Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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VOL.XXVIII MANNING, S, C, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13,_1915 MAE THtll MARK: 21 FER EENT IF lHITE VIT[R ARE I lUTERATE 33 COUNTIES REPORT Stat Superintendent of Educatlo Estimats One White Man Out o Every Five is Unable to Read a Write-Cherokee Leeds With 20J Per Cente-Beanfort Lowest, Witi 7 Per Cent. That 20 per cent. of the white mel of South Carolina of voting age ar Illiterate is the estimate made fron literacy figures compiled by Stato Superintendent J. E. Swearingei from thirty-three of the forty-foui counties in South Carolina, based ox the returns of the Demociatic clul rolls. This is an increase of 100 per cent in illiteracy among white voters. U four years, for the federal census o: 1910 showed that 10.3 of the whitf voters of the State were illiterate "Public school organization and ef fclency are challenged in clariox tones by these igures," says State Superintendent of Education Swear Ingen in his annual report to the general assembly. Cherokee county occupies the un enviable position of showing the greatest percentage of illiterac among the white voters of the State in the figures of thirty-three out of the forty-four counties reported tc State Superintendent of Education John E. Swearingen. The percentage of Democratic vot era In Cherokee county who are un able-to sign their own names Is 29.3. Marlboro comes next with 27.5, Pickens third with 26.4, Lancaster fourth with 25.2, and Spartanburg a close Ofth with 25 per cent. Figures were-not obtained from the counties of BarnyeU, Berkeley, Charleston, Chesterfield, Colleton, Fairfield, Greenville, Greenwood, Horry, Lee and Orangeburg. * Beaufort carries off first honors in the, small percentage of illiteracy, only 7 per cent of her white voters being unable to sign their names to the Democratic club rolls. Edgefield, the home county of the United States Senator B. R. Tillman and of Super intendent Swearingen, stands second with 8.1 and Calhoun is third with 10 per cent., These figures .were ob tained from the Democratic club rolls. "The census of 1910," says Super intendent Swearingen In his report to the general assembly, "showed 17, 59kwhite males of native parentage who were unable to read and write The census further shows that 10.3 per 6eit ofour white voters were Bliterate.- These figures -were ques tioned by many, but the Democratic rolls of 1914 disclosed some interest jug facts in this connection. Doubtless hundreds of names were marked with C cross on these rolls for reasons that might be easily enumerated. uow much would it mean for the cause of education if every voter unable to write his name iwould feel humiliated and ashamed to make his mark. . The need of such a sentiment Is plainly seen in the literacy figures compiled from th~e Democratic enrollment lists of the several counties." Commenting further o the liter acy figures, Mr. Swearingen says: e-These figures show that the Con federate veterans of 60 years are per haps better educated than their grandsons of 21. The State was re deemed, from earpet-bagg rule in 1876. -The Reform movement of 1890 originated in th'e demand for an agricultural college. Neverthe less, 20 per cent of the men born within th'e last 38 years are either Illiterate or not unwilling to sigr their names with a mark. Public school organIzation and efficiency are challenged in clarion tones by these * fgures." The totals from the 33 counties present an interesting study and af ford room for 'serious thought. as pointed out by an educator In Colum bia Thursday. Of the 30,834 voters between the ages of 21 to 29 years reported, 9,799 made their mark; o1 the 28 494 between 30 and 39 yeari of age, 5,172 made their mark; 18. 249 between the ages of 40 and 4C registered and of the number 2,565 made their mark; of the 13,394 be tween the ages of 50 to 59, 3,325 made their mark; of the 12,564 be tween the ages of 60 years and up -4.090 made their mark. These thir ty-nine counties reported a Demo cratic enrolment of 100,894 and 01 this number 22,251 made their mark -or, in other words, over 22 per cent of the white Democratic voters ir thirty-thzee -counties are illiterate. The total enrollment of Democrat! in the forty-four counties was 154. 876, and to get the percentage of Illiteracy -for the state It would b4 hecessary to have the figures fron every county. Superintendent Swear ingen made every effort to gathe: the figures from each county, but re peated reauests from the eleven coun ties named brought no responses. I Is believed that 20 per cent. illiterac: among the - white citizens of Souti Carolina is correct. That one out of every five whit4 man Is Illiterate, unable to read an write his name. is bound to add in creased demand for the enactment o a compulsory school attendance law in the opinion of leaders in Sout1 Carolina. If this estimate is correc the literacy among white men ha: *doubled-since the census of 1910: il other words, Increased 100 per cent The percentage of illiteracy from the various counties reported amon: the white Democratic voters is: Ab beville. 13.2; Aiken, 22.8: Ander son, 22.6: Bamberg, 11.7; Barnwell no report: Beaufort. 7: Berkeley, n resort; Calhoun. 10; Charleston, ni reuort Cherokee. 29.3: Chestei 17.2; Chesterfield. no report: Claren don. 1-'.S; Colleton. no report: Da! 1fugton. 20.7; Dorchester, 18.1 Edgefleid, 8.1: Fairfield. no report Florence. 20.2: Georgetown, 20.5 Greenville. no report; Greenwood, n renort: IWampton. 19.4: W-orry, no re port: Jasper. 19.3: Kershaw. 24.9 Lancaster. 25.2: Laurens. 12.5: Lei no report; Lexington. 18.3: Marior 22.4; Marlboro. 27.5: Newberr3 13.3; Oconee, percentage not given Orangeburg, no report; ,Picken! 26.4: Richland. 12.3: Saluda, 16.3 Spartanburg. 25; Sumter. 13.8; Ui Ton, 19.3; Williamsburg, 21.2; YorI h PRESIDENT ON SUFFRAGI HE AGAIN REFUSES TO AID TU SUFFRAGETTES. President Wilson Interested in th4 Fight But Believes the Issue is i State One Only. President Wilson declined Thurs day for the sixth time since he enter ed the White House to support a fed eral constitutional amendment foi woman suffrage When a delegatior of Democratic women, who declaret they had helped elect him, presentet a plea that he support the proposei amendment he reiterated his previou. k declaration that he considered suf frage a State issue. Mrs. George A. Armes, presiden1 of the District of Columbia Wilsos and Marshall League; Miss Alberta Hill, of New York, and Dr. Frances McGaskin, spokesman for the delega tion, reminded the president that th( House would vote on the suffrage amendment January 12. "I am most unaffectedly compli o mented by this visit that you have paid me." the president told the wo men. "I have been called on several times to say what my position is on the very Important matter that you are so deeply interested in. I want to say that nobody can look on the light you are making without great admiration, and I certainly am one of those who admire the tenacity and the skill and the address with which you try to promote the matter that you are interested in. "But I am tied to a conviction which I have had all my life that changes of this sort ought to be brought about state by state. If it were not a matter of female suffrage, if it were a matter of any other things connected with suffrage, I would hold the same opinion. It is a long-standing and deeply matured conviction on my part and, therefore, I would be without excuse to my own constitutional principles if I lent my support to this very Important move ment for an amendment to the consti tution of the United States. "Frankly, I do not think that this is the wise or the permanent way to build. I know that you perhaps unanimously disagree. with me, but you will not think the less of me for being perfectly frank in the avowal of my own convictions on that sub ject; and certainly that avowal rep resents no attitude of antagonism, but merely an attitude of principle. "I want to say again how much complimented I am by your call and also by the confidence that you have so generously expressed in me. I hope that in some respects I may live to justify that confidence." WANTS CONSULS WITHDRAWN. Germany Notifies U. S. That Consuls Must be Acceptable to Governor. Secretary Bryan had before him for consideration the formal notification from rimny th'at American consuls in Belgium must be acceptable to the German military authorities and ask ing for the withdrawal of certain con suls for the present. at least. The United States now has consular repre sentatives only in Brussels, Antwerp, fAege and Ghent. Since the war broke out they have been engaged chiefly in looking after refugees and aiding in relief work, as there was little regu lar work to do. Although the text of the communi cation has not been made public, it is believed in official circles to be simi lar to the one sent Argentina and other neutral countries, and that, while the Berlin government is not insistent that consuls in Belgium take out new exequaturs from German offi cials, It announces that such consuls must perform their duties only by permission from the military author Ities controllng the territory in which the consulate is located. STORM DAMAGE IN GEORGIA. Heavy Gale Wrought Injury in South ern Part of State. Two persons were killed, several others badly injured and property worth many thousands of dollars was damaged by a violent wind storm which swept northern Florida and southern Georgia Wednesday night, according to reports. Wire commun ication with the affected territory was sthspended until after midnight and only meager details have yet been received. The greatest damage apparently was in south Georgia, and all the fatalities reported were in that sec tion. W. J. Spain was killed at Quit man, and Mrs. Thomas Sawyer and her son were seriously hurt when their home at Abbeville was wrecked. Residences, farm buildings, trees, ences and telegraph poles were 'lown down and trees were uproot d Felling timber injured live stock >n many farms. Reports were that nuch damage was done along the Florida East coast, but its extent has 'ot yet been determined. Little dam ge resulted in this city. ATTACKED FROM AIR. Dunkirk Being Subjected to Attemipts by Air Fleets. The Dondon Daily Mail's corre spondent in France reports that a 'zeppelin skirted the French seacoast near Gravelines twelve miles south west of Dunkirk Wednesday and then turned westward toward England, and that it is rumored that two other Zeppelins preceded it. "Thereafter throughout the hole day" the correspondent adds. "Dun. kirk was subjected to German aero plane raids and attempts to droi bombs, but owing to the vigorous fire of the town's guns few bombs fell At one moment six aeroplanes were hovering over the town, but were compelled to retreat. Apparently nc damage was done." Issued Fraudulent Passrerts. -Maurice Dieches, a New Tcrk law - yer, and eleven others, he e bees arrested to break up an alleged con spiracy to furnish Germany army of fiers and reservists with Americar passports to enable them to ieturt - to Germany from th'is country with out danger of molestation by the Ales. Canz Wins Victory. Troops of Gen. Carranza won victory over a command of Vill: troops near Torreon, on Tuesday .Two trains of arms and ammunitio2 - 4~"~- - G'AIPAIUNS 0O Oh IUSSIAN LAUNCH NEW AIRY 11 EAST PIUSSIAN LINE FIlBTING 13 FIERCE French and German Battle Around Sennheim-Rain and Mud Halt Battles in South Poland-Constan tinople Tells of Captive Russians But Ignores Defeat In Caucasus. Although severe fighting has been going on in France during the past day or two it has been discounted by the Russian successes against the Turks in the Caucasus and against the Austrians in the Carpathians. In both eastern and western war theatres the Germans have been ex ceedingly active. Steady progress is noted in their official statements re garding operations in Poland and the French official bulletins report vio lent German attacks in the Argonne. in the region of Verdun and around Steinbach, in Alsace. Details, as usual, are lacking, as the long drawn out battle are re ferred to briefly, seemingly as a mat ter of routine, unless something of an extraordinary nature occurs. Re garding the operations in the west as a whole, a British eye-witness, who has been the regular chronicler of events, says that "really marked pro gress has been achieved by' the Al lies." He adds, however, that "the German defensive is an active one," and that it must not be inferred that progress has been other than slow and laborious or that the final result in within Immediate reach. Petrograd reports: "On the left bank of the Vistula on January 6, there was an almost general lull along the front of Sochaneczew-holi mow, where only desultory fighting took place. "The Germans, with a view of ap proaching our positions, are endeav oring to apply the processes of siege warfare. In certain places they ad vanced by sapping and are resorting to steel shields in protecting them selves. "In the region of the village of Sochaczew the G rmans who on the night of the 6th captured part of our trenches, were forced out of them in the morning by bayonet attacks In the course of this fighting we captur ed live quick-firers and a number of prisoners. Berlin reports: "Military officials say the great battle in western Gali cia again has resolved itself Into a strugle for certain definite positions in which both sides are well intrench ed. They assert that the Austrians are fihting excellently in their pre pared positions, and that Russian at tempts north of Gorlice to push for ward in the direction of Cracow and on the south of Neu Sandek have fail ed." London reports: , "The Russians, with all their other fronts to cover, have found another army with which to take the offensive against the Ger man position at Mlawa, on the east ern tPrussian frontier, and Wednes day night report the capture of a vil lage on the road to that town. "The Germans still are hammering at the liussian line drawn directly across the roads to Warsaw from the west, but, It Is reported, with less force behind them. In West Galicia, however, where they have reinforced the Austrians, they have held up the Russian advance near Gorlice. "In southern Poland rain has stop pel the fighting. Neither side is able to move there, owing to the high water and the mud. "The Russians continue to drive the Austrians through the snow-cov ered passes of tho Carpathians and out of Bukowina, and simultaneously are dealing In detail with the rem nants of the Turkish armies In Trans-. caucasa, which are reported either to have been routed or surrounded." Neither Turkey nor Germany has conceded the defeat of Turkish armies in the Caucasus as claimed offiially in Petrograd. The latest offcial communication from Turkey altogether Ignores the fighting In the Caucasus and dwells upon the strug gle which has spread over the Per sian frontier to Urumia, an impor tant town where the Turks say that, aided by Persions, they have defeated the Russians. Berlin reports: "Reports from Constantinople say more than fifteen thousand Russian prisoners captured in the Caucasus are being conveyed to the Turkish Interior." Vienna reports the battles in the Carpathian forest district, which now have lasted several months with alter nate successes continue. These are battles of minor importance and often take placve in lovely valleys widely separated from each other. Paris reports: "Reports were re ceived Wednesday evening of violent German attacks In the region of Las signy, in the Argonne, at the cross ing of the road from Le Four de Paris to Varennes, and that from La Haute Chevauchee, In the region of Verdun, and on the ridge which dominates Steinbach. All these attacks have been repulsed." "In the region of Lille we repulsed with success a violent German at tack on one of our trenches. This trench. In the beginning lost by us, was recaptured with great brilliancy and by the exploding of mines we demolished a portion of the German fields works. Between the Somme and the Aisne there has been noth ing to report except artillery engage ments. "In the Woevre district the ad vance made by us to the northwest of Fllrey is more important than was at first taken to be the case. We made ourselves masters of a portion of the enemy's first line." Berlin reports: "In the western arena of the war the English and the French continue to destroy Belgian and French villages behind our front; this they do by bambardment. "North of Arras severe fighting is still going on for the possession of the trenches we took by storm Wed nesday. "In the western part of the forest of Argonne we made further pro gress. The attacks which were de livered January 5 in the eastern part of the Argonne, not far from Courte Chaussee, advanced as far as our trenches, but the enemy was driven back from o positions all along the lneEwitheh - y~r ties Vera conorJatively slght. "e the west of Sennheim (Cer HELD UP MANY TIMES. TRIP FROM LONDON TO BERLIN HALTED VERY OFTEN. -4 American Reporter Takes Letter From Herbert Hoover to Ambassa dor Gerard in Berlin. The delays and interferences. .to which neutrals travelling bttween London and Berlin -are still subject were well illustrated by the experi ences of an Associated Press repre sentative who just made the trip and undertook the amusingly hazardous task of carrying an unsealed letter from Herbert C. Hoover, chairman of the Belgian relief commission in London, to Ambassador Gerard in Berlin. The correspondent had made every preliminary preparation that embas sies and traveling bureaus could sug gest. He had lodged four photo graphs of himself at the American embassy. He had waited in line over. an hour to have his passport vised at the Dutch consulate in London and he arrived at the Victoria station in Lon don three hours before the train for Folkestone was supposed to start. There the suspicions of various na tions are to hos treacherous purposeo were first aroused. "Have you any letters or photo graphs?" was the simple. question, to which his candid reply started the trouble. He answered he had one photograph and one letter. The sleuth, who was at the moment. un screwing the top of a bottle of tooth powder, presumably to. ascertin whether the contents were lyddite or some equally deadly agency, lopking up keenly, accepted the progrede proofs of domestic devotion (the pho tograph was the picture of his wife and child), and opened Mr. Hoover's letter. "Do you realize that this letter contains the names of many British ships?" queried the vigilant defender of his majesty's shores. "I do," said the reporter with all I the solemnity of the wedding cere-|l mony. "Yet you want to carry it to the enemy's country?" "Yes!" "Will you please talk with Inspec tor Seacock, of Scotland Yard?" Inspector Seacock, whose name re called the Crippen trial, gave the I American a searching glance. "Do you know what all these ships are?"|I was his first question. "Mr. Hoover says, if you will no tice, that they are the ships which are carrying the food to hungry Be: glans," was the reply. "Well, you can't take it to Ger many." The reporter then wrote on the envelope a suggestion that Mr. Hoov er send it t Ambassador Gerdrd in the embassy pouch and asked the In spector if he could get out of the pen to get a messenger. There seemed to be no definite reply, but after a few moments' delay the inspector re turned and said: "On second thought I think you can take it. It seems to. be a perfectly open metter." So the messee went safely to Hol land, where the inspectors at Flush ing and Ozendaal never hesitated in will meet with Mrs. H. Yarborough at Bentheim, on the German side of the frontier, the letter came in for expert examination on the part of the whole staff of the helmeted inspec tors, whose questions ranged from inquiries as to the place of birth of the reporter's. parents to questions as to the business and motives of Mr. Hoover. Every passenger on the i train was passed and many of them were staring in at the suspect through the window before the staff finished with the reading of the letter. "Don't you know that it is forbid-i den to carry such a document Into Germany?" "Can you swear thati these ships ree.lly are carrying food into Belgium?" "If you are not per- 1 sonally aware of the exact facts, I don't you realize that you may be committing a serious crime to en deavor to carry this letter to Berlin?"1 And so on. The reported murmured somethng about running the risks if it would help a hungy people. This gave him his courage and In his best German, he asked what they pro posed to do about it. This was an' inspiraton, as nobody had thought- of it before. It was decided that..the reporter could go on. that the in spectors would consider the possibili ties of harm in the letter and, if it seemed wise to give it to him, it would be seat to his Berlin 'address. One week later it had not been so delivered. POLICEMEN KILL BURGLAR. New York Policeman Is Alsa Killed When He Makes -Arrest. A policeman and a burglar were killed and an alleged highwayman was mortally wounded in two revolv er battles New York police fought. with four robbers caught in an at tempted hold-up and a burglary.early Tuesday. The dead: John Haus man, policeman; George Hennessey, burglar. The wounded: "Jack" Dutton, police character. Dutton and an unidentified negro companion, who escaped, shot and killed Hausman as he tried to arrest them after an attempted hold-up. Hutton was shot four times by police men who trapped him a few. blocks away from the scene of the killing. Hennessey was shot and killed by Detective Axel Jensen, who found him prying out a store window. Boy Killed In Runaway. -- Oscar Black, 14 years old, of Green ville, was killed Monday when a team of mules ran away, their lines catch ing about his neck and dragging him to his death Protests Against British Action. Gov. Slaton of Georgia has pro tested to Secretary Bryan against the action of Great Britain in placing naval resinous products on the abso-. lute contraband list. nay) the French again attempted Wednesday night to obtain Posses sion of the height called 'Hill 425.' Their attack broke down under fire and the height remained in our pos session. "Fighting in upper Alsace for pos session of the heights near Sennheinm and Steinbach is described as the most violent of the campaign. The fighting for houses .around the square in Steinbach was especially CITY OF PARIS DUG IN HUGE CIRCLE OF ENTRENOH MENTS PROTECT CAPITAL. Army of Excavators.: Have Been at Work Since First .of September When Germans Threatened Siege. The army of excavators that early in September began -to. dig Paris in when a German siege was threatened has completed its work. The General Confederation of Workers alone sent five thousand vol unteers, who provided their own working tools and -were merely re compensed by s daily ration of food. Thousands of Belgion refugees have also assisted in the work. Jaris now lies in the centre of an Intrenched camp, the diameter of which.is about sixty miles and whose circumference is nearly two hundred miles. 'Iiis is surrounded by row after ro'v f trenches thoroughly cov ered. in ith -ogs and turf throug which lodpliolds have been left for rifle fire. All of tIem communicate with each other and contain transverse banks of earth to prevent them being en filaded by infantry or machine gun fire. Out beyond them- are rifle, pits and barbOAd)yre entainglements plac ed in all-positions where an attack might originate. Still other: precautions have been taken In- front'of the advanced line of trenches by digging deep ditches whose eixstence is hidden by a light oveing of branches and turf, mak ng them invisible to approaching cav alry, infantry or artillery, aftd form Ing veritable traps Into which an at tacking force might fall a prey to the lefenders' machine guns and rifles. The- approaches to. the trenches 'rom the rear consist of subterranean alleries permit the reliefs to be made without rny evposure of the men. All along this front posts of obser ration'have been established, each of which is constantly occupied by 'at east- thred men provided with power ul field glasses and in direct tele honic communication with headquar :rs and witlr:the artillery'batteries n the immediate vicinity. The em lacements of 'these batteries are Mnown only te the headquarters staff md the men who serve the guns, all )f which are buried In the earth, only heir muzzles protruding. For the >enefit of the gunners the ranges of LIL prominent objects in the front iave been measured. Behind the lines pf trenches runs a ght railroad line for the purpose of )ringinglup ammunition'and food and aso, If 'ecessary, reinfoi'cements of nen to tiy point which may be men Led. Further provision for the con reyance'of reinforcements is' at hand n the large numbers of automobiles f all kinds which can make the jour ey speedily from any one point to Lnother carrying groups of armed nen. The existing forts also have been 1 trengthened, but now only serve as upporting polnt* and depots for lage >odies troops. resting.o fm their rencL uty. The Parisian delights in making unday trips to observe the works I' ended for his defence, and, although e is not permitted to learn the see -ets of the arrangements, le has been be to see sufficient to inspire him ith confidence. SHOT 'MAN AND WOMAN. arm Hand Gets Shotgun and Kils Victini as They Try to Escape. . 3. I~ouglas London, a farm' hand ~ormerly employed by Charles Whea on, -of St. Johnsburg, Vt., shot and dled Will Lane,' a fellow- employele nd Mrs. Wheaton, then' committed uiicde Monday. Details of the tragedy Indicated hat London, arme I with a rifle,'went o the Wheaton farm during Whea ;on's .s~bsence. Lane fled to the barn m he. ring London's announcement hat he inteded to -kill him and re eived a bullet through the abdomen when London fired through the door. London then entered the house and sursued Mrs. Wheaton - towards a ~ront toom. ils first 'shot' missed, iut as the woman closed a door, Lon Ion fired through the panel and the ullet pierced Mrs. Wheaton's -heart. Retuning home, 'London told Mrs. Kilburn that he had killed Mrs. Wheaton and Lane, and-'ordered hdr : give the alarmn, as he was-going to till himself. After Mrs. Kilburn had led, London went into the barn and shot himself through the -head. 201 OF CREW SAVED. D~utter With 54) Men Reaches Shore in Dead of Night. Another cutter from the .British battleship Formidable, sunk'-in the Englsh 'channel Friday, has reached Lyme-Regis, Dorsetshire, with 50 men brin'gingt the total <(f saved up to 201. When the cutter left the For midable she had 60 or more men aboard, but' all but~50' s'.iccumbed to exposure, having been in an open boat for some 20 hours_ in a violent storm. The men -were scantily-. clad - and uffered terribly from the cold .dur ing the tripi to shore. Some died dur ing the day and were passed over board. Upon the arrival.of the cutte.r at Lyme-Regis, at 11 o'clock Friday night, six we're found dead in the bet tom of the boat. A policeman heard aries of help and, going to the beach, found the cutter 'with the -men, none of whom: could land without .assist ance. Some were so exhiausted that artificial respiration was necessary. A terrible southeast gale was blow ing during the trip and although the men took turns' at the oars It was Im possible for them to keep warm. Burglar Caught by Posse. A paty of Lalrense citizens chased a white man suspected of burglary and .cornered him in a house Wednes day, where he made a break for-lib erty. He was shot and wounded. Turks Occupy Riisstan Base. Berlin 1eports that Ottoman troops have occupierd Urumiah, an impor tant town of Persian Armenia, with a population of 30,000. Three .Negroes Electrocuted. Three negroes wer elterocuted in Trenton, N. J., Tuesday night for murder. This was the first triple electrocution in New Jersey. $250,000 for Canal Op~ening. President Wilson will ask congress for $250,000 to defray expenses caus ed by the Panama canal opening del ebritan. HUNDRED OVERCOME PA3SEMIERS IN SUIfAY HAVE TRYING EPERIENCE ONE WOMAN IS KILLED Seven Hundred Passengers in Two Stalled Trains Set Wild by Dense Smoke and Fames From Short Cir cuited Cablew-Two Hundred Per sons Injured, Many Seriously.. More ihan one hundred persons were overcome by smoke, cut by fly ing glass, bruised and otherwise in jured in- a fire aboard a -train in the subway of New York city at the height of the rush four Wednesday morning. In the panic and confusion which ensued police headquarters is sued a report that from 12 to 20 per sons had lost their lives, but this later proved to be unfounded and only one known death was recorded. . The entire fire fighting force of Manhattain; every ambulance in the borough and every pulmotor that could be found was brought to the scene. The fact that scores of per sons were unconscious led to the early report thr.t many had been kill ed. Later.Police Commissioner Woods and Fire Chief Kenion announced that so far as they knew there had been no fatalities.-. A surgeon attached to the Poly clinic hospital reported that one in jured woman had died- in an ambu ance on her way to the hospital. Two hundred persons in all were taken to the Polyclinic, the surgeon aid, 'but as far as h'e knew, with this ne exception none had been fatally Injured. - For the first- time in the history of the fire department a special alarm :alled out firemen and battalion :hiefs without, apparatus to fight the lames and care for the injured. ' The tie-up started at 8 o'clock 9ednesday morning, the beginning f the rush hour. - Ai 9 30 a slow apress service was started, only to De halted by the discovery of fire. hree alarms were turned in and Lmbulances were dispatched. - From trains stalled between sta Ions firemen emerged bearing .un ,onscious victirs. Fire Commissioner Adamson, who ,ssumed personal charge of the sit tation, sent-ment throughout the city with' orders to bring every pulmotor ,vailable to the scene. One of the ictims died before the pulmotors uld be obtained. Congestion, the like of which the ity has seldom seen, prevailed :.t al nost every subway station. At rooklyn bridge, the Manhattan en rance was choked by tens of thou ainds. For 50 minutes detachments f- polic-ressrves strugle& with the :owds.there beforeorderquld,. be . estored. Elevated. trains and surface cars 11 over the city were packed to over lowing with the throngs that were rned away from the subway. More than 20 bodies we.e taken to he platform of the Fifteenth street itation.- Firemen. asserted that the ube held the bodies of many other lead, some of the estimates going as tugh as two hundred. In an effort to get at the dead and ying 1n' the subway, Inspector Egain, f the bureau of combustibles, sent or a large amount of dynamite with rhich to rip up the streets. -Sixty unconscious persons were aken to the Flower Hospital. Other ospitals cared for many other vic is. Ventilator gratings were taken p from- sidewalks around the Fif :leth and Fifty-ninth street stations o0 permit removal of the injured. Filre Commissioner . Adamson re ~eived reports from the battalion ~hief s thiat the fire was confined to :o subway cars; that several per ons had been killed and a great nany isnjured and overcome. All-man-hole covers were removed as well, as the ventilator gratings. In :he openings thus made firemen laced -their hose. Other squads of remen crawled down through the linding smoke Into the tube and orked li relays. Through smoke that -olled up from :he manhales could be seen the lames below. The fire started in a train between he Fiftieth and Fifty-ninth street stations. - Some of the hundreds of assengers. wedged in the cars said iterwards that .It started with an ex plosion and that the train came al nost -immediately to a standstill. kboard 1.he train there was a frantic rush for the end cars. Through the open doors at each snd there poured a stream of meni and women who struggled through Lhe. smnoke, apparently oblivious of the danger of the third rail, toward he two stations. Platforms at these stations were jammed and -in the wild rush for the exits some persons were trampled on. Emergency calls brought to the spot every ambulance in Manhattan. is fast as unconscious victims were emoved they were laid on the side alk or carried to stores and offices nd given first aid treatment by fire en and surgeons. So great was the emand upon the fire fighting forces o aid in reviving the unconscious, hat hurry calls were sent to Brook lyn for aid. The transportation, tie-up result ing from the fire spread toward the Bronx and to Brooklyn'and tens o' housands of persons struggled at elevated railway and subway stations n those boroughs* in an effort to reach. Manhattan. - The bodies of 20 persons lay on the platform of the Fiftieth street station an holir after the fire started. Flames were still raging then and here wei e many estimates as to the umber'of dead in the cars and along the tracks. -B:.ffled in attempts to reach the victims who lay close to the burning cars, Inspector Egan, of the the bureau of combustibles. dis patched messengers for dynamite. He said he would use that if neces sary to rip up the streets and thus afford the firemen an entrance through which they could work un ampered. Unofficial~ reports gave the cause >f the fire as a collision between ex press trains. At the time of the fire the subway contained smoke from flames, extinguished only a few min utes before at the Spring street sta tion. It was shortly before 9:30 o'clock that wisps of smoke began to curl from manholes along Broadway be-| t.een the two stations. The spot! CYCLONE NEAR LAE CITY RESCUERS FIND BABY UNHURT IN MIDST OF WRECK. Frame Building Being Erected mown Against Old One, Wrecking Both Almost a Bad Fire. Wednesday night about 7 o'clock a very destructive cyclone visited the Gaskins neighborhood, about six miles east of Lake City, blowing do'wn outhouses, trees and the like. The most serious damage reported was to- J. F. Lawrence's new house, which he was erecting just in front of the one in which he was living. When they heard the roaring of the wind Mr. La xrence and the contrac tor who was doing the work for him stepped on the front porch to see what it was, and about this time the frame of the new house was blown over on to the.old house, breaking it down upon the family. Mr. Lawrence and Mr. Hazelden, the contractor, after about thirty minutes extricated themselves from the timbers and at once began the work of rescuing the other members of the family, and at the same time preventing the ,spread of the fire, which had caught some of the tim bers which fell near to the fireplace, in which there was a large fire. The wreck was so great that it required almost./three hours, with the assist ance of the neighbors, to remove the broken timbers and rescue all of the family. The last one to be rescued was a baby about one year old, which. was found in the bed with one of the joists just across its chest, yet there was not a scratch on its body, and except for the cold it appef.red not to have suffered from the storm. For a distance of three miles the trees and all small houses were bldwn down and the damage is variously estimat ed, but it will be found to be a con siderable amount, especially when the loss in timb~r is considered. A severe wind storm, in the nature of a cyclone, blew down everything in its path for a distance of several miles in the Cades section of the county early Wednesday night. Trees. fences and small houses were easy prey for the cyclone. TO ATTACK BORDER. Villa Would Drive Out Carranza Gar risons. Gen, Villa is moving, to attack the Carranza. garrisons of the Mexican border towns opposite . Naco and Dougals, Ariz., with 8,000 Conven tion troops. To drive the Carranza rorces out of the. border towns is Villa's solution of the problem of topping border fighting. It became known that Villa had communicated U1s intention to Gen. Scott, United States chief of staff, to secure an agreement to neutralize the border :ities. Villa promised not to expose the A-mericadI-owneto-fir& for more than. ight hours, at the end of which pe riod he promised the Carranza gar risons would have surrendered or would be driven into the United States. Half Villa's forces passed through Tuarez Thursday en route to Casar Grandes, whence the troops wir move overland into Sonora. It was a "great sacrifice" to -his campaign against Carranza forces on the east sr seaboard. Vil~a stated, that he came north to settle the Arizona bor der difficulty. CONGRATUJLATE WILSON. President Receives Many Congratua tory Messages on Birthday. President Wilson Monday night be gan receiving messages from foreign rulers congratulating him on his 58th birthday anniversary. The first tc arrive were from King George, 0f Great Britain, and President Estrada Cabrera, of Guatemala. .Led by Secretary Bryan, the presi dent's cabinet called at the White House during the evening. Because of the cancellation of all state din ners and receptions after Mrs. Wil son's death this gathering was the nearest- approach to a social affair held in the White -House for many months. Among the messages received were several from parents of children nam ed for the president, because their birth anniversaries were the same as his. Mr. Wilson usually answers such SHOOTS HIS WIFE. Seen on Man's Lap and Being Refus ed Admitance Husband Fires. Mrs. Frances Collins was shot dead early Monday at her home in New York. where. she lived with her husband, William, and her two brothers. The husband is locked up charged with murder. Collins, who is d cabaret singer, and his wife quar reled early in the evening. When he returned home he heard her voice in an adjoining bedroom. He went to the door, peeped peeped through the keyhole and saw her sitting in a man's lap. Collins demanded admission, was refused and, it is charged, fired through the panel of the door. Mrs. Collins fell to the floor fatally wounded. The man in whose lap Mrs. Collins was sitting was her brother George. Mexican Navy Neutral. A report at Washington says that four cruisers of the Mexican navy have decided to await results of the fighting in the interior before taking any action. Cruiser Goebenl Daamnged. According to dispatches from Co penhagen the Turkish cruiser Goeben has been badly damaged in striking two mines in the Bosphorus. where the fire burned fiercest was opposite Fifty-sixth street. Hamper ed in their efforts to reach the blaze, the firemen dug into the pavement with their axes. They make a hole above the subway at Fifty-third street. From this opening belched a olume of smoke and flames as if, f om a crater. A hose was directed though the opening and even hand ext 'uguishers were used. F r ten blocks the streets were lined with ambulances that came fromi 51 the city. A cordon thrown arou'4 Broadway by the police held 'TO PROTECT TRADE ENGLAND TAIES STEPS TATU DELAY Of OUR SHIPS PLANS BEINi PERFE DER British Ambassador Says Only Eight American Ships Have Been Pt Into Prize Court-Naval Staues May be Shipped Without DiMculty --Offical Statement. Great Britain, Italy and The Neth erlands have reached an agreement whereby commerce to the latter two countries from the United States is expected to meet with a minimum molestation. Great -Britain, accord ing to statemets from both the Brit ish embassy and State department, also has taken steps to remedy some of the complaints made bythe United: States in its recent protes. The statements -indicatk- that so far as Italy and Holland ardconcern ed, the British government now be lieves the danger of getting contra band 'articles through to, Germany and Austria has been removed. ?, Should effective measures be agreed - on between the Allies and the other European neutrals British officials believe American commerce in future will not be subject to delays and in terference. American Minister Van Dyke, atC The Hague, cabled Thursday that the British, French and Russian. mints ters had given formal assuranees that merchandise, even of a Aontraband character, would not be.nolested on the high seas if consiged to the re cently established Ne erlands mon opoly. Secretary Bryan received a per sonal note from Sir Cecil'Spring-Rice, the British ambassador, stating that inasmuch as the re-exportation of naval stores probably would be pro hibited by* Italy and Holland, ar rangements would soon be completed whereby these products could be ship loed without difficulty to those coun tries from the United Etates. The British ambassador al6 issued the following statement: "Shipments for Italy In, "Italian steamers of goods placed on the em bargo list of the Italian government and consigned to named persons are free. "Articles for Holland (apart from copper, petroleum and grain, except. rice and corn), which must be con signed to The Netherlands gover6 ment, should be consigned to The Netherlands Overseas Trust to.insure' non-interference. "Out of 773 vessels that have pro ceeded freni-the ite~_ Scandinavian countries, Holandand taly, since the. beginningof the-mar only eight-have bee t tbe Prize Courts and one of these' , been released, leaving only seven di tained for decision of the Prise'.ourt. By far the greater number of those detained for examination have been - already released. "With regard to purchases..qf'c -' goes the British government has pur bhased many cargoes of copper and has not yet condemned or confiscated any neutral cargo or consgnmnt, . 'ough some are awaiting adjudica-. tion." In connection with. this statement government officials pointed out that while only eight ships have been put into Prize Courts, scores of others had been held up for varying periods of tinie before being released. It was not only these delays, -but the conse quent moral effect on shippers, who hesitated to subject perishable goods to extended examination in.-British norts, which brought forth the Amer- - ian note. The fact that only eight ases actually were taken: int'rise Courts has convinced many officIi.. that the bulk of American commerce was of a legitimate character, and that most of the detentions of Ame ican ships were without real cause. The text ?f the cablegram received by The Netheriads minister, from his government was summarized. in the following statement by the state de partment: -. "The -British- and French -minis ters, who were joined orally by the. Russian minister, have declared by a note dated December 28 that con traband merchandise which is .con sgned to the recently established Netherlands monopoly for the receipt of imports winl not be stopped. They also declared that their government would not stop foodstuffs (the necee saries of life) consigned to mer chant~s unless the merchants are be vond a doubt mediums of delvery -to the governments at war with Great Britain, France and Russia.'' "The British ambassador'gave Mr. Bryan a general summary of :-tbe status of some specific questions rais e'd outside of the Americanl--noteon the general subject of commerce. Mr. Bryan issued the following statement, based on the ambassador's memo randum: "The question of rubber is belier ed to be approaching a satisfactory settlement. Progress Is being made with the question of naval stores, and it is expected that arrangements will be made by which shipments can be made to The Netherlands and Italy and other neutrals without dif ficulty." CAPTURED BRITISH LANDED. German Auxiliary Cruiser Kronzprins Wilhelm Seems to be Active. One hundred sailo from fot~r French and British acaptured and sunk by the Ge -a-uniliary cruiser -Kronzprinz W ,have been landed at Las Palmas, Islands, by the German Octavo. The craft which fell Into man hands were the French steamer Mont Angel and the British steamer Bellevue, sunk December 4; t French sailing vessel Annie Marie,. sunk September 17 and the French ~ ship Union sunk November 22. German Airmen Drop Bombs. Berlin says German airmen have ~ dropped bombs on British armmuni tion stores on the ontsirts of Rosen- ~ dael and Goudskerque, near Dun-' kirk, France. The explosions tille . and indured a hundred pegss nu .eae +oa p ortion at one oet -