as he completed his meal. Later lhe went to the foot ball game Senator Tillmian believes in the simple diet with plenty of exercise and fresh air. Some time ago in the Senate he described his plan for good health, which attracted much com ment. "For a man who died and read his own obituary four and one-half years ago. I an- doing pretty well." said Senator Tillman, referring to the ef' fects of his new diet. WIjlL NEED MANY HORSES. Enormous Demand Will ('ause' Pr'ices to Go Up Referring to reports that agents of the European governments are buying large numbers of horses in the United States for war purposes. President Harrison o the Southern Railway, said Wednesday: "This is a matter that directly con cerns the farmers of the South. On account of the great destruction of horses that is now going on in Eu rope. we may look forward to an ac tive demand for draft animals during the war and for some time after the restoration of peace. The natural ef fect of this will be to bring about higher prices, and this emphasizes the importance to e farmers of the South of raising their own draft ani mals and not buying so many horses and mules from the West as hereto fore." Need 7:5,000 Bales a Month. U'nited States Ambassador James W. Gerard. of Berlin, has telegraph ed that Germany needs 50,000 bales of cotton each month and that Aus' tri wil ue ->,00 bo ales T'STORY OF FIUiTIN FIGHT IN MUD FILLED TRENHES TOLD BY FRENCMAN iRAPlI STORY OF WAR Writer Describes Keenly his Peelings thder Tetrilfic Fire-How Steady WI o Ge'rmans Overwhelmed His Position.-Described Journey on Foot to Hospital. How French and Germans fought and tore at each other like maddened beasts in the mud filled trenches along the Aisne with only a wan moon and the glare of bursting shells to give them light is told in another remarhable description of the war by Sergeant LouWs, of the 216th regi ment of French iifantry -eserves, re serves, received by his fiancee. Writihg from his cbt in the general hospital at Havre, the soldier con eluides this grim epic of a modern war with a picture of the Sisters of Chari ty, who creep behind the battle lines, aiding the wounded and sick. Paint Ing them as gentle angels with the courage of stoics, the sergeant cries: "Here is the spirit of France; Franee still lives, thank "od. Vive l'Fraice!" With his 'onipany, the Nineteenth, the sergeant, on September 14, in a trench near Fontenoy, where the con flict raged most fiercely, day and night. On Friday, September 19, af ter five days of continuous fighting, his company was sent back for a short rest, while fresh troops piled into the mud filled trenches into which a dull. leaden rain was drip ping. Was Too Tired to Feel. "Like caricatures fashioned Of mud. suddenly calld to life, we hob bled wearily bit 'of the holes where we had lived under a hell of burst ing shells, searing flame and nause ous gases for days," he writes "We were relieved by other troops, who saluted us as they passed. Did we salute back? I do not remember.1 I only know my weariness was 'past a physical sensation. I was a dead man who somehow had the power of moving. We were marched to the castle farm of Goudrecourt, near Fon tenoy, north of Aisne; in sort, back of the table land, where we were since Sunday, the fourteenth. Here we slept, despite the shells which screamed over us and tore at the walls, biting in them great, livid holes. "i thbught 6f yIi. and then I thought Of my first day' of war on the ciest above Fladhslanden, in Alsace. I shw there my first dead-Bavarian di'a'oons. My God! How big they looked, sleeping on the gentle slopes. Since then I have seen so many dead -my eyes are seared. Our French look so small and quiet, after they cease crying out in pain and die. Their knapsacks are little: their blue overcoats twist about them in such a ludicrous way. I have gotten so when I see dead men I let my eyes fall on their hands-the hands that are always stretched so wide, as if they sought something. And on them I see so many little gold bands that are wedding rings. Back to Trenches Again. "All of Saturday, while we.rest and eat and eat, great warm meals, and seek water that we may wash, the shells 'come. We witch the great walls about this castle farm crumble in jets of white smoke and we shud der at the explosions that seem to come a moment after. All of us clean our arms, so rusted by the rain -the eternal rain that will never stop. Our officers put in order the wavering and. mixed units, and that night we are told we are to go back to our posts. B.ut our officers agree to let us rest. "At two or three o'clock Sunday morning we fell in again and went back to aid our comrades in the trenches and redoubts. "In the trenches we crouch while the shells and bullets from the Ger man infantry play over us-and, alas, on us. Overhead the moon struggles about in the clouds, for the rain has ceased a little, while mad stipeaks of white light whisper their way from the German trenches and touch some where along our line. In a moment there is a screaming shell where the light was, and we know that some of~ our comrades have answered Fac' last call. Germans Come in Blocks. "We were not paying much atten tion to anything after two hours of this. We just fired when told. Then suddenly at daybreak the Germans came Fifty yards away we saw them; in the streaky light that beck ons the sun in these table lands. They came like solid blocks which were machines. We fired-my God! We fired Into their faces, and they stretched dead. But they came on, sometimes shouting, sometimes puf fing. We beat them with the butt ends of our muskets and we stabbed them with our bayonets. It was hor rible. They did not hurt us so much, for we were in our trenches, into which they tried again and again to come. Our grape shot tore chunks out of that machine, which were fill ed up. Our bayonets ripped great holes in it. The holes disappeared. "We were exhausted. Would there never be an end to them? Some times one came into the trench. He died, with many aiding him. The machine grew heavier; it overflo-wed us Daylight found Germans all about us. Only our rear was open. I was wounded twice-a bayonet was thrust Into me: a shot struck me but still I fought on. What else was there to do? Keep) on Coming and Coming. "We were exhausted from killing. Then came the order to abandon the trenches. There were so many there who would never hear that order, and others who cried out when they found they could not crawl away from those animals, who kept on comir.g and coming. They looked horrible in the new light, with their stubby, dirty faces: their tight uini forms of the color of the earth. "I retreated with my company. I could hardly go on, but I did not want to fall into German hands. After two miles I was exhausted. I stopped in a barn, which was being used as a temporary hospital. But the Rled Cross surgeon who was there said it was not a safe haven. If I was able to walk, he said. I had better gn Alreadyv hells were striking about; I was only a little distance off when I heard the thunder of falling boards, and cries and screams. I knew the barn was a target. "I walked six miles to Vic-sur Aisne, to the big hospital. My way was along the pathway of the fire which had been there a short time before. Eveiywhere death and deso lation. How France suffers! There were tears in my eyes, and they were not tears of pain, ma petite. Wounded, Goes Twenty Miles. "At Vic-sur-Aisne, the surgeon there, after treating ziie, selit nie, with bthers, tb a sanitary train at the station of Villers-Cotteerets, twenty miles away. What a jour ney! I walked, I rode on a freight wagon. I rode on the train. Twen ty-six or eight hours afterward I ar rived at Havre, where I was sent to the General Hospital. Durin~g this long .ourney what pity, what mercy I met! "Still with the mad memories of that last morning in those trenches with those beasts about me, I see that the courage of my country still lives in its women. They give us dantles from their poor stores and they weep over us. It Is this which niakes 'us courageous ovei thosel biarbarians "Ii my ward, where I lay, the wo men who minister to me and the oth ers are renewing the miracle of evan gelical charity. Only this time It is not a ceremony but a necessity. They washed us when we came-our faces, our hands, our feet-and brought us back to human semblance from un derneath cloth of mud. "oi dieven days now I am here. We all are comfortable. We have the attendance of the best physicians in Havre, and we have, above all, the care of the Catholic Sisters of Char ity. Pays Tribute to Sisters. "How shall I praise enough these angels on earth? Of infinite good ness are they, without sentimentality or affected sensibility. So I have seen them where adath aid destruefton abounded, an d s i sbe timi here the same. In these women one finds no romantic goodness thit is in real ity only selfishness projected for.self satisfaction. One finds the goodness of great souls; the goodness of 1 pity that is divine. Here is the spirit of France; France still lives, thank God! Vive la France! "I have seea these. oh-, so good women coolly, laboriously, dexter ously treat the most horrible of wounds, that made even n%, who am hardened now, turn white. They are so free from the dramatic: so uncan nily adept and perfect In demeanor. "Well, to-day is the reopeUing of school; the vacation uv1inch began so kindly for me when I bade my pupils. godspeed ends most strangel*, does it not! .i wa.nted tb g- home for my con valescence, but now I do not care Since I have written I have just heard of the death of my cousin George. He was killed fighting at Bouillancy. on the Oise, just six kilometres from me. Ah, my poor George! So chic, so gay, so happy! How he loved life! He had so many friends. We were like brothers. I shan't see him again. It is sad, this war, is it not? I can. write no more. I am too oppressed.'' DROVE PICK IN SKULL. Convict Murders Guard on Spartan burg tead. WVill H-ughes, sentehoced a iti more thah a year 'ago to 1I'1 imprison ment for the murd'er of C~fer Cox near Tucai in Spartanburg county, Mnday afternoon killed Robert Stephens, the guard in charge of the gang on which he was a prisoner with a pick, robbed him of his two pistols and $40 in cash and made his escape. Alt day Monday and Tuesday the offi cers of the county and many deputies armed with shotguns are scouring the county in antomob'iles for the fugi ti've. Stepherns had been warned that Hughes was plotting te kill him and make his escape, :but apparently had paid little attention to the warning. The gang was at work on the road ath of the city, near Arkwright, When Hughes saw his chance and, seizing a pick, landed a terrific blow on Stephens' head. The guard drop ped his pistols and, going through the pockets of his clothes, took what money he had on his person. Most of the other prisoners were panic-stricken and made no effort either to escape or to rush to the guard's aid. After arming himoself. Hughes compelled a negro at the point of a gun to break the chains that bound his feet and later ex changed clothes with another negro whom he met on the highway. Stephens, the guard, was taken to the city hospital, but died in a few hodrs without regaining c'onscioushess. The murder for which Hughes was convicted was one of the most cold blooded crimes ever committed in the county. It was stated at tile trial that he killed Cox while Cox stood with his hands up begging that his life be spared. A negro woman,-Lula Huff, was an accomplice in the crime and was tried with Hughes. She, too, was given a life sentence and is now in the penitentiary. Hughes had never been taken to the penitentiary but was allowed to serve on the coun ty chain gang. Hughes is the son of a farmer resid ing near ReidsvIlle, in Spartanburg countd, is about 30 years of age, heavy-set and has a heavy face with ruddy complexion. A Tuesday dispatch says William~ Revels, the convict who fled with William 'Hughes Monday night, after Hughes, who wvas serving a life sen tence for murder, had killer Robert Stevens, their guard, with a pick, sur rendered Tuesday. He said Hughes, at the point of a pistol, compelled him to accompany him, but that he had given Hughes the slip as -he was sleeping in woods near Greer early Tuesday morning. At the inquest into Stevens' death; testimony contradicting Revels' story was given, and he was ordered held as an accessory to the murder of the guard. Hundreds of armed men searched the county without finding Hughes, who, according to Revels, in tended to hide in the North Carolina mountains. Kills Wife, Children and Self. W. W. Stromberg, a confectioner of Galeburg. Inh., Wednesday killed his wife and three children and then suicided. No Alliance With Persia. The Persian Minister at Petrograd has denied the reported alliance he STRUCCLE GOES ON GERMAN ADVANCE IS CHECKED BY INDIAN TROOPS. Uermanis C'an Make io Advance in Coast District -; Why Germany Wants Coast Towns. Thi hattlo fbi- the Straits of Dover, one of the most sanguinary df the war. is continuing with unabated fury, but thus far without either side ganing decided advantage. The Germans, who at terrible cost in life, last Saturday, crossed the Yser canal ,between Nieuport and Dixmude, have not been able to make further progress as the Allies, 'ac cording to a report of German Gen eral Headquarters, are obstinately defending their positions. It is the same farther south, around Armentieres, Lille, Labasse and Arrais. The opposing Armies are deliverinig fierce attacks, gaining or losing a few miles or less of ground with sacrifices in life that are appall ing. The whole countryside is fairly reeking wth the blood of thousands of killed or wounded. In the towns and villages, with which the country is dotted and most of which have been laid in ruins by the artillery, most desperate fighting has occurred when the civalry and in fantry came into contact. Both sides speak of heavy losses they have im posed on their adversaries, but say nothing of their own.dead or wound ed, whose places are being filled with reinforcements. The British fleet which did such execution in bombarding the German flank, seems to have withdrawn. The Germans say this was because their -artillery was beginning to reach the ships: The belief is expressed, how 4'vsr, thit th fleet wil b4 able to ren der dAtnable Geimaii occupation ot any part of the Belgian or French coast. The bpinion also is expressed that the operatiois of the ellied ves -sels off the Belgian coast and.in the vicinity of the Straits of Dover may cause- the German fleet to come out and give battle. Up until Tuesday the Allies had been forced to give way at sdtne points, but since that time, according to the French official communicatifn, they have held their positions at every point from the mouth of the Yser to the Lens district, And again have advanced betw een Ypes and dulei- whert there has beeh some of the sternest fightihg of this san galaary battle ahd wherb the British Indisih trocs .hae made their first ppardnee in the firing lie. The opposing forees arb -o strong that it must be several days .before a decisive result is attained by either side, despite great losses they are suf fering and which grow greater as re port. follows reports. The London Daily Mail's Bergen corretpon4ent quotes the Saxon State Gazette for the following Atatemlent made by. a general in the adjutant general's offioe in the war department in lrlin: "If the 9hglish watch on our naval stations in the neighbor hood of Hlelgoland is almost inipos sibl hb* it will btedini Q0ite ihipos sible when Belgium and th.e north coast of Franee to the mouth of the Seine are In German hands. "ill c'ourse -of time We shill1 bssess Calais and probably Dieppe and Havre. Our 12-inch howitzers have the large range of fourteen miles and the 17-nch a still greater range. Eng land can expect still more artillery surprises. Even if we can not shoot from the French coast to the English coast, a safety zone could be made for German ships covering more then half the navigable water. "The French harbors will serve as bases for torpedo boats; siibmarnes, rusers anda Zeppelins and can be made impregnable from the sea by a double or triple row of mines. If this triple field should be laid from the French coast to the English coast then Portsmouth and Plymouth would be cut off from the North Sea and connection around Scotland ould be difficult. "The possibility of laying such mines is not doubted, as they could be laid under cover of ar'tllery. Our submarine and torpedo division also wold come into actibh. An invasion of Englan~d would be easily possible." British sailors are credited with saying that their vessels can prevent these guns being put in position. They claim that even if .t'ey should be mouhted they will not be so deadly against a faset muoving tar-get as agaist the atr'tionary forts they de stoyed so easily. While this life and death struggle is going on in the west the French have become more active along the Alsatian border and are said to be making preparations ;.nd securing advanced positions In view of pos sible attacks by. the Germans with their big howitzers on the Belfort fortress. It now seems to be realized that no fortress has any cha~nce of holding out when once -these big Ger man guns are brought Into action against it. SHOT IN DARK. Man Wanders in Neighbor's Yard and s Seriously Wounded. A specialist in surgery was carried to Laurens Thursday from Columbia by special train to perform an opera tion in an effort to save the life of John Watts, only son of Richard C. Watts, associate justice of the su preme court of South Carolina. Young Watts was shot and danger ously wounded at 4 o'clock by Eu gene H. Wilkes when the young .man, then not recognized by Mr. Wilkes, was discovered in the yard of the Wilkes residence. Some time before 4 o'clomt Mr. Wilkes and his wife were arous~ed by the banking of the dog. Lates th~ey heard a noise in the back yard which sounded like some one scran ibling over the fence. Thinking it iwas a coal thief, Mr. and Mrs -Wilket pro ceeded to the back door and Mr Seeing a figure of a man is the 'dark. Seeing a figure 0f a man in th ta lark ness, Mr. Wilkes hailed him. Receiving no response. he- -'ired aiming at the lower part of his b ody The man fell, then arose an( rai across the street and fell in the ft, on porch of B. L. Clardy's residence I is stated that he appeared to be u. 12 der the influence of liquor whaIB found and this probably explains i.i conduct, as he did not know where ke SOME BOERS REBEL UNION Of SOUTH AFRICA ACE$ 3[RI1U8 DISAFFECTION CAUSES ARE 13COSSED Letters Received In New York Lend New Imporiance to Rebelliou of Former Boer Leader-British Gov ernment Announces Victory-Lon don Press View Trouble Seriously. The following offcial statement was issued Wednesday night regard ing the Union of South Africa rebel lion: "General Botha reports that he left Rustenburg (a district in the west part of the Transvaal colony) Tuesday and proceeded in the direc tion in which General Christian Beyers, with his command, was sup posed to be. He came in toich.with General Beyers' men in the forenoon and drove them in headlong rout the whole of the day and captured 80. "In fighting near the end of the pursuit, one of General -Botha's men and several of Beyers' command were wounded. "When the report was made the pursuit was still in progress." All the English newspapers regard the rebellion as very sdrious, thdugh it is the general opinion that while Generals Botha and Smuts and Mr Steyn, formerly president, side with Great Britain, it will be speedily crushed. According to the New York Herald, based upon letters from Americans in Johannesburg, the mysterious kill ing, in August, of General Jacobus Hendrick d. I lley. one of the Boer heroes of th' wah of 139,i903, Is re sponsible aliost ehtirely for the in surretidri led ?y General Christian De Wbt. According to the belief of almost all the Boers in South Africa. General de la Rey was not killed by bandits, as the censored dispatches from Jo bannesburg histead at the time, but by British r gents, who wrongly sus pected the patriarchal Boer of dis loyalty. In confirmation of the disquieting news brought by the South African letters are the censored dispatches which afinouced the killing of Gen eral de la Rey and the dispatches whiih cOme from London. These dis patches ahhduiiNed that General De Wet's chief sid in tiid fetellious movemenet is Brigadier General Chris tian Frederick Beyers. .General Bey ers. it is stated in the dispatches an nouncing the kilhnk df General de'la Rey. was riding in the autoiibicile with de la Rey when the aged pa triot was shot: this is admitted by the police, but assertedly through an accident. Now it turns out, according to the new information which has reached here, the official explanation of how the killing of de' la Rey occurred was that de ia fty was riding with Gen. Peyers in an kutombile which re sembled one that Was beig used by bahilits the police were pursuing. Among the coidrliste; however, the letters aissert, the belief ha become univral that de la Rey was slain .be cause he hid fiatly?. refued to join a movement iiitenfled to organize an expeditionary force of troops of the Union of South Africa against the African possessions of Germany. In this attitude Gen. de la Rey is declared to have had the support of Gen. 'Beyers, and the letters assert the man now aidhng Gen. De Wet also was marked for assassination. Gen Beyers, *as was announced in the disp'atchis *iri~ tdid.Uf tie ktilling of de la Rey, had that day resigned his position as commander in chief of the defence forces of the Union of South Africa. Under De Wet, it was admitted on every hand, the rebellion against the British rule has more chance of suc cess than under any other leader the colonists might have chosen. His first move is directly in line with the bewildering methods he employed to harass the British troops in the list war. Armed rebellious comimandoes seized the towh of lHeiibi'th, iii the northerh part of the Orange River colony, and the gdvernment, officials were taken pr-isoners. Eeilbron is the old home of Geti. De Wet. He was a farmer there and he went out from Heilbroti as a private with the Orange Free State forces lii the Boeer war. . .. . "Until dispatches proved that Gen. De Wet was at the head of the re bellion we were inclined to the belief that the seriousness of the trouble in the South South African colonies was overestimated," said the export man ager of one of the largest machinery exporting firms in this country, which has branch offices in practically every important town in the affected South African district. "With the presence of De Wet, however, the situation is entirely dif ferent. He is perhaps the most pop ular man in the whole country. His popularity is so great that it seems impossible to believe that crushing a rebellion he is leading is easy of ac complishment. He has about 600. 000 colonists to draw from. and my personal experiences in the country forces me to the belief he can depend absolutely upon their united support as against allegiance to the British. "The presence of between 15,000 and 20,000 Portugese troops who were sent there at the beginning of the European hosilities at first caus ed us to believe such a force could promptly put down any demonstra tion by the colonists. Such a force. as he has repeatedly demonstrated, would be a laughing matter for De Wet. He has played with larger British forces, and his wonderful ability as a leader of troops is so gen erally recognized that there is little faith in the abilty of the Portugese forces to outwit him. "Besides, it would take the Portu gese forces considerably longer to get from Delagoa Bay or Mozam bique. where they now are, than it wouid for De Wet to mobilize his whole army and get into the field. But we are confronted by the situa tion that De Wet already is in the field. It will take a very great force to crush him, and the struggle then will be a long one, as De Wet clearly illustrated before." Russians Claim Great Victory. The Russians claim that the Ger man armies in Poland have beei forc to withraw by the Russians. DAY OF THANKSGIVING PRESIDENT ISSUES PROCLAMA TION TO NATION. Calls on All Christian People That They Give Up Their Work and Go to Their Houses of Worship. President Wilson Wednesday is sued a proclamation, designating Thursday, November 26, as Thanks giving Day. The president's proclaamtion, Whith refers to the fact that the United 5tstes is. at peace while the rest of the world Is 9t war, follows: "By the President of the Uhited States-A Proclamation: "It has long been the honored cus tom of our people to turn :n the fruitful autumn year in praise and thanksgiving to Almighty God for his many blessings and mercies to us as a nation. , The year that is now draw ing to a close since we last observed, our day of national thanksgiving has been, while a year of discipline be cause of the mighty forces of war and of change which have disturbed the world, also a year of special blessing for us. "It has been vouchsafed to us to remain at peace, with honor, and in some part to succor the suffering and supply the needs of those who are in want. We have been privileged by our own peace and self-control in some degree to steady the counsels and shape the hopes and purposes of a day of fear and distress. Our peo pIe have looked upon their own life as a nation with a deeper comprehen sion a fuller, realization of their re sponsibilities, us well as of their blessings, and a keener sense of the moral and practical signigeance of what their part among the nations of the world may come to be. "The hurtful effects of foreign war in their own industrial and commer cial affairs have made them feel the more fully and see the more clearly their nmutual interdependence upon ne another and has stirred them to 1 helpful co-operation such as they have seidem practiced before. They have beeh qtuickened by a great moral stimiiltidfi. Their unmistakable ar lor for peace, their earnest pity and isinterested sympathy for those who are suffering, their readiess'to help and to think of the needs for others, as revealed them to themselves as well as to the world. "Our crops will feed all who need food; the self-possession of our peo ple amidst the most serious anxieties and difficulties and the steadines and resoucefulness of our business men will serve other ;.ations as well as )ur own. "The busine-s of the country has been supplied wth new channels of rade and in W rierse. The Panama !anal has beea opened to the com merce of the rations. The two conti aets of AmesAica have been bound in 3oser ties df ?'indship. New instru entalities of Imornational. trade have be;., trated whi2 *Hif be also iew inst rumew-ntalities of acquainance, ntercourse and mutual service. Never before have the people of the United tates been so situated for their own dvantage or the advantage of their eighors, or so equipped to serve themselves and mankind. "ow, therefore, , Woodrow Wil son, president of the United States of Ameica, do hereby designate Thurs Clay, the 26th of November, next, as a day of thansksgiving and prayer and invite th4 people thrdtughout the land to cease from their Wotited occupa tiou and in their several homes and places of worship~ render thanks to Almighty God. "In witness wheredf, I have here unto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. "Done at the city of Washington, this 28th day of October, in the yeapr of our Lord 1914, and of the inde pedece of the United States of America the 139th. "Woodrow Wilson. "By the pre'sidebt: "Robert Lansing, "Acting Secretary of State." PASSED BOTH HOUSES. Senate and House Agree on Twenty-1 Four Mlillion -Bond Issue Despite a strenuous effort by the minority in the House. the cotton bond issue bill was ratified at 2:07 o'clock Friday morning. The bill only needs .the signature of the gov ernor to become a law. The meas ure proposes to submit ,to the peo pl in the election next Tuesday the proposition of issuing $24,000,000 in Sfate bonds to retire a part of the South Carolina cotton crop. Thurs day afternoon the Senate agreed to the House substitute for the original bond issue bill, passed by the upper House some time ago. The cotton bond issue bill was passed by the House by a vote of 57 to 41. The minority in the House opposed to the passage of the meas ure has made one of the most spec tacular and well managed fights against the bill which has taken place in the general assembly on any measure in recent years. M1AY FORTIFY LINE. German Invasion Checked But Invad ers Can Alaintain Positions. An English correspondent says: "It is possible that the Germans in tend to hold this line all winter and if they fortify their positions, it is certain that they can make no further move forward into French territory. "Around Rheims there now is only one point where the Germans have heavy artillery and this consists of only one big gun and 20 pieces of small artillery- These are all Aus trian. This artillery is located near Berru, some distance from the city, which, however, is well within the range of the big gun. This gun,a rapidly moving piece, pulled by a mo tor tractor, contents itself with a shot or two daily." French Lose 40,000. Swiss reports are that since the since the capture of Camp des Ro maines by the Germans the Frenei loss between Toul and Verdun hal been more than 40,000. 10,000 Bales to Biremen. -The steamer Rhinereite is en route from Galveston. Texas, to B3reme1 with 3 0,000 bales of cotton. .The Thursday afternoon report c Sthe French war office noted advance TURKEY IN WAR RUSSIAN 'ORTS ARE BOEWBAR ED BY TURKISH IRUSIERS BRmSH SEA LORD QUITS Harping Critics Force Prince Louis of Battenburg, One of- Admiraltys Noted Strategists, to Resign on Ac count of His Austrian Birth and Foreign Blood Relationship. The latest features of the I pean war are the entrance of TurL.j into the struggle, as reported from Petrograd and Tokyo, and Prince Louis of Battenberg's retirement as first sea lord of the British admiral ty. Ever since the war -began the at titude of Turkey has been the subject of doubt. It has been reported a number of times that Turkey was ready to join forces with Germany, and it was even said that Germany had supplied the Ottoman govern ment with large sums of money Great Britain. warned Turkey to keep off and recent advices from Son stantinople indicated that Turkey in tended to maintain her - neutrality. Now comes word that a Turkish cruiser has bombarded the Russian fort of Theodosia in Crimea, and- that. another Turkish cruiser has threat ened the seaport of Novorossik on the Black Sea. Under stress of pursuit by British warship the German cruisers Goeben and Breslau early in the war took refuge at Conctantinople. They were purchased by Turkey but the German officers and crews were retined. Later they sallied forth and a' warn ing was issued by Russia that should the Russian warships meet these two cruisers they would open fire.- The former German warships have proved a cause of irritation throughout the last few weeks to tho Allies- and Great Britain asked the Ottoman gov ernment to remove tde Germans from the vessels but Turkey replied that it was a domestic question. Meanwhile Turkey has been under sureillance by the Allies. He" ac tion in the present attack on Russian seaports has not been explained but it is possible for injection Into wal may bring to army, some of the Bal kan states which up to the present have remained quiescent. The retirement of Prince Louis of Battenberg from the British admiral ty will be learned with no surprise, for the British admiral, who held the post of first sea lord, has been the subject of a newspaper campaign be cause of his Austrian birth and Ger man connections. In his lettei of resignation Prince Louis says he has been driven to the painful conclusion that his birth and parentage have Im paired his usefulness with the admir alty, and that he withdraws, hoping to prdt#i&e the administration of the admiralty. A dispatch froni Theodosia, Cri mea, says from 9:30 to 16-20 o'cltck - Thursday morning a Turkish1 Cruiser with three funnels bombarded the station and city, damaging the cathe dral. the Greek church, a pier and some sheds. A branch of the Rus sian Bank of Foreign Commerce caught fire. At the conclusion of the bombardment the cruiser left in a southwesterly direction. A dispatch from Novogorossisk. Cancassia, says the Turkish cruiser Hamidie, which arriver there Thurs day, demanded the surrender of the city and'the government properties, threatening in case of refusal to bom bard the town. The Turkish consul and officials were - arrested. The cruiser withdrew. Theodosia is a Russian seaport on the southeast coast of Crimea, abouf 100 miles northeast of Sabastopot, by which It is connected by rail. Novorossisk is on the east coast of the Black sea and is the capital of the territory of the Black Sea. Prince Louis of Battenberg, about whom there has been much gossip because of his Austrian origin, has resigned his position as first lord of the British admiralty. No open charges have been made against him but a newspaper campaign against his holding such a high command is thought to be responsible for his withdrawal. Announcement of Prfnce Louis' resignation was made Thurs day night-in the court circular, which stated that the prince had been re ceived in audience by the king on re linquishing his appointment. Although born in Austria, Prince Louise came to0 England as a boy and was naturalized in 1888 when he was only 14 years old. Twenty-three years later he was promoted to a captaincy, and after another 13 years became a rear admiral. He was ap pointed first sea lord in 1912-a few years after his visit to America. Besides the fact that he was born in Austria the chief argument his opponents made against him was that he is the brother-in-law of 'Prince Henry of Prussia, who holds a some what similar command in the Ger man navy. There were rumors some time ago that Prince Louis had been confined in the Tower of London. These re ports gained little serious considera tion, however, but the authorities deemed it expedient that he should appear more in public instead of con tinuing himself to the admiralty. where since the outbreak of the war he had been working night and day directing the strategy of the navy. He was consi >red one of the most noted strategists of the admiralty. Recently some of ti,: less influeni tial newspapers took up the matter, asking that some statement be made regarding the retention of an officer of German birth as the professional head of the navy. The Globe, while expressing sympathy for the priice, whom it described as "himself the soul of honor, but the subject of ma lignant gossip and unfounded suspi cians," asked that for his own sakle "no less for that, of the nation over whose destinies he now exercises such 1paramount influence," some authori tative statement be issued "of a uar ture so emphatic and so unqutalifled as to remove forever every cloud& af doubt and to silence every breath of srumor." The prince's defenders quickly re plied with the record of his services and those of his family to England. SHis nephew. Prince Maurice of Ba' s tenberg, was the first member of the .ya fanil to be killed in the w#V.