Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

Vv . 3i ■ • 3 — I / * f « . tie told the U_- v-x" MS' UuU he IRLESTON OFFICERS FIRED CONS INTO CROWDED ROOM CHIEF SHOT AT BROWN Wftnefees Describe Affray—Chair man Black's Appeals for Order Dis regarded as Sergeant Polls Gan on Him—Witness Saw Policeman tn Uniform Fire Four Times. Stories of eye-witnesses of the shooting in the executive committee room at Charleston on Friday which eventuated in the killing of Sidney J. Cohen and the wounding of four oth er men agree that there was wild dis- \ order and that the police of Charles ton took part in it. Shots were fired, clubs used, citizens hustled and beat en, according to these accounts. A staff correspondent of The State says Chief Cantwell of the Charles ton police force is said to have wield ed his pistol in the fracas. J. J. Healy, a deputy sheriff, said: “Chief Cantwell fired a shot at Henry Brown while several men were holding Brown. Some one, I think Mr. Rob son. grabbed Chief Cantwell’s hand with the pistol in it and begged him non to shoot.’* 4P^-W. Robson, an East Bay mer- cffant, said: “I saw with my own eyes several persons rush-at a man whom I did not know and force him back, about half-sitting, at the middle win dow on the east side of the building. Chief Cantwell came up and delib- t erately fired with his pistol at his . I caught ills arm and said, ’t do that! Don’t do that!’ ’’ Mr. on is a member of the commlt- He was present at the meeting the start and did not leave the room until all was over. Conrad Stender says he saw one man in a window on the east side of the room, with three or four men crowding him. “While tills was go ing on. I saw Chief t^antwell come up with his pistol In his hand and fire a shot at'this nian'K head. In the con fusion I did not recognise the man. I saw no pistol in his hand.’’ Nath. B. Barnwell, a member of the committee, said: "In the midst of the shooting. Chief Cantwell dash ed into the room with a drawn pistol and when he got into the room he raised it and 1 believe fired." Mayor Grace. It is said, had been “out of the city," and Henry P. Wil liams, alderman, directed, as mayor pro tern, the police dispositions for dispersing the mob that had been at tracted by the shooting. The mayor appeared within about twenty min utes. Joseph A. Black, chairman of the city Democratic esecutive committee, is positive that the first shot was fired In the anteroom. "On seeing pistols flourishing there." be said, “I hur ried to the telephone to notify Hheriff Martin of the trouble. Home man, quite an old man, cut at me with a knife. I dodged and he slightly wounded my left arm.'' Cape Black said he then apfiealed to Police Ser geant (Jutnn to rewtore order, but the sergeant's reply was to draw a re volver on Mm. "Some man In the crowd called out. ’Here is the , I’ll get him,' and he threw his pistol up at me. Thinking I was in for a shot, I instinctively put my arm before my face. At this moment a short was fired from the direction from which this man was coming. Then I saw the young newspaper man (Sidney J. Cohen) on the floor at my feet. •' "I p'ulled away and at that time some one else was yelling. ‘There goes the we want.’ I saw O^ief Cantwell at the window with a tol in his hand as though he were ng to shoot some one who was iiding over at the window. I can Dot say whether he shot or not. I have made it a rule to go unarmed all the time I have been serving as chairman of the executive committee. I am a strong Hyde supporter—every chairman is a strong supporter of one side of the other—but I have dealt fairly with both sides. Some of the best men in the city are on my com mittee and though dissension devel oped early, we could have got on pretty well if it had .not been for trouble from the outside.” “Who or what started the shooting I do not know and I can not say I saw anybody actually shoot anybody else," said Nath. B. Barnwell, a mem ber of the committee. Mr. Barnwell has served several terms in the lower house of the general assembly as a member from Charleston. He is a lawyer. “A commotion started in the ante room,” Mr. Barnwell said, "and from ’ where I was sitting it looked as though a fight was going on. I heard Goldman’s name mentioned. I heard a pistol shot in the anteroom and the crowd came breaking into the com mittee room. "The only man I recognized was W. E. Wingate, who had been stand ing in the doorway and who came in at the head of the crowd. The police man in the doorway was swept aside. As the crowd surged in the shooting started, a regular fusillade, apparent ly from several pistols. In the midst of the shooting Chief Cantwell dash ed into the room with pistol drawn, and when he got inside he raised It and, I believe, fired, although the scuffle of people trying to get out prevebts me from being positive as to this. I did not see Mr. Cohen shot ind did not know until afterward that he was shot. I was unarmed. 'When I left several men were on the floor. I recognised among them only W. E. Wingate. There were In the to prevent any disorder, bat shooting started they rrusly absent front the to the chairman room except the members of the com mittee and the attorneys and no one In the enter room except witnesses. I then want with Capt. Black and assisted in breaking the seals and opening the door into the committee room. "When the -door had been opened the crowd came In, including com mitteemen, policemen and ‘ others. Capt. Black repeated his Instructions, but up to the time of the rioting there was still in the room some per sons who had not been gotten out. All of the policemen except two had left the room and these two Capt. Black had directed to stand in the door and keep guard. One of them did stand in the door, hut the other was near the window and the crowd was penned up against the door.” W. B. Hogan, a special deputy sheriff, escorted from Hyde head quarters to the committee rooms nine citizens whose votes had been chal lenged. He was stopped at the door by the policemen on watch there. “Only Grace men were passed,” the deputy asserted; “I saw Wingate, Frank Hogan and others allowed to enter. "Chief Cantwell called out to the men (the challenged Hyde voters), ‘Come in you, cowards, don’t be scar ed to come in.’ ' 1 heard several pistol shots In the room. I saw a man come sliding down a pole. When be got to the bottom Policeman Quinn and sev eral other police officers took hold of him and clubbed him. I asked who the man was and was told it was Max Goldman. "George Rentiers took hold of Goldman and tried to protect him from the policemen. Rentiers said, ’Don’t strike the man,’ but the police raised their clubs. I Interfered and Policeman Dawson abused me, but I drew my pistol and showed him my authority as a deputy. Goldman was pretty badly beaten and was bleeding about the head.” Goldman’s troubles seem to have started before he left the committee roodto, from which he departed by way of a window, a balcony and a telephone pole. One of the Hyde watchers, John J. Healy, said he was standing in the doorway between the two rooms ordered everybody out ex cept committeemen. "Rentiers came out," Healy said, "with Max Goldman behind him. Willie O'Brien started to strike Gold man and Rentiers told him be was too small for him to strike.” G. Simms McDowell “saw a man jump from one of the windows, hug a pole and slide down." "Just as soon as he struck the ground," Mr. McDowell said. "I saw a policeman in uniform beat him with his club on the head several times." G. Jeff McDowell, general agent for the Southern States Life Insur ance company—a former resident of Columbia—was also a wltnesa to the clubbing of Goldman by T>ollcemen ”1 saw Goldman come out of the wtn< dow, without his hat.” Mr. McDowell said. "He Jumped from the veranda to a telephone pole and came down to theetreet. In a few seconds there was a large crowd of policemen' holding their hands and clubs in the air tn a position to catch him as he came down. Several ^olicetnen dubbed Mr. Goldman unmercifully. It was the most disgraceful manhandling of a citizen I have ever seen. He was clubbed and jerked about and car ried off by the policemen." Still another eye-witnesa to the mishandling of Goldman was the rec tor of St Luke's Episcopal church, the Rev. Louie O. Wood. Standing at King and George streets. Mr. Wood heard the shooting upstairs. "Immediately afterward," he said, "one man. in escaping, climbed down a telephone pole. Before he.reached the ground he was seized, and, -I am informed, badly beaten. The crowd was so dense and the confusion so great that I could not see the man when he was on the ground, but 1 saw a Club raised while he was being pulled from the nole„ as if to strike him.” John McCrady, a civil engineer, who was in attendance on the meet ing as a witness, also beheld the Goldman incident. "I saw Max Gold man standing on the little balcony,’’ Mr. McCrady said. “Soon afterward I saw him climbing down a telephone pole. Before he reached the bottom he was seized by two policemen. He was severely beaten over the head with a club and was bleeding freely." George Rentiers, who had shielded Oldman from Q’Brien in the com mittee room, was taken outside under arrest and reached the street in time to see Goldman clubbed. “I saw Mary Goldman climbing down a pole," he said. "I saw a policeman knock him in the head with his club as he came down.” Rentiers -declares O’Brien attempted an assault on Goldman several, nights ago in King street. Goldman was bundled into a patrol wagon and taken away under arrest, but was released after giving bail and having his scalp wounds dressed. A wild clangor of fire bells gave numbers of Charlestonians their first intimation that the half expected riot had occurred. Somebody in the ex citement turned in an alarm. Harry L. Wilenski, one of the meh injured, was reappointed by Mayor Grace only the night before the riot to the position of meter inspector, a sinecure he had held for a year and which it is understood on all sides was In part a reward for political ser vices. W. E. Wingate, “Big Wingate," has been for some time regarded as an unofficial bodyguard of the mayor. “I can't be positive how many shots were fired in. the committee room," said J. Waties Waring. He was present at the hearing to repre sent certain challenged voters. He said that there was a heavy move ment of the men in the anteroom to the committee room. He did not know who fired the shota. Conrad Slender, a member of the executive committee, deecrlbod the fight aa follows: T was tn fm ball' a( (be meeting of the executive committee when (he Shooting started. It started In the hallway and apparently a shot was fired into the committee room. Im- there was great confusion, shots and presently a fusil lade of AoU. Almost Immediately I BERDANS ON OFFENSIVE Attempting to Capture Important City of Ptfoah.’ The Germans have taken the of fensive south of Riga and forced the RnaelanB out of their positions, cap turing many prisoners and some guns. On the rest of dhe eastern front the offensive remains with the Russians, who are attacking west of Dvlnsk, in the centre and south of the 'Pripet riVer. On the whole, it appears to ob servers as If the Qeraians were satis fied merely to hold their present line, except (h the .north, where they have made repeated attempts to capture Dvlnsk. The capture of Dvlnsk would mean the fall of Riga and would compel the Russians to with draw behind the Dvina river. This ambition already has cost the Ger mans many thousands of men, but they keep on trying, first in the north, then in the south, and then on the Dvlnsk front. At present their at tacks are developing the great force in the north. saw a man named Brothers, who ;Is known to be a Grace partisan, ad vancing towards Committeeman Mc Donald. I stood up and waved him back, saying: ‘Stop.’ Then there was a fusillade of shots fired and I saw one man in a window on the east side of the room with three or four men crowding him. While this was going on I saw Chief Cantwell come up with his pistol iu his hand and fire a shot at this man’s head. In the confusion I did not recognize the man. I saw no pistol in his hand. Why the man was not hit I do not know. So far as I know it missed him. While I was watching this, some one struck me on the head with a club from behind. I was dazed somewhat and subse quently had to go to my home, but I Just remember seeing Policeman La- fourcade come up with a pistol point ed and I grabbed his hand and said: ‘Man, for God's sake don’t shoot.’ I scarcely remember any more, being in sqmewhat a dazed condition. I went hhme and lay down." John J. Healy said that he was at the executive committee room. King and George streets. “1 was there aa a watcher." he said, "In Mayor Hyde's Interest, stationed there with several others. I was standing at the door between the two rooms, when Capt. Black ordered everybody ex cept committeemen to get out of the front room. Rentiers came out with Maxy Goldman behind him. Willie O'Brien started to strike Maxy Gold man and Rentiers told him he was too small for him to strike. Then Rentiers and O'Brien started to get into an argument and Frank Hogan started to argue with him. William Wingate then caught Rentiers from the back with hit arm around Ren tiers' neck. 1 caught Wingate's arm and told him to turn Rentlars loose. When Rentiers turned aronnd Harry Wllenakl took a pistol out of Ren tiers' back pocket and* they all hol lered ‘arrest him' and fiergt. Quinn took him off. Then the commotion started In the door. F os berry and Frank Hogan started to abuse me and In the confusion Chief Cantwell took a pistol out of my pocket. I had the pistol as a deputy constable, ap pointed by Sheriff Martin. "The shooting started in the door, and Chief Cantwell and Mr. Turner Logan came hi with drawn guns pointing tnaide. I begged them not to shoot. Mr. l«ogan pat his gun down, bnt Chief Cantwell fired a shot at Henry Brown! while several were holding Brown. I think Mr. Robson grabbed Chief Cantwell’s hand with pistol and >>egged him not to shoot." He said that two hours later he was ordered under arrest by Mayor Grace and Chief Cantwell for carrying con cealed weapons. Healy put up a cash bond of twentw dollars and was re leased late last night. Only city policemen were on guard at the executive committee hall on King street when the fatal shooting occnrred. Gov. Manning had on the night before instructed Col. E. M. Blythe of Greenville; First Infantry, to proceed to Charleston and take charge of the several companies that had been ordered to be In readiness for duty. Sheriff Martin had a large number of special deputies sworn in. The question was raised to-day as to why the militia and the special con stables were not present to prevent the trouble. It was pointed out that the sheriff has no power to interfere in municipal affairs until tho local of ficers have failed to cope with the sit uation. The police having failed to keep order, Chairman Black telephoned the sheriff and the deputies were sent Immediately. The militia arrived a few minutes afterwards and easily dispersed the large crowd which had gathered on King street. The militia remained on duty all night, a strict military zone being maintained about the building occu pied by the executive commit tee. All the boxes containing the votes of the recent municipal election were stored in the building. Col. Blythe spent the nigtft at a hotel s arising early to take charge of thd troops. He refused to discuss the situation, declaring that he had been sent to Charleston to maintain order regardless of faction. Needs Three Million Men. “Great Britain needs three million more men by spring.’’ This declara tion was made Saturday by Brig. Gen. Sir Eric Swayne, director of recruit ing in the northern command,'in a speech at Hull. Gen. Swayne esti mated that Germany still has be tween nine and ten million men from the ages of eighteen to forty-five, and that, therefpre, it is useless to talk about wearing out Germany. Italy Seeks American Money. Announcement was made at Mew York Saturday that- the Italian gov ernment had arranged to place an Issue of twenty-seven million dollar one-year notes in the United States. This will be the first direct loan ne gotiated here by Italy since the be ginning of the war. and It will be ne ed to pay for war ned general aap- plles heretofore largely paid tor HIDE jSMjHINEE SOMERS WARDED CRADLES- TON’S EXECUTIVE COIMITTEE A . ‘ . ..r f ‘ ' GRACE CAME Will GUN Contested Box Thrown Out—Hyde’s Majority 128—-Grace Members Leave Meeting—Soldiers Searched Every Person Entering Hall and Removed Weapons. * 1 Major Tristam T. Hyde is the nominee of the Democrats of Char leston for mayor, - He was so declar ed by the city .Democratic executive committee about seven o’clock Satur day afternoon after a session which had lasted continuously from eleven- forty-flve o'clock in the forenoon. The box for Club 2, of Ward 10, was thrown out. A request for a re count of the'votes was voted down, the majority faction having already quit the room when this action was taken, leaving in a body when the Ward 10, Club 2, box was thrown out. Had the Ward 10, Club 2. box not been thrown out. Major Hyde’s majority would have stood at thirty- eight votes on the basis of the action taken by the committee on the chal lenged votes. On the basis of the re turns as declared by the committee, the vote stood: Grace, 2.981; Hyde. 3,109. The general election, in which city registration certificates are required, will be held Tuesday, December 14. Strict military guard was maintain ed around all sides of the German Artillery Hall, where the meeting was held. No persons were permitted to enter Wentworth street without cre dentials by the vigilant militiamen on guard, and every peraon entering the hall was carefully searched be fore being allowed to enter the com mittee room. Col. E. M. Blythe, com manding the Second Regiment of South Carolina National Guard, was in command of the local military and naval militia organizations, which were entrusted with the duty of pre venting disorder around the building. Mayor Grace waa relieved of a re volver before he waa permitted to enter the committee room, although ha at flrat objected to the action of tha military authorittea. He waa searched, after he placed his weapon on a table. Chief of Police James R. Cantwell was also searched and dis armed before he waa permitted to enter the committee room. I .ate In the afternoon, when Sheriff J. Bi- more Martin had occasion to visit tha hall, he also was searched and re lieved of his weapons. The weapons were returned to the officers when they left the building. When the executive committee de sired that the protest against count ing the votes in the box of Club 2. Ward 10.A should be sustained, the ten men who voted against sustain ing the contest, led by Mr. John I. Cosgrove, left the committee room in a body, aftar Mr. Cosgrove had made a statement to the effect that it ap peared to him that the committee waa determined to settle every ques tion by a partisan vots. and conse quently there was nothing for the members of the minority faction to gain by remaining at the meeting. This occurred at three-forty o’clock in the afternoon, the committee then having been in active rfesston for about three hours. Mayor Grace appeared in person to contest the elimination of the ballots in the protested box of Ward 10 from the count for the primary, and Mr. W. Turner Logan was present as rt- torney for the mayor. Mr. M. Rut ledge Rivers presented the protest against the counting of the votes, filed by Major, Hyde, and a second protest, on practically the same grounds as the Hyde pfotest, was pre sented by Mr. J. P. Kennedy Bryan as attorney for Mr. W. W. Clement, candidate for aldermanic nomination in the primary. These protestk, it was stated, were filed with the executive committee Thursday. The protest against allowing the box from Club 2, Ward 10, to be counted, was read by Mr. Rivers, and was based on two alleged irregulari ties in the conduct of the primary in Club 2, Ward 10, the failure of the clerk end managers to keep a poll list until eighty-nine citizens had voted, and the closing the polio for an hour to an hour and a half, dur ing which the managers, by consent, made out a poll list from certain slips of paper, and a book, botji fur nished by a watcher or challenger for iMr. Grace. Mr. Rivers declared that neither one faction or the other was held entirely responsible, but that all the managera, the Hyde and Grace representatives, equally, had failed to conduct the primary accord ing to the statutes of the state and the rules of the party, In not keeping the poll list, the closing of the polls, and the manner in which the list had later been prepared. Mr. Rivers said that he was there to ask that the laws of the state and the rules of the party be carried out. According to the protest, as read by Mr. Rivers, the action of the managera in closing the polls, prevented a full and free expression of the voters of Ward 10, because they weren’t given the entire twelve hours provided by law. He spoke of the sacredness of the bal lot. and said that the history of elec tions had'led the wise men of preced ing generations and the present gen erations to throw what aafegnarda they coeld,' by Ihw, around the parity of the ballot, sad that to decline throw out the hex from Ward 10 Would act a precedent that would nul lify. to a large measure, the action of the lawmakers. Ha axplalaed how the poll list la a cheek apoe the ee- rollmant book, sad la the only offi cial record of who has voted la a pri- CORONER REONSIKRUEST OVER COHEN'S MURDER ' St-—'• Black Says "Tall Mae Several companies of militia were standing guard In Charleston Mon day morning when the coroner began an invtatlgatlon into the death of Sidney J. Cohen, who waa killed last Friday la the fighting at the meeting of the city Democratic executive com mittee. Coroner Mansfield said that he had summoned more than fifty witnesses. Solicitor Wade Hampton Cobb, of Co lumbia, waa ordered here by. Gover nor Manning to assist in making the investigation General order la good. The habeas corpus proceedings on which the release of H. J. Brown aand E. R. McDonald, two of the men ar rested in connection with last Fri day’s shooting affray, was sought, were dismissed by Judge Mendel L. Smith in circuit court Monday morn ing and the accsed men were com mitted to the custody of the sheriff on chargee of murder and conspiracy. A number of affidavits were present ed by the' police In support of charges. Owing to the large number of witnesses summoned to appear be fore the coroner’s inqest, no an nouncement as to the jury’s finding is expected early, A heavy guard of stats militia sur rounds the court house where the inqest is being held. There was no disturbance Monday. The first witness, Chairman Jos eph Black, of the city Democratic ex ecutive committee, testified that a “tall man wearing a black hat’’ aimed a revolver at him and fired. This shot, he alleged, was the one that ended the life of the youthful Char leston newspaper reporter. Mr. Black did not know the man. PAIMIERKAM TROOPS ARRIVED JUST IN TIME French Soldiers Prevented Bulgarian Hnrre— I/on<lon reports Friday Ahat Ser bian and Anglo-French troops have occupied tho Bulgarian town of fltru- mltza. fifty miles north of SaJonlkl, according to official telegrams from Athens. Thia follows closely upon news that Serbians with allied assist ance have repuiaed a Bulgarian at tack at Vllandovo. taring tha ad vance of the Bnlgara Into a retreat beyond their own border. Thus tha Anglo-FraochSorbian ac tion In the Balkans has leaped out of the field of surmise into a vivid fore ground of net, and ia asserted by London military observers to have been crowned at the outset with euo- to Secretary Lansing and the matlo representatives here of Brasil, Chile. Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay and Guatemala met at the state de partment, Monday to decide on tho form of recognition to he extended to Gen. Cammz£ Countries which have diplomatic representatives ia Mexico probably will extend recognition by formal re- newal of diplomatic relations there. Thh United States and several of the others will present Identical notes to BUseo Arredondo, Carranza repre sentative here. The communication will be addressed to Gen. Carranza and the official reception of Arre dondo will constitute the act of rec ognition. Since Inst Saturday, when the Pan- American conference announced its decision to recognise Carranza, a widespread effect on the internal sit uation in Mexico has been noted ia official reports. The chief result has been the apparent crumbling of op position to Carranza. Many Zapata leaders as well as Villa generals are surrendering or leaving the country. Amnesty has been granted to those who have laid down their arms. Officials realize, however, that the problem of pacification is far from solved, despite their feeling that an energetic start has bean made. Op- positiojpfrom officials of the Catholic chusen in thia country to recognition anza continue to ho manifest- various ways Secretary Lan- ifore deciding on recognition elidped definite promisee from Car- that "no one would suffer la i and property" because bf re ligious belief. Administration offi cials feel, therefore, that the Car ranza assurances must be taken aa aa index of future policy and tha attl- itnde of tho Carranza anthorttlaa to ward the clergy-awaited before Judg- it In Thia arrival of French troops at tha phyaological moment whan the Serbian struggle with forty thoaaaad newly arrived Bulgarians at VHnn- dovo and Huldovo ■till hung la the balance, has dramatic qualities which for the moment have completely •c 11 peed the military exploits ia other theaters. Tha chief military importance of the allled-Serblan success la tha do- feat of tho Bulgarian project of cat ting tha Balonlkl-Nlah railroad, which Is known to have been the Bulgarian objective. It la not clear whether British troops co-opbrated with tha French In thia operation, but a mes sage from Athens stating they had left Salonlki Saturday night for the Serbo-Bulgarian frontier indicates they at least were near the scene of the fighting. MIUIU WILL DE KU FOR USE ff ITS NECESSAIY HI* FRENCH VESSEL SUBMARINED Austrian Boot Sinks Mall Root WIUi IU Passengers. Paris reports Monday tff.t the mail boat Eugene Perelre has arrived there with thirty-three mejnbers of the crew of the French steamship Admiral Hamelln which waa sunk by a submarine. A previous report from the Havas correspondent said that seventy-one persons on board the steamer lost their lives. The Admiral Hemelln was under government requisition. According to the Petit Journal orrespondent she was torpedoed by an Austrian sub marine without notice and while pas sengers and crew were being trans ferred to the boats, tho submarine bombarded the steamer which Was struck by forty shells. The captain of the submarine as serted as Justification of his attack; that the steamer was armed, but this is denied by tho correspondent. Six of the crew were wounded.v The sound of firing drew a French tor pedo boat and an English hospital ship to the spot and the wounded and many fugitives were taken aboard by these vessels. The submarine fled at their approach, after firing two tor pedoes into the Admiral and sinking her. . MAY RUN FOR GOVERNOR Bishopvilie Mon Is Not Positive About It, However. v*.-< A dispatch from Columbia to the News and Conrier says: *T will not at this time make a positive statement, but there is avery probability that I will be in the race for governor next summer,” was the answer made by Hon. W. A. Stuckey of Blshopville to a query from newspaper men. Interest attaches to ths probable candidacy of Mr. Stnckey tor gover nor because of his bold on tha ao- called Bleaae faction. He waa a po litical supporter of tho former gov ernor and wielded a big influence, especially in the Pee Dee section af tha state among that faction. Friday that Hair has i la tha Tha fonr companies of la fan try sad three divisions of naval militia nadar arms and on duty la Charleston un dvr command of CoL Edgeworth M. Blythe, with InstmrDloas to peace and order, will not ha with drawn by ths governor until ha la satisfied that the conditio as warrant him to do so. Tha “"wivtitdlng offi cers of the other companies outride of Charleston ia the Second regiment are still under orders from Gov. Man- slag “to hold their eesspaalaa la readlaeea to move on short notice la eoee their eorriees are needed." The statement Issued Sunday night by Gov. Manning la aa follows: with Charleston and am keeping in clone toneh with the entire situation there. Fonr companies of Infantry mad three divisions of naval militia are now under arms and on dnty under command of Col. Blythe, who has instructions to maintain penes and order. “I do not propose to withdraw these troops until I am satisfied that the conditions warrant me ia doing so. In addition to the fonr com panies of Infantry and three dtririons of naval militia now on duty, I have ordered the commanding officers of the other compeniss In the Second regiment, 8. C. N. G., to hold their companies in readiness to move oa short notice in case their services are needed. The militia will afford pro tection during the coroner’s inquest and all precautions will be taken to avoid disorder. I have issued orders that all persons attending this in quest be disarmed. "Under my instructions Solicitor W. Hampton Cobb of the Fifth cir cuit leaves Columbia to-night for Charleston for the->urpoee of assist ing Acting Solicitor William H. Grim- ball in representing the state at tha coroner’s inquest. My purpose in keeping the militia on duty is only that peace and order may be main tained." — THE WAR IN THE BALKANS Winter Weather Will Impede Ten- onic Army’s Advance. The Austro-German and Bulgarian invasions of Serbia and the efforts of Great Britain and France to aid their little ally are holding the attention of Europe. _ Winter weather is helping the Serbs. Reports reaching London say cold rains are Impeding the German movement, which at best must be slow over what answer tor roads to the Balkan states. > The Germans, however, claim to have taken the heights south of Bel grade, k while along the Danube the army of Oea. von Qallwlts is pushing the Serbians back. ’ The Bulgarians claim a rapid ad vance into Macedonia, although the French are already reported to be In contact with them at Vievgeli, while both the French and British continue to land troops at Salonlki. i . ♦ ' ■ . Spanish Cabinet May Onto.* A report from Madrid states that at a conned Saturday the decided to resign, directed to Into where ha bad wm'