Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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ENTIRE STATE DEIIOATION WRITE 'EASE NOT SETTLED IN SOPPORT OF “PREPAREDNESS” >1/ - know, I have been connected with the National Guard and was educated at a military school. I am a member of the Military Committee, which has ehargo of one branch of the “Pre- pa^ednesg" bill’in the House and have beea-in sC position to gather a .great deal of Tnformation- from different “Nr- • • .[Continued from page two.] A. F. LEVER officers and citizens who are interest- »which you d,esire for publicition, por ed and who have’appeared before the committee relative to this matter. I do not believ6, m the first place, that under'the terms proposed re garding the Continental Army, we would ever be able to enlist the num ber of meh suggested, for several rea sons. First, 1 do not believe that they would care to join the Conti nental Army and have only one month or two months drill a year and then bind themselves for any period of time to be called out in case of war. . ^ In the second place, our National Guard is composed in my State espe cially, and I understand this to' be the case of a grj^rt many States, largely of laboring men who are ab solutely depetHiout upon their-daily- wage to trtipport themselves and their famjlrf'Sv These men could not af- >rfd lor the pay which the Conti nental Army will give only during active service, to : ive up their posi tions and'go on the proposed encamp ments.. . . .J— Washington, Feb. 10, 1910. MV. Hugo S. Sims, Orangeburg, S. C. My dear Sir: Hesponding to your letter ©f February;. 7, in which you ask a scries of questions as to the matter of preparedness the answer to In addition to th to iiTsfrr s, even th)-t heii d allow l •avu U f time nl - tor in t! it if they eve that then) to ' iellgth niit me to say that it is Impassible for me or any other member of Congress who is not on the committees direct! charged with the prepart'tion details of the program of preliared- ness to answer speeifically^fisto these details. ^ I do not know.^fdr exarr.plo, what is going to be dhe judgment of the Committce^©tf Naval Affairs,as to the numbep^of dreadnaughts and sub-, marinea for naval defense. Likewise, 1 can not tell how many additional regiments will be recommended by the Committee on Military Affairs to put the standing army on a proper footing for d&fefflse. It if impossible for mo tc know these things because I am engaged in my own committee work f-om early in the morning until late in the after noon and my work, as you know, is the oilier end of the preparedness program, and just as important, al though it is not receiving so much oi the limelight. I am‘trying to prepare the fellow who furnishes- the army- and navy with its subsistence in time of ,vv.ir and iti times ( ,f p.ari'.ntit only feed* .and clothes the firtutr and navy but all of our people. Tills is one end 1. S. WANTS INFORMATION ON NEW GERMAN PROGRAM LUSITANIA NOTE FI Note Rut Practically Americans r to Await Developments of German Plan to Attack Armed fillips Without Warning. - ,, r . .The United States in its submarine controversy with Germany will accept nothing short of a full and complete agreement covering all the points for which it has contended as to assur-. ances that the warfare in the future will be conducted in accordance with Established principles of international law. In announcing that fact Secretary Lansing let it be known that the state department.considers Germany’s dec laration of its intention to sink with out warning after February "29 all armed merchant ships of the Entente allies to be inconsistent with the asf. surauces previously givem- this gov- ernment. - Tfie tentative communication de signed to end the Lusitania ease will not be formally-accepted until such assurances afe given although the communication insofar .fts ,K relates to the Lusitania itself ds acceptable. State department officials also.coa- s.der that tlve Aimtro-Hungariatf ling arrticd shins cally Informed that the assurances previously ^iven for the safety of neutrals and non-combatants at sea wUi'UntTbe altered by the latest dec larations of the Berlisp-lmU Vienna admiralties. American pfTiefals fea.r that the United StatejUfnd Germany may find themselvps^at the same point they stood^m the first days of the sub- martne crisis, with the United States ontending unreservedly for the principles of law and humanity, in naval warfare, and confronted with a long series of diplomatic, exchanges, the reaulLof which they can not fore see. . Cpunt von Bernstorff told Secre tary Lansing it was his personal opin ion that in the new submarine cam paign. his government intended to abide by its promise not to sink un resisting “liners” without warning, given in the Arabic case and referred to in the I.usitania.agreement. Mr. Lansing informed the ambassador that such a declaration from his gav- ernment would tie highly desirable. The ambassador suggested the pos sibility of postponing the. effective date of the new submarine campaign if it would give time for negotiations to clarify th6 confused situatioh, but •the secretary did not commit himself. This is the situation now: A« a result of the correspondence in the Lusitania, and Arabic coses the United States lias rested secure in the belief-tharf the future conduct of sub marine warfare on humane lines and in accordance -with kite established princi+tles of international iaw, modi fied somewhat by the conditions de veloped during the war, had been as sured. The state department had beeti - proceedBitr lately ripen the - b.,<sr * • > { <’ . :: i 1., or tL.if.t; a groat’jBpaay o life uwqrk in the - cotton mill.- am ’o-ulU-tin ru teart Hi.it tlu-l i- Hie a inlo tit-: i in active norvjc •e with the Conti ul Army, or th; at somebody el ■< Id be put on f* .e job. For thi oilier tea sons I shall oppose th’ r« ird theory that all that was nei he done in the-LPsIfania r:i -arv tr was t< GRANT GIVES SYSTEM FOR ; FLEET AND COAST DEFENCE ONLY 27 READY FOR WAR Commander of Submarines Recom mends Adoption of Administration Five-Year Program—Thirty-Five Subs are Now Authorized or in the Course of Construction. A plan for fleet and coast de fence submarine o|ierations in the Atlantic and Pacific culling for Itttt Hubuiersibles of all tyjies, was out lined to the House naval commit tee Wednesday by Rear Admiral Grant, the .navy’s chief of suli- marines. - iver tl Now ihe dro-fh in no I mr r •d ns Suclt a force is necessary to in sure adequate protection, the admiral said, and approximately the number of boats needed are provided’ for in the administration's five-year build ing program. • At present, the. committee .was. told, the l nited Stati-s has just .twentj-scyeU Mtliuiaruit-- read) for war service. Ten other boats are laid up lor .repairs or overhauling and con Id not bo made ready for duty iiT'l h s than six months., Now under: construction or authorised are tilirt \-! fi\«- siitiniui iiit-s, ipcluduig three hig ciAit i f tlie fh-el <iui--iiig Ijik-, Adn iral flrant's plan contemplates said, had done the most efficient work In the present war. • Capt. Josiah S. M.cKeon, attached to the office of the chief of opera tions as aide for material, said that while he was Inclined- to agree with Admiral Grant as to the greater value of larger submarines^ other ficerjt iiad different views. Chairman Padgett explained that Rear Admiral Benson, chief of operations, was one 1 of these and would explain his posi tion to the committee later. Captr McKean revealed that much of the navy department's information about German submarines had come from an American boy who served for a tlmfc-upon pne pf them in active service before he .could establish his nationality and get immunity from military duty. The boy, whose name Nvas not disclosed, has returned to the United States and proved to be a valuable source of information. While he did not go into details, Capt. Mc Kean,. said experts of the navy had questioned the youth closely. Representative Britten of Illinois asked Capt. McKeon if the action of the department in contracting for six teen additional smalnsubmarin-es two months ago was not ridiculous in the light of the information it then had as to the efficiency of larger craft. “Characteristics of ships are mat ters determined by , Ohe general board.” (’apt. McKeon' replied. He said he believed it had been thoiight ,be*t to get as many submarines as possible constructhd quickly, dnd that congress- had fixed the llmft of cost for the sixteen boats, thereby limit ing their size. He pointed out also that for distance:-, of three hundred miles or less the small boat was fully : s efficient as a.n-frtJht’hundVed ton eraft, M twif more so. They were Dn- r shallow water work, he id' itiv< ed.' ntalive Britten pre th very body scemw—to ovrrtIrfn t: • ti ty that vovrrnmrnf in tbi-t 1 ‘ ‘ •*»» i*i to fry to {j> tiitTtY, tv x<»i’t tin Cou.ralttr • on Agriculture nfj tptfations over the slnkin g of t!i« | v so while the future. loft open 1 c.i T* Uj.1 _ faU** My work, tbsrefo re. in this direr i ilia. Consequently, lina 1 settle- 1 'VR h the aliuc' 1 eeitnfn ii rai nMHMSiU >rk out of ion is absorbing o very moment o | tm* ut of jhe Ancona case prolmmy nt 'Y v* Iru rh’rtf urij-ifur d ’o the pi >st serious it. For i Ty time and 1 must lepfind in a lan:< i * 1 i bo withheld until Au.<t ia gives MW r( M 3l| 1 f ’ <J th** lensui'e 7or )he deta ils as to tiie mili i Sltl lilar arwuranj-ps to thoso nqw Ve- 1 < fv flirt* .> rti tily of I of tinatua. K •»>• ary end of prepare dues*, upon tin r 'stcd from Germany.. Lusitania agreement u!a y til 1 I f k, I'hHatUI 1-hU un«! e'onlinental Anny plan, I am in favor of the government .making anti controlling its own war munitions, for I belipjre that the gov ernment would maMLthem at less cost than they could buy them. I would also advocate that th) soldiers who enlist in the regular army be used in time of peace in the manufac ture of munitions and other necessi- tlea of war when they are not per forming military duties. 1 agree with President Wilson on his “Preparedness" bill, with the ex ception of the Continental Army plan. I would suggest In place of the Continental Army the passage Of’ a “Pay** bill for the National Guards, bringing them as nearly as possible to the regular army in efficiency and giving the officers more control over the men. < t I believe that the National Guard under favorable conditions would give us. with the regular army, ade quate defense against any foreign na tion. certainly until a volunteer army could be raised and put in the field to assist them. .1 would also be in favor of the government giving more aid to the first rank military colleges, such the Citadel, the V. M. I., and other like institutions. One of our great est needs Is more officers, and I be lieve by increasing the number of commissions given to honor gradu ates of these institutions, we could get splendid officers who could be used during time of peace to superin tend military .instruction at different military colleges and to be placed with the National Guard of the vari ous states as instructors in lime of peace. There is no question in my mind and I do not see how there can be any question in any thinking man's nrimP . , , that we need an adequate army and At some points the big guns have an adequate navy for the defense of been roaring incessantly for days, the committees which deal directly with the subject, i shall suppbrt what, I regard, after the proper committees ■have reported and these reports have lieen filed for use of members, to be a reasonable and adequate plan for preparedness. On general principles. 1 am-strong ly for adequate naval defenses both with regard to the navy itself and also to our roast defenses. On gen eral principles. I am not very much inclined to a large standing army but I am willing to trust In a large roflts- ure the judgment of the two Military Committees of the House and,Senate for a sufficient Increase In the stand ing army. As to the details I can not^ and ,1 do not believe any other member of Congress can make a pMP- tlve statement. These are matters that must be determined when all of the testimony is In. the experts have been heard and the statements and testimony studied and Interpreted. As a general proposition, I am in line with the President's general thought on this subject because I rec ognize how difficult It Is to maintain the peace and honor of the nation at one and the same time, unless we are In position to make good our claim of right. Very truly. —— ■. -m A. F. Lever. GER.MAN^ARE ATTACKING VIOLENTLY IN THE WEST Report Shows Capture of Three Lines of Front Trenches of Seven Hundted Yards length. The whole western fighting front * 8 the scene of heavy engagements. vessels, including dreadnaughts. In answer to question number 2, I am in favor of an efficient National Guard, officered and equipped, and, to do this. It will bo necessary to pay the men for the time spent in drill. This plan, in my opinion, would be muc^ more economical than Ex-Sec retary Garrison’s scheme of the Con tinental Army. In my judgment, a large majority of the House is oppos ed to the Continental Army theory. With reference to question number 3, I am in favor of the government’s manufacturing its munitions of war, and eliminating the. profits of pri vate manufacturers. Lastly, question number. I think that an efficient army and navy is f psary to defend the rights o^this; }ntry aca'nst the aggressions ofi •er-eouirtfies. and. in ibin eonnee- tlon, ! may add that I th'lnk. we should give up the Philippine Islands and ve should emtin our coast de fenses In a way to be effective. These defenses would, of course, ^ave to be saaaiied by regular troops. Unth beet wishes. I am Tours very truly, O. E Finley. our-nation, and the protection of our .rights. I have not gone as fully into this patter as 1 would like but have en- I iavorod to answer the questions hich you have asked. Thanking you and with best wishes. I am, Very truly yours, Sam J. Nicholls. INLEY - Washington,^K^b. 12, 1916. MrvHugo.S. Sims, Editor The Times and Democrat, Orangebtftg, Soutii Carolina. My dear Sir: Your letter of^rq-l cent date, asking njy views upon thcC subject of “Preparedness’’ or rather an answer to tlie questions enclosed, to hand. As to question number 1, I could not promise to support every detail ■ 6T the Secretary of the Navy’s plans. However, I am in a-general way in favor of giving to this country sub- ntarines and airships to the extent of making the United States an efficient power in the world in this rgspect. , We need additional scout cruisers, fast torpedo boat destroyers, and a reasonable increase of othee navaT~hhndred yards and the British offi- in tan try has been engaged in hand- to-hand struggles, grenade fighting and mining operations have played a prominent part in the battles, while airmen have fought each other above the lines and have been cannonaded from below by the anti-aircraft guns. Berlin reported Monday: "North west of Tahure we wrested from the French, by a storming attack, a posi tion seven hundred metres in extent. The enemy left seven officers and more than three hundred prisoners ih our hands and lost three machine guns and five mine throwers. “Near Abersept, near the French frontier, our troops took French trencheb over a front of about four hundred yards in extent and re- Imlsed night counter attacks. We toofrsi few dozen prisoners, two ma chine gtms and three mine throwers. . Swftclijn^Che offensive on Tuesday from the Artoi>s^an<f CTfftmpagne re gions in France toHlie Belgian sector around Ypres held byHjie British the Germans have smashed rhqir way by an artillery bombardment ahd infan try attacks into a British fronKline trench over a distance of between hundred and eight hundred yards. Berlin gives the distance as eight cial-communication, in admitting the gain, asserts that it was on a front of about gix hundred yards. Berlin says that a majority of the defender^ of the trench were killed and that one ofTieer and several dozen soldiers were taken prisoners. General Electric Plant Aflr. The munitions plant of the Gen eral Electric company was wrecked by a fire Tuesday. The blate was ex tinguished by the company’s private fire department and no report was made to the city police or fire author ities. Officials of the company with held all information. Consul's Corpse Washerf Vp,’ ..The body of'‘American Consul Mc- Xeeler. of Monroe. N. C.. lost la the destruction of the liner Persia, la be lieved to have bt'en washed ash re near Alexandria, Egypt. Guests of the Daniels. President and Jtra Wilson were guests of honor Tuesday night at a dinner given by Sec ret any and Mrs Daniel*. The views of the United States- were explained by Secretary I^ansing to Count von Remstorff. the German ambassador. The ambassador was Informed that the United States de sires the German declaration regard ing armed merchantmen to be* modi fied. loiter in the day the ambassador sent a long dispatch to his govern ment explaining the position and re quirements of the Unjted States. It was understood that the ambassador informed his government that the United States wanted particularly to know whether the assurances pre viously given in the Lusitania and the Arabic cases still were In force. Officials are now awaiting the re- celpt of whaVGermany alleges to be a copy of secret Instructions given by the British government to the com manders of merchantmen. This doc ument and others appended to the text of the German declaration have been mailed from Berlin. Secretary Lansing has accepted the Lnsltanta agreement as acceptable to the United States insofar as It relates to that rase but asked Count von Bernstorff for assurances that Ger many will not carry its policy of sink ing merchant ships without warning to liners even if they carry defensive armament. The question of what constitutes defensive armament Is to be deter mined later in a way not yet agreed upon It ia suggested that the Unit ed States may propose that guns mounted on the stern of ships and capable of being swung from IS to 30 degrees in either direction might come within that class. It wa* stated authoritatively that Germany, because of Its unusual posi tion can not and will not accept the suggestion of the United States as it now stands that liners carrying arms ehaR be immune from attack under previous assurances. Germany is prepared to inform the United States that if passenger liners leaving American porta with dpfen- slye. armament are to be immune from submarine attack without warn ing. as the German government prom ised last September in the Arabic case, the Berlin government expects some assurances that the liners will not attack the submersibles. Count von Rernstorff. the German ambassador, has an engagement to conference with Secretary I^ansing, and he is expected to convey this view in reply to the secretary’s state ment that it was desirable that the German government make a declara tion that in carrying out its new sub marine campaign of sinking armed merchantmen-without warning after February 29, it intended to abide by the assurances it gave in the Arabic case that “liner's’’ would not be at tacked without warning unless they attempted to resist. Such assurances as it is indicated Germany may now ask probably would apply only "to Italian ships ap British passenger carrying liners have not been armed, even with the small guns allowed for defensive pur poses, since the outbreak of the war. The submarine controversy with Germany can not be closed until the Uniteo^Sjtates has fully considered the possimaeffect of the declared In tention of thw; Teutonic powers , to sink all armed metmhantmen of ftifeir enemas, without wltrping after Feb ruary 29! This announcement wa^-made by Secretary Lansing Wednesdayiqstead of long expected announcemeoK^f satisfactory settlement of the Lus tania negotiations, . Perfected by months oi patient and at times perilous negotiation the Lusitania agreement was pre sented by Count von Bernstorff, the German ambasador, in a form which would’have been acceptable to the United States had not the Germanic powers announced, their determination to regard armed merchant ships of their enemies as warships. The Lusitania agreement now will not be accepted as finally katfsfaciory to the United States until Ptesident Wilson and Secretary Lansing have decided whether any of its terms would be nullified by the principles of the new submarine campaign. < It Is practically certain that the United States wttt ask to be specll- •ed the tw—what stiqiH had been ’Mi by the navy department tO'.lie ty to n • et thii • mef(eb( y cosdi- < w hich seemed to exist. We lune made more real prterress real i cadi ness," Capt. McKean '•aid, “in the la-t two )ears Ilian in any previous five vrar |kmI*mI in my perlrnce in the navy. I don’t i in that H In sivo to ’.tl) oTien- •. ■a re- t quite | com guaninl quired for the future. They a rertaln that It can nof qualify, amend 11 nr replace the Austro-German note: a specific assb^pnee on that point wobld have to be given by Germany and later' perhaps by Austria. The recent American circular note to the Entente powers proposing dD- armament of merchant ships Is not regarded In any way as involving abandonment by the Unlte<rStates of Its contention that the belligerents should adhere to the existing princi ples o/^international law in subma rine warfare. The Internal political situation In Germany Is regarded as making the situation grave, because the von Tir- pitx element is understood to be re asserting itself with considerable ef fect and the subject requires delicate handling because an upset of the von Rethmann-Hollweg administration would be regarded as unfavorable 4n its effect. Germany, it was pointed out. has made no declarations that Its pledgee In the Lusitania and the Arabic rases did not apply to armed shlpa. On the contrary this government on Novem ber 7. 1915, In a note to the German government asserted the right of merchant ships to arm for defensive purposes although It called attention to the fact that Great. Britain had agreed not to arm her merchant ships entlrtlng American waters. Whst form the next step in the negotiations will take Is not disclosed but there are strong Indications that the German government will be ask ed to give assurance to the United States that merchant ships armed for defensive purposes only will be ex empt from unwarranted attack. From German sources came the statement that It was quite probable Berlin - would give such assurances' but that in doing so it would request information an to what the United Staten considers to be defensive arm ament. Extended negotiations may follow on that point. State department officials • said they considered the situation where it was several weeks ago when it was described as grave. Diplomatic correspondence will be continued with Austria as welt as with Germany. Austria has as surances in the Ancona case which this government has no intention of relinquishing. The United States will continue its efforts to induce the Entente allies to disarm their merchantmen and in the event of their refusing, the state department probably will further limit the character of armament which it considers defensive. In that event armament above tiie set limit would- cause ships possessing it aboard to be cohsidered warships and. treated accordingly in American ports. State department officials are giv ing particular attention to difference between Germany’s assurances in re gard to the conduct of submarine warfare in_ the war zone around the Britisli Isjes and those giver), in. re- gardjo the Mediterranean. The'flrst apply only to “liners,’’ the meaning and scope of which never.has been definitely established. The latter do not mention the liners but include ships of ill varieties, infcluding pas senger and freight carrying. The new Germanic memorandum refers to armed “merchantmen.’’ Of ficials of the state department want to_have a clear ,understanding of at each reference means and in cludes. They are particularly desir ous oiMjeterminlng whether armed merchantman include liners, the armed or uhqrmed character of which has not beecr mentioned. It-was said, at theGerman embassy that Count von Bernstorff had not communicated v^ilh Secretary Lan sing since he called at' th«~atate de partment. “The ambassador appear ed to be much surprised when in- ir ti u Di< R1 he Hi .San ter arc I Francis uLi nut rvb ever known a lime nk n - termed of the announcement Pf ttrcr to ^ unable t o understand the attl- department. It, was said at the em bassy that Secretary Lansing had made no more than a passing men tion of the armed ships question dur ing the conference. 11. was pointed out that the am bassador had ’ Informed Secretary Lansing of htw gorernmeqt ■ Intern- tiom in regard to <1 t.lU’.X'uJuinl :i far apart. Tiie admiral reiterated his belief that no boats of 1c»m than seven hun dred and fifty to eight hundred tons surface displacement should be built in future, lie urged also that no ad ditional fleet submarine* of the twelve hundred ton type be built until the Schley, the first of these, has been tried out. Hepeewefitative Htevens of Cali fornia devetofted from Admiral Grant Dial there are now bat three Mihmartne* to defend the whole Uarittc cnaat, while la the ad- mlral'a opinion fort)-eight were aerrokary to fully defend that coaM. Further questioning brought from Admiral Grant the statement that ”1 think our strategic enemy would be met in the Atlantic." To illustrate the difficulties of submerging quickly a boat three hun dred and fifteen feet long, such as the proposed twenty-live-knot steam sub marines, Admiral Grant said that if It waa attempted to send them down at an angle of thirty degrees the Itowa would be one hundred and fifty feet below the surface while the stern was still on top. Of course, he added, they would never be sent down except at an angle of a very few degrees and would submerge virtually on an even keel. An error in case of pressing emergency, however, he pointed out, might send her down so her bows would be crushed by the pressure of the water before her stern was out of sight. Bids for the construction of two flfteen-hundred-ton sea-going * sub marines. the largest ever designed by the navy department, will be opened soon. Specifications for the boats provide that-they must have a mini mum surface speed of twenty 'knots and a possible speed of twenty-five: that they shall not exceed a cost of fifteen hundred thousand dollars each; may be either ateam or oil pro pelled. It Is understood, however, that the department has derided to accept bids for twenty-knot boats, not insisting on more speed and has ’abandoned'the idea of steam propul sion. Difficulty of raj^id submersion of the steam-driven vettfiels of providing necesaary equipment for dissipating the gases and fumes thrown off by the engines and of making Ihq.yessel habitable when submerged, have in fluenced American naval experts agajnst experimenting with vessels of such drive power. in view of divergence -of opinion as to what type of submarineJs best suited to the needs of the United States, Secretary Daniels has decided that the further construction of larg er vessels shall depend principally.oh the result of the experiments of ttiose to. be bid for and of the Schley. Until tiie results of these are known, it is expected that the department will not design submarines of more titan eight hundred tor^ Rear Admiral Grant, the subma rine flotilla commander, and the first sea duty officer to appear at the hearings, told the House committee Monday that he believed the present type of American submarine should be abandoned and only large boats of at least eight hundred tons 'surface displaceiheht 6e constructed in fu ture. German boats of thl* size, he T ships at the conference last week. As the German communication was placed before the secretary, It includ ed, with a single exception, all changes suggested by Secretary Lan- wSing. The exception was of minor Importance and Mr. Lansing was rep resented as saying he did not see that It differed materially from the word ing suggested by ths-UnRod States. German diplomatic plrcles aeemed tude of the state department. It waa loaisted that the German and Aus trian memoranda regarding th* In tention to sink armed merchant ship* were prompted tty the American memosandnm and that had. aot the latter beea toned the eealral pewe •ever woald ha*e mads their a aouaeeaaat.. . > in the oervlce from top to bottom was working aa hard with their heads and hands to prepare the fleet for active service.” • At another point Representative Britten asked why the department had not attempted to- speed up de livery of ships now hnder construc tion. Capt McKean said this waa a matter for the contractors and the department bad little power. If the rontrectors were penalised, he said, rongrese always revoked the sen tence. “1 think your flies will show. Mr. Britten.** he said, “that no penalty has ever been Impoeed upon a eon- tractor. hut thqt It waa rebated aoon- er or later by aa act of congreee. They may have to wait fifteen years, but they get It beck.” LEYER BILL FAYORED Requires Month!) NtaUaUrs ee to Oet- The leaver bill to direct the < bureau to collect and publish statis tics of cotton and cotton eeed pro* ducts waa ordered favorably report ed Thursday by the House agricul tural committee. ^ Passage of the Lever bill would re quire the census bureau to publish monthly statistics as to the quantity of cotton seed received at oil mills, the quantity of cotton seed crashed et such mills, the quantity of cotton seed products and refined oil obtaia- ed, the quantity of these products shipped out by these mills and quanti ties held by refiners, manufacturers and users. Statistics showing the quantity of cotton seed and cotton seed products Imported sad exported also would be collected. The Lever bill has the support of the census bureau, the cotton seed crushers’ associations of the country, the cotton farmers, and the cotton seed trade generally. Representative Lever told the committee that cotton Is more readily manipulated than grain and that the bill would benefit producers most of all. Mr. Lever said one New York brokerage firm spends one hundred thousand dollars annually in collect ing cotton statiatica and large sums also were spent by other concerns, but that the government’s figures were The moat accurate of all, and that without them the private statis tics might be manipulated for wrong ful purposes. The additional statis tics sought under the bill would cost only ten thousand or fifteen thousand dollars annually, he said. BERNSTORFF PRESENTS NOTE Indications are That Latest Draft' Is Agreeable. ^ ' *• Count von Bernstorff, the German ambassador, Wednesday presented to Secretary Lansing the latest draft oT the Lusitania agreement,- embodying the changes suggested by the Ameri can government and also one.change suggested by Berlin. The indications were that the agreement in its pres ent-form-probably would be accept able to the United States. When % Count von Bernstorff came from Mr! Lansing’s office after a visit of \ess than ten minutes, he said: “Gentlemen, I refer you to the sec retary ol state.” Almost at the same time Mr. Lan sing sent ont this message: “I have nothing to say.” Count von Bernstorff presented formally the draft of the agreement and It is understood was informed It could not be accepted as final until It had been submitted to President Wil son. The Indications werr. It seem ed, satisfactory to Secretary Lansing. r . » a »■ : z_- Indfvnalikw. Zeppelin RafcL The French and British minister* to Greece have gives assurances to the Greek government that th* Allies will pey indemnities he all and private