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^ ' & ??p Hamburg lirralii jl| On? Dollar and a Half a Year. BAMBERG, S. C., THURSDAY, JANUARY 31, 1918. Established 1891. COUNTRY NEWS LETTERS SOME INTERESTING HAPPENINGS IN VARIOUS SECTIONS. News Items Gathered All Around the l County and Elsewhere. ' . Ehrhardt Etchings. Ehrhardt, Jan. 29.?The Carolina Gin company started up again last week, finishing up the 1917 crop of cotton, which was a record breaker lor this section?and such beautiful weather last fall for gathering. All, as a general thing, graded middling ur uenci. The town is sure up against it with the lighting plant. It seems as if the engine is about worn out as it will not pull the generator sufficiently to give a good light. It has heen running just long enough to give the town a good taste of being well lighted and now how it is regretted even with just one night's darkness. Why not some of our capitalists install an up-to-date power plant, using steam for power to pull the generator? It is a good investment. The moon is the only lighting monopoly that never made mon ey?some one get busy. Last Wednesday Messrs. J. C. Kinard, J. F. Chassereau, F. H. Copeland and A. L. Baxter left on the 2:15 train for Ashepoo to enjoy an outing and deal with the finny tribe, k It is remembered how it rained and . froze those two days last week and they left in the ice. They returned Friday and to ask any of them about the "luck" they would hang their l$eads arid walk off, good as to say "fish do not wear overcoats." Mr. and Mrs. C. P. McTeer and son Herman, of Green Pond, motored up Sunday, spending the day with relatives and friends. They returned home in the afternoon. Mr. C. S. Henery, who for some years has been cashier of the Farmers & Merchants Bank, was called to the army last fall to Camp Jackson. He is now off on his first fur. lough and is visiting friends in town. Mr. Jeff L. Ashe, of Orangeburg, , was in town last Saturday and Sun day. Mr. and Mrs. Harry E. Copeland, of Summerton, visited Harry's parents, Mr. and Mrs. W. R. Copeland, last week. , The war's fuel restrictions have the business men on the "hard" by not allowing them to- burn fuel on Mondays. The clerks are well pleased with it?two "Sundays" per week to rest and see their girls. The weather man got some rest last Friday and Saturday as the sun was out good and warm, but Sunday morning found him at his post?rain Sunday, Monday partly cloudy and Tuesday cold again. JEF. Colston Clippings. Colston, Jan. 29.?We are glad to see warm weather and days of sunshine for the first time in many weeks. Mr. Albert Clarke, of Asheville, N. C., visited relatives in this section last week-end. Mr. Talbert Padgett and Miss Easter Padgett, of Bamberg, were at home Sunday. Miss Minnie Kirkland spent Saturday night with Miss Laura McMil/ lan. Miss Bessie Kirkland was the pleasant guest of Miss Mary Clayton Saturday night. ? The Sunday guests at the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. F. Kearse were: Misses Minnie Kirkland, Laura McMillan and Eloise Kirkland, of Olar. Rev. D. H. Owings, of Ehrhardt, dined at the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. C. McMillan Friday Mr Duncan Beard, of Savannah, was suddenly called home last week , on account of the death of his father. j Mr. G. W. Beard. Miss Bessie Folk and Messrs. John, Hammie and George Folk dined at ^ the home of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Clayton Sunday. The friends of Mrs. Molly Kearse will regret to learn that she is very ill. 1KH1DLIU1. An old negro woman, standing by the grave of her husband, shook her head and said mournfully: ''Poor Rastus! I hope he's gone where I 'speck he ain't."?Judge. Government estimates of the production of petroleum in the United States in 1917 place it at nearly 14 per cent, greater than any previous year. I y WARNS AGAINST OFFENSIVE. Baker Says U-Boats Are Being Befitted for Blow Against America. Washington, Jan. 27.?Warning that the Germans are preparing for a great submarine offensive against the American lines of communication with France in connection with the impending Teutonic drive against the west front, is given by Secretary Baker in his weekly military review made public tonight by the war department. Recently there has been a marked in t Vl a mini hor n f A lliprl Ut-Vi XIX vuv uuili WV4 V?. merchant ships sunk by submarines. The explanation for this is found n the withdrawal of submarines in preparation for the coming thrust on land and sea. The review says: "As the time draws near, when once again the enemy will endeavor to strike a decisive blow in the west, it must be emphasized that he will not be content with mere military operations on a large scale. "During the last fortnight enemy submarines have been called to home ports to be refitted, and the most powerful submarine offensive hitherto undertaken may be expected to be launched against our lines of communication with France, to interrupt the steady flow of men and munitions for our owq armies and food supplies for the Allies. More Active on Land. "During the period under review renewed activitv along the entire western front is noted. "The region bordering the North sea has once again become the scene of severe fighting. "A carefully coordinated operation, undertaken by British monitors acting in concert with land batteries in the area north of Ypres, sujected the German defenses of Osteud and surounding country to a severe bombardment. "No infantry action was attempted in this sector oy the British, but later in the week the Germans reacted sharply and directed a strong assault against the short sector of the line in the Dune area, which fringes the coast in the vicinity of Nieupoit. This attack, which must be considered something more than a simple raid, broke into the Trench lines and for a brief period the enemy detachments were able to hold their ground in tne aavancea j<rencn outposts. The French dro/e out the enemy and were able to reestablish themselves in their former positions without difficulty. "In the Italian theatre the importance of the successful French assault in the region of the Monte Tomba three weeks ago is proven by the retreat of the enemy in this area. "The enemy has abandoned an extensive tract of terrain north of the Monte Tomba, extending to the Piave. The Austrian lines now rest on the Monte Spinoncia. "It would appear that the enemy has for the time being abandoned his attempt to break through this channel to the plain. "The Austrians, while strong in th this sector, nevertheless, no longer directly threaten the key positions of the Italian line. Increasing liveliness of enemy artillery in the ValLagarina is recorded. * * * "Reports reach us of the increasing restiveness of the Slav population of Austria, more particularly the Czechs. "The general strike in Vienna and other upheavals throughout the monarchy are assuming serious proportions. "In Russia peace negotiations have continued with frequent interruptions. "In Palestine the British are extending their lines to the north and during a week advanced further in the neighborhood of Durah on a frontage of approximately four miles. "The victory of the British over the Turkish naval .forces off the Darnil J ? ucucuca uiuoi CJC 111C1111U1ICU ctS <111 event of especial military significance. "Observers coming from Constantinople very recently informed us as long as Constantinople remained under the guns of the former German cruisers Goeben and Breslau the Turks would necessarily continue under the domination of the Germans." Arrangements have been made for some relaxation of the restrictions on the exports of foodstuffs to Cuba, whose people are greatly dependent upon the United States for their food supply. Among the exports which may be licensed in limited quantities are condensed milk, butter and cheese, pork and pork products, beef and beef products, and dried fruits. GREAT AMERICAN AR BE SENT TOJF Secretary of War Bai Statement Before Co To Charges Agai Washington, Jan 2S.?America, will have an army of half a million , men in France early this year, with a million more trained and equipped ready to follow as quickly as ships can be provided to carry them and the outlook for ships is not unpromising. Secretary Baker gave this information to the nation and to the world today in a statement before the senate military committee baring much that until now has been carefully ; guarded with the army's military secrets, in answering charges that the government has broken down. From early morning until late afternoon the sercetary addressed the committee and a crowd including many members of both houses of congress gathered in a big hearing room 1 of the senate office building. He spoke extemporaneously, beginning with details of the mammoth task of building an army of a million and 1 a half, answering such complaints of 1 inefficiency as were cited by Senator Chamberlain in his recent speech and declaring that such instances were 1 isolated and not general. Some ques- 1 tions were asked and .Mr. Baker from 1 time to time had assistants to the ' unobserved staff of 15 or 20 or 25 young men, the most brilliant men in the French army?strategists, me- 1 chanical experts, experts in arms, ex- 1 perts in supplies, experts in indus- 1 try and manufactures, and they told 1 us not merely the formal and military 1 problems, but they brought over with 1 them men who were in from the beginning, in their reorganizations of their industries; in their mobilization of their industrial plants and we sat down with them in little groups until finally we collated and collected and extracted all the information which1 they could give us from their respect-! ive countries. And every country which has been brought in the war has brought that sort, or sent us that sort of staff of experts and it has been necessary to'compare notes and with this as a basis to form such an j idea as might be formed of what was | the thing for us to do over there. j Story Grew Old. "But that was not enough. They admitted that it was impossible to! draw that picture. They could de- j scribe to us and bring the specifica-! tions and drawings for a piece of ar-j tillery but they could not tell us why 1 the British theory of the use of artillery was by the British preferred;1 tn that nf thp French. Thev could ! V, v. w - - j not picture to us a barrage of heavy? howitzers as compared to a barrage ! of 75mm guns. They could not picture to us the association of aircraft,'1 balloons and mobile aircraft with ar-j tillery use. They could tell us about j it but even while they told us the j story grew old. [' "The thing they told us from the: vefy beginning to the end was that \1 this war of all others was not a static i1 thing; that our adversary was aj( veritable and agile adversary; that j' every day he revamped and changed! his weapons of attack and his meth-j! ods of defense; that the stories theyr were telling us were true when theyj left England and France, but an en- 1 4irelv different thing was probably j taking place there now and they told us of large supplies of one kind and 1 another which they had developed in France and England and which, ev en before they got tnem manuiaciur- . ed in sufficient quantity to take them 1 from the industrial plants to the ! front, were superceded by new ideas and had to be thrown into the scrap heap. "They said to us this is a moving picture, it is something that nobody 1 can paint and give us an idea of it. It is not a static thing. 1 "Therefore, it became necessary , for us to have envoys there in instant! and immediate communication and! we sent over General Pershing and j we sent with him not merely a di-i' vision of troops?to that I shall refer}1 in a moment?but we sent with him 1 ? T -- - - ^1 a-u _ ^ I pernaps i can suieiy sa.v me majui | part of the trained, expert personnel, of the army. You know the size o 1 i the official corps of the regular ar-: my in this country when the war j' broke out. Tt was a pitiful handful of}' trained men and yet it was necessary to divide them and send over to i' France officers of the highest quality j MY WILL 'RANCE, SAYS BAKER res Military Secrets in ngressmen. ? Answer nst Government so that they would be at the front and see in the workshops and in the factories and in the war offices and in the armies, where consultations would take place immediately back of the front?so that they could see the thing with their own eyes and send us back the details by cable every day of the changing character of this war. "General Pershing's staff of experts and officers over there runs into the thousands and they are busy every minute and every day that the sun rises I get cablegrams from General Pershing from 16 to 20 pages long, filled with measurements and formulas and changes of millimetre in size, great long specifications of changes in detail which were agreed upon last week and changed this week and need to be changed again, so that what we are doing at this end is attempted by using the eyes of the army there to keep up with what they want us to do. "Already you will find in your further examination into some of the bureau work of the department, some of the divisions, when they come ehown you will find that schedules were agreed upon, weapons which ivprp splppted and which we had start 3d to manufacture have been so far discarded that people have forgotten the names of them almost, and newthings substituted in their place, and those forgotten and new things in their places. "So that if one gets the idea that this is the sort of war we used to have, or if he gets the idea that this is a static thing it is entirely an erroneous idea and when you remember that we had to divide this little handful of officers that we had and >end so large a part of them to France and then think of those who remained it home, you will realize, I am sure, that those who remained here had the double duty, insufficient for either aspect of it, in numbers?and they still have this double duty?they had to go forward with manufacturers, work out'industrial relations. They had to see about supplies of rawmaterials and manufacture finished products and make from day to day alterations and changes that had to be made and they had to be ingenues with suggestions, to see whether they ?ould devise on this side something which had not been thought of over hhere "They had to be hospitable to sug-l ?estions which came from the other side; they had to confer with the foreign officers who were here and telephone for reports on specific questions. Then toward the close of the day the secretary delivered a dramatic general statement of the American war plan, telling of the coming of the allied missions, of the day and night, conferences with men from the scene of battle in which the plans now being executed were adopted and of success beyond expectations in building the army and its industrial support at home, transporting men across the *ocean, constructing railroads in France and preparing to strike the enemy with every resource at the country's command. Profound Impression Made. When Mr. Baker closed it was apparent he had created a profound imnnnnninn PtloirmOn C ll t> TTl h O T1 3 1 T1 \J1 caaiuii. vuaiiumu said so before he left the stand. There was no attempt at cross examination. The chairman proposed that the secretary be given a rest and it was virtually agreed to recall him for further examination later after the committee has completed its hearing of officers of the medical corps, aviation and other branches of the service. Scenes Already Set. "Now, gentlemen, about the plan of the war. It will be remembered that this war broke out in August, 1914. We went into it in April, _ m 1917, so that for two and one-half years, or more than two and one-half years the war had been going on. It was not as though war had broken cut between the United States and some country, each of them prior to that time having been at peace with one another and with everybody else; (Continued on page 6, column 1.) AMERICA AM) VIKXXA. Opinion Expressed That Hie Two Might l>e Able to Agree. London, Jan. 25.?"It is obvious to me," said Count Czernin, "that an exchange of views between America ft and Austria-Hungary might form the starting point for a conciliatory discussion among all States which have not yet entered into peace negotiations." Commenting on the fourteen points in President Wilson's war aims speech Count Czernih said, according to an Exchange Telegraph dispatch from Copenhagen, that Austria n uugdiv duu /unci ita ?cic vinuauj in agreement regarding the great principles for new arrangements after the war. Count Czernin qualified his statement respecting agreement with somex of President Wilson's proposals by saying that Austria-Hungary would support Germany. Austria-Hungary and America, Count Czernin said, were two belligerants whose interests were less incompatible than they seemed. He characterized the speech of President Wilson regarding war aims as an important advance toward the Austro-Hungarian view point which contained some proposals in which Austro-Hungary, would gladly join. The foreign minister said the population of Poland would decide its own fate. The Polish question must not delay peace one day. If Poland, after the war, wished to advance toward Austria-Hungary such an advance would be welcomed. Interpretation of the right of free action of peoples has caused a differ ence between Russia ana Germany, said Count Czernin, but a compromise must be reached. The differences of view were not great enough to justify abandonment of the peace negotiations. Dry Amendment is Ratified. Columbia, Jan. 26.?The senate spent yesterday morning in considering uncontested matters, after which it passed a resolution that when it adjourned it would adjourn to meet at 1:30 o'clock Tuesday. The most notable resolution ordered ratified was that introduced by Messrs. Daniel, Rector and Ducksworth in the house, ratifying the proposed amendment to the constitution of the United States. It was ordered ratified by the senate without a dissenting vote, due probably only to the fact that it had passed a second reading overwhelmingly. SPOKE FOR KAISER, SAYS "T. R." Roosevelt Characterizes Senator's Speech as Insidious. Washington, Jan. 24.?Theodore Roosevelt in a speech before the National Press Club, asserted his right to criticise the conduct of the war and declaied it to be every man's duty to expose inefficincy if it retards the work of the war making machinery. In answer to an attack made on him recently in the senate by Senator Stone he said the speech was an fjisidious effort in behalf of Germany, and that the Missouri senator had been the first to inject partisan politics into the war. German Newspaper Criticizes. The Committee on Public Information has made the following trans lation of an article appearing in the Bremer Buerger-Zeitung: "A soldier's wife who had gathered wood in the common forest of Waldkirch, near Freiburg in Breisgau, was sentenced for the offence in the following terms: " 'Mrs. Clara Ganter, on June 13, 1917 has removed from the common forest of Waldkirch, Sec I 23, one fagot of dry fir twigs of the value of 10 pfenning. In punishment thereof she is sentenced to a fine of one mark and one day's imprisonment.' "Tne nusoand or ine cuipnt nas been for three years at the front, she herself has four small children to support in the direst poverty. Similar reports of punishment should be reported in greater numbers. Our bureaucracy understands how to employ this period of shortage of wood and coal on a large scale for the benefit of the treasury.'* The winter of 1916-17 was the most disastrous the range stockmen of the West have ever known. The lamb crop for the entire West was 15 to 20 per cent, below the average, and the calf crop was considerably below normal. t I IN THE PALMETTO STATE SOME OCCURRENCES OF VARIOUS KINDS IN SOUTH CAROLINA. State News Boiled Down for Quick Reading.?Paragraphs About Men and Happenings. Governor Manning has sent/the general assembly a message in which he urges a State-wide school compulsory law. me bnerin s association or soutn Carolina held its annual meeting in Columbia Tuesday night. R. S. Patterson, of Marlboro, was elected president. Policeman Conklin of Charleston, shot and killed a negro named James Brown, Wednesday. Brown resisted arrest for begging and took away the poiceman's club. This State's proportion of the 250,000 shipbuilders to be raised in the United States is approximately 6,000. A special effort will be made to secure at least this number of men. The house has passed its bill for the abolition of the state tax commission by a good majority. The house bill would substitute a state board of assessors consisting of fourteen members, one from eaeh indioial circuit. The fight is mainly against A. W. Jones, who is described as a would-be autocrat with reference to taxation. APPROPRIATION BILL. House Gives First Reading to Measure.?Total of $3,154,758.85. Columbia, Jan. 24.?The general appropriation bill, carrying a total of $3,154,758.85, which will necessitate a levy of 8 3-4 mills on the present taxable property of the State was introduced in the House tonight and given its first reading. The budget measure last year carried a total > of $2,985,846.77, and 8 1-2 mills. The ways and means committee Dili for 1918 shows an increase of $168,910,08 over the measure of last year. The total estimates submitted to the ways and means committee was $3,442,073.71 and that body cut this down by $287,314.86. The State superintendent of education asked for a total of $561,100 for the public schools and the committee allowed $326,600. The $5,000 asked for by the State geologist was refused. The University of South Carolina asked for 185,957.80 and was allowed $143,826.36. Winthrop College's estimate was $216,244.40, and the ways and means committee allowed $196,325.86. The Citadel asked for $64,200 and the committee increased the estimate to $175,860. The Medical College of South Caro! 1 -l r ? r A /> O A J n ? 1 una asiveu ior ^u,d;u auu v\<ts allowed $47,620. The estimate for the Governor's % _ office of $17,180 was cut to $15,680, and the $50,000 requested for the law enforcement was disallowed by a vote of seven for and seven against. The Adjutant General's office is allowed $5,900 for its expenses and $45,087 for the new regiment. The Adjuntant General's office asked for $40,200 and approximately $68,000 for the regiment of State troops.. The Governor's mansion was cut from $1,950 to $500. May Vote on Bond Issue. Columbia, Jan. 25.?A sub-committee of the ways and means committee of the house, headed by E. M. Seabrook, of Charleston, as chair man, is preparing a resolution providing for submission to the people of the State in a referendum election the question of increasing the bonded indebtedness of South Carolina by $4,000,000, as recommended by Governor Manning, read to the genral assembly Wednesday night. The resolution would provide $1,000,000 for permanent bridges over the streams of the State connecting arterial highways; $1,500,000 to put the State on a cash basis, and $1,500,000 for permanent buildings for State institutions and the erection of an office building to house the various State departments now renting offices in the city of Columbia* outside of the State capitol. This last item would be so divided as to provid $400,000 for the office building and $1,100,000 for structures at the institution for the deaf, dumb and blind at Cedar Springs, negro colleges at Orangeburg; reformatories for white and colored and for negro youths, University of South Carolina, Winthrop college and others.