Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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WTf . THE WABUST WEEK ATTACKS ON VERDIN SHIFT FROM ONE SUE TO ANOTHER FORT CAN BE CAPTURED Ksp^rt Katlower In Tke New York Time* Say* Teutons Can Have tt If TUef Pay the IVlce—Lofses are E Ai»|iallla4{—German Infantry neat in tfae World.. Ih the curtain about to be rung down ou the battle of Verdun? This is the question that arises as a re sult of the week's operations on the wootnra front, and is probably the most interesting question that has solicited answer for many months, indeed, it might be said without ex aggeration, since the battle of the Marne We could not possibly have a better insight into the true con dition of Germany or, in fact, of the Allies than the correct answer would giro us. If the battle Is over, one thing about which there has been a great deal of discussion need be discussed nk longer, for it will be a fact post- tljrely proved. No matter what Ger- ntany may do, it is Impossible that she should win the war. A tie, and a settlement on the basin of the status quo ante, ntill would remain a possibility. Hut a victory would be beyond conception. J have contended In these reviews from the beginning that. If the coa- lencene* of tbe Allies could not be broken by Independent peace. Ger many had no chance to win. W« ran even disregard the matter of I still contend that the Germans point of attack. One day Douau- ean taka Verdun If they are 'willing mont is rsported again to be under to pay the price, provided only that heavy Ora. The next day Vatu la they have the prion to pay. Bat the price la beyond all reason, and tbe French will exact every farthing of it. And Germany realises the neces sity and the cost. A day or two ago I aaw a letter from a city in Germany, written by a well educated woman, dated March 3. r It stated that the aqnouncement was made on February 38 that Ver dun had fallen. This in Itself la suf ficient proof that German official dom realises that the military party must make good to the German peo ple. The German official reports which are published In the American press are, too, obviously written for civil ian consumption. There in a ten dency, which an analysis of these re- porta will show, greatly to exagger ate the Importance of a given jxisl- tlon which the Germans have taken by creating the impression that it has some peculiar strategic valae to the French and. to themselves. Witness, for example, the reports In regard to Douaumont. Now the real value of the Douaumont posi tion Is, as refernce to any large scale map will show, not In Douau mont Itself, but In what la known an the plateau of Douaumont, which rises Immediately in rear of the town and la a commanding position and truly a part of the main line of French defenses. Nothing of this can, be gleaned from the German offi cial reports. The Germane have never reached this platean, yet all their reports of the early fighting dilate on the Im portance not of the plateau but of the town Itself, which In, with the possible exception of minor outskirts. In Gorman hands. Germany In hard pressed, bat more ntlll apparently puszlnd just what to do. Hhe has glvra the best she had, hut It Is not good enough. She has concentrated an array of artillery against the Ver&gn position that no troops In any war have ever faced. Hut the French have withstood It In ■ms, la which the Alltee have such nn overwhelming potential superior-psplte of the tremendous moral effect ity Men, after all. have proved to of heavy shell fire, and when It was b«. la a great measure, socondhry In over, still had the ability to stand modera war.* < oaatdering bat the two mala factor* lhal affect modern fight- tag im a large scale, mosey aad maslUoaa, the inobtllxatio* of flsaace* aad of manufartsrlng la- dmrfrtv*. Geraiaay falls so far be low the minercee of the AUtes that the losger the arer lasts the sners bopHese Iww position be- Tbs Jsatlhcatios of this point ol view, tbe proof of It beyond tbe shadow of a doaht this Is what the steady under the charges of tho Ger man Infantry. And tbe German* have the heel Infantry la the world. 1 <et there he no ml*take ahoet that. The I .erriian*. herenae of the < iemiss system, raa do things which no J other Infantry la the world forced to do. I do nol believe that with all the bravery of the French, with all tbe bulldog grU of the Kngllsh with alt the Impetuosity of tho Americas, the Infantry of any of’these countries battle of Verdno will prove If It rw | rouW not t* charge again salts In a German check Hwrh a and again over the bodies of their ,Sf*a wo^d be n atwtows I its wen dead and wounded comrade* In tbe tWcel nil the more etwloae bM-aaae face of tbe truly awful lira that the It weald be something that (iermaay French 76a and the Franch machine hide before the world, kuna and rifles have ponced Into tbe etpiaia eves with all the German rank* Ity «f her press ageats j It la not that tbe German* are It would fed aa admission of what morn courageous It Is doe rather to the Allies have conalotenlly claimed a- that Germany's light was dimmed at the I .lege and Namur when the Rainer'* troops were bald up and de layed for prectous days and was gitisrly ectingulsfeed at the Mama Germeey has made the battle of Verdaa her greet effort, the greet eel ef the war. All the terrible marhla- rry of war that German and Aus trian minds hsve evolved has been tried The great guns that made ssob abort shrift of the supposed Impregnable fortresses of the Del- gtaa cities hsve been brought Into piay. concentrated In numbers that no other section of the battle arse oa any front has seen. Great gua* aad email, ail cali bres. tboaaaads of marl line gun*, sweet ateeaee of Infantry. F’*** forward la sarrenaive waves aad eafferiag taoonrrtvnbie lueses, Isa re brew thrown forward time aad time again against the French Mae. Tbe potsosos* gases, barred by lateraatioeal agreement, but Intru de erd by Germany with such ter rific effect in frost of Ypre*. have been thrown forward In rlos<l* avtw tho French poelLi«mn. liquid fires Nhootiag out ahead of the et- tmking infantry Uko so many gigantic dragon.*' tongues, have seared Uie French Infantry as they manned their rifles. Nothing a a* omitted, no machine not run to rapacity. Hut (he French Hue is 4 still intact. All of Germany's alliou and the German public either knows now or ooon will know how serious and tre mendous the German effort haa been. If it fails, Germany has told them all most doq neatly that she can do nothing on the western front but ex- art every effort to hold her own. What the effect of such an admis-j seems to have been taken from the /doB will be no one can foretell. That German attack. The week has-been Germany, with all the boasting that ominously quiet. There have been lias been done by her clever and sporadic artillery engagements on all tireless press agents, could possibly, parts of the front from Avocourt to retain the prestige which she has Fresnea, but no consistent, followed- croated through her many successful ( up attack has been made. The ln- and brilliant feats of arms Is impos- fantry has been generally quiet. The blkle. meaning of this Is, to say the least, And the Verdun battle is really a uncertain. It may be a breathing battle for prestige, a moral battle just as much as It Is a battle with war material. The worst of It is that now the moral effect against Germany if she loses will be greater Uian the effect on her enemy. Kach day that the fight is pro- longed makes It more and more necessary that Germany should win and at the same time lessens her chances of winning. As I stated in tbs fundamental dlffsrwars lu thalr habits of thought Tho Germ as war machIns has oot tbs flailblllty nor tbs ladtvtdssllrm that marks tba military forcss of tba othar nations Tho German la not brought up to bellava In ludlvlduallam but to obsy tbe command of hla superiors It matters not what that command may ba or wbero It lands. It may ba right. It may ba wrong. It may apring from an Ignoraaco of eondUlona or from an uttor disregard of fact* Hut to tba German, aa bo Is trained. It Is a command and must tharofore be obeyed Thla habit of mind lands Itself peru'Urly to the German mass tac tics, which hsve been discarded by nil other military peopla. The re sult Is that If tbe enemy Is able to reelst tho ahock of the mass and Is not overawed through the moral ef fect, he Is able by the use of quick- firing artillery and tho machine gun to inflict the maximum punishment on tho offensive troops. It Is the American knowledge of German tactics that makes all Amer ican writers on the war Incredulous as to the reports of the Germans sus taining amall losses Realising that the loss of'the French and the Hrlt- Ish In the few days of fighting In the Champagne and about l^na I at Sep tember was close to 300,000 men. It is hard to conceive how the German losses during the days since the at tack on Verdun was begun on Fbb ruary 21 can be any less. Indeed, If we ever get reliable reports of tho German casualties in this six weeks’ fight the casualties will prove to be considerable greater. To return to thw question of whether the battle of Verdun Is about to be concluded, it is probable that It is not as yet and really will not be for some time. Hut the sting —« aw assas/ ww «I>ell, a temporary lull in a battle wldch will presently break ont with all the fury of the initial days. The jise of artillery on the enor mous scale that has been prevalent in this fight puts an enormous strain on the transportation facllitise for bringing up ammunition. Human flesh and blood wear 3own and need revitalizing. Changes In _ position demand redistribution of the first of these reviews dealing artillery. These things In themselves with the Verdun fighting, a surprise Attack can only he successful If it Succeeds at once. An attack in force, Meh as the Verdun attack Is, can only be successful if It succeeds be fore the defense can have the time and opportunity to 'bring up the needed reserves and aiiimunttion. TTie Frwwrh have had ta ut sagpriwe which existed for the first two days <»f tho fighting exists oe leafier, aad they have had all fifce (Mae neeeaaary to brtafi ap ail la require occasional suspension of at tacks. and J the fact that such sus pension has occurred Is not, there fore, an indication that the attack haa been abandoned. The most significant indication 'f the disturbed state of mind that the Germans are in is the way the at tacks have shifted. First, on one rocelvihg tke tSennaa attention; the next the eaet bank of the river le quiet end the flghtin* le conoen- trated about Avocourt. The only fiain seconded by the Germans dnriafi tbe week bee been a part, aad very possibly the larger pari of tbe town of Malaacourt. That the Germane selected this as the point of attack la in itself an ac knowledgment that their operations on the west bank of the river were not progreaelng according to sched ule. Reference to last Sunday's review will show the German line, after their successes In thla region, ex tending from Regnleville along the road from Cumleres to Bethincourt, running along the northern elope of I^e Mort Homme. From Bethincourt, It ran Just north of the Forges- Malancourt road to a point a few hundred yards to the west of the lat ter place. Flsre It turned south, ex tending to the Esnes-Avocourt road, which it paralleled. Thus Is seen the double salient described last Sunday. This cnafigaradoB of battle line is a very familiar one to tbe Germans. It is such a line that they themselves are facing at Leas, It la sach a line as they lavartably tried to create in their operations against Has*la dur ing the summer and which they in variably turned to their advantage by driving the two points of the sali ents toward each other and forcing the evacuation of tbe territory In be tween. Obviously, tt la the simplest method of advance once the salients have been created. The 'Germans, however, at both points are in the woods, and ap parently the fire of the French has been so directed as to prevent their debouching. Moreover, one of the points la the commanding position of Le Mort Homme, which the Germane have Ineffectually tried to take et a heavy toll In men. At say rate, Uie Preach have made It seem for the time tiring Impossible for the (lermaa* to roaaect the two. Finding this to he the situation the Germans have tried to break Uie line Joining Malaaronrt and Hethlncourt by a frontal attack. The advantage of the •alleat la Urns lost. ( Malanrourt ban. to be sure, bean almost entirely taken, but It la an other case where the German report makes vary good reading for the civilian popalatlon at home without meaning anything In a military sen*# Malanrourt. of Itself, has no value The only vein# to be fouad In this success line In the fact that tt brlnga the Germans a few yards near er to a French .position, which le ee- doebtedly causing them considerable tronhle. This position le a amall plateau amounting to hit little more than a hilltop about five haadred yards southwaet of the tows, from which the Franch ha vs been ablo to bom bard tba German lines north of Ih i Bethincourt-Malanrourt road. Tbto hilltop, like La Mort Homms. le not a part of tbe main French position sod baa no strategic value. It hea. however, conslderale tac tical value end le e point that tke Germans would llko to clean oet aa they have the other advanced French poets It la now surrounded on throe sides, forming e amall and very sharp aalieut In the French lines, whlcfe Is only n few hundred yards wide. If the Germans press the at tack there H will probably fell qelcfcty. Even so. however, the tlte st to a Is not materially altered. Early last week—the week begtn- alog March SO—the Russians began to show great activity In tbe Riga and Jacobstadt regions. The reasons for this move at this time of the year are variously given. It is en tirety possible that It la aa echo of the Ycrdua fighting, tho lUu wishing to take adxaatago of Gcw- aiaa preoccupation la the went to take control of the eastern situation before Uie tiermana had an oppor tunity to seise the Initiative. Whether thla Ruaalan move la to be developed to the point where It le a serious attempt to break the Ger man linee la not yet apparent. It le claimed from Berlin that It la an absolutely neceseary move In ordtr to prevent a retirement over a wide front by reason of the spring floods It la claimed in thla report that the Ruaalan lines run through very lo ground, particularly In the lake re gion south of Dvinsk, and that when the spring thaws come the ground they hold Is flooded and Impossible of occupation. Therefore, It la said, the Russians must either retire to escape the flood or fight their way forward to higher ground. It la not probable, however, that the Russians consider a serious movement at this time. Spring Is rather late in Northern Russia, so the measure of success in any event would be small. But the Russians have so much more to gain by put ting their surplus energy Into the Armenian campaign that It would not seem logical to draw to any ex tent whatever from this field in order to initiate an offensive on a large scale elsewhere. The Russians know the fighting power of the Germans too well to think that tfyey can make any seri ous inroads Into their lines without summoning their maximum strength for Uie effort. As long as the Turks are being driven before them it would seem more logical lo continue ,fn this field and attempt to enter Turkey by the back door than to weaken the eastern army at this stage. . . As the Russian plans have not de veloped to the point where any ac curate Judgment can be formed, tt Is rather a waste of time to speculate 4n regard to them. There la this further consideration ( however, to be measured for what it Is worth. The German failnre at Verdun Is already AEHIALJAilFSRE LONDON EDITOR SAYS IT IS MORE OF A SCIENCE 1 ZEPS SAFE FROM BULLETS Rifle Fire From Ground and Machine Gun-Armed Aeroplanes are Futile Against Big Dirigibles—Anti-Air- • i craft Guns Effective. * t* . :;”T“ A. G. Grey, editor of the Acre- plane, chief magazine on aerial af fairs in Great Britain, writes; As the war goes on., fighting In the air becomes ,more and more of a science and less of a sporting venture, and undoubtedly the Germans are teaching us a lot in this matter. Fighting in the air includes not only scraps between individual aircraft, but also fighting aircraft from the ground, and I gather that a good many people are still under the Im pression that airships cap be brought down by rifle bullets. After one of the recent raids I heard of a soldier at a training camp over which an airship passed who was quite annoyed because ammuni tion had not been served out so that the occupants of tbe camp could fire at the airships. As he put it, “all we could do was to hope for a chance of stabbing the thing." As a matter of fact. If the troops had fired at the airship with rifles they conld not possibly have done it any harm; they would merely have brought upon themselves a rain of bombs by betraying their where abouts. As It was, the ship passed u ver them without knowlpg they were there. It le of roarwe, equally futile to think of Mending up neroplaue* arm ed with marliine gun* again*! air- *hlpa, and even Inrendlary bullet* ran have little effect again*! Kep|>o- llna, owing to the short raogfc of the weapons needed to fire such bullets their level, and if lie pursues his course he Is quite as likely to come down~to their level in front of them, where'he would be an easy mark for their guns, as he is to come down where he Is sheltered by their tall. Naturally the machine defending itself Jhue must not be really slow, otherwise, of course, It would be out manoeuvred In any case. But what I wish to convey Is that an aeroplane which can manoeuvre quickly and can carry a couple of machine guns, or even one, Is not really at any dis advantage when attacked by a ma chine which Is only ten to twenty miles an hour faster. Of course, when It Is a matter of sending up a machine which can only do seventy miles an hour or so and asking it to tackle with a single ma chine gun another which docs any thing between one hundred and one hundred and twenty-five miles an hour, the fight is.not a fair one. That really Is one of the arguments against the inherently stable, or non- oapslzable, aeroplane of which we have heard so much at times. The non-capsizable machine may be a “lifeboat of the air,” so far as the comfort and safety of the crew are concerned while they are actually flying, but that very quality of sta bility Is bound to make It slow in. manoeuvring, so that It cannot de fend itself In the manner I have en deavored to describe, and It frequent ly happens that the pilot smashes his machine, and with It his passen ger, through Inability to pull It out of a tight ebrner when landing In or getting out of unfavorable grounds. For passenger-carrying after the war such machines may be wholly excellent, but In war time there Is much to be said for absolute con trollability. BRITISH SHIP WAS FLEEING WHEN GERMANS TORPEDOED IT GERMAN DRIVE BROKEN BY CURTAIN OF SHELLS French Say Savage Offensive of • Grown Prince on Malancowrt * WM'Made Ineffectual. After a slx days’ lull the Germans resumed the offensive at Verdun Tuesday with redoubled energy. To hide their plans they had been shell ing the whole Verdun front impar tially for a week, but the French staff expected an attack from the west of the river and had made all preparations. Their surmise was justified. The German effort was confined to a section, hardly more than half a mile in width, between Avocourt and Malancourt,. the artillery" poured a hail of shells on this short line all morning in preparation for the In fantry attack, laupched ' at three o’clock in the aftedpoon. The attacking misses, about a dipi- sion strong, dashed over the ground ploughed up by the shells, apparent ly expected an easy victory. They reckoned, however, without the French infantry and the French light artillery, skilfully sheltered from the bombardment. The French infantry Held off the Germans with rifle and machine gun fire while the leventy-flves threw a curtaih of shells which prevented re serves from -approaching. Again the gray-coated waves surged forward, 1 only to be broken against the stout resistance of the defenders. The ob ject of the Germans was to force the French to evacuate the village of Malancourt. the heights surrounding which the Germans already hold. They failed completely. It la af firmed, and the French hold Malan- court salient as firmly as ever. Owe of KngH*tiinan Appear* Settled. SuMiet Still Haags as Sus pended Sword, The British horse shim Englishman was shelled and then torpedoed by n German submarine, arrording to gif;- and the probability that the bullet* davits made to representatives of the themselves would nq| net light to the stats department nt Liverpool by hydrogen, bat woura merely fall three Amertenn survivors. On the re- hnrmlessly into the air spare between celpt of this Information Wednesday tbe gas bag and the outer skin of the officials said It seemed clear that the ship Even If they penetrated tha!Englishman had tried to escape TH VILLA MURDEtS 117 Garrison at Guerrero Said to Have Been ltutlile**ly Slain. After kilting men In the g: Villa moved now Is son asters tl I’d at Si Villa gas bag Itself they probably would go out. because hydrogen will aot burn unless there Is a certain quant ity of air mixed la. it Ttie only pmelMe project lie* aga!anc alrddpn are sheila fr*Hw •at Lai remit gun* or from qutrk- ■rem—wot machine gun*——carried either la other airship* or la big a emplane*, and. of mar diary burnt side of the. Menae. then on the other, reported a* lyfljlag its effect oa H*e ifcotl RalLan Stale*. Needle** to *ay, the bardlng the French lines aa If trying Runalaa victories la Armenia have search but a weak apqt. But the- also aroaeed suoptriaae aa to the Infantry now Is rarely sent forward * outcome of the war. Thesa • artillery bombardments j If tbe French continue to ho<d out have apt proved, aa eaa would aua- at Vordua, aa sow seems likely. It pact, a preparation for tho Infantry' would add, tremendously to tho prao- attork. At least oot Id the general' Ugo of tho Allies to the Balkans If Kof have they beso Assigned ; Roasts, altar all she has suffered hi the raal > German has4a. shoe >4 Fights between aeroplanes ere. of coarse, altogether another matter Here tbe merhlae gun la probably the moot effective weeoa. becanee II la poaetble to pump a stream of bal lets lato enemy aircraft Ilk* eqafrt- lag water out of a hoe*. I have even heard of on# officer who re turned from a flight and wa> noted officially aa “slightly wounded." hts wounds consisting of flva distinct scratches on one aid* of hla face, each from n separate bullet from tba enemy's machine gun. I gather that tbe enemy machine wna n Fokker, end, panning the usual tactics, the pilot flew straight up behind the British machine and then aimed the gun by manoeuvring tbe machine to suit, the five different scratches thus being caused by slight variations In the longitudinal path of tbe attacking machine. Aa a matter of fart tbe high speed single-neater aeroplane armed with a fixed gun Is deadly simply because of Us speed, and not because of any possibility of accurate shooting. Incidentally I hear that the much- advertised Fokker monoplane la now In Us turn losing pride of place In the German air fleet to small biplanes somewhat almilar In type to the small “tabloid" biplanes which have done such good service in the Royal Flying Corps and the Naval Air Service, but fitted with a very much larger engine, and very much faster than any but a few of the Allies' machines. It ISTliowever, possible to circum vent even these personally conducted projectiles, provided the machine which Is being attacked answers Its controls quickly and is easy to ma noeuvre, for if the slower machine dodges suddenly to one side the fast- pursuing machine must shoot past it to avoid a collision, and the gunner of the machine which Is attacked then has a chance of getting in a stream of bullets as the other passes him; and If, as Is frequently the case, the attacked aeroplane has two machine guns—one for the passenger and one for the pilot—there is every prospect of bringing the other ma chine down. It Lias been stated by various writ ers, quite correctly, that the favorite method of attack of the fast German machines Is to get high above their victims and then dive almost verti cally at them, pumping out a stream of bullets the while and manoeuvring so that the bullets from a cone of fire from which tae lower machine can not escape. If, however, the lower machine happens to have a conpie of machine guns which can fire ver tically upward they have at-least as good a chance of hitting the man above. If the German fails to bring dowo his enemy in the course of the dive he then endeavors to get underneath the enemy's tail and fire straight along the machino from end to end. but qome pilots have found that by throwtnit their machine* right over onto a alng-tlp and spinning round and round ia the IT*. ^ Awbwxerine wee ofwreUag wttbia the lew la ihetllMg aad u>rpc*|<>tnx the Dlacllahatee If the vriwel mm fleriac 10 earap* rapt err. a* official* taferrrd fn hi the <1t*patrh. Tbe Uerataa cover*meat baa beea asked whether Its aahautriae | coereraed la the nlaklng of the Eng 11 eh Mae or tbe daamgtag of the British r ban nol steamer Saxeet while the ship wee carrying |ar**ty-flt* Americas passenger*. While It to indicated that lb* case of tbe Englishman will not lead to difficulties between the United Slates and Germany, If It in proved she ana escaping, overnight dlapntcbea ta the stale depart meat from Dover seem, officials sold, to beer oat ellegatloaa that the ('usees wee torpedoed American consular representatives, It'waa aald la the dispatches, had obtalaed from survivors at Itoier affidavits coaSrmlac tboaa made by other survivors la Fraacs. The con- teats of tbe dispatches was not dis closed by tbe stnts department, bat tt us* said the affidavits were being forwarded by tbe Officials' who bad gathered them. den II •d to nnatl n verj ot.a of the 117 garrifton at Guerrero, orthward Thursday and where near tbe head- Santa Maria river, ac- offlclal Information ob- Antoato. Texaa, by Oea. mday night * aid to have been either ieronlmo ranch or tbe rb at tbe bead of a cop • and troop* of both the i and Mexico were tx- loeiag la oa Mm, This arded by Gen. ms iter It i i \ •* priii ppeared pr»b- *a either will pursuer* ta a fight r break through the >f troops isaault on tbe garri- > ■ as tbe same en- -ported by Gea. Perublng iwn. bat It was consider tare tho action reported ’re' THREE FAST TRAINS CRASH TOGETHER KILLING THIRTY f a* probably t If < able that v# have to fact or make an< ughteaian I Whether eon nt Guei gagenieot r« as* not kn< *d likely, a by Oea Pershing occurred Marrh 27. •omeehere In that region Details of the engagement were aot reported Gen Pershing baa been advised of the report a* to Villa's location and It ta known that the disposition of bin troop* and those of the Mexican government are sorh that Villa can not easily escape without a fight American troop* are converging la columns from the north and It was a led that a part of them had so far south that they wpuld be to Join with tbe Carraaxa force* Indie gone able In prevet direction. >g' hla la that Morning Wreck Near (Vveland. Ohio, Caused by Fog Obscuring Signal*. Thirty persons w'ere killed and more than forty Injured early Wed nesday when three fast passenger STUDIES CARRANZA PROTOCOL While Awaiting Complrtioa KeJImari Vocation May he Takca Up. There are Indications that the check in the protocol negotiations resulting from Gen. Carrnnxs's coun ter-proposals may extend that dis trains on the New York Central lines, cu “ ,on * week or more, went together near Amherst, thirty- t . G 7', n arra , n fw 8 8U «* cs ! ioM tt3 “> seven miles west of Cleveland. Ohio, j ! he 1101,1,18 tte Protocol app&rent- Dense fog obscured the signal set 18re n 8 , eri0u *. Bt 1 ud y 81 1 tho state department. While officials are reticent, it is understood the most Important suggestion deals by the first section of an eastbound Pittsburg-Baltlmore-Buffklo limited, and a second nection of thi ? train crashed into It. A moment later the fast Twentieth Century Limited, westbound on ; nother tract, crashed Into the wreckage. Daylight had not appeared when the three trains piled up. Farmers and villagers, rushed to the assistance of the stricken passengc-s. The work ['with the scope of the agreement. It is thought possible Gen. Carranza desires to set narrower limits than had been agreed upon in the origi nal draft. It was indicated that Gen. Car ranza's proposals showed np desire to exclude the expedition from use of the Mexican railway's. , On the of rescuing those pinioned under the contrary the protocol wouid estab- wreckage was hampered by the dark ness. Ambulances, automobiles and all kinds of vehicles were rushed from Elyria and other points to the scene of the wreck. The little morgue at Amherst soon was filled with bodies. Most of the injured-were conveyed to Elyria. The Twentieth Century pro ceeded on its way to Chicago. None of the passengers on this train was injured. USING CARRANZA’S ROAD V. S. to Try Arrangement at Hand ^ ' Before Seeking Enlargement. Gen. Carranza's agreement for commercial use of the Mexican North western railroad for transportation of supplies to the American expedi tion hunting Villa will be given a fair trial, and in the meantime the United States will not press for an extension or additional definition of the arrangement. Gen. Fungton has been instructed to proeqed with shipments to Gen. Pershing's column* under such con ditions aa the Carranza authorities lisji a definite agreement for just that purpose. As this may tako some time to reach Its final form Wash ington officials determined t> press for separate permission to use cer tain lines south from the border. rirctes they cannot only keep their machine gum trained on th* man above, but ran practically fore* the enemy to go wide of tbsm. simply becana* be caaaot pell ahsr* their tall is going to bo nr baa bo pfeecribe and the determination to —ullnat pamiklx * u,or<; u, o .- tv.-n.no re.^-ntiv tout a victory of any tmportai ro tt w*aid. lo a way. fe* aa opp art salty ing will not be carried ont unless it is found Impracticable to transport ■up*’lie* promptly and aafely. F x press Is Mold. William M Barrett, praaldoi tba Adams Ex?ran* company ha Bogorad that th* •ortsomfog tM lo (ho fe? French. Paris declares, ’however, that the attempt* aer* fruitless it *f. Otlorae Trwp* ia (MkdUno. Tbs troop* at Svatow aad Cha- < ho* Fa. la Ifea province of Kwaag Tone. Chtoa. declared thstr *--*i P»o4aara *f tfe* central go*oram«at March 2f Th* U ailed But** Wiimiagim u *oa b SMALL FIGHTING IN WEST No Great Attacks, But Nibbling by Roth Sides Continue. ^—*-• Fighting continues between the British and Germans along the Brit ish end of the French line. Near St. Eiol, German grenade throwers have reached a part of a mirte crater held by the British. Near Ijoesfhghe tho British put down an attempted at tack by the Germans. • , After having pushed back the French lines along the westerly bend of the salient in the Malancourt re gion northwest of Verdun, the Ger mans have desisted from further ef- foxts to advance there. Farther to tho west, however, th* crown prince’s infantry again has been 'counter attacking In the Avo- court wood, several assault* having been launched in efforts to retake to ihw