Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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TtCTtCS EXPLAINED 1 r k maim ram iescuiu ums ir avu« UTILES IN TIE EAST I, _ ! London MlliUrjr Observer Hays Hln- l den berg Pint Iiroke*Th rough Kus- I «tnn* and Held Grip for Two Days J Until Advancing Germans Were ) Surrounded in a Pocket. Hlllaire Belloc, writing from Lon don, describe*! the military actions of the war as followa: It has been sufficiently explained In all serious criticisms of the war daring the last two months that the plans for the campaign in Europe was the same for all the Allies and also, of coarse, the came for the German powers. The type of action being fought taay be called *■ dual action, of which the twin action at Ligny and Quatre Bas two days before Waterloo is the best type. In such an action an army is divided into two portions some distance apart and has for its task the defeat of two sections of oppos ing fortes arriving from different di rections, one prrt of the army for in stance facing east and awaiting the shock of the eastern opponent, the other facing west and awaiting the shock of the western opponent. Thus at Ligny. Napoleon with the better part Of his army, was facing east, attempting to defeat the 'Prus sians, while five miles away Ney, the second in command, was facing west, holding up the English, Hanoverians, Dutch, etc., the Duke of Wellington's motley command. When the army was thus divided, fighting on two fronts separate ef forts, two sections of opponents, it Is common sense, unless it has enor mously superior numbers, that it should make Its principal effort upon one side or tho other. It will hardly be able to win a smashing victory at the same time on both fronts. Whereas, it has won a victory on the front where it put forth the chief effort, then it can turn back to the other front and win a second victory, but not before. Co^ersely. the busi ness of the opposing army is exactly the same reverse on the front where two armies are only trying to,"con tain” their opponents, and will strike hardest while on the front where the largely of two Internal armies is try ing to win. The external opponent will content himself with holding or "containing" the opposing force, for it is self evi dent the opponent will try to win where a double array is weakest. Now apply that situation to Europe as a whole and the lesson is apparent. The German effort with ail the best first line troops, all the heaviest artil lery and all the greatest stores and supplies was turned upon the west to win first, and part upon the east against Russia less formidable Aus trian armies ranged and even when the Germans joined these they for the most part were not German forces. . The first lines, ip other words, with a dual battle being fought on two fronts many hundred miles apart rep resent an active effort of the inter nal army. With Austro-Germans on the east front, their main task was only to “contain" the Russians until the western victory was accomplish ed. Conversely With the Allies the plan in the west is to contain the Austro- Oermana to make greater and greater efforts and to lose more and more strength. In this direction on this account, the war has raged for nearly two months in Poland, the country which is the eastern theatre of war. First, the Russians advanced successfully through south Poland against the Austrians, winning early in Septem ber a decisive and prolonged action before Lemmans won the great vic tory of Tanberg, but at the same time the Germans in the north and subse quently the whole Austro-German force advanced as far as the Vistula, very nearly to Warsaw, with the Rus sians retiring before them. Before the end of October the Rus sians had won a great victory in front of Warsaw, compelling the Austro- Oermans to retire towards the Russo- German frontier. 7^ Just as the German retreat reached the limit not quite three weeks ago. the German general, von Hlndenberg. Whose excellent qualities have been so conspicuous, conceived the plan of bringing masses of German troops unexpectedly upon the south and north, appearing against the weak Russian right with overwhelming forces. In order to understand the situa- \tion, we must realize that behind the semi-circular frontier which separates Russian Poland from Germany, there is a first rate railway system with a mass of rolling stock all especially designed for the movement of troops, running parallel to the frontier, while on the Russian side there are but three railways diverging on no plan and no railway parallel with the fron tier. !?o network of cross lines and even such railways as there are, were neriously damaged during the German retreat. ^ Under such circumstances von Htn- deiberg was able to entrain men in the south at the ..end of the German retreat (and south of where the Rus elans had massed nearly all their men, leaving the north, 100 miles away ..Tory weak), and then bringing these Germans around behind the frontier by railway more than 100 miles and aurprises with overwhelming numbers the comparatively small Russian it would relieve the pressure in the south upon the point of invading. Finally, if von Hlndeob rg captures Warsaw he will cut the communloe- tions of the northern Russian army and capture the Immensely Important depot of stores and great reserves of men also. , , Von Htndenberg's movement wss first amusingly successful. No doubt the Russians were taken by surprise. Many prisoners were captured by the German invader and the Russian northern forces fell back in precipi tation. But large forces were held in re serve behind the Russian northern army. These began coming up. Hln denberg pressed on, still hoping that he could overcome Russian resist ance before reinforcements became serious and he did succeed (which is really an astonishing and admirable feat) in piercing the Russian centre almost exactly 10 days ago and pene trating in a two days’ march with the successful central bodies behind the Russian lines. But Russian reinforcements arriv ing in perpetually increasing num bers from the east had this effect— one perhaps unparallel In the history of warfare, one which every critic in Europe noticed with astonishment— they healed the breach in the Russian line, cutting off a certain number of Germans who had penetrated thru. Therefore, what had been an open wound 15 miles broad by an 80-mile front became a “pocket." It had heal ed, but had healed into the shape of the bag which contained the whole force of the formerly victorious Ger mans. If the Russians could have closed the mouth of the bag at least two army corps would have been captur ed. All interest of the war during the last two days has consisted in violent efforts of the Russians to close the bag (the two sides of which were 15 miles apart—from Zdeirz to Strykow) and equally furious efforts of the Germans, who kept pouring in fresh men to keep it open. The issue is now in the west. Three days ago the Gormans were success ful in their attempt and got all their men out of the pocket and straighten ed the line again. There was no gen eral surrender, but there were enor mous losses and the main object of the move von Hlndenberg made was lost. Warsaw is beyond reach, but pressure upon the south continued and the northern Russian army was reinforced just in time.' The action is not over at this mo ment. but it is fairly evident that the Russians in the north now hold their own. FEW DIE OF DIPTHER1A FRNE ANTITOXIN SAVES LIVES Df SOUTH CAROLINA. This Suite Has Bees Freer From Dip- therla Fatalities Than Any Other ' ' . X ' j State. Deaths from diptheria. ta South Carolina have probably been fewer than in any other Bute where so many cases have occurred, according to the annual report on that disease compiled by the State board of health. The reason of this low mortality is the widespread uae of dlptherta anti toxin, for which approximately |10,- 000 is expended by the State. The >eport clearly shows that the seasonal incidence of the disease is the months of Augusta, September, October and November, for of the 1,623 cases reported during the first ten months of this year, 082 of them occurred' lb August, September/and October, the report for November not being completed. Charleston and Richland counties reported 126 and 125 cases, respec tively, leading all other counties in the prevalence of the disease. An derson county came next with qinety- seven cases, followed by York county with ninety-six cases. At some time during the period covered by the re port cases were reported from all counties in the State. "The wisdom of the free distribu tion of dlptheria antitoxin by the State to all alike, rich, poor, white and black,"’ writes James A. Hayne, M. D., State health officer, in his re port, "has been more clearly demon strated this fall than ever before, for we have had. according to our re ports. a large number of cases occur ring all over the State at a time when, owing to the wj.rand the consequent financial depression, the poor man and even the man of moderate cir cumstances would have been unable to pay for the antitoxin used to save the lives of his children. The cost to the State will be about flO.000. ‘A one-mill tax provides in South Carolina approximately $285,000—a wentleth of a mill would be $14,- 250. A man paying a tax of $50, which is a great deal more than the assessment of the average taxpayer, the State tag being six mills, would pay less than 40 cents annually for this anti-toxin, and surely no one would object to making this pay ment." CAN REMOVE MINKS. How Two Ships Can Ih-ag Ocean Bot toms for Destroyers of Hulls. A means has been devised of re moving floating bombs and mines, but it is a difficult process, requiring to vessels. After a field of mines has been located—a treacherous occupa tion at the best—a ship takes one end of a long stoel hawser, while the other end is taken by the sister ship, which makes its way around the field of mines and drops overboard the hawser, weighted with a mass of iron, so that the steep rope may find ills way to the bottom of the sea. Having done this, the two ships take up their positions far apart and start their engines, their paths con verging toward each other and pull ing away the field of mines. The dragging of the bombs explodes them, or brings them to the Burgee, when they can be towed to a place where they are harmless. BATTLE CRUISER MISSING. Australian Flagship Ijast Heard of in Pursuit of the Nuernberg. One British cruiger ashore, an Aus tralian battle cruiser missing, a steamship disabled in a storm and a Norwegian steamship foundered and an unidentified steamship ashore is the marine casualty roll of Saturday. The Australian was flagship of the Australian navy. Her complement is about 800 men. She cost $6,000,000, Is of 19,200 tons, 572 feet lohg with a speed of 26 knots and was com missioned in 1913. Her armament consisted of eight 12 inch guns, 16 four Inch and three 21-inch torpedo tubes. The Australian was last reported in Hawaiian waters last September, when the Matson Navigation com pany steamship Wilhelmina picked up wireless message, saying that she was in full chase of the German cruiser Nuernberg. BUYS 25,000 HORSES. Italian Government Wants Artillerf Horses and Cavalry' Mounts. The largest single contract prob ably ever signed In the United States for the purchase of horses was made in New York Friday on account of the European war. It calls for the delivery within a short time of 25,000 perfectly sound animals, broken to harness or saddle, at a price said to be metween $200 and $250 each. The tforses will be used for artillery and cavalry service The amount of the contract is be tween $5,000,000 and $6,000,000 The order comes from representatives of the Italian government. It Is ad- mtited that the horses are for the artillery and cavalry. The fact gives peculiar significance to reported com plete mobilization of the Italian army and the rumor that Italy will be pre pared to enter the war before the end of this month. No Court in Williamsburg. The county of Williamsburg come into a saving of about $50.0 because no session of court was necessary when the court convened last Monday. Servian Cabinet Resigns. UTTLE DONE Of THE WEST GERMANS SAY-THEY EVACUATED YERNELLE8 SATURDAY. DEMAND FOR COTTON. Germany and Austria Need 75,000 to J50,000 llalea Monthly. State and commerce department of ficials expect cotton shipments from America to Germany and Austria to total 75,000 to 150,000 bales a month as soon as the marine insurance rate can be adjusted more satisfactorily to shippers. * "It is evident there is a tremendous demand for cotton in Germany and Austria and prices arejiigh. ranging from 14 to 18 cents a pound. The principal difficulty seems to be the high rate oc marine insurance. Oth erwise the movement of cotton from the United States to Europe would be facilitated." The state and commerce depart ments have been working out plans for shipping cotton to Germany and Austria. Some of it is going direct to Bremen, other cargoes to Rotter dam. Geanoa or other neutral ports and thence into Germany and Austria. The ships will come back bearing potash, dye stuffs and other chemi cals. which Germany will allow to be exoprted to this country only in American bottotns Activity Reported la the Argoaae District—Heavy Caaaoaades sad lafaatry Attacks Are Scattered. Berlin reports via London: The German evacuation Saturday night of Vernellea, southeast of Bethune,, was officially announced Sunday. ‘The statement' says: "Vernelles was evacuated on ac count of a continuous French artil lery fire which was causing unneces sary loss. Buildings which remained stand we blew< up and our troops occupied prepared positions east of Vernelles, so the .enemy could not follow In this direction. "Southeast of Alkirch the French renewed their attack with reinforce ments but without success, and they suffered heavy loss.” London reports: "There has been a renewal of hard fighting in the Ar- gonne district, where the French, claim progress. On the whole, how ever, in these siege operations, suc- sesses and reverses only mean a gain or loss of a few hundred yards and a slight readjustment of positions. "Seemingly more important is the unofficial statement that the French have seriously Interfered with the German communications between Metz and the Woevre district in France, for here, as elsewhere, com mand of the roads is of utmost im portance." Paris reports: "We have consoli dated our position to the north of the house of the ferryman (on the canal between Dixmude and Ypres), which was captured December 4. On the remainder of the front there is noth- inc of importance to communicate.” Washington reports: "Offensive operations by the French garrison of Belfort and German counter-attacka were reported from the French for eign office to the embassy at Wash ington. "The communication ads that de duction of German earthworks, men tioned in the war office statement, took place near Thann, a village which has been a disputed point since the beginning of the war.” l/ondon reported Saturday: “There have been no material changes in the positions of the belligerents'on eitb- r the eastern or western fronts during the last 24 hours. Fighting has con tinued. but it would seem as though on both fronts the vast armies have been engaged largely in making pre parations for new battles. "Here and there heavy cannonades or Infantry attacks have occurred, all of which, however, were more in the nature of feelers than a serious de sign in the way of an offensive or for the purpose of an advance.” AHSAUI/TED AND SLAIN. Body of an Unidentified Girl Found in a Sacramento (Tiurcli. The body of an unidentified girl about 10 years old who had been assaulted and murdered was found in the basement of a church at Sacra mento, Cal", Friday afternoon. The girl had been strangled to death A rope Was twisted twice around her neck with an initial noose. The body was still warm and bore indisputable evidence of criminal assault. There had been a struggle, little as the girl was, and her face was torn and scratched and beaten. A "V” shaped scar marked her left forehead and a similar abrasion of larger dimensions was deeply imprinted on her left neck, with crimson stains. TRIED TO WRECK TRAIN. Spartanburg Man Attempts to Derail the "Carolina Special." Floyd Walker, of Landrum, was ar rested at Spartanburg Junction Satur day night, charged with attempting to wreck the “Carolina Special" Just as the train left the yard Saturday afternoon. As the train approached Walker is said to have thrown switch, which would have derailed the whole train, had it not been that an employee of the Southern, William Densmore, -saw what the man J)ad done and ran quickly to close it Walker is in jail. He is said to have been Intoxicated. Jumped Into Sea. A passenger on the Clyde liner Aparahoe, bound for Charleston jumped Into the ocean Friday. He is thought to have been F. W. Tibbets of Peabody, Mass. Indicted for "Steading News.". Three men yere indicted in New York Friday for stealing news from the A»8oetat?d Press and serving it out to their patrons. » ♦ ♦ « —— Hamer Post Office Robbed. THE FARMER’S COLUMN , . ’ ’ l Ts FARMERS UNION WILL DISCUSS TOBACCO CULTURE. OFFICE SWAMPED. ♦ Revenue Collector Unable to Care for Huge, Unexpected Demand. The enormous demand for emer gency tax stamps has fulte over whelmed the office of Collector D. C. Heyward of Columbia. is plain that his office was making every pos sible effort to meet the demands of the occasion. He stated that during the first two days of full effectiveness of the law his office attaches had worked about 18 hours per day. and had each day worked long past the usual suspending hour. The collector related his office had receifed on one day in excess of 1,000 letters contain ing inquiries of an Imperative nature relative to provisions of the statute. Answering these letters would have alone required extra work of his of flee force, regardless of the demand for stamps, which, in itself, required th.e full service of his assistants to meet. Farm Demonstration Agent F. M. Crum Gives Some Figures Concern- V lag Money Bent Out of State. Vt - s'" ' . The regular meeting of the Orange burg County Fanners’ union will be held at, the Court House next Tuesday, December 8, at 11 o'clock. All members are urged to be present as business of importance will be brought up. Offlcprs for the ensu ing year will be elected at this meet ing. After the regular business has been transacted the doors will be thrown open, and every farmer who is or might be, interested in the culture of tobacco is asked to be present, and take part in the discussion, especial ly all who are willing to plant five or more acres. ( An expert tobacco cul- turist is expected to be at the meet ing, and If a number of farmers wish to club together and secure his ser vices for the coming year at a very low rate the opportunity is here. He is highly recommended. \ What Instew) of Cotton? Farm Demonstration Agent F. M. Crum writes as follows: The question is often asked now, “What am I going to plant instead of cotton?" Of course, we are going to plant some cotton, but a glance at the figures below will prove that there is a plenty to do before we will be living at home. The commissioner of agriculture of South Carolina, according to Mr. Bradford Knapp, estimated that the money sent out of the state in 1911 for the crops below was as follows: Horses and mules . .$11,350,000.00 Bacon and other meat products 12,000,000.00 Dairy products . . . 12,000,000.00 Flour 20,000,000.00 Corn 6,000,000.00 Feed Stuffs 3,000,000.00 Hay . 2,000,000.00 Oats 1,000,000.00 The Georgia chamber of commerce estimated that the state of Georgia spent *tbree million dollars for hay, and thirty-nine million for oats. These figures show that we have yet a lesson to learn in the art of liv ing at home. How much better would we be if we could keep this money in our state and in the South. The four things to work for are as follows: 1. We must create a market for other farm products besides cotton. For instance, we have no local marget for corn and grain. Threa big farm ers could glut our com market in a week. But a thousand bales of cot ton can be marketed with ease in a day. Wo have but one market, and that is cotton. We must have othera. 2. We must plant other crops than cotton, which will insure cash, wheth er cotton goes up or down. Every year the Southern farmer takes a gambling chance on the price of cot ton. This is unbusiness like. 3. We must learn to raise live stock probably. The man who has a heard of cattle on hU farm buys less fertilizer, and has & bigger income when this product is sold. Farming and stock-raising naturally go to gether. Each helps the other. Be sides livestock, milk, butter, eggs and poultry for market, slowly but surely increases the farmer's «et Income. 4. We must learn to live on a cash basis. This is hard to do at first, but it must be overcome. We are living one year behind. It is very probable that ninety per cent, of the South’s cotton is made on credit. That means credit prices, and every farmer knows what that is. SKA ON LAND. Heavy Wind Drives Ocean on Shore of Virginia Towns. Tidewater. Va., Saturday experienc ed what is said to have been the sev erest northeast storm and highest tide since 1888. In this city the wind attained a velocity of forty-two miles an hour and a number of streets near the water front were inundated. In one street row-1)oats were used to transport citizens. At Fortress Monroe, the high seas broke over the sea w^ll and the plaza in front of tho old part of the fort was inundated Some of the streets of Hampton also are reported here as having been flooded. POLITICAL GOBSIP. Australian System to be Advocated— Other Measures to Com© Up. Several measures concerning elec tions In South Carolina will be intro duced In the next general assembly If a measure is passed, it could not go into effect before two years. No candidate would be affected and it would not b©jxiiped at any one in politics. John J. McMihan, member of the Richland delegation, has been a lead er for primary reform. He will very probably Introduce a measure to pro vide tor the Australian system, which has worked so well in Charleston county. Coast Line Salaries Cut. AH employees of the Atlantic Coast Line, whose salaries amount to more than $200 monthly, are to receive ( cuts varying from 6 to 10 per cent Austria Confiscates Oil. The Austrian empfire confiscated all the oil In the kingdom of Austria and Hungary. BETRAYED BY SPY. How Five Hundred Sleeping French Soldiers Met I>eath. London tells how 500 French troops were betrayed by a spy last Tuesday is told in dispatches from Dunkirk. The French soldiers were sleeping in a. church at Lampernisse. A spy displayed lights in the belfry, which notified the German artillery of the presence of the troops. A bom bardment followed and the sleeping men were cut to pieces by exploding shells, which also set fire to the straw on which they had been lying. Russian War Song. Up to Migulinskaia come a Russian bold one day, And the streets were paved with gold, ' so every one w/ts gay. Singing songs of Earpukhow and of Kaminlets Podolsk 'Till Ivanovitch got excited, and his voice could not be stobst. It’s a long way to Ivanovo-Vosne- senk It's a long way to go: It’s a long way to Ivanovo-Vosne- sensk t — To the sweetest girl I know: Good-bye Ekaterinodar, Farewell Zhitomeer, It’s a lohg way to Ivanovo-Vosne- sensk, So I’ll stay right here. Just try this over sometime—as a vocal selection its all to the merry. A Bure-Enough President. Juan Isadro Jiminez is the first president of % Santo Domingo elected by the ballot since 1911, all the oth ers hhlng af revolutionary origin. Premier is Upheld. S&landra, premier of Ltaly, has been. imheM ip M^Mmed neatrality l^nd^thTirTount^v" policy by an overwhelming yote of 1 y ’ the deputies. GHIAIISTAKE UMZ It CHI cm If FIUIIPIIW” TOIEIIIMMI FIGHT HAS BEEN FIEICE Desperate Hand to Hand Fighting, h* Which Thousands Ixwt Their livts. Preceded Entry of German Troops —Lodz is a City or 415,00# aad Has Numerous Textile Enterprises. Lodz, the second city of Poland, and lying 75 miles to the west-south-* west of Warsaw, has” fallen to the German army. It was occupied Sun day, according to an official announce ment from Berlin. - Around this important town a des perate battle has raged for days. Countless thousands have fallen in desperate hand-to-hand conflicts and from the shells of hundreds of guns. It was evident from the occupation of Lodz by the Germans that the heaviest kiffid of fighting has been going on, for late advices told of a vicious attack and bombardment of Lodz, and fighting on the outskirts of the city. Lodz has long been an objective point of the Germans. It has grown in recent years from an insignificant place to one of the most populous cities in the Russian empire. Lodz, a city of some 415,000 popu lation. is the chief manufacturing center of Russian Poland. It has nu merous textile mills, the majority of them for the manufacture of cotton goods. In adition it has flour mills, dyeing establishments, brick yards, machinery plants and breweries. The population is made up of Poles, Ger mans and Jews. HerHn repors via London officially that the Germans occupied Lodz Sun day. l/ondon reports: Delayed dis patches to the Daily Telegraph from Petrograd indicate that the situation . at Lodz Friday, the day the dlsr patches were filed, was serious "For the past three days," says one dispatch, “the Germans in Rus sian Poland around Ix>dz have keen strenuously aggressive. "Their wedge, which already has been driven into Russian Poland. Is being pushed with tremendous rein forcements. The base of this wedge is Thorn and Kalisz. The apex is ix>wicz. This gives the Germans con trol of all the railroads in this trian gle. They are using the railroads to pour in an unceasing stream of fresh troops and engines of war. "The enemy's plan around !.odz in volves the effiting of some of War saw's most important lines of com munication The Germans plan to hold thla sedge all winter, inauagu- rating an elaborate trench warfare system like that on the west front." Petrograd reports via London on Saturday: The centre of the field of operations in the eastern war arena has moved to the south of Lodz, in Russian Poland. The German effort centres at Szczerczow, twenty miles west of Piotrkow. with that town the objective. Heavy fighting is report ed also along the line from Glowno, sixteen miles northeast of Lodz, to the Vistula River. The strength of the German forces opposing the Russian left wing is es timated at five corps, each corps oc cupying in-extent. There are indications that, owing to the exhaustion of troops compoc- ing the German centre, most of those regiments have been withdrawn or are resting on their arms, and that fresher troops are holding the line. News dispatches from the froat at tribute the Russian success near Ix>dz chiefly to the tireless aggression of the Siberian troops. Dispatches from Poland say the German disaster attending a march to reach the main Teuton force from an isolated centre began with a charge of the Siberians at Rzgow, six miles south of Lodz. The Siberians, after a long march, entered prepared trenches and immediately asked per mission to attack Rzgow. where the Germans were entrenched. They de ployed and attacked from two sides. The unexpectedness of the assault surprised the Germans and the^Arst trenches were quickly taken, though the Germans soon recaptured them. In the next few hours these trenches were taken and retaken three times. London reports: The capture of aq advance position at Przemysl is regarded as conferring a valuable ad vantage to the Ruqgians in their at- task on the fortress. Leaving this city to the attention of the besieg ing armies, the Russians are pushing in small bodies steadily across the plains of Hungary and fugitives are said to be pouring toward Budapest. Regarding other operations in the ^ east, the'Servian war office reports Servian successes on thq >whole front with the capture of 2.400 men and Tour complete batteries. On the other hand, Vienna reports that Aus trian troops are gaining ground south of Belgrade. Forty British and French warships have assembled at some plape, the name of which is not given in the dispatch making this announcement, to force their way through.” It is probable the correspondent intended to foreshadow an effort by the allied ships to freak through the Dardan elles, bu| the name evidently came under the eye of the censor.; King Nicholas of Montenegro ad mits that a third of his army has fal len on the battlefield, but declares the Montenegrins will continue to de- Tried to Pass course of the Vistula] cabl towards Warsaw, wee that Pachitcl A * ** . ’• jp—Will11| HIM ja—^ __ nigfft When the post! The uo/tfood home of Stonewall| if being formed by Nikola j office and several other places were j Jackson at Weston, W. Va., wss burn- vislted by marauders. led Friday Might. Floor for the Belgians. Paul and Ate nf BC.ffOfi? d\ 9 run. poos the Dardanelles bat was stopped by shots from the Turkish forts. 01 swid flfl.flUb IlFWo? flour to Bel gium. The sacks, are to be cotton, which can be used for underclothes when empty. V x