Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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i i)'* * T*£'Jr\ Wr m TflEIMl LOT WEEK ENTENTE NOW FACES IARKEST MIUTAWY SITUATION UM III RETREAT ALARMING IWwtuitlon of the Strongfet Notorai Defences Provn Grave fthoftage of . Ammunition—Dardanelles Mast be , Forced to Relieve Conditions— Italy Fights Turks. If we except the possible results of the diplomatic battle that is being waged for the assistance of the Bal kan League—and these results ‘are very uncertain—not since the early days of the war has the military sit* uatioai In Europe presented such a dark picture to the friends of the Quadruple Entente. The Balkan League may, in the course of the next two weeks, com pletely change the aspect. Serbia, It Is reported, has delivered to Rome her agreement to yield to Bulgaria certain territory demanded by Bul garia hs the price of her assistance, which, if true, will bring about a speedy settlement of the multi-cor nered debate that has been going oh for months. In such a contingency Turkey is doomed to certain defeat, the way to Constantinople is opened and Russia has an inlet for her am munition and an outlet for her grain The Teutons' answer Is reported to be a threat against Bulgaria of an Immediate invasion through Serbia the movement being based on Ordova where a heavy concentration of war material haa been going on for some weeks. But such rumors have been plentiful for weeks, first one side then the other claiming a complete diplomatic triumph. The concentra tion at Ordova. however, shows at least that the Teutons are fearful of the outcome of the negotiations of the statesmen, and, with character istic foresight, are preparing for the worst that can happen. They can have no objec* In an In vaaion of Serbia unless it be to effect either through the moral force of their proximity or through actual force of arms Serbia's wavering sis ters of the Balkan League. Serbia alone is no menace to Teuton arms, evsa though, since her recovery from the ravages of disease that for months Incapacitated the entire na tion, she haa boen again bringing her army up to Its usual itnte of prepar ednesa. Bat the Teutons ran not risk add- lag to the numbers already arrayed against them n fresh force of over adllioa Roumanians and Itulgars, with a reaerve of another million be- them, without first putting e In n position to strike and crash one or the other be* fore aa opportunity la presented of either hemming dangerous. The en trance of Roumania and the throwing of a half million men injo Bukowlna against the Teuton flank, which Is wrapped tightly around the Dniester and extends along the Zlota Llpa, would, by threatening the Teuton communications in Oallcla, play havoc with the advance into Russia The entrance of Bulgaria on the AllAea' aide would mean, as stated, the cracking of the nut of the l>nr- tlanelles. Both sides are exerting wvery nerve to sway the balance hi AhnAr favor. The weakness of the Allien' cause la the fact that the only Uni inducement they have to * la territory that belongs to some oae else. Yet the proposition of the Allies, If accepted, would create nat ural boundaries based on racial sim ilarity, not on political expediency. The future of the Balkans would thus be greatly stabilized and the probability of lasting peace much in creased. The Teutons labor under the mem ory of Belgium and the rule of mili tary expediency as against t reaty rights and, to go back further, under the memory of the war of 1866, when Prussia offered to France as the price of neutrality Luxemburg, a price which, when she was success ful, Prussia promptly refused to pay. And so the battle is being waged. If, however, the Balkan States propose to enter the war at all on the aide of the Quadruple Entente, now is the time to do it, for at no other stage of the war so far reached could such an action on their part l»e so fruitful of results. Had Italy taken the step while the Carpathian battle was in progress, Russia would still. In all probability, be now west of Warsaw, still occupying Galicia. The chances of victory would be greater by that met sure than they are now. If the Balkan States go in now the entire war In the east will almost immediately acquire an en tirely new aspect. The Balkan States must back the winner or remain neu tral. Their territorial, if not their actual political, integrity demands it. Aside from the hoped-for assist ance from the Balkans, however, the friends of the Allies can regard the present situation neither with com placency .nor . satisfaction. The French, British and Belgians are held In the west, Italy is held in the south, the Turkish position in the Darda- nelles Is still intact, Russia is still go ing back and further back, as one Stronghold after another falls into the Teutons’ hands. The only limit of the Russian retreat seems to be the physical endurance of the Ger man soldier who Is being driven for ward. This as a factor unknown and hence not (o be reckoned with. The week opened with a declara tion of war by Italy on Turkey. How •ver important .this may see 19., 1 goes not seem to have bedn anything hut a formality. k Italy could not very well continue to war pn Tutkey’s ally, and at the same time remain Tur- hav’a friend. It was a formality, rtheless. that W to be gone igh with before Italy could par- la ths movement—if such „ operations can he called a it—Atfainst Constantinople. — that this of war came at a nlaa .alts atlon ah* aoletely Oamaadsd more extensive ef forts In Gallipoli and when the Brit ish were landing new forces for aa tncreaaed offensive. In fact, the coin cidence Is toe strong to create the belief that the cause was either Tur key's aid to the Ubyaas or the de tention of Italian cltlsens in Turkish territory. ( The Italian influence in the Dar danelles, either by land .or naval forces, win probably soon make Itself felt, particularly in view of the fact that the Allies' naval strength is seri ously Interfering with the supplies and reinforcements intended for the Turkish forces on the peninsula. In addition to this, the recent landing of more British forces aLSuvla Bay greatly strengthens the strategic po sition of the Allies in that U endan gers the Turkish line of communica tlon along the highway that follows the longer axis of the peninsula. But this is not particularly seri ous, as it Is not probable that this line Is very much used by the Turks. Most of the supplies are delivered to them from the Asiatic shore by fer rles to Maidos, at the Narrows, the line of supply direct from European Turkey being interrupted because It Is under control of the big guns of the British fleet. The Italians are expected to laud two hundred thousand troops on the peninsula somewhere on the Gulf of Haros. Thlfc will double the strength of the Invading force, and as the Turks are already giving Indications of being pinched for shell, as evi denced by the Teutons’ feverish ac tlvity to supply them across Rouma nia and Bulgaria, the hope and ex pectation is expressed in the London papers that decisive results may soon crown the Allies’ efforts. That the Turks are worrying may be indicated by the gains recorded during the week—the largest of any week since troops were landed. The taking of Constantinople will offset entirely the Teuton victories In Po land and will do more to move the wavering Balkan States than all the diplomatic intercourse so far indulg ed In. These facts do much to ex plain Italy's action. Karl) in the week came reports of a considerable naval engagement in the Gulf of Riga. At first it was claimed that the Russians had sunk several German battleships and that a British submarine had torpedoed the German superdreadnought Moltke. Although the report was of flrial, later reporta of the same en gagement were characterized by aa Indefiniteness that leave* In doubt ex actly what did liappen aa far aa the naval engagement itself la concerned. One fact Is apparent, however. The Germans attempted to land under cover of the guns of their warships a larg^ force of troops, evidently in tended to reinforce the army operat ing In Courland. Whether this is an indication that the Germans in this section are about to Institute a more extensive offensive has not developed. The Ruaalan shore batteries effec tively prevented the landing, so, whatever the object may have been. It has been, for the time being at least, defeated. Subsequent Russian reports state simply that the German fleet has left the Gulf of Riga. On Tuesday th* tier mans reported the ocru|tatlon of Osaowetz. Though a very small place in itself, Osao wets has proved a source of great strength to the Russians and has been unaffected by German attacks for months. Last March the Ger mans began a bombardment of the fort, using the forty-two-centimeter puns which destroyed Liege and Na mur, but without apparent effect. Since that time it has been attacked repeatedly with the same result. Its importance, as well as the reason hy it withstood for such a length of time the heaviest of the German artillery may to some extent at least be seen from the topographical fea tures. West of Grodno Is a small sluggish river called the Bohr. This stream, which empties into the N'arew, flows through great marsh belts which are crossed by but one railway—<hat from Lyck in Germany to Bialystok in Russian Poland. The only pos sible crossing of this belt along the Hobr is over the causeway by the railroad. Ossowetz is directly on this c-ossing, which it completely controls. Taking advantage of its naturally strong situation, permanent works were constructed around the village, which was thus made one of the strongest features of the Russian defensive line. That it was finally forced does not mean that its strength was affected, or its fortifications beaten down by the German artillery. But It was the hinge on which the Russian armies to the north and south were swung east ward by the Gorman advance, so that anothey dangerous salient was on the verge of creation. It was this that forced its evacuation. Its retention by the Russians was of no value—in fact, was an element * of weakness with the Germans on both sides so far to the east. The German troops that took Kov- no have been steadily advancing east ward toward Vilna, the Russians re treating, as claims, by Petrograd, to prevent being outflanked. As von Hindenburg’s ambitljus attempt to outflank the whole Russian position by capturing.Riga and landing strong forces there was defeated by the driv ing off of the German fleet, it is not apparent just wherein lay the danger to the Russians east of Kovno unless it was that their line at this point was < pierced. Apropos of this. It may be noted that the “piercing” or “breaking” of a line is a phrase often made use of and is a success often notfed in the press. The Russian line has been “pierced” according to reports at least five times in the last month. This la obviously an error, otherwise the Germans would have achieved it that which they must achieve to win —a definite decision. Piercing or breaking a line in a military sense means something more than a mere giving way at a point which permit* a small number of troops to penetrate. The break, to be effective, must be over a wide front, sufficiently wide" to permit a large body of tynopa to get between the two wing* thus separated. The dan ger Use solely la the ability of the at tacking troops, once they have broken thrbvgk, to roll «p and-defeat each wing separately. Obviously, therefore, a ooaslder- abls number of attacking troops most be able to find their way U)to the breach they have created. South of Kovuo the Russians have aban doned (heir line along the Bobr river bpth north and south of Osso- wets and are falling back In con formity to the movements of their right and left wings. The moat Important event In the east was the Russian evacuation of Breet-Lltovsk almost without a fight For a week th^ Teuton armies have been at the outskirts of the town and have' bombarded the onter group of fortifications, but the main works were hardly reached. On Wednesday the Austrian cavalry, advancing northeast along the line of the Turya River, entered Kovel on the Brest: Litovsk-Rorno Railroad. Earlier in the week Bielsk, on the same raif- road, northwest of Brest-Lltovsk, had been occupied by the Germans. Prac tlcally the whole line of the railroad was thus in Teuton hands. There remained but the one line of retreat—the single railroad running east from the town. Working east from Bielsk and Kovel, a% well as from other points on the Kovel- Bielsk, the Teutons seriously threat ened this one road which was still open. There was nothing left for the Russians to do then but to evac uate the fortress or permit it to be masked and later captured, as was the case with the works at^Novo- georgievsk. As a matter of fact, the Russian troops occupying the line in the im mediate vicinity of Brest-Litovsk were in a very serious situation, similar In its general aspects to the situation that existed at Warsaw pre vious to its fall. It was the same German “pincers” movement over again—both flanks being bent back in an effort to rapture the centre. Hut once again the Russians seem to have extricated themselves success fully, although detailed reports are not available. This fortress is one of the most famous strongholds of Europe and has generally been regarded as one of the strongest. Its strength, how ever, was entirely nullified by the capture of the railroads on the north and south and the threat against the railroad running east, which is the only road running to the rear. If any doubt existed before of the inability of the Russians to hold the Grodno-Brest-Litovsk line it has been most effectively set at rest, new line jyill have to be taken some distance east. This line will prob ably be through what is known as “White Russia,’’ beginning at Riga and from there along the Dvlnl river to Duennaburg and from there fol lowing the railroad from Vila through Lida, Baronvlchl, Pinsk, and Rorno. Even this line, particularly the northern part from Riga to Vilna, may be made untenable by the tak ing of Vilna and the forcing of the whole Russian line along the Nle- men An indication that this latter Is a probability of the near future Is found In the capture of Ollta. a small fortress on the right bank near the bridgehead of the Vilna-Swalkl rail road. Grodno Is all that Is now left of the Kovno-Brest-Lltovsk line, and this, too, must go as tlm retreat on north and south continues It la difficnlt to picture the Rus sian army in its retreat, with appar ent inability to make a stand even !>etiind the strongest defensive screens nature affords, when we think of the army that raptured leniherg, Przemysl, Jaroslau; that marched victoriously through Galicia to the gateway of Killcla itself. It would seem that tlie entire organization had gone, that as an effective fighting force it had ceased to exist but for the fact that in all Its retreats there has been no indication that the troops have been out of hand or uncontroll ed or that anything like a panic has existed. The retreads have been, so far aa we cau Judge, orderly, well con ducted, in some cases almost leisure ly. The cause can not, then be any thing bnt lark of ammunition. - It does but little good, however, to diagnose the cause unless a way can be found to remove the cause. The Dardanelles seems the only answer. In the Italian theatre matters have been absolutely at a standstill Fighting has been going on on the Carso Plateau in the vicinity ’of Do- berdo, and in Trentlno near the head of Lake Garda, but there have been no developments beyond the point noted last week. The same holds true <n the French front in the west. Reports of war correspondents speak of a new big French gun and a pending offensive on a large scale. If such an opera tion were in the air the Germans would hear of it before the Ameri can press. y Then, too, a large regular flow of munitions must be obtained from this country before the supply available on the western front will be suffi cient to meet the demand such an offensive would place upon it. At least sixty days must still pass be fore our manufacturers can make material deliveries. Then It is pos sible, though by no means certain, such an offense may be begun. WHO WOULD HELP? VALUE OF SOUTH AMERICAN NA TIONS IN MEXICO Severe Fighting on Gallipoli. Nearly eight hundred casualties among the British officers in the last eight days testify to the character of the fighting now going on at the tip of Gallipoli. Haiti Given More Time. The IT. S. government had granted an extension of the time limit to the Haitiens In which they may decide upon an aswer to our recent ’de- mands. France Hoards Coin. No traveler leaving France can ta,ko more than ten dollars ip coin tinder an order maae by Alexandre Rlbot Friday. Other money will have to be In paper. give us surpoirr Manufactures Green Wire, Barbed wire painted green so that It becomes Invisible on tbe field of battle is being manufactured at Pitts burg. 1 \ Summary of the Strength of the" Re publics Which Have Taken Their Stand With *he United States in an •.-» • •'-a « Effort to Get Peace in the Republic of Mexico. Suppose In response to Uncle Sam’s Invitation the nine republics of South America decide to take part in the schemo to spank Mexico into behav ing. This may lead to a compulsory proof or demonstration of armed strength. How much of a “show down” can the nine republics make? To one person who has a very good working knowledge of me numerical fighting power of the nations of Tu rope and Asia, there are a dozen who are absolutely ignorant of what South America might bp expected to do If its "governments took up arms. Every other little dinkey country of the globe has been tolled off for its war strength on sea and land, but our southern neighbors of the Western Hemisphere have remained behind a sort of statistical veil. And this, too, despite the fact that a decent sense of reciprocal aid as a return for our maintenance of the Monroe Doctrine might always be expected of them. According to the war department and various official compilers of these South American countries the com bined peace footing of the armies of the nine republics aggregates 115,- 653 trained soldiers. The statist! clans differ concerning the strength of the reserve In total. It is cer tainly not less than 366,429 officers and men, and there is good reason to believe that It may reach the high figure If 1,403,840, according to the Intepretatlon of the word reserve by the nations of Europe. It Is safe to assume that the nine nations can muster for service out side their own countries 75,000 arm ed mep of their standing armies and a reserve (combined) of 300,000 men. This amount of help Uncle Sam might reasonably expect. There are those who will pooh- pooh the ides of countries possessing a total population of only 52,208,099 furnishing this number of men. and they will contend that a war time squeeze In the way of conscription will yield ten times this number All very good to argue this way, but the safe and wise computers put down about 300,000 men ss the num ber of fighters who might be effec tively assembled under one compre hensive scheme of warfare. A crisis, of course, will yield more. With respect to aid on the sea. the aggregate naval strength of the nine republics Is about one hundred and four war vessels. Of these, eight are dreadnoughts, fourteen protected cruisers, seven armored cruisers, two old battleships, six armored gun boats, eight torpedo gunboats, thirty four destroyers, seventeen torpedo boats and eight submarines. These of course, might be expected to help Uncle Sam quite some, although only because of their classification on paper. Now, how about the value of the standing armies of the South Ameri can republics with respect to soldier ship and training? W^ll. in Brasil all males between twenty-one and forty-five years of age are obliged to serve constantly In one branch or an other during these twenty-four years. Two years In the ranks, seven years in the reserve, seven in the territo- Hal army, and, finally, eight-years in (he national guard. The reserves train annually for four weeks, with rifle practice once a month. The territorials have an annual training of from two to four weeks. In Chill every citizen between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years is deemed liable to service. Recruits called in their twentieth year are trained one year. Then they go to the reserve of the active army for nine years. Then they are trans ferred to the second reserve, which is organized as a second line army. The Argentine republic calls on its citizens for military service between the ages of twenty and forty-five years. The first ten years they are in the active, or first lino, army. The second ten years they are In the na tional guard. The last five years they serve in the territorial guard. In Peru the military service is com pulsory apt! universal. Three years are first served in the active army. Then seven years in tho first reserve. Then five years in the second reserve, ending with fifteen yars in the na tional guard. Bolivia compels military service between the ages of twenty and fifty years. There Is a first line service of five years, of which one year is in the ranks. Then comes five years in the “ordinary reserve.” Then fol lows ten years in the “extraordinary reserve.’' Finally, ten years must be served in the territorial guard. Paraguay has a small army of about two thousand six hundred of ficers and men drilled and trained on the German model. The law of com pulsory service of two years had not yet been put into effect at last offi cial reports. Uruguay has a voluntary military service or from two to five years, with a re-engagement up to forty- four years of age. This is In the standing army. Then there is a na tional guard, in which service is compulsory In what is called three Bans.” In Number 1 of these the soldier serves from seventeen to thirty years of afce. He is trained to take the Held at any time with the standing army. In Ban Number 2, Me serves from the age of thirty tp forty-live years. This is called tbe “Departmental” Ban; and is the pro vincial natioivnl guard. Ban Number 3 is K teifitorial force, In which tbe member serves only on garrison duty Tit NONEI TO OROIEItS Every able bodied dtlsen of Co lombia is held liable for military duty. There is also a police force trained After the military fashion, numbering 2,328 men. Tbe standing' army In time of peac> number about 7,000 ipen. Many of the soldiers are- - also used in 'making and repairing highways. Military service In Ecuadoiv is sup posed to be obligatory on all citizens between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years. Up to the age of thirty-two service Is in the active army, After . that in the national guard. Venezuela ^ supposes that every Venezuelan is willing and eager to fight whenever called upon, and that he loves to train and study the art of war. Revolutionary experience would seem to indicate the conjecture about right. There is a standing army of about 9,800 officers and men. How about the willingness of the South American countries when it comes to a question of spending money on war? This is hard to fig ure with any degree of exactitude. A glance at the various budgets of the countries gives'something of an idea, but in general the army and navy ex penditure ^ an uncertainty. Brazil spent about $40,000,000 on army and navy on its lost annual reckoning. Bolivia spent about $2,- 800,000. Chili's bill for defense cost was more than $9,000,000. Argen tina spent in the neighborhood of $13,000,000. Uruguay spent $4,695^* 162, and Venezuela $1,851,586. What Paraguay, Colombia and Peru spent does not appear to be distinc tively segregated in their budgets.* A pertinent question, of course, is. How are these nine South Ahierican republics armed? Brazil’s Infantry uses a Mauser rifle, and the field and horse artillery use a Krupp 12-pr. Bolivian Infantry is armed with Mausers of 1898 model. Chili’s army uses a Chilian Mauser rifle of 1895. The cavalry/uses a carbine of the same manufacture. The field artil lery has Q. F. Krupp guns. Argen tina’s infantry uses a Mauser maga zine rifle, the cavalry a same make of carbine and the artillery Krupp 7-5 cm. guns. Uruguay uses Mausers and its field batteries are both Schmeider and Krupp 7-5 cm. guns. Peru uses a Mauser of 1891. Its cavalry also uses a Mauser carbine. Ecuador's regular Infantry is armed with Mausers. Its artillery uses old fashioned Krupps. And the fighting spirit of the men? Well, it la an old saying—that Is. a saying since Napoleon's time—that Latins will fight quicker than other peoples, but they can not be depend ed upon to fight so well. It must be remembered In the case of the South American countries that there is a very large percentage of Indian In their make-up. This alters the bet ting odds on their likely perform- anrea. At least it complicates the odds. In Bolivia, for Instance, the populatlen ta fifty per cent. Indian and only twelve per cent, pure white. Judged by the past, the South Americana have done some very creditable things on land and sea. Chill la especially noteworthy as a sea fighter. AH of the republics in the struggle against Spain for Inde pendence achieved victory only after fighting that revealed pluck, dash and endurance. Climatic Impedi ments to long and continuous fight ing must be taken into consideration. How much harder it might have been for the thirteen colonies to have wrested victory from Great Britain had they had to fight along equa torial mountain sides or plateaus may be Imagined. It was In 1817 that the South American states, or most of them, arose In rebellion against Spain. Gen eral Simon Bolivar was a famous fig ure of the period and led armies that whipped Spain soundly. Don Ber nardo O'Higgins, a Chilian com mander, also took a hand In the Spanish walloping. He is greatly re vered to this day. The rout of the Spaniards at Chllenos on April 5, 1818, Is down in the Chilian calendar as an event mighty in history. In 1866 Chill and Pen) declared war against Spain, and on May 2 of that year defeated the Spanish fleet so badly that it had to withdraw from Peruvian waters with the rem nants of its warships. In this naval fight and in other clashes on land the troops of the two republics perform ed creditably. In the early days of their Independ ence the South American republics were very “scrappy” over their fron tiers. This kept up until the last decade or two, when the various gov ernments seem to have agreed gen erally that peace and prosperity/were better than war and ruin. There have been rebellions and revolutions, but not to the degree that has char acterized Santo Doihingo and Haiti, for instance. One critic of the availability of the nine republic as allies of the United States says, “Will they stand to gether?” They have done much bet ter than Mexico, and the nations of Europe have quarrelled with one an other as often as these nine Monroe Doctrine wards of the United States “Of America.. 1 C AM0 WILL MP0SIT FUNK TO MOVE COTTON OOP | “A VERY NOTABLE VICTORY” Westminster Gazette Says America Can Claim to Have Won. London says Friday that the jable dispatches reporting the statement of Count von Bernstorff, the German ambassador at Washington, to Secre tary Lansing that German submarine commanders had been ordered to at tack no more merchantmen without warning are displayed prominently to-day in the London newspapers. The Westminster Gazette says: “If Count von Bernstorff Is speaking with full authority, the American government can claim to have won a very notable victory." Bostonians Boycott Atlanta. A Boston firm which has been fur nishing the city of Atlanta .with caulking yarn for two yeara has re fused to furnish other goods nntll tbe Kurdsrers of Lpo M. Frank are punished. THIRTY MILUONS READY Secretary is Prepared to Place Gold In Federal Reserve or National • . x ' Banks to Carry Crop Over—Wash ington Redrafting Note on Inter ference With Neutral Trade. With a view to aiding the cotton farmers of the South because of the action of Great Britain and France in placing cotton on the contraband list the president conferred Monday with W. P. G. Harding, member of the federal reserve 'board. Some time ago Mr. Harding made an in vestigation of the cotton situation for the governemnt, with a view to having the federal reserve board act in the administration of a proposed one hundred and thirty-five million dollars cotton loan fund. It was announced at the treasury department that Secretary McAdoo stood ready to deposit thirty million dollars or more in gold in the federal reserve banks at Atlanta, Dallas and Richmond for the purpose of enab ling the federal reserve banks to re discount loans made on cotton secur ed by warehouse receipts. In t}ie ex ercise of the discretion given to him by law the government for the time being will charge no Interest on those deposits in federal reserve banks. It Is the plan of Secretary McAdoo to create a basis for such enlarged credit in the South that the banks will have ample resources to extend to producers such accommodatio that they will- be able to carry cotlton in warehouses for a reasonable length of time until it can be mar keted advantageously. It also was amfounced that if It should appear that the object In view could be accomplished with greater efficiency to the cotton producers by depositing funds in the national hanks direct Instead of in the federal ' reserve banks, this plan would be adopted by Secretary McAdoo. This he will do. provided he receives as surance that the money so deposited or the credit based thereqn would be / loaned on cotton insured or warey*^ houses at a rate of interest not,-to exceed six per cent. — "It Is a matter of economic im portance to the entire nation,” says the statement Issued at the treasury department, “that those who have produced the cotton crop shall have a fair opportunity to dispose of It gradually and in an orderly manner, so that they may not be forced through Inability tp market their cot ton gradually, to veil it at sacrifice prices.'' .It is understood that Great Britain will send assurances to this country that she will take care of the cotton crop of this country Insofar as she is able to do so, despite the fact that It has been placed upon the contraband list. It was pointed out that Great Hritain has no desire to see the eot- ton crop of this country go to waste this year. If the farmers failed to receive a sufficient sum of money for their crop, next .year s yield would be so small as to make the price prohi bitive In England. This situation, it Is believed,, the British government wishes to avoid. The new American note to Great Britain on interferences with neu tral trade probably will be redrafted because of the British order making cotton contraband. While there is no intention to abandon the claims for payment for cotton seized prior to the British or der, those cases now have a different status and a complete record of this phase of the dispute can be prepared and presented. The new American note, it Is un derstood, will lodge formal protei against the placing of cotton on th contraband list and a lengthy diplo matic exchange probably will follow. It is considered llkeljt by some offi cials that the dispute eventually will be settled by arbitration. ft GOVERNORS GIVE SUPPORT TO WILSON IN RESOLUTION Express Confidence and Will Support Him in Hour of Deep Inter national Concern. Resolutions of confidence and sup port were sent to President Wilson Tuesday by governors of nearly a score of state attending their annual conference In Boston. These resolutions, introduced by Governor Walsh of Massachusetts, said: “The governors of the several commonwealths of tho nation, in con ference assembled, desire to tender to you an expression of their confi dence and support in this hour of deep international concern; and to assure you of their readiness to fol low your leadership in all matters which you deem best to promote the honor and maintain the peace and welfare of the nation and the whole people.” • Many British Vessels Lost. During the week ending August 25 nineteen British vessels were sunk by the Germans,- totalling a loss of seventy-six thousand tons. Literary Test Rejected. After passing a literary test fi voting qualifications the New Yoi Constitutional convention rev itself Friday by a vote of seventy- seven to sixty-seven. Fell From Moutatn Top. Wilson Reed, of Norfolk. Va., fell four hundred feet from Stone Moun tain’* summit, near Atlanta, Satur- * day and was Instantly killed.