Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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VOL. XXXVIII MANNING,-S.O C., WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 1918 No.3 ARMISTICE SAID TO BE EXTENDED TO FEBRUARY 18 Further Talk of Possibility of Final Break in Peace Negotiations Between Russians and Huns STORMY TIMES IN BERLIN Russian Soldiers Loot Town; Force 7,000 Ukranians to Surrender -Cossacks Are Defeated ... Although there is still talk in un official quarters of the possibility of final break in the peace negotiations between the Central Powers and the Bolsheviki, the armistice evidently has - been extended to Fbruary 18 and it is reported that the pourparlers will be trai.sferred shortly from Brest Litovsk to Warsaw. Late advices indicate that there was considerable haggling between the op posing delegates at Brest-Litovsk the latter part of last week. Trotzky, Bolsheviki foreign minister, as in the previous deliberations, proved recalci trant with regard to the German for mula' "that the contracting parties have resolved henceforth to live in peace and friendship," declared that it 'is a decorative phrase," and did not describe what the future relations be tween the Russian and German peo ples would be. Internal Strife Internal strife continues in various parts of Russia. Bolsheviki troops.are reported to have cleared Gen. Kale dine' Cossacks, from the Don river basin and te: have captured 'Ekate. rinoalav Following previous reports of a mt.tiny of sailors at SebastLpol, whdr2 twenty-six of ficers, among them four -ad'mirals, were killed, 1 n. sian Soldiers ar r.:elared to have :aat ed the town of Kilia and in fighting with the Ukranians to have forced the Second Ukranian regiment to surren der and lay down 7,000 rifles and thir teen machine guns. Garrison in Revolt The Petrograd garrison also ap parently is out of hand, idle soldiers having been reported as going into the provinces and taking food from the inhabitants and bringing it back to the capital and selling it at exor bitant prices. The social revolutionary members of the constituent assembly in Rus sia are opposed to a general peace at Russia's expense and declare that the Bolsheviki are "usurpers of power, who have precipitated the country in to an ab.ss of civil war and anarchy." Stormy Times in Berlin Speculation is rife concerning the conferences that are being held in Berlin between the military and po litical leaders, in which Emperor Wil liam and the Crown Prince also have participated. "A death struggle is now proceeding between the Reich stag peace majority e.nd the military annexationist party," says a Bavari an newspaper, which, adds that it "does not know which side of the gov ernment will support and that Egyp tian darkness enshrouds the nation's peace terns." Cold weather and snows are still retarding the infantry activity on the battle front, where no fighting of mo ment is taking place, except in the na ture of small patrol engagements and artillery duels. Notwithstanding the fact that similar conditions prevailed last week, the British casualties for the seven (lays ending this Monday were 24,979 as compared with 18,9981 the previous week, and 9,951 the week before that. - 0-o BRITISH LOSSES FOR W1REK .The Casualties Total 24,979 Officers and Men London, Jan. 14.--British casualties reported during the week ending to-I (lay totalled 24,979 officers andl men,. dilvidled as follows: Killed or wounded: Officers, 117; men, 5,149. Wounded or missing: Officers, 304; men, 19,408. Casualties in the British army re ported for the week endling today ex ceedi by almost 6,000 the total report ed In the previous week when tho fig ures took an upwardl jump, virtually (doubling the casualties of the preced -I ing week. A week ago the total was 18,998, including 561 officers and men killed, while the total for the pending wee kwas 9,961. 0 DANIELS COMMENDS MEN FOR BRAVERY Washington, , Jan. 14.--Commenda tion for bravetyj In saving from fire a whole group of submarine chasers has been awarded to Frank Marsh, a machinist's mate, secondl class, of the naval reserve force by Secretary of the Navy Daniels. Marsh enlisted at Boston last October. Secretar'y Daniels also sent letters of commendation for bravery to six of the' crew of the torpedo boat de Charles Charlesworth, boatswain's mate, New York; Phillip J. Burger, seaman, Lansingburgh, N. Y.; L. J. Kelly, chief electrician, no addr'ess given; Howard Chase, quartermaster, Nantucket, %fass.; Harry L. Gibson, chief boatswain's niate, Philadelphia, and Edward Moier. Bay City, Mich. PERSHING ONLY ALIEN IN FRANCETO MOVE FREELY Paris, Ddc. 28. (By mail)-General Pershing is the only American in France who can leave the country without asking permission to do so two weeks in advance. The United States embassy, the consul general and all of the consuls throughout France have been notified by the sec retary of state to hold up all persons departing for America for two weeks before using their passports. The object of this long deliy and th< rigorous - inestigation made into the identity and activity of every one le win g France is to prevent as far as pk 3sible the ingress of pro-Germans into the United States and to decrease the acts of sabotage which have been committed-the blowing up of bridges, munitions factories, ships etc. All civilians who attempt to go to the United States must make appli cation to the em massy or the emnsul at least two .w2'%ks before they wish to sail. Any officer or enlisted men in the expeditionary foi'ce of the United States army who wishes to return home must produce proper credentials and orders of movement from his su perior officer. This applies equally to the "n en higher up" with the ex ception of the commander-in-chief of the American army in France. "We have received orders from Seeretary Lansing to take every pos sible step to prevent enemy aliens or pro-German Americans from getting to the United States," said Alexander M. Thackera, consul general, in dis cussing the situation. "Of course a true American citizen in good standing and with a clear con science will have no trouble in iden tifying himself and proving his irgih to get home. There will be a dela y .perhaps tedious, as it amounts to : t least two weeks. But any sensibh person will realize the gravity of tlu^ war and will not resent q1estionin and examination, and a minute scr' tiny of his papers and a certain amount of delving into his priva,. business. * "There have been a good many Ger man agents reaching the United States (luring the past six months. We are no sure that they got there via France. They.\,may go chiefly via the Scandinavian counui ies .r v;a Holland. But in order to safeguard the situation to the limit the utmost precaution will be exercised. "In the case of men in the army in France or Americans in the French service, aviation, artillery, infantry or ambulance, work, and with Red Cross or Y. M. ,. A. attaches, we are per mitted to'use a certain amount of dis cretieff. If such men come here with a month's furlough for the United States and have their proper order and papers we do not hold them up two weeks and this consume half of their holiday. We investigate as rap idly as possible and often are able to vise their papers and let them go right through. "One must have business reasons to travel these (lays as our rules. are so strict that it is very hard to travel for pleasure. If a person living over here and not engaged in business wishes to return to America to see his or her relatives or make a visit the chances are that it can be arranged, but it probably will be very hard for that mndividual to get back to France again. "We work in connection with the French ministry for foreign affairs and these officials are doing all in their power to prevent Americans Americans from coming over here un less they have real and important business. The food situation is too acute here, there is scarcely more than enough to go around, and there must be no useless alien mouths to feed if it can be avoidled. "The samne restrictions are taken in Great Britain, in the Scandinavian countries, in Holland, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Portugal." WILL REGISTER ALL HOMES IN SOUJTH CAROL~INA Columbia, S. C., January 15.-Ef fort wvill be madle by the United States food administration to register all homes in South Carolina in the food conservation movement, accordling to an announcement by William Elliott, food adiministrator for this State. During the campaign last fall more than 100,000 homes coined the food administration forces by signing the pledge cards: There are nearly 400, 000 homes in the State andl every ef fort will be made to secure all for membership in the United States food administr6tion. There are 3030 famIlies in Claren.. dIon county l'egisteredl as members of the food administration. There are 7,470 families in the county. All fam ilies who have not joined the food ad ministration should write immediate ly to the food administrator, Arcade building, Columbia, and secure the beautiful window cardl, the kitchen card and other Information which is to be distributedi. The food adminis tration Is making arrangements for the widie distributor) of information that will be of value to everg.4ouse holder. Those signing the pledge cards, merely promise to save food in so far as possible, so that America may be successful. In the war. The food administration has receiv ed a limited suply of War Cook books and th'e homekeepers who apply first for mombership will receive one of these books free of coat. "Food Will Win the War: Don't Waste It," Is the slogan of the Uni ted States Food administration. OUR LEGIS WEEK] Columbia, Jan. 14th, 1918. Editor Manning Times: Both houses of the General Assem bly met at noon last Tuesday, but I was unable to comply with your re quest for a letter last week in time for the issue of your paper, and I ;m afraid I shall not be able to write you much of interest this week. It is so early in the session aat noshing of great importance has,been done yet, and too early to do much in the way of forecasting. On the first day the resignation of Speaker Hoyt was accepted, as he has moved to Michigan, and Hon. Thos. P. Cothran was elected speaker. Mr. Cothran-is a man of about 55 years, is a son of the late Judge James S. Cothran, remembered by many of our citizens, and is a man who would fill with ability and grace any position in the judiciary from chief justice of the state down, or any position in the ex ecutive department from governor down. We have got right down to woi-k. There were many measures in the cal endar left over from last session, and already numbers of these have been disposed of. We have already begun holding night sessions, though the comforts of the building are bad, owing to poor 'eat froni scarcity of coal. It is a matter of gratitude and thankfulness to the Almighty that out, Of 124 members of the house and 44 i members of the Senate, death has not claimed a single one since the last :session, though there are perhaps 15 to 20 &dt'e'ntees, :;oie in France, and moAre st: in Are:ricr getting ready to onke the sacrifice el their lives if necessairv for our gre:at libe:ty l:vin. country.. All honr to these geitle men, reg irdless of "rhether they are reformers in administration men, pro hibitionist:; or even liquor advocates, or woman suffragists or against wo .min suffrage. It is pleasant to meet in Columbia once each year and renew acquaint av:es with men from all over the state, but this session is quite differ ent from some I have attended in years gone by, due to circumstances brought about by the war. Expenses are extremely high in Columbia now, nor can one get the comforts that used to be available. Coal and wood are scarce and the state house and ho tels and boarding houses are poorly heated, and the fare at the boarding houses is only ordinary. I was un able to pay $4.00 an.l $5.00 a (lay at ,the two swellest hotels, so I am stop ping at one of the medium grade ho tels at a special rate of $2.00 per (lay with two in a room, and for two (lays out of four last week we had no su gar on the table at all. Part of the time when we had sugar it was (lark, soggy,. unrefined beet sugar, almost black, and I never saw any just like it before. I went out to a grocery store and got a merchant to scrape his barrel and sell me a pound of it to bring home to show my young sters that they were not being sub jected to hardship in not allowing them to dip so heavy in the dish of granulated sugar, and when I left the grocery store the proprietor asked me not to say anything about where I got it. Governor Manning delivered his an nual mesnage before a joint assembly of the two houses last week, and it was almost diatinctly a war message. There were a number of good recom mendations in it, real constructive mauebut '.he body of it dlealt with war conditions and things aris ing out of the wvar. lie recom mendled a divorcement of the dluties of Clemson College andl the Decpartment of Agriculture, Com merce and labor, wvhere they have been overlapping, devolving the dui ties of instruction more particularly to the college, wvhile the D~epartment of Agriculture should dlevote its en ergies more in the dlirection of market ing andl commerce. Another recomn mendlatiora of the governer in the con solidlation of the offices of Bank Ex aminer ahd Insurance Commissioner, putting both departments undler one head andl the saving of one st.'ste of fice. The governor also recommqnded a series of enactments along the line of ,curtailing vice, all of them commend able in the objects sought to be at tainedl, but one or twvo of them im practicable of enforcement and dIan gerous in the practical appication. But all in all the governor's address wvas rather an able paper. The game wardlen mess and mix up has propvokedl a big stir already over In the senate, but the row has not reached our side yer.. One of the big questions which will come up will be whether South Caro lina will ratify the proposed amendl ment to the United States Constitu tion on the liquor question, and whether the Legislature Itself wvill handle the matter or refer It to the people at 'the ballot box. Of course, the redl hot prohibitlonists want it rati fied right now. There was a move on foot in the house last week to ratify the amnendlment without even refer ring It to a committee, but the propo sition met with so many objections that the resolution was i'eferred to a committee, who will report and the matter will come up mn the regular way . I am unable to make much fore cast as to what the legoislature wil LATIVE 'Y LETTER (10 with this question, but it would not surprise me if it is referred to the people. I hear a number of men who were very much in favor of the quart a-month measure at the last session, now express themselves that the state had better not act rash, and go to fat, as the people, in their previous vote on the liquor question as to whether or not they should vote out the dispensary, have never yet voted (n a question involving the sovereign rights of the state, and what it should surrender to the national goevrnment. So far as I am concerned I have not yet studied the question fully, but expect to before it comes up for a vote, and I do not propose to vote with either the ultra extreme prohibition ists or. those who would hold up scarecrows in favor of liquor. Com mon sense is what we want in the making and administering the laws in South Carolina, whether it comes from either side of the classes just mentioned. One rather noted measure which was introduced at the last session and came up for action in the house last week was a bill to prohibit smoking tobacco or cigars or cigarettes in any hotel dining room, restaurant, cafe, lunch room, or any atmosphere where food was served. If the bill had pass ed a man could not have lighted a cigar in .ack's Cafe or a cigarette in Jim Richardson's restaurant without laying himself liable to go to the chain gang, even though there might not be a lady within a half mile of the place where the fellow lit his cigar, pipe or cigarette. The bill was killed, but it would surprise you to know how many members voted for it. Both houses convene again Tuesday, and I expect the best part of the mid (lay sessions for three or four days this week will be taken up with elec tions of judges whose terms expire, college trustees, etc. .Judge Wilson comes up for re-cle.ction, but I am satisfied wil have no opposition. .Judge Spain of -Darlingten wi!l be op posed by two or three candidates, one from Bennettsville, a Mr. Owens, and Mr. E. R. McIver of Cheraw, a son of the late Chief Justice McIver. .Judge Bowman of Orangeburg, so it is said, will be opposed for re-election by Mr. Ed Dennis of Monck's Cor ner. In the Columbia and Camden circuit there will be a good lively fight. Judge Mendel Smith has re signed to accept a position as judge advocate in the army, and the aspir ants will likely be Mr. Kirkland of Camden, and Messrs. Graydon, W. '' i Aycock and W. II. Townsend of Co. lumbia. I am not going to attempt to dis. cuss county affairs in this letter, a our delegation has not had a meeting yet since we have been over here, am of course have not fully made up out minds as to many matters concerning the county. I want to say for myself and I know I also speak for Mr. Du. Rant and Mr. Johnson and Mr.Mel. lett, that representing a county is n( child's play job, and we are going t( do the best we can for the county, a. we have the light before us. Of course we do not expect to be able to pleas( everybody, but we will do what seems to be for the best interests of the people, at any rate. There is a strong, deep-grounde< (lhposition among the members of th< house to get through in thirty days and go home. This disposition is shown most, not in the talk that om hears, but in the fact that the influx of new measures introducedl is not nearly so great as usual. The twc bills. providing revenue for the statt goverInment andI the county govern ments, under ou:rce-i::.tmution, must C, :.,iniate with the c'.un.tittee on w"ays an.d rr'ea:s in the houn of rep~resenta ve s ''he generalI asse,'l./ cannot adjou~e until these sw measures have beeni 'snsed and oeI by the gover nor, thus providing for the running of the state andl coun'y governments for the 'eaur. TIhe wa" ant melans comn n -*:ce have already L -;un to hold meetings andl get figures and esti mates, andl these two bills will be in troduced about next Wednesday or Thursday. They wvill be p~ut through the house and sent to the Senate in about a week or not later than ten (days. It will then be up to the Sen ate as- to wvhether an early adIjourn ment will be had. Last year the Sen ate put up the appropriations so high' after the house had appropriated what it thought was necessary to run' the state government, that the house dIeclinedl to stand for these big apipro priatiosand( there was a (deadlock. stay there fifteen days longer and get up another bill, and thus the senate won. The house is a body fresh from the masses of the pleople, and just watch what I am nIow predlicting: The Senate is going to go wIld on big ap propriations again, ana if there is an other disagreement and (deadlock, causing a long session, I predlict that the east wing statesmen will be to blame for it. They are not all that way, but the trouble over there is that there are too many' rich men in the Senate, who (10 not care how taxes go, so long as their big land holdings are assessedl at 5 andl 6 aollars per acre and the money which they have in vested in mortgages escapes taxation altogether. Now call that demigog uelsm if you want to, but It is the truth, nevertheless. - J. H. Lesenne. ARMY WAlEHOUSES PREY OF FLAMES Origin of Fire at Washington Bar racks Attributed to Smoking of Soldiers Washington, Jan. 1,4.--A quantity of army supplies was destroyed, the l quartermaster warehouse ruir.ed and several other buildings damaged by a fire today at the Washington bar racks occupied by engineers troops. A large part of the city's fire apparatus was called upon to fight the flames which were given impetus by the cx plosion. After a hard fight or an hour and a half, the fire was extinguished. An ordnance building containing a quan tity of small arms anmunit:on waN eilangered, but soldiers removed what was stored there. Col. .1. K. Earle, commander of the barracks, stated that investigation; convinced him that the fire was not started by a spy or enemy sympa thizer. lie said it was caused by for bidden smoking by soldiers of a fa tigue detail. An estimate of the damage by Col. Earle placed the loss at about $50, 000. A limited quantity of clothing and shoes was destroyed. The office buildings of the quar termaster dlepartment, and teh ware house were the first to catch. In the warehouse, which occupied about a I city block, was stored a quantity of gasoline; this soon exploded and in tensified and spread the blaze. The fire burned fiercely and the firemen had difficulty in keeping it from spreading to nearby buildings. In the warehouse was stored clothing, shoes and other supplies for the army. Soldiers stationed at the baracks 'hastily removed ammunition stored in the ordinance building nearby, and as sisted the firemen in fighting the flames. UNCL[ SAM WANTS [ARMERS T0 GROW CASTOR BEANS And Farmers of South Carolina Are 'rged to Grow the Bean That Produces It FOR lAIlRI'CATING AIRSHIPS Revival of Industry in This State Will be Patriotic and Profitable Washington, .Jan. 10.-Special: An I emergency has arisen. The govern I ment will require large quantities of I castor oil for lubricating the aero plane engines. The supply is short and South Carolina, Georgia and Flor ida are going to be called upon to grow castor beans for the government and for which the government will pay prices which they believe will make it a more profitable crop than any other staple grown in that see tion. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent in conducting experi ments for finding an oil for lubricat ing the liberty motors, which will be l used in flying machines, other than castor oil; but these experiments have been in vain, and the only oil that will flow under the atmospheric conditions and temperature conditions met with by these machines is castor oil. Situation )ifferent Now In this country years ago castor oil was grown quite extensively and the leading States were Kansas, Oklaho ma and Missouri; but India, with la bor which could be hired at ten and twenty cents a day, furnished this oil so cheaply that the indlustry practical ly died out. The submarine has taken its toll and greatly reduced the worldl's sh ipping facilities, and now the indlustry must be revived, and ini those sections where there will be no danger from frost and in the sections where they have long growing seas ons; and South Carolina, Georgia and Forida are explecti to meet the emergency. Mr. T. S. Evans, assistant develop ment agent of the Seaiboaird Air Line Railway Company, wvith offices at I hamlet, N. C., ha sheen given a con tract to secure the planting of 10,0000 acres to castor beans, and the fprm ers of South Carolina and Georgia are ecxpected to growv anywvhere from five to 100 acre's or more for him. The governament is going to furnish th' seed at exact cost to the govern ment, plus the cost of transportation, but they are not to be p~aid for until after the crop is grown, and from the crop. Mr. Evans will be authorized to pay to any farmer wvho wvill growv these beans $3 per bushel for his en tire crop), delivered at the nearest rail roadl station. Easy to Grow Those who have grown castor beans say it, is one of the easrest crops pro dlucedl. Trher is no insect Pest which is known~ to attack it. Animals and live stock will not eat it. A bushel consists of forty-six poundlis and the prnice paid will be bet ter than 6 1-4 cents per~ pound, and in times past they have been profitably grown at three cents a poundl. An amer dlesiring to secure seed and growv this cr01p under a contract in South Carolina or Georgia, will be expected to addoress Mr. T. S. Evans, at Hamlet, N. C. It is not only a patriotic duty to grow these beans, but it is profitable as well, and it is helping to win the wa.Psers will be furnished to all farersgroingthis crop which they can post on their farms, showing that they are "dloing their bit" towards 'heling to win the war. STEAMSHIP T[XAN GOES DOWN OFF THE AT.ANTIC COAST No Lives Lost as liesult of Collision, According to Advices to Navy Department VESSELS SENT TO RESCUE lessages Indicate the Steamer Wil liamette May Have Collided with Big Ship Washington, Jan. 14.--No reports have been received at the Navy De partment from vessels ordered to the assistance of the A mrican steamer 'T'exan, reported early in the day in distress off the Atlantic coast as the res;ult of a collision. According to naval advices no lives were lost in the collision and officials are ' confident that, even if the ship went down, help was at hand to rescue all on board. 'T'exan leported Sinking An Atlantic Port, Jan. 14.-Agents of the American steamship Texan, a vessel of 11,00 tons today received advices from naval authorities that she was sinking at sea. The location of the ship was not given. The naval authorities did not state the cause of the Texan's distress, but. reports reaching shipping circles here from other sources were that the ves sel had been rammed am idship in col lision with another ship. It was said a steamer which had picked up the Texan's S. 0. S. calls was hurrying to her assistance and that the crew of forty-three had taken to the boats. - Nitrate for France The Texan left here recently with a cargo of nitrates, bound for a "rench port, agents of the vessel stated. In the absence of definite word. re garding the accident shipping men expressed the opinion that the Texan may have encountered an iceberg. Ef forts were made by government radio stations to communicate with ships with which the Texan might have been in collision. The fact that the Texan apparently was sinking soon after being ramnmed, without word as to assistance by another vessel in saving the crew, made the accident puzzling, naval authorities said. Struck Amidship Messages reaching here from an other port said that a steamer arriv ing there today reported "that at 4 p. m. she picked up an S. 0. S. call from the Texan, reporting that she had been struck amidship and was sink ing. The last message from the Tex an said: "Good-bye-no more." The message did not give the loca tion of the ship, nor did they say how she was damaged. There were forty three men aboard. The Texan's wire-. less operator reported that the star board boats had been lowered, that the aft boat was lost and that an at tempt was being made to lower the forward boat. Oil from the ship's hold was poured on the starboard side in an effort to make the sea con(li tions better for launching the life boats. Williainette Message iThe ship which brought word of the .Texan's plight reported that she had endeavored to get. inl touch with the latter direct, but hat not been able to do so. The vessel picked up t mes li '-. fnon ti.( "eanme X' illi:im ette, saying: "Go to assistance of 'Texan." A e n ('r.-t . t.* e.*dio station piel:ed " nUi a inessage l.,: i fron the steam'r Williamette sent to an unidentified ship, saying: "will you escort me banck to - --?" The answe'r was not inteclligibl. N a va I aulthorities who got theit message said Itey wert' unanie to determine whe'ther the Will iamtt' hadl been in ctllision with the Texan or had been dIamiagedl by the saint agency that sent the Texan to the' bottom. Noth ing more hadl bee'n heairud from the 'lTexan at noton. Frnagme'ntary wi e'eiss mt'ssages sugogest that the damnag'd stecamers belonged to a fleet passing noirth. Thait nont' of the m'0essages ind(1ientedl what had struck tbhem a roused sonme concern as to the actual cause of their ENGLAND) Ml'T lIAISIC .120,000 MOlIIE TIIOOP'S L 0(odon, .1 n. l.I. -Rttween 120).0, andl .1501,1000 troops m~nust be ra i sed at one in this country, Sir Anekland Geddes, innister'i of nat ional service, told I t'e louse' of C om mons today. The miin istetr said this was the ab solute miinimum, andii that it might be nlecetssary duinlg the yt'ar t~o take miore( men from civil life for the army. Sir Aucklanmd sid the government had dec'ided not toi introdluce conscrip tion in Ireland for the piresenit, nor to change the military age limiit. Grea' Brita in and her cotloieis, tie added, had raisedl 7,000,)000 men. SM ITII'S APPOI NTM ENT1 CONIRMIED HY SENATJH Washington, .Jan. 1 4.-Appointment of Senator Smith, of South Carolina, as chairman of the Senate Interstate conimerce committee, andl of Senator H~ardlwick, of Georgia, to succeed him asR chairinmn of the immigration corn mnittee, recomnmendIed by the Demo. cratic steering commiittee, was con firmed todlay by the Senate. Senator 'James was elected to fill the inter state commeiee committed vacancy 'causedl by the dleath of Senator New jlands. of Neanal.