Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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t117FrEm J , o rfj> ri r' trj 4 ' 1tl r ""' yt5t n, tl J ii.4r 11 {. rI IMJ11 '.f1 f}}S IS 3'.0 v-i6 lJk'' + t"t eS,( \1 b r a w i } r11 .;{" ' 1 I. . r \ } }t r " vy'c .r I f ;t i yl X31 i" 11) Yl: 41, st' ri " } i"S r + "1 jr1 4o'l4}. I f >ir }(. t'." " ;{{ ''4 rtrr t 4 S r 'r,} fir , i'A " + + ry 1 ; 7 ttY lrh i wJ r f1 ! t ':41r LL i t IK r r ! V ,' lia f 1 }! . ei+l l I > r,1 j -T o t i} "t'y, z ;1'.i": 1 .i tj r J 1'> {f 3r yt I -M; ' r a I"' 1:1 ,, ' -} " fit 1 ' " . 1 r hl. 7 Ar t. I tX tt }i .TTTTTT .J 1 ' : I 1 l+1_ ) -... ?^"t"'Y I Li lr Y ! , r MANNING, S. C., WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2, 1918. IR EAi FLORLNC Sevef Hundred Toils Stored by outhern Cotton did Company Destroyed. TOTAL DAMAGE $75,009 gin of 'Fire Believed to Have Been Due to- Defective Electric Wiring. Florence, Jan. 1.-The large cotton seed house of the southern Cotton Oil. Company, located at their plant in this city, was destroyed by fire shortly after midnight last nTght. Be Sides the building there was destroy - all of the machinery in the build . and one box car of the Atlantic Coast Line that was standing close by. A locomotive and several care belonging to a construction company tiat recently built thp double track -gr the Coast Line, that were near iy, were badly damaged. In the seed house building was stored between 700 and 800 tons of cotton seed, recently purchased at high prices. This was mostly con sumed. But for the fact that the wind was blowing from the north the en tire plant would have been destroyed as the building was an immense 'ame structure, fifty feet wide and 184 feet long and about forty feet shigh. The glare from the flames of the burning building lighted up the whole city. and many miles out in the country. Damage $75,000. The value' of the building. destroyed was about $15,000 and the contents and other property destroyed will be about $60,000, making a total of about $70,000, which is in large part covered by insurance. The origin of the fire is thought to have been from defective electric wiring as it was first discovered in the center of the building at the top qn the inside. The firemen had a long, hard run of a mile or more on slippery ice-covered streets, and when they reached the scene of the fire the frozen hydrants and a thermometer reading of 10 de grees above zero made it difficult to fight the flames because they. would get cov.e:'ed with ice within a few moments after the water left the nozzles. The mill people have had' a large force of hands at work all day remov ing the seed and cotton in bales to places o fsafety in order that as much of it as possible may be. salvaged. This is the worst fire Florence has had since 1903, when the various to bacco buildings in tobacco town were destroyed. 0 ALMOST INSTANT DEATH Soldier Falls Between Electric Car and Platform. Greenville, Jan. 1.-Private Sydney 11. Brown, of Company B, 113th Ma chine Gun Battalion, whose home was in-Murfreesboro, Tenn., was killed al most instantly tonight by an inter - urban electric railway car. Brown was in the act of ,boarding an over crowded car going back to the camp, when in attempting to step off the car onto the platform, which is level with the car ifoor, he lost his footing and stepped between the car and plat form. His skull was crushed. TANK AND U-BOAT COMING New York, Jan. 1.--In an effort to give. Impetus to enlistments in the British and Canadian forces the Brit Ish armored tank "Britannia" will *start on a recruiting tour of the Unit ed States Janiuary 14. It was an nounced' tonight that the, tank had been turned over to the British re cruiting mission by the London war offiee. Accompanying the tank -will be a squad of speakers and ,eotch pipera as well as a captured Gernian submia rine. . A tour of the South will b made first, then north to Chicago, *thence westward. SIXTBEEN MILLION NEW MEMBERS8 OF EWD CROSS Washington, Jan. 1..-SIyteen mil lion inew names Were, added to the l1embieI'ship ro1ls 94tht)e American IBed Groias ethe ze.gt'q 1h Christ. na~br~ i d*tte yn~ P -.~Q~fl $Ic~ctfi$.tiona CAP URE OF THE CREW OF U-liOA' U11; 'Details of the Destruction by Amelrican Destroyers of a German Submarine in November Given by -.the Navy Department. Washington, Dec. 29.-Full details of the' destruction by American de st1oyers of a German submarine and the capture, of its crew made puolic today by the navy department show that the destroyers Fanning and Nicholson -were the warships en gaged. The incident was reported November 24, but few facts were given... The submarine was sunk, the navy department's story of the affair in dicates, as it was preparing to at tack a merchant ship flotilla convoyed by the destroyers. - Navy Department's Story. The navy department's full story oft the incident follows: "At about 4:10 p. in., while escort ing a convoy, Coxswain -David D. Loomis, lookout on the Fanning, sighted a small periscope some dis tance off the port bow, extending about a foot out of the water and visible for only a few seconds. The Fanning immediately headed for the spot and about three minutes after the periscope had been sighted -dropped a depth charge. The Nich olson also speeded to the position of the submarine, which appeared to h: heading' toward a merchant vese' ; the convoy, and dropped t:vt" depth charge. At that moment the submarine's conning tower appe:.: on the 'surface between the Nicho'.i.j and the convoy, and the Nicl(o;st.., fired three shots from her stern ga.; The bow of the submarine came u) rapidly. She was down by the stern but righted herself and seemed to cN a. crease her speed. The Nicholo.. cleared, the Fanning headed for the U-boat, firing from tne bow g.in. After the third shot the crew of the submarine all came on deck and held up their hands, the submarine sur rendering at 4:28 p. n. "The Fanning approached the sub marine to pick up the prisoners, both destroyers keeping their batteries .trained on the spot. A line was got to the submarine, but in a few min utes she sank, the line was let go and the crew of the U-boat jumped into the water and swan to the Fan-' ning. Crew Was Exhausted. "Although the crew all wore life preservers a number of them were exhausted when they reached the side of the destroyer. As the submarine sank five or six men were caught by the radio aerial and carried below the surface before they disentangled themselves. Ten of the men were so weak that lines had to be passed un der their arms to haul them aboard. One man was in such a condition that he could not even hold the line thrown him. Chief Pharmacist's Mate Elzer Harwell and Coxswain Francis G. Connor (N. N. V.) jumped over board after this man and secured a line under his arms. When he was hauled aboard every effort was made to resuscitate him, but he (lied in a few minutes. The four officers of the submarine and the 35 members of the crew were all taken prisoners. "After being taken on board the prisoners were given hot coffee and sandwiches. Though kept under strict guardi, they seemedl contented and after a short time commenced to sing. To make them comfortable the crew of the destroyer gave them their warm coats and heavy clothing. "The German officers saidi the first depth charge had wrecked the ma chinery of the submarine and caused her to sink to a considerable depth. Submarine Not Numbered. "Thei submarine bore no number nor distinguisheing mark. She was, however, identified by life belts and by statements of an officer and men of the crow. One of the left belts, thre reports said, had 'Kaiser' marked on'-one side and 'Gott' on the other. "Tke Fanning proceeded to port and transferred her prisoners under guard. As they were leaving In small boats, the Germans gave three cheers. The commanding oficeer of the Fan ning read the burial service over' the body of the dead Ge~nian sailor and the destroyer proceeded to sea and buried him with full military honors. "In~ his report, the commander of the Fanning praises the conduct o1 lhis offieers and, crew, and gives par. tieu1pr credit to 'Lieut. Walter 0, He~nry, oficeer of the deck, and te ~ox0Wain Loomis, wh~o' kighted the Gyj e He also epmmends Phar. niaoist's MIte Harhell and Caxswair NORFOLK F BELIEVEI INCENDL Police and Naval Authorities Round Up Suspicious Persons and Arrest Suspects. THREE PERISH IN FLAMES Two Blocks in Heart of City De stroyed; Damages Estimated Over $2,000,000. Norfolk, Jan. 1.-Nearly two blocks in the heart of Norfolk's business dis trict, including the Monticello Hotel, were destroyed, three men were killed and a scroe more injured in a series of explosions and fires today, which both the police and naval authorities believe here were incendiary. The fire had been checked tonight, but still was burning fiercely in the ruins. The loss is roughly estimated at more than $2,000,000. Three distinct explosions in as many buildings, one after the fire once vii tually had been brought under control, led to the general belief that enemy agents weie at work. Mayor Mayo practically placed the city un der martial law by turning the situa tion over to naval oflicers, and some 2,500 marines and bluejackets from nearby naval stations assisted the police and home guards in maintain ing order and preventing vandalism. Suspects Rounded Up. Naval patrols rounded up suspi cious persons throughout the after. noon while five men were arrested as suspects. Two of these, Hugo Schmidt and H. K. Lessing, said to be Germans, were turned over to De partment of Justice agents. Tonight there were reports that two Germans had been shot by sailors during the day, but neither the police nor naval authorities would confirm them. The fire started before dawn in the old Granby Theater, on Granby street, and gained rapid headway, as the fire men were handicapped by frozen fire hydrants, low water pressure and near zero temperature. It quickly spread to the Monticello Ilotel and other nearby buildings in the block. It was brought under control late in the day, but broke out anew early tonight, leaped across Granby street and leveled half of the block there before being checked. The Death Toll. Falling floors and walls took toll of firemen and naval guards. One fireman, Charles McCoy, was killed and several others hurt in the col lapse of an opper floor of the Monti cello Hotel in the day and tonight two firemen and several sailors were caught in a falling wall of the Lenox building. Three were brought out badly hurt, but two others were left in the debris. Firemen of Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Suffolk with organized sailor fire brigades fought heroically amid ice and blinding smoke and bluejackets led the rescue work when the fighters were trapped. Several of the firemen caught in the hotel wvere brought out alive through the (daring of a score of jack tars. Number of Explosions. Reports as to the number of explo sions vary. It was first saidl that the fire In the Granby Theater had follow ed an explosion, but Fire Chief Mc Loughlin andl naval investigators an nouncedl tonight that this was not the case. They saidl there were three separate and distinct explosions. The first was in a cloak andl hat shop near the Monticello. The second was on the sixth floor of that hotel after the first fire was practically undler con trol andl the third ia the Lenox build ing, which later was dlestroyedl. Guests from the Monticello, who Connor, who jumped overboard to save the drowning German. "The British commander-In-chief, under whom the destroyers were op erating, said this in his report to the British admiralty.: 'The whole affair reflects credit on the disciplIne and training of the United States flotilla' and adde4l that the 'Incident showed that'the Fanning 'Is a man of war In the best sense of the term, well dis ciplined and organized and ready for Iimediate action.' HLe also praises her commander, Liedt. A. S. Carpens ter, and commends Lieut. Henry, Coxswain Loomis, Pharmacist's Mate WIarwell and Coxswain Connor. ,The British Admifral also commended the prompnt action of the Nicholson. SIRES ARE )TO BE OF ARY ORIGIN were forced to flee in the biting cold of the dawn, after they had watched the theater burn, were taken care of in nearby homes and hotels. As build ing after building went down, with them an apartment house, scot cs were made homeless and the National Guard armory on City Hall avenue was thrown open. At the armory during later in the day Red Cross workers and other Vol unteers looked after the homeless and also supplied hot coffee and sand wiches for the naval patrols and fire men who were forced to seek rest from their gruelling work against the flames. When the firemen responded to the alarm for the theater fire, they found all hydrants in the vicinity frozen. Looked on Helpless. Fires had to be built to thaw them out. In the meantime, the firemen looked on helpless while the big thea ter building burned. When water finally came, the pressure was so low that streams would not reach to the upper stories of the burning building and the fire was soon beyond control. Portsmouth, across the Elizabeth river, was called upon for aid and the fire was checked until falling sparks fired the Monticello, where many of the guests had gone back to bed in the belief that the fire was under control. They were soon forced to turn out again. Explosion Occurs. The combined departments appar ently were making good headway against the flames, when the explo sion occurred in the cloak shop and another blaze started. Suffolk was then asked for aid and rushed ap paratus to the city by train. In the meantime, the naval authorities at the navy yard and naval base offered aid and fire brigades were soon on the scene. When the second explosion oc curred, this time in the Monticello, MayorMayo put the naval authorities in charge. They placed patrols throughout the business districts and threw a cordon of marines and blue jackets around the fire district. Suspects Rounded Up. Department of Justice agents join ed with the city detective force in seeking to unravel the mystery of ex plosions. Three of the men arrested were placed in the city jail and fed eral agents took charge of the other two, Schmidt and Lessing. The lat ter, officers said, first represented himself as a Department of Justice official. Fire tugs from the navy yard early in the (lay took up positions on the water front three blocks away and assisted the fire engines and pumped tons of water into the burning build ings, but the block on Granby street from City Hall avenue to Tazewell street virtually was destroyed. Breaks Out Afresh. Just at dusk the fire in the Monti cello broke out afresh and, despite the heroic work of the firemen and sailors, the Lenox, Carpenter and Trazewell buildings, six-story struct ures across the street, were wrecked. For a time the naval Y. M. C. A. was threatened. Although the fire still was burning in the ruias late tonight, the fire chief announced that the danger was over if the naval patrols "could check the work of incendiaries." T1he fire-swept district is but three blocks from the Elizabeth river water front on the north and five on the west. It is more than a mile from the Norfolk navy yard, which is located up the Elizabeth river in the western section of Portsmauth. which he says completed the success of Its sister ship. The Nicholson was commanded by Lieut. G. H. Fort. The British admiralty sent a telegram to the commander-in-chief directing him to express to the commanding of ficer, officers and men of the Fan niing its 'hfgh appreciation of their 'successful action against enemy sub marines.' "Vice Admiral Sims, commanding the American forces operating In Eu ropean waters, commended the officers and, men of the Fanning and Nichol son~. Coxswain Loomis was advanced to the rnext highest rating in recog.. nition of his vigilarnce in sighting the Xeriscope." GERMAN SPY MADE TORlPEDOES DEFECTIVE Arrest of Paul Henning on Treason Warrant Resulted in Startling Disclosures. New York, Dec. 29.---Microscopic defects in the delicate mechanism of torpedo gyroscopes, the "brain of the torpedo"-defects apparently deliber ately done-have been discovered in a number of the apparatus turned out by the E. W. Bliss Torpedo works in Brooklyn and an arrest was made to dlay. These gyroscopes were intended for the United States navy and an investigation is. under way to deter mine whether any of the torpedoes now carried by American naval ves sels are equipped with faulty parts. Emery and other particles, it is al leged, were introduced into the parts of a number of the torpedo "brain," some parts were cracked and scratch ad others improperly fitted and still >thers lacking the required govern ment stamp. It is claimed some of :he gyro wheels, the product of high ly skilled and intelligent workman ship were cracked and otherwise mu Lilated, the insidious work being done in such a way as to render the de fects diflicult of detection without the ase of a microscope. Arrested for Treason. ':ie maen icnder arrest is Paul Ilen ning, 43 years old, a naturalized Gier man, living in Ozone Park, a Brook yn suburb. lie was a machinist fore man in the Bliss plant and had charge )f the gyroscopic department. The technical charge against hin is trea son in that he aided the imperial 3erman government in turning over o the United States defective me hanism. The charge is punishable 1n event of conviction with death or ive years imprisonment and a fine of ,10,000. Henning was arrested today mn an indictment handed up by the December federal grand jury. Ar raigned before Justice Veeder, he )leaded not guilty and was held with )ut bail until January 2. The prisoner came to the United States from Germany in 1908, ac 'ording to a statement issued today )y United States District Attorney France and was naturalized eight years later. lie has four sons, one of vhom, Carl 20, is now interned on 'llis Island. lie was taken out of he works of the Sperry Gyroscope Works, also of Brooklyn, last Decem >er and no exzplanation was made in he -case. The elder Henig is a highly skilled raftsman with considerable inventive renius, it was said today. At the )resent time he has a gyroscope pat mt pending at Washington. The specific charge on which the indictment was found was that on November 13, last, Ilenig delivered a ox containing torpedo gyroscope )arts, which were defective and which :ontained emery. Discovered by Naval Officer. Conscious devotion to duty on the part of Lieut. Francis D. O'Shea, U. S. N., was the direct cause of the dis :overy of the alleged plot, according .o Mr. France. Lieut. O'Shea who has iadl nine years exp~erience with tor riedoes and was the torpedo officer iboard the U1. S. S. Memphis, when ihe was lost in the West Indies, was letailed to the Bliss plant as an in pJector (luring the sunmmr and be !ame dissatisfied with the way inspec Lions were nmade. H~e kept a close watch on Henning's dlepartmient. Hien iing had been a foreman for five years for the company and was be lieved to be above suspicion. Requisition was made upon the de partment for five boxes of extra gyro acopic parts, which were deliveredl in greased vaseline andl placed in glass jars. Lieut. O'Shea opened the jars and everyt bearing wvas disassembled aind thoroughly examined. The micro scope told the tale andl from then on Henning was undler suspicion and watched by the navy intelligence bu reau and by (deputy United States marshals. It was statedl this afternoon that there is no ground as yet to suspect a widlesp~readl conspiracy to render the torpedoes of the United States navy dlefective and probably dangerous to the vessel iflrng them. PRISONERS SEND TOBACCO TO TROOPS IN FRANCE San Quenton, Ill., Jan. 1.-Prison ers confined at the state prison here, vo'ted to send one half of their to. bacco allowances to the men of the American expeditionary forces in France and the first allotment of two 'fifty. gallon barrelse, filled with tobacco was ready to day for shipment. 1918 TAX ASSESSMENT GIV[N OUT BY JONES INSTRUCTIONS FROM TAX COM MISSION TO AUDITORS Coy ER ALL 'l'AXABILE IROIP ERTY. Chairman Jones Shows the Great Injustice of Inequalities Now Existing. Columbia, Dec. 28.--Instructions were issued today by the South Caro lina tax commission to the auditors of the several counties of the State and the chairmen of the boards of as sessors throughout South Carolina to iassess 50 per centum of the real val ue of all the taxable property in South Carolina in 1918. The instrue tions were the result of the confer ence held by the tax commissioners with the auditors and tax assessors of the various counties, who were in session here last night and today dis cussimg the various phases of the tax situation in this State. Adopting the recommendation of Governor Manning, made in the course of his speech before th.' tax olicials last night, the commission also decided to menoralize the leg islature to fix a "flexible levy" in the next appropriation bill. Should the assessment of 50 per centum raise more money than appropriated for the needs of the State by the next, general assembly, then the oflicer design:ted by the legislature can re duce but not increase the levy, if the "flexible levy" reconendationi is adopted. .John P. Derham, a member of the tax commission, today urged upon the county auditors and tax assessors of the State to "do their bit" by en deavoring to secure a true and honest valuation of the taxable property of the State and thereby make the plan instructed by the commission a success. Out of the various discus sions entered into was gleaned the fact that there was nothing like an equality of assessment throughout the State, particularly on real estate; and that thousands of acres ogre not re turned at all. Some plan of equalization was ask ed for by Auditors W. Y. Smith, of Anderson; J. S. McKenzie, of Flor ence, and B. N. Richardson, of An derson, for their respective counties, in speeches depicting the tax prob lems they had to confront. Describing the realtion of the coun. ty auditor to the tax commission, E. P. Wilson, secretary of the commis sion, asked for the cooperation of the county officials. Various phases of the law bearing on the tax commission and the act creating that body were dealt with by W. I. Townsend, an attorney of the Columbia bar, who assisted the office of the attorney general in litigation against the tax commission. That South Carolina should not fall into the condition of Kentucky, where so much trouble has been experienced in tax matters, Mr. Townsend urged the adoption of some uniform plan of equalization for this State. .Junius T. Liles, of Orangeburg, chairman of the ways and means committee of the house, urged upon the county audlitors andl assessors present here today to dlevise sonme method of equilization to lift the "tax burdlen," as it is so frequently called. ie pledlged his support as a member of the general assembly to anything which could be (lone to remedy con dlitions in South Carolina. Various other members of the con ference expressed themselves on thr' tax situation and tho conseOnsus of opinion seemedl to be that the method instructedl by the tax commission was the most feasible that could be de vised at this time. The gathering be fore adjourning this. afternoon pledg ed its cooperation in the carrying out of the instructions. -- -o - BIG COTTON SEED) FIRE D~amage by Blaze in Charlotte Esti mated $100,000. Charlotte, N. C., Jan. 1.-Loss esti matedl at $100,000 was caused by the destruction by fire tonight of a 'iced 'warehouse of the Buckeye Cottori Oil Company. The company's main planL 'was not dlamaged. The fire was believed to have orig inated from a motor used in connec tIon with the seed drying machinery. The loss was fully covered by Insur ance, according to the company's lo cal manager.