The Manning times. (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, July 07, 1915, Image 4

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FENC AND IERMAN UNS END ROlT WITH DRAW SIES FROM 1000 SiNS German General Explains Conflict to Correspondent Who Sees Fight From High Tower-Projectiles are Rained on Every Village Back of the German Lines. A correspondent to the .German "Division Headquarters Before Sou chez," writes by courier to Berlin via The Hague to this country under the date of Tuesday, June 22. His letter has just been received: I am an eye-witness of a part of the stubborn battle for Lille from the top of a towerlike structure more than two hundred feet above the ground. I am precariously perched on an improvised pine board bench flankel by my ' fellow-guest, the young Prince Luitpold, Duke of Ba varia, the brother-in-law of the King of the Belgians, and my host, the ieutenant General who is command er of the "Blood and Iron" division, in which he takes a pride because it has been hurled at the danger point of every French offensive to date, and the German generals all know that this might have been the decis ive battle of the world. war if the French had succeeded in breaking through on a broad front. The Germans, outnumbered, 'are -stiR fghtlng with their backs to the wal-a wall of heavy mortars and howitzers that continually roar their ,Defiance at the thousand French guns massed between Nenville and Lorette. This is an artillery duel that stag gers the imaginationsA and almost makes a nervous neutral correspond ent forget the sensation at the pit of .his stomach caused by the fact that in the long upward climb he misgiving ly noticed that the town had been riddled. by French shrapnel, while the general cheerfully remarked that one b'; shell striking squarely would bring the whole str-cture down. Crouching low, so that the French art7ery observers: may not spot us, the -prince, the general and I scan the 'fascinating panorama of the fin Ish fight for the fate of a continent. That long, naked shouller of a range of hills, treeless and apparently with outa single sheltering bush, says the genqral, -,is the famous Lorette Heights, whose every square foot is drenched with French and German -The German line has been forced from the crest and down the barren slope by sheer pressure of irresistible masses, and the general speaks with unstinted admiration of the death deying bravery of the French in the idesperate charges that swept over the heights, wave after wave. But the Germ have gained a firm footing the bottom, and are holding their line with equal desperation and cour age. Apparently the French can not gain an inch here any more, their at tacks befng repulsed with cruel losses. They are forced to remain Intrenched on the heights when not c- harging, because on the slope they ~ ould .be exposed to the murderous 3ire of the German heavy artillery; consequently the lines here are about o- ur or five hundi-od yards apart. -C etDween the lines I' see dark 1 sek.They are -the unburied 1z~hdesid; -here are big, dark Sbltbswfiere the harvest of death Sbeen most .bountiful.' On that ~ ~:l~ee~tslope I also, see a mass of ~ ~undmasonry that was once the <9hpIof Notre Dame de Lorette, on a boealtar hundreds of brave CFrench and Germans have sacrificed ~theIr lives. ~To the left, where the naked shudrof the heights ends and the '~~hely wooded slopes begin, says the ~ general, the English forces join the Erench, and the English lines run m,~ T- almost straight line close to La Myattention is next called to a whitish, -square, boxlike structure cls to the top of the Lorette $.Hegs.That is the Souchez sugar actbry, so often mentioned in dis ~C~~hsand casuialty lists. It has '~~eastormed by the French and Ger ~~~ans t i-n and turn about, and has h ands a dozen times. kYhwar .has seen no bloodier ~~~tgper square yard than there al-was man to man with bayonet, knfand rifle butt. Continuous -ifg.tn raged for days in the up ~prstories of the factory, but the -~~tawful featiere of it, the general des dZ said; was the death grapple in ~-'tedark3 cellars. opposing batteries alternately ~-p~rdshells into it until, as my ~-ZI~Sthe general put it, the fac fr rather last its tactical value and ruins- were left in the hands of the 'French. Fui-ther to the left, between two arwoods, J1 see the village of Souchez, -here ,the battle is raging most R'fircely.J The Germans had made a n s esful counter-attack south of SSouel es. in the early morning hours. En route here Lhad passed a con ' uusprocession of blue-gray-coat -' ~rnhprisoners, the unwounded i foot, the -wounded with blood-stain Sed, bandaged heads, arms in slings, -digin motor tiucks, the severely N-~ouded lying very still in motor - bulances-ad wounded Germans ~---to in- a picturesque, pathetic pro ~Zceson from the ultimate front. S.'ur these French prisoners were not cowards; on the contrary, the Sgeneal had -explained to me that -enly the few bravest of the brave : were caught alive. When not killed, .R~hey are those who rush ahead in -the face of almost certain death, othen the less -courageous waver ~ reskt and retreat to their trenches. n Tha is why an unusually large percentage of the French prisone' S d ae officers; they run well in advance of their men, hoping to drag them along by sheer force of example; and this fanatical bravery of the French makes them almost loved by their SGerman enemies. SKouches lies under heavy shell fire. ~;~'othe left, toward Ecurie, the artil g lery duel 'is fiercest. A nerve shat Stering 'drum fire" is on. Several E kilometers of the German trenches , here k1irt the heights which the spendthrift French artillery is now loigup. Splashes of dirt and smokec cluds where the shells strike follow in such quick succession that - they prqduce the effect of a long ~"draiwn gray-brown mist over the Ger ~ nan lines, or a dingy curtain that -lifts occasionally. ", Th'ose very white smoke puffs are shrapnel; the almost black clouds show where the biggest shells are raining, the genieral explains, add ing with a grim note or pride: "Only the strongest nerves can hold out under that fire; but the French will never break through there." From his aerial perch ho makes ~use of the ever-present telgaone. and gets the reassuring answer: "All's wel no 'signs of an impending rench attack." "They probably got all the fight they wanted in thue night," he says, and then points out to me the ar nW~straight double row of trees marking- the broad highway from Arras to La Baspee, then the low wooded heights running to the left again and stretching to the horizon. They are held by the Germans. Behind them, hidden from my view, lies Neuville. . That narrow strip from, Neuville to Souchez is a reeking graveyard with hardly a grave; for the living have been too busy fighting to bury the dead. - At least ten thousand French dead lie out there, the general estimates, and adds that the air is s, nestilen tial that latterly, he believe., a gen tlemen's agreement between the toes has come into force to allow the burial of the dead uumolested at night, but only those in immediate proximity to the rival lines. There is reason to believe that the French have bought their gains dear ly, the general says. He estimates their losses between thirty and forty thousand opposite his division, where they made their most desperate at tempt to break through. "The French hurled the flower of their army against us here," he says. "their elite Twentieth Corps, their arine Corps, their Alpine Corps, and their Moroccan Division. The colored Frenchmen are generally negligible and don't amount to much; but the Moroccan division are splendid fight ers. Regiment after regiment has made an almost continuous storm of attacks since May 9. They were flung upon us bravely, but in vain." The German losses also were heavy. The general made no attempt to conceal or minimize them. He told me how many thousands his buffer division had lost in five weeks, but asked me to respect his confidence and not mention the figures,. which, howc7er, were very much lower than those at which he estimated the French casualties. He added thoughtfully: "Ten French army. corps are said to have been massed against the Germans on the Neuville-La Bassee line. The cli max of the fierce attacks was reach ed and safely passed four days ago, though we never had a moment's doubt of the outcome." The general pointed over a range of hills ahead, mentioned the name of an invisible village behind the French lines, and said that the Germans had information that Gen. Joffre came there from -his headquarters some days ago and looked' the situation over. The French artillery is not confin ing its attention to harrowing the German trenches with shell and shrapnel. They are groping more or less blindly for the 'cunningly plant ed German batteries. They are tak ing no chances, and are shelling all the villages behind the German lines. I see houses in five villages burning fiercely, with German reserves acting as firemen. The French particularly smother suspicious-looking patches of woods under a blanket of exploding steel. One little wood ahead acts like a magnet for the French shells that drop at the rate of two a minute till a smoke pall hangs over the tree tops. Presently emerges what looks like a runaway. It is a team galloping madly to the rear for more ammuni tion. Otherwise no traffic is stirring oi-the roads in the fire zone. Ex ept In emergencies, food, ammuni tion, and. reserves go out under the safer cover of night. From my lofty observation post it is easy for even a civilian to grasp the preponderating part that ammu nition plays and to understand why the French selected this particular point for their attempt to break through the German lines and why the Germans are grimly endeavor ing to stop them at all costs. The next defensive line is a long way to the rear. If the French gain all the hills, their artillery can sweep the plains ahead.. Such a success would mean' probably, the loss of Lille, but pos sibly the rofling-up of the whole Ger man line. Hence the titanic struggle. But the French artillery is not having It all its own way. It is the Mosaic law modernized-an eye for an dye, a shell for a shell. Wherever I look in this sector of helH I see flashes of flame from the mouths of German guns. A never-ending pro cession of German shells wails and shrieks overhead on their way to-I ward the French lines, and I can see them strike home on the Lorette heights and near Souchiez. The French have a line on one German mortar battery, but,. their shells are dropping just behind it. The German artillerists go right on1 serving and firing with the mechani cal regularity of trained factory hands. Another German battery is .planted, among the gravestones of a~ small village cemetery at the right. The French shells are beginning to1 come most uncomfortably our way. The general begins to look a bit anx ios. He is responsible not only for the life of a correspondent, but also that of a Bavarian prince. He says: "Perhaps we'd better go, if you've ad enough." I linger only long enough to jot down a summary of my final impres sions that the Germans are not wor ried by the military situation, and that they are more confident of vic tory than I have ever seen them. Then the general, the prince and I climbed down. MEXICO'S BANISHED RULER DIES IN EXItE IN FRANCE Former President of Mexico a Pic turesque Figure, Passes Away in Paris. A dispatch from Paris Friday an nounced the death of Porfirio Diaz, an international figures, who has been making his home in France since the revolutionists in Mexico suc ceeded In overthrowing his govern ment which had ruled Mexico for about thirty years. Diaz was a dic tator in the strongest sense of the term auld ruled his country with an iron hand. The re-.olutionists at tempted to establish a more liberal government and since that time revo lution has succeeded with revolution with such astonishing regularity that many people have e- mne to believe that after all the stre..g arm squad of Dictator Diaz was the best means of preserving property and life in the republic to the south of us. The former president had not been in good health for some weeks, but his condition was by no means consider ed serious. Consequently his death comes as a distinct surprise. Sent Two Ships to Bottom.. The Norwegian ships Cambussken neth and Gjeso were sunk Wednesday by a German submarine. Thirteen of the crew of the first was landed and eight others who were Germans were taken. The Gjieso was 226 feet long and the Cumbusskenneth was 1,925 tons. Anchor Steamer Rammed. The Holland American line steam er Nieuw Amesterdam with one thou sand two hundred passengers. was rammed in the Downs Wednesday by an unknown steamer. Her port quar ter was badly damaged. Germany Cotton Needed. The department of Brandenburg has issued an order prohibited the manufacture of certain cloths made , entirely of cotton. This is thoughtj 0 peage a shortage of cotton. ANOTHER MILITIA TANULE; REORGANIZATION WRONG Attorney General Says Former Offi cers Can Keep Their Commis sions-Backs Blease's Order. "This being only a reorganization, or a rearrangement o. reassignment -as you may be plecsed to term it of the rem.ining companies of the militia, I am of the opinion that the officers of these regiments have not ] been removed in accordance with law, and that they can not be re moved or mustered out of service except as is provided by statute so long as the military companies them selves remain a part of the organized militia," says Thomas H. Peeples, at torney general, in an exhaustive opin ion rendered on the reorganization of the South Carolina National Guard. If the opinion of the attorney gen eral is upheld by the courts, the re cent elections of militia officers are vitiated and the former regimental officers are still in command. Also, if the opinion is upheld, the procla mation of Gov. Manning, issued Jan uary 22, 1915, declaring null and void the proclamation of former Gov. I Blease mustering the State National f Guard out of service, is illegal, and t South Carolina has no organized militia authorized by the statutes. I Military authorities think probably I the opinion of the attorney general I will cause a discontinuance of the plans for encampments for this year; I for they think that it is improbable that the comptroller general will honor warrants for pay to what might be an illegally organized mili- I tia. Also, they say that the proba bilities are that the United States disbursing officer, Major J. Shapter Caldwell, will refuse to pay out gov ernment funds until the matter is finally adjudicated in the courts. RUSSIANS DRIVEN BACK INTO OWN TERRITORY Czar's Armies Continue to Retreat Along 250-Mile Front Warsaw Threatened. I Driven back over their own fron tier north of Lembrerg and forced to Cross the River Gnila Lipa, in south east Galicia, the Russian armies con tinue to retreat before the Austro Germans along a front of approxi mately two hundred and fifty miles. Berlin records progress in virtually the entire southeastern theatre, al though violent fighting still is in progress beyond the Gnila Lipa, which joins the Dniester at Halicz. Having forced a passage of this stream, Gen. von Linsingen's army is presumably astride the railway run ning from Halicz to Lemberg and Stanislau, and now doubtless is aim ing at the line which runs from Lem berg to Odessa through Tarnopol. It seems evident that Germany is bent on further punishment for the Russians by the intensity of their Galician. campaign, but with the Rus sians Lcross the frontier, the - Ger mans will have to rely almost solely on road transport, and their ad vances will be slower. The British press still voices 'the hope that the Russians soon will find a tenable line and deliver a counter blow, .but there is a note of anxiety in nearly all the accounts, together with the warning that either the cap ture of Warsaw or the seizure of the great railway lines which supply it would be disastrous to Russia, and surely would be followed by another general German offensive in the west. WASIINGiTON OFFICIALS ARE LOOKING FOR PEACE Questioning Whether Carrauza Will Change His Mind and Meet Villa's Agreement. The activities of prominent Mexi cans now in the United States and others in connection with the Mexi can political situation attracted much attention in official and diplomatic circles in Washington Wednesday and caused renewed discussion of the possibility of peace in the southern epub''c. Th.ese activities included the ef forts of Gen. Felipe Angeles, Villa's right hand man, to learn the senti ment of Washington officials toward the Mexican situation; a reported peace move, calling for a conference 'between Gens. Villa and Obregon on thd border and the prospective con ference between Gen. Carranza and Charles A. Douglas, his Washington counsel. Mr. Douglas Las gone to Vera Cruz presumably to impress upon Carranza the viewpoint of the American gov ernment as enuciated in a recent statement by President Wilson that the heads of the warring factions in Mexico must settle their differences. Officials are waiting to see if Gen. Carranza is willing to change his at titude toward peace overtures by Gen. Villa. Carranza heretofore has consistently declined such offers. Officials were interested Wednes day in unofficial reports stating that Jose Isabel Robles, minister of wa in the cabinet of Eulalio Guiterrez, had announced that Gens. Villa and Obregon had- agreed to disicuss terms of peace, perhaps within two weeks. Robles was said to have hinted that the proposed conference was a result of fears of the leaders of the two fac tions that the revolution which it was generally believed Gen. Huerta was about to begin, would so complicate. the situation in Mexico that .Ameri can intervention might follow. TAKE POSSESSION OF SCUTARi Montenegrins Make Capture of Al banian Town Taken From Them. Montenegrin soldiers have occu pid Scutari, which was an objct of contention between Montenegro and the great powers during the Balkan war. The Montenegrin forces on April 23. 1913, captured the city af ter a siege which lasted from the pre-' ceding October. Prior to this the powers had de cided to include Scutari in the future State of Albania, and had offered< compensation to King Nicholas in money and land on condition that he give up Scutari The Montenegrin 5 king announced that he would hold e Scutri against the powers, and as a result the international naval block- c ade of the Montenegrin coast was ex-t tended. Eventually, on further demand of the powers. -King Nicholas decided to s evacuate Scutari, which was occupied e by an international force on May 14, s 1913. i A recent official note issued by the a Montenegrin government explained t that stra.tegic and political reasons s impeled the Montenegrin descent on v Alybania, and gave as an additional reason that other powers had already e occuied other portions of Albania.t The world owes every man a liv ing. but the street corner is a poor t collection agency. LLL NEWS CENSORED IIAT TIlE BRITISH CENSORS DO TO ALL MES AGES iO,GGO TELERAMS A HAY orce of Officials at Work Day and Night Regulating the Flow of News and Safeguarding Military Secrets Being Published When They Might Help the Enemy. Copies of the memorandum on the Iritish censorship, which was pre ented to both Houses of Parliament y command of King George, have eached this country. The pamphlet xplains the system of censorship mployed by Great Britain as well as he methods of the Official Press ureau. The censorship, the government in orms parliament, is one of several struments designed to prevent in ormation of military value reaching he enemy. Pains are being taken to to this with as little interference as possible with the transmission of cor 'espondence or the publication of Lews. "In the course of the present war," he memorandum says, "it has be :ome apparent that in censorship here lay to hand a weapon the full ,alue of which was not perhaps an icipated prior to the war and which an be used to restrict commercial d financial transactions intended or the benefit of enemy governments r persons residing in enemy coun ries." Under the existing system the cen orship is divided into two main de >artments,.the censorship of private aid commercial communications, un er the army council, and the press oreau. The latter department came sud enly into existence last August and or a time the censors worked with ut rules, simply acting on the gen ral instructions issued by the war >'fice and the admiralty. The importa!'ep of the bureau grew vith its size and it was soon found XI)ediCnL to? reJJ(2vp to larger quar ers in the Service Institute, White iall. About this time it -was found iecessary to place under the press >nreau the censorship of press cables. The staff of the press bureau con sts of the director, w'ho is Sir Stan ey Buckmaster, solicitor general; wo assistant directors, a secretary. nd about fifty censors. These cen ;ors are naval officers, military cen ;ors, who are senior captains, attach d to'the general staff, and civilians. L'he latter are appointed by the diree or and include former employees of he civil service, barristers and jour lalists. The censors inspect all press mat er which comes, to the bureau and yecause of the press of this business lave to work in day and night shifts. 3y government order all press cable nessages to, from or through London tre diverted by the post office and he cable companies into the censor's >ffice. Messages sent into the bureau tlso include inland press telegrams .f they, even in the slightest way, re er to the war. To facilitate the passage of mat ;er through the hands of the censor tube has been put into operation etween the press bureau and the entral telegraph office. As soon as t message is filed it is rushed through the tube, censored and dispatched ack to the telegraph or cable office tnd the memorandum instances as ,roof of the speedy work of the cen ror that only six minutes is taken tc nake the trip and return. "The submission "f other press natter by the newspapers is volun ary," the report continues. "Those w'ho publish without submission dC o on their own responsibility and sbject to the penalties provided foi reach of the regulations under the Defense of the Realm act. The great ir part of the press submit a large mount of matter dealing with naval ad military operations, questions oi oreign policy, and like matters, tc he bureau. Maps, diagrams, and photogreps ire also commonly submitted. Thie roluntary nature of the censorshill ecounts for many complaints, which re caused by some newspapers pub. ishing, without submission, matter hich others on submission were pre rented from publishing." Up to the time of presenting the nemorandum the bureau had issued 20 orders of instruction to the iewspapers. These are private and re issued at the request of the ad niralty or the war office. The bureau listributes also all official statements ssued by any branch of the govern nent, such as casualty lists, foreign ffice dispatches, and seat of war nar -atives. The objects of the cable censorship s thus summed up: To prevent as ~istance being given to the enemy; o prevent the spread of false reports ikely to cause dissatisfaction or to nterfere with naval or military sue :ess or likely to prejudice relations vith foreign powers; to collect and listribute to the several government epartments information derived rom the censorship that may be of se to them; to deny the use of ables to persons or firms for com nercial transactions intended to ben fit the enemy, and to interfere as ittle as possible with legitimate- Brit sh or neutral trade. The influence of the chief cable Lensor is far-reaching, for through is service he not only controls some L20 cable and wireless stations in va -ious parts of the empire. but he ontrols in the United Kingdom mes ;ages sent over the cables of private :able companies as well as those ransmitted over the government It is said that from 30,000 to 30, b0 telegrams pass through the cen or's hands each twenty-four hours. U cables are liable to be stopped rhich show clear evidence, either by he text or by the known facts as to he sender or addressess, that they elate to a transaction, whether in ontraband or non-contraband, to chich a resident in an enemy coun ry is one of the parties. The cable censors-and there are .bout 400 of them-are, with few ex eptions, retired naval and military iicers, many of whom were in com aercial life when the war came. Like the cable censorship, the ostal censorship is designed to excr ise a supervision with the least pos ible interference with legitimate orrespondence. All mails which have o be censored are subjected to a light delay, but harmless letters, the aemoranduim points out, are not topped, even when coming from an nemy country or addressed to a per on known to be an enemy. A letter code or "secret'' writing has not chance to get by the censor, even 11ough it is apparent that the mes ages have nothing to do with the The censor has found that letters ome under three general classifica tons. There are those of prisoners f war in Great Britain and those -om British prisoners in the coun -ies at war. The scond1 clnssifieadian is the private letters and these are from members of the British expeditionary force and from persons within. the war area; letters and parcels to and from foreign countries, and press messages sent by mail and news papers. In this branch more than a ton of mail matter is censored each week, and this does not include the parcels. The third class is the commercial correspondence with foreign cou-n tries, and this is dealt with in the trade branch, and amounts to nearly four tons each week. Letters coming directly from the area of military operations are in most cases censored locally, under orders of the field marshal or gen eral officer commanding in chief the British forces in the field. Those that appear to have escaped the censor are sent by the post office to the cen sors in London. The transmission of newspapers in bulk between foreign countries and publishers and news agents of note is not subject to restriction. There is no restriction on the sale of news papers,from the enemy's country in England. "Among the critics of the postal censorship, as among those of the cable censorship," says the report, "there appear to be two opposite and irreconcilable ideals of censorship. Complaints are sometimes received from the recipients of - censored let ters that their letters can only have been opened out of idle curiosity. Others, again, complain that the censored letters should never have been permitted to reach them if the censorship were efficiently perform ed. It may, therefore, be worth re cording that curiosity is usually ex tinguished after a short period of em ployment as censor, and that the cen sors are not instructed to assume that the mere reception of a hostile and possibly abusive letter by a Brit ish subject will undermine the loyal ty of the recipient." LONDON REPORTS QUIET ON THE BATTLEFRONT Diplomatic Relations Gain Attention of People.-Turkey Treating With Bulgaria. London says Wednesday that Rus sia's reply to the brilliant series of Austro-German victories in Galicia is a law setting up a board of munitions empowered to spend unlimited money and given virtually unrestricted pow er over all private industries over the whole of the country. It is reported from Petrograd that the creation of the board became law with an alacrity that was astounding and which is taken to indicate that Russia fully realiz that the recent disasters to the forces of Grand Duke Nicholas largely were due to lack of munitions and equipment. Comparative quiet prevailing on all the fronts except that along the bor der separating Russian Poland afid Galicia, the attention of the English public again is turned toward diplo matic and domestic problems. Special dispatches from the Bal kans declare Bulgaria is not dissatis fied with the territory offered her by the entente allies. That Turkey has not lost hope of conciliating her dan gerous neighbor, however, is shown by the news that Bulgaria-Turkish negotiations looking to delimitation of the frontiers of their respective countries will be resumed in Constan tinople. Rumors of a break in the diplo matic relations between Italy and Turkey again are rife. With the ex ception of the French claim that they have recovered all the trenches the Germans had re-captured in the Vos ges, no change in the military situa tion on the western battle line is re ported. TURKS LOSE TRENCHES, SAYS A BRITSH REPORT Athens Says Defenders at Darda nelles Facing Exhaustion Many Are Dead. A British official statement issued Wednesday dealing with the opera tions in the Dardanelles announces that two lines of Turkish trenches have been captured to the east of Saghir Dere and that three lines have been, stormed to the west of that place. The plan of operations on June 28 was to throw forward the left of Gen. Sir Ian Hamilton's line southeast of -Krithia, and t establish a new line facing east on the ground gained, capturing in succession two lines of Turkish trenches east of Saghir Dere and five lines to the west. "All and more than hoped for from the -opera tions has been gained.". A Havas dispatch from Athens re ceived in Paris Wednesday says the exhaustion of the Turks facing the French forces on the Gallipoli penin sula Is evident, and leads to the be lief that the Turkish position at Krithia soon with be taken by as In a recent French advance, it is added, six thousand Turks were found dead in the trenches on the front taken. Recent fighting in the Dardanelles has resulted in an appre ciable advance by the Allies, the dis patch declares, the French troops particularly distinguishing them selves. THREE HUERTA PLOTTERS ARE ARRESTED WEDNESDAY El Paso Sleuths Continue Search for Nephew of Former President, Felix Diaz. Gen. Marcelo Caraveo, Ike Alderete and Frank Alderete were arrested by fedral officials in El Paso. Texas, Wednesday in connection with the al leged Huerta plot to launch a new revolution in Mexico. The possibility that peace may be considered soon by leaders of the two larger warring factions in Mexico. and the continued search by federal authrities for Felix Diaz. nephew of former President Diaz, reported to have reached El Paso secretly, occu pied attention in Mexicon circles at1 El Paso Wednesday.1 Jose Isabel Robles, minister of war in the cabinet of Eulalio Guiterrez, former provisional president, was authority for the statement that I leaders of the two dominant faction, had agreed to discuss peace terms. Robles declined to discuss any of the I proposcd terms, but predicted that 1 peace developments might be expect ed by the middle of July. Veterans for Wilson. C The Spanish-American war veter ans of Indiana have telegraphed President Wilson in support of his policy "to mainltain. peace, and ift necessary, to uphold our national honor and dignity." Asquith Refuse to Namne Peace Terms Premier Asquith Wednesday re fused to annournce the terms of peace t which Great Britain wants, saying I it ~s. against public poliev It IMPROVING THE LAWN MIELY IRNTS ON CARE AND MANAGEMENTS OF LAWNS. :nited States Department of Agri culture Officials Give Instructions About Keeping up Grassy Plots. Improving an old lawn is a very nuch more difficult problem than stablishing a new one. In many ases it is impracticable to attempt he improvement of an old lawn that s in bad condition, say the special sts of the United States department f agriculture. However, if a rea onably good turf obtains, it is pos ible to better it materially by re eedings, fertilizing and watering. In he majority of cases improvement s desired in the spring, since at this eason uany bare spots are in evi lence as the result of the preceding vinter. If the areas to be improved Lre small, they can be handworked Lnd reseeded with little difficulty. If hey are large, it is usually advis tble to spade them up, work thor )ughly, and seed, as in the case of tarting a new lawn. When the stana of grass is thin )ver the entire lawn or a greater )ortion of it, a special seeder equip )ed with small disks has been found -ery satisfactory for cutting the seed nto the sod and thereby producing avorable conditions for germination tnd subsequent growth. In the early pring, however, the soil is usually .ose as a result of the freezing and :hawing and is in sufficiently open ondition to permit the seed to be overed with little difficulty. After seeding, if the ground has become luite dry, rolling is usually benefi ial. Care should be taken when owing or watering the newly seed ed areas to avoid disturbing the Foung grass. This caution always ipplies in a measure to fall seeding, lthough there is not. so much dan ger of damage in this way at this season. The management of the lawn after it is once established is an extreme ly important matter, and there are a rew ge'neral practices that should be followed carefully. Beginning in the early spring, the first thing to do is to remove with a rake the top dress ing that has been applied the fall before. After removing this it is usually advis.ble to apply some fer tilizer, even though the soil is already reasoncbly fertile. one of the very best fertilizers for the lawn in the spring is nitrate of soda, but on ac count of its quick action and its caus tic effect extreme caution should be used in its application. Five pounds of nitrate of soda are sufficient for 1,000 square feet of lawn, and if ap plied in solution with the watering pot and the grass then thoroughly watered with a hose, there is little danger of scalding. Bone meal is probably the best commercial fertili zer to use on a lawn, considering the danger from the misuse of nitrate of soda. Bone meal dan be used without taking any special caution in its application, as it is in no way in jurious to the grass. Eight pounds to 1,000 square feet is a liberal ap plication. Any commercial fertilizer that is used should be applied early in the spring, v.hen the grass begins to grow. In fact, bone meal can be used to advantge every month dur ing the growing season, except per haps July and August. Fertilizlr g through the season is espe:,illy ben eficial in keeping the grass stimulat ed at times when it would otherwise be more or less inactive. Pulverized limestone as a top dressing is very helpfu, and an application of this substance can be made either in the fall, winter, or spring. Lime cor rects the acidity of the surface soil and is useful in checking the growth of mocs and various other plants that are detrimental to the grass. There is no hard a'nd fast rule to be followed in connection with mow ing the lawn, but clipping twice a week is not apt to injure it, and will induce the formation of a good turf. Too frequent clipping, however, is a drain on the'vitality of the grass and frequently results in inju y.. There is some difference of opinion as to whether clippings should be re moved after mowing, but in general their removal is advised, especially during wet weather, since if left to lie on the surface they are condu cive to the growth of molds, which in turn produce injury to the turf. On new seedings, however, or where the grass- is thin, clippings can fre quently be allowed to remain with benefit. Now seedings should not be clip ped closely, and -during the hot weather of mid-summer and early fall the mower should be set high for old and new grass alike. The roller should be used discreetly. New grass is frequently benefited by a light rolling after the first, cutting. Old sod should be rolled in the spring to firm the surface that has been loos ened by freezing and thawing, but during midseason it is very doubtful if the lawn should be rolled even lightly, especially where the soil is of a heavy nature. There are probably more mistakes made in connection with the water ing of the lawn than in any other phase of its management. The prac tice of sprinkling as it is almost uni versally followed is fundamentally wrong, not that the, sprinkler does not furnish enough water to the grass during the season but that it does not furnish it in properly distributed quantities. Sprinkling for a short period may appear to wet the sod thoroughly, but in reality the water oes not penetrate much below the surface. This encourages the for mation of surface roots and makes the grass less resistant to severe :onditions of weather and useage. Except in rare cases, the lawn hould not be watered oftener than two or three times a week, provided watering is done properly. A thor ugh soaking is necessary and should e given in the late afternoon or arly morning. The ordinary type of -evolving spray is quite satisfactory, ut the amount of water applied by .t is usually much less than appears. lhe point to be borne in mind is that he ground should be thoroughly sat rated at each application to at least hree inches in depth. W~ hile weed enemies of the lawn re troublesome throughout the ~rowing season, they are particular y so from the latter part of June intil frost. Dairing this period crab rass is by far the worst weed pres nt. There is no really satisfactory nethod of checking its growth, and ie only treatment to be recommend -d is to cut or pull the plants before hey have formed large mats. This s a very tcdious and expensive prac ice, hut where a grod lawn is in 'olved the results justify the expense. ~ational fertilizing and careful wat ring during the summer help to verconme the effcet of weeds. Chemi al sprays or treatments have proved o be of very l:ttle assistance. Much| ifficulty is experienced in rutting| rab grass with the ordinary mower| n account of its scmiprostrate char eter. This diffienlty can be over ome to a certain extent if a rake is sed in conjunction with the mower. y means of the rake tihe branches the grass may be lifted so that licy can be clipped reasonably close. is almost impossible. however, to prevent the formation of seed. There are many other weeds that are troublesome in the lawn not only in the spring but also in the sum mer and autumn. Among the most important ones are dandelion, plan tain, chickweed, oxeye daisy, and yarrow. While chemical sprays are more effective in the eradication of these weeds than in the case of crab grass, the best method of preventing their development is to remove them with a spud or similar implement. The weed problem can perhaps best be solved by making the conditions as favorable as possible for the lawn grasses and by maintaining a strict watch at all times to check the growth of the troublesome weeds at the beginning. At the end of the growing season before the severe weather of winter arrives the lawn should be given R good top-dressing of well-rotted barnyard manure. If the manure is not well rotted, it is likely to introduce an abundance of weed seed, which will ultimately cause considerable trouble. Top dressing not only adds fertility to the soil, but gives the grass protec tion during the severe weather of winter and the freezing and thawing of early spring. PI | PRESS RUSSIANS HARD; COST IN LIFE IS GiREAT Germans and Austrians Pursue Re treating Russians Towards the River Bug. The Germans and Austrians are pressin'g the Russians hard in their retreat through northeastern Galicia and southern Russian Poland toward the river Bug. The energy of the pursuit, .however, is costing the Teu tonic forces dear, according to-Petro grad statements, which mention "enormous losses" inflicted on the enemy. Berlin reports Wednesday via Lon don: The Russians have, begun a re treat from the Vistula river and the district of Zamosz, southeast of Lub lin, in Russian Poland, according to the official statemeit issued Wednes day by the German army headquar ters stiff. The Austrians, although well occu pied in the Galician campaign, are not neglecting to keep a sharp watch on the Italian front, reports from the Tyrol and Trentino districts mention ing notable activity of the Austrian artillry. Italy's forces are making slow headway on the Isonzo, unfavor able atmospheric conditions interfer ing with operations. German submarines have claimed two more victims, the Norwegian ves sel GJeso and Cambusskenneth. Mytilene advices say a British gun boat bombarded the Turkish ports of Chesmeh, Lidia and Aglelia, destroy ing petroleum depots and several ves sels. CZAR EXHORTS RUSSIANS; ENEMY MUST BE CRUSHED Expresses Faith in His People and Expects-AM to Work in Com plete Harmony. Petrograd reports via London an imperial rescript issued Wednesday by Emperor Nicholas in connection with the formation of the Russian board of military supplies, expresses unshakable assurance in the brilliant future of the Russian people anid pro ceeds:- . "A prolonged war calls ever -for fresh efforts, but surmounting the growing difficulties and parrying the vicissitudes inevitable in war let us strengthen our hearts, resolved tc carry on the struggle with the help of God to, a complete triumph of Rus sian arAIs. "The enemy must be crushed, for without that peace is impossible. "With firm faith in the inexhaust ible strength of Russia I expect the governmental &nd public institutions of Russian industry and all the faith ful sons of the fatherland, without distinction of ideas or classes, will work in harmony to satisfy the needs of our valiant army. "This is the only and henceforth the national problem to which must be directed all thought of United Russia, invincible in her unity " LOFTY AEROPLANE DUEL Britis'~h - Aviator \Outmanoenv-res His German Antagonist. Paris reports Friday: A ruse by whichi he destroyed a German aero plane near Ypres is described by Mark Helson, a British aviatar, in the Journal. The battle took place almost 6,500 feet in the air. "When the enemy machine sighted me it immediately took to flight," said Nelson. "I dashed off In pur suit. After about ten minutes I came up with him and flew above him. The duel began immediately. "After fighting for some time with out result, I let my aeroplane dive almost perpendicularly. - The Ger man aviator, believiffg I had fallen, also descended in a fliding flight. I then righted my machine suddenly and shot above him at a distance of only about fifteen feet. Then we re sumed the duel.~ One of my shot hit the gasoline tank of the German ma chine and it burst into flames, crash ing to earth. The pilot and observer were killed." CARRIES WAR SUPPLIES. White Star Liner Sails With Ammu nition and Passengers. Carrying a heavy cargo of war munitions for the allies the White Star liner Adriatic sailed from New York Wednesday for Liverpool. Be sides its ammunition the liner car ries a passenger list of over three hundred persons, among whom are five Americans. Other prominent passengers include Robert Borden, the premier of Canada, who is going to Europe presumably to confer with the head of the empire. Extraordi nary precautions are to be taken to safeguard the liner from submarine attacks when it reaches the danger zone. INTERRUJPTS ASQUITil Member Creates Stir by Asking for Premier's Authority. A riotous scene ensued in the Brit ish House of Commons Monday after noon when a member interrupted Premier Asquith to ask authority for a statement about the lack of ammu nition. The premier made the state ment that the source of ammunition had not hampered the empire. Sir A. Marham interrogated the speaker and asked him his authority for the statement. He inti-mated that the assertion was without foundation. This threw the House into great con fusion. The premier refused to an swer the question. Britishi Aeronaut Killed. Flight -Lieutenant Watson of the British navy was killed Wednesday when his machine fell a distance of ver a thousand feet. TO MEET U. S. TERMS BERLIN ADVICES MONDAY ARE. OPTIMISTIC FOR PEACE MESSAGE NOT 010 RD. Ambassador Gerard Cables State De partment Indicating Favorable Re ly From Germany in Submarine Trouble--Dispatch Not Published But Officials are Optomistic. A favorable reply by Germany to the last American note on submarine warfare is indicated in state depart ment advices from Berlin received in Washington Monday. The advices came from Ambassa dor Gerard and were the first of a. definite nature received since the American note reached the German foreign office. The exact nature of the ambassa dor's message was not divulged. His dispatch was. of sufficient detail-, how ever, to put officials in an optimistic attitude. It was acommunicated at once to President Wilson at the sum mer White House at Cornish. Ambassador Gerard based his ob servations on the favorable effect which the. visit of Dr. Anton Meyer Gerhard, emissary of Count Bern storff, producted on Berlin officials. Dr. Gerhard was understood by Ambassador Gerard to have reported that public opinion in the -United States had been growing more 'and more favorable to Germany when the sinking of the Lusitani- undid what had been accomplished. Gerhard made it clear also that the United States did not want war, but wanted a satisfactory reply to its represent. tions. German officials are eager, accord ing to Ambassador Gerard's report, to give such an answer, but at- the, same time they have made it clear that Germany can not make any con cessions which would destroy the ef fectiveness of the submarine as an of fensive weapon. It is understood Germany is try ing to find some method by which Americans traveling on ships primar ily used for passenger traffic shall be safe while the submarine continues to be used in. attacking belligerent freight ships carrying chiefly contra band. Just what proposal Germany will make to accomplish that object, offi cials can not conjecture, but from the fact that Germ:-ny seems to be will ing to safeguard the rights of Ameri cans who travel on ships of any na tionality primarily engaged in pas senger traffic, an adherence to the principles expressed in the American note-the non-combatants should be immune from attack-would seem, In the opinions of officials in Washing ton, to- be recognized. No information has been received on what the attitude of Germany will be toward assuming liability for loss of American lives on the Lusitania, but the feeling prevails.that if a sat isfactory arrangement can be made as to the future Germany will sug gest a basis for a favorable adjust ment of the Lusitania -case as well. Berlin reports that the report of. Dr. Anton Meyer-Gerhard, special representative of Ambassador Bern storff, to the officials charged. with drafting the German answer to the American second note with reference to the Lusitania disaster and safety of neutrals on the high seas, indi cated the seriousness of the situation. Dr. Meyer-Gerhard reported the sentiment of the United States had, prior to the Lusitania's sinking, been growing somewhat -more favorable from the German, viewpoint, and par ticularly more favorable regarding the prohibition of the export of muni tions of war to the allies. The sinking of the Lusitania, how ever, undid all this. The state of feeling in the United States at the present time, as Dr. Meyer-Gerhard ' is reported to understand it, was such that it would not be satisfied with un necessary delay in forwarding the an swer, nor with an answer which ap reared evasive or failed to 'meet the issue squarely. LU. S. SUBMARIN E ASHORE ON THlE PACIFIC COAST H-4 Runs Agroundl While on Its Way to Exposition Manoeuvres on July 4th. The U. S. submarine H-3 went ashore late Tuesday night five miles south of Point Sur, one hundred and twenty miles from San Francisco, ac cording to radio dispatches received. early Wednesday by Capt. F. M. Ben nett, commandant of the Mare Island navy yard near San Francisco. No information as to the cause of the ac cident was contined in the message, but it was stated that the submersible was in no danger, and that she had not sprung a leak. The H-3 ,left San Diego in com pany with submarines H-I and H-2 convoyed by the monitor Cheyene and was proceeding to San Francisco to participate in a Fourth of July program at the Panama-Pacific ex position. Early in the evening the H-3 out distanced the other vessels and when she went ashore was fifty miles north of them. The port navy officials communicated with the Cheyene by radio and informed her officers of the plight~ of the undersea craft. SUBMARINE SINKS SIIIP;. TEN AMERICANS LOST Liner Loaded With' Horses, for Brit ish Army Goes Down, Carrying U. S. Negroes to Bottom. Consul Armstrong at Bristol, Eng land, cabled the state department Wednesday informning the department of the torpedoing of the Dominion liner Armenian by the German sub marine U-38 on Monday at eight eight p. in.. twenty miles northwest of Trevose Head, Cornwall. Twenty-five persons were drowned and ten others were injured. Many of those missing or injured are Americans. Consul Armstrong says ten Americans are missing, the ma jority of whom are negro horse at ten dants. The Armenian left Newport 'News, Va., -Tune the seventeenth with a car go of horses for the British army and the negroes on board were some of the attendants to the animals. Whether all of the lost Americans are negroes or not is not known. The shin was attacked by the submarine while proceeding with its cargo. Sev eral of the survivors were nicked up. Some of them are injured but are doing well. S. C. Editors Back President. The State Press association at Chick Springs unanimously endorsed the handling of the present crisis by President Wilson. Be a live one and the town will nver be a dead ore.