The Horry herald. (Conway, S.C.) 1886-1923, June 15, 1911, Image 5
' -r.'.: T
If.the
v shouk
f
p&jDeJ&nsy
Hundreds of Miles of Peninsula
Lands Might Be Held and
Tilled Indefinitely by
Hostile Hands.
The bill for the fortification of the
mouth of the Chesapeake Ilay, which
has been agitated for several years,
will in all probability be passed ,by
Congress at this session, and thus
the government will be able to guard
f one of the most important points
olnn.fr t Vin A 1 o n Ho Pnoof
| *? tuv ntlUlltlU
The building of a fort on Cape
Henry, directly at the mouth of the
Chesapeake Bay, will give protection
to an even more valuable section ov
the country than the huge Panama
Canal, which is also to be fortified.
While the canal will represent a
cast outlay of money, and will be
Immensely valuable to this nation in
^ the event of war with either a European
or Asiatic country, the mouth
of the Chesapeake Bay once entered,
would give to the enemy easy access
to not only the capital of the nation,
but th/e cities of Baltimore and Philadelphia,
to say nothing of Annapolis
and the Naval Academy and the cities
of Norfolk, Newport News and
^ the great shipyards and coal piers
representing millions of dollars in
Hampton Roads.
Although there is a modern fortification
at Fortress Monro-e, and, to
a great extent, ships of a foreign
navy could he prevented from entering
the inner Hampton Roads were
they to steam in straight from sea,
^ yet should ships get pass Cape Henry
it would be possible for them to
steam up the Bay toward Baltimore
without getting within range of the
guns at Monroe.
Cape Henry, as will ho shown, is
the key to the Chespe-ake Bay. Un^
less it is fortified in the most thorough
manner it will be vulnerable
and an open invitation to an invasion
that would be difficult to repel.
The possibility -of the United States
being invaded must, of course, be
considered from two main standpoints.
First, in connection with the
vulnerability of our coast lino defenses,
and secondly, a<, to the forces
cent against us.
At the outset it may be said that
t no one power could effect a wide-1
^ spread or permanent invasion, but it
may be reasonably feared that one |
of several large powers might gain
control of one or more of our 1mpotant
strategic positions and inflict
tgreat punishment before this nation
i could place itself in a condition to
drive, out the enemy.
As to vulnerability, we may scan
the situation from Maine to Texas,
and then from Texas on the Pacific
fhA northernmost edee of our
country, find, though seeing several
CANT BE FOUND
? *
SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN
CAUGHT AND LYNCHED.
Slayer of J. P. Bouknight, Who Es^
raped in Night Clothes, Has Not
Been Seen Since.
The body of J. Pink Bouknlght,
the farmer of the Shady Grove section
of the Dut6h Fork of Lexington
county, who was shot and killed
at an early hour Wednesday morning
while heading a posse of "white
caps," by Will Collins, a negro, was
laid to rest at Shady Grove church j
Thursday afternoon at 3 o'clock, in
Uh/tect
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Ife'
'Jfrte of
JDf>opos,ecf JTojr>?
points at which a hostile power
might seek to gain a foothold, no
part of our entire coast line presents,
In the hands of the enemy, such an
opportunity for destuction of great
cities as does the Chesapeake Bay,
whose geoprapliical nature is peculiarly
favorable to baffling aggressiveness
and continued occupancy.
It may confidently be said that the
power controling that body of water
.*'1 also ccuticl, or render absolutely
useless to this nation, the entire
peninsula formed by the Chesapeake
Bay, Atlantic Ocean and Deleware
River, as well as many mi'es of peninsula
land on the western side of
the Bay.
At no other part of our eoast line
could the transportation of troop3
and munitions of war be so effectually
hampered, while, conversely, no
other part of our coast involves the
preservation of so many strategic advantages
and facilities for the speedy
transportation by land and water of
an army as would lie afforded us by
the control of the Chesapeake, the
key to which is the entrance formed
by Cape Henry and Cape Charles,
whose natural advantages for resisting
a hostile fleet lies on the south
sid'3, which is washed by the main
ship channel whose width abreast of
faiift U/inrir T ItrliOi nnco lo louo V? o i
vu J/Vy AiVIU J I V/UUV 1 kj I Vy Ou tlldlA
three statute miles between five
fathom lines.
Cape H?enry is the natural Gibraltar
of the United States and should
he made impregnable and impassable,
the necessity for which (obtains because
iti s the key to our most
important of all strategic situations,
and because, with the proper fortifiJ
cation of this point, fewer battleships
' in the event of war would be here re!
quired to aid in repelling the enemys ,
| fleet. This means not only protection
to invaluable facilities at the
ports of the Chesapeake, the preserva
tion to our own and closure to a hostile
fleet of the finest harbor, as well
as the most important base of operations
we possess, but a virtual increase
in the size and strength of
our navy and its scope and effectiveness
at other ports of our great coast
linA.
The ports of New York, Boston ana I
Galveston, representing, as they do, h
the extreme poles or outlets of our j ]
commercial conditions as well as \
strategic advantages and untoil val-J nations
of property, lie almost within t
gunshot of the ocean and would re- i
quire, in addition to their present de- ( \
fenses, all the reinforcement they f
could iget from our "dogs of war." i
Some idea of the strategic value t
of the Chepapeake Ray for operaton ;
in case of war may be gleaned from i
the fact that within its entrance i
there are 700 miles of water naviga- t
the presence of a large congregation t
of friends and relatives. Will Col- t
Mne, who did the* shooting, has i
either .been killed and his body "V
thrown in the river, or he has sue- *
ceeded in making good his escape, ac- *
-cording to the most reliable infor- t
mation obtainable from that section. (r
? - - ? - * i. _ .? il ir_ ^
Tne nrsi news or me aeam ui mr. ^
Bouknlght reached Lexington Wed- j
nesday morning, when Coroner
Clark received a telephone message
stating, in effect th<at J, P. Bouk- *
night was dead and requesting the c
officer to come over and hold an in- t
quest. No particulars were given, V
and, attaching but little importance r
to the message on account of its o
meagreness, the coroner instructed r
Magistrate Lorick of Irmo, who lives v
not far from the scene, to hold the n
Inquest. c
Nothing of the real seriousness of s
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ble for vessels of 17 or 3 8 foot
draft; 550 miles of which are navigable
for vessels of 20 feet draft; 425
miles for ships drawing 25 feet, and
nearly 4 00 miles which may be traversed
by ships of 3 0 feet draft. The
17 or 18 foot channelway admits a
small naval fry, such as torpedo boats
and destroyers, gun boats and other
vessels of light draft. The 2 0-foot
depth will accommodate second and
third class cruisers and many troop
and supply ships. The 25-foot depth
will admit of navigation by all second-class
battle ships, first class
cruisers, scout and troop ships, and
in fact all auxiliary craft of a navy;
while nearly 4 00 miles of the Chesapeake
and its tributaries may be penetrated
by warships of the Dreadnaught
type clear up to Baltimore.
What a scope for the enemy's fleet
and what a national disaster to us?
the transportation of troops and
munitions of war, through the Chesapeake
and the proposed Inland Waterway
cut off; the deprivation of a
great proportion of the nation's facilities
for docking and repairing,
with the lost of the most central of
all coaling stations. Deprived of this
central base of operations, the ships
of our navy would be driven to seek
facilities, fuel and shelter in either
extreme northern or southern port*.
Not only could a hostile fleet with
impunity pass Dortress iMonroe, but
a hundred?five hundred?troopships
of the "tramp" class and eggsshell
construction could with equal safety
pass up the Bay under cover of night
or during weather the least hazy or
misty. What gunnery or what
marksmanship could contest the passage
of battleships at a distance of
twelve and one-half miles, or even
troopships when favored with darkness
or during the day by haze or
mist?
'Baltimore, Norfolk and Newport
News are accessible, as far as channel
accommodations are concerned,
to vessels of the Dreadnought type,
while the York River may be entered
,wenty-t.wo miles; the Rappahannock,
thirty: the Potomac, thrty-flve, and
the Patuxent River twentymiles by
illips of the same class, to say nothng
of the streams which empty into
the eastern side of the Bay; while
Vnnapolis may be approached with
n a mile or two and the improvenents
at the Academy, and for which
he government has spent millions
he situation w.as learned, until
he return of Deputy Sheriff Miller,
vho was early on the grounds
Vednesday. After making an inestigation,
Mr. Miller was not able
o give any of the particulars of the
ragedy, further than that I3ouklight
had been shot in the stomach
vith a shotgun while making an efort
to enter the home of Will Col-'
ins through a window.
Opinion is divided as to the
thereabouts of the negro who esaped
after shooting Mr. Bouknight, i
nit the majority believe th^t he was
:llled and his body thrown into the <
Iver. Others declare that the groans
?f the dying man so frustrated the '
?arty that their attention was dlerted
from the negro and that he
nade his escape. One of Collins' i
hildren was shot In the hack, It Is <
aid. Collins' wife it is said, makes <
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be utterly demolished.
The James, York, Rappahannock,
Potomac and Patuxent Rivers, navigable
for distances varying from
forty to one hundred miles inland
by many large vessels of war, form
the four main peninsulas on the
western side of the Chesapeake,
whose width at the narrowest parts,
from channel to channel, ranges
from six to nineteen miles.
Battleships operating as the first (
and last named (first above Yorktown
and secondly from Patuxent
River or Bay) points could, without
co-operation of other vessels in con- 1
tigious channels, command the two
peninsulas formed by the James and 1
York and the Patuxent River and
Bay, and the co-operative fire of 1
ships carrying long-range guns, lo- 1
cabed in our rivers as above outlined, 1
would thoroughly rake across the i
three peninsulas lying between the j
Patuxent and York Rivers.
The total length of peninsulas ]
commanded by the enemy's fire
(addinig eight miles for inland ,
range) would be, respectively, ,
twenty-nine and one-hair, thirty-two (
thirty-eight, thirty-one and twenty- ,
six miles, or a total command of j
one hundred and fifty-six and one- ,
half miles of these peninsula*.
Only reasonable possibilities of
strategic disaster are here dealt with, (
while it is not altogether inconceiv- ;
able that vessels of the enemy, cay- f
rying high-power guns, might pen- {
etrate the Potomac and other rivers F
much farther than has been indicated.
In possession of the peninsulas of (
the Chesapeake, and the landing of s
a large army, the enemy's position
for Hank maneuvering would be most f
advantageous, and the (American s
army sent to repel them might find i
itself between the enemy's force on j
land and the "dead lines" across the f
peninsulas which would be raked s
by the hostile ships in our rivers. r
With such a disaster to our present t
standing (army confronting us, who n
can say what devastation might not ( r
lw* un'Aiio l^ t ai? h n f of f.oor!n o;1- n
i./v? n i VIU^II i i/i u iidt pi i HI/ f^i\. im~ ?i
vantages gained by the invading p
nation? Who can confidently deny a
the possildlty of not only Baltimore g
and Washington, hut the cities of h
New York, Boston, Philadelphia and e
in fact all the ports of the Atlantic e
S-eobard being laid under the ban of tl
heavy reprisals?pending the period s<
the statement that she told him to J,
shoot, believing that she, together ai
with her two children, would all be d
killed. She gathered her children e<
in her arms and managed to make b;
her escape in the darkness. r<
The verdict of the jury of inquest ei
ni
was in effect, that the deceased came
to his death by a gunshot wound in
the hands of parties unknown to the
jury. The wounded man was carried
to the home of his brother-In- d,
law, Mr. Fulmer, where a convey- w
nnce was secured to carry him home, n
hut he died on the way. The de- tc
ceased was a brother-in-law to Joe. c;
Fulmer, whose l>arn was burned a
few weeks ago, the burning of which 0j
was laid to the negro. g(
The killing occurred on the plan- ai
tation of Rhett Younginer, for whom T\
Collins worked. The tragedy has fr
cast a gloom over the entire section, st
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of army training of raw material?
The likelihood of any one nation
landing a force sufficient for widespread
or permanent invasion, is of
course renvote, but it is readily conceivable
that in the first stages of
hostilities, suddenly precipitated, our
own land forces might suffer an overwhelming
distaster, while concerted
invasion by several powers at this
point, would seriously endanger the
cities, defenses and facilities of the
entire Atlantic and Gulf coast line.
The formation of these western
peninsulas by the James, York, Rappahannock,
Roto mac and Patuxent
rivers, hut a few miles between them,
presents a startlingly vulnerable
point of atack and possible invasion;
for here, the enemy, under perfect
shelter from storms, could make a
demonstration of landing on either
peninsula,necessitating the concentra
Lion of our forces at such point, while
lie could, at his pleasure, shift his
portion either northwardly or
southwardly, land his forces and
inarch against the real point of attack
and create ruin and devastaton
while our army would be forced by
Lhe hostile ships in our rivers to
nake a long detour to meet them.
Under such circumstances it becomes
aparent that a large army of
\mericans would be required to deend
each peninsula; else we might
isk ourselves i wun me main
strength of our army drawn to d?
end a feigned point of attack, if
'"Jew Yoik, Philadelphia, Baltimore
>r the National Capitol would be
;a fe?
Should it be thought necessary for
urther protection of the bay, to
uppiomienl the fortification at Cape
Ienry by additional defense, an isand
fort might be built in 14 or 15
eet of water, north by west and
ix and one-half miles off Cape Ileny.
This would give to the fort at
he latter place command over the
orthern channel at an extreme
ange of three and one-half miles;
inking the entrance to that channel
ractioally impossible to such ships 1
s could, in the absence of resistance, r
o through. Several submerged
ulks to the existing shoals would (
ffectually close this entrance to .he
nemy's ships. In like manner could
i?9 channel on the south side be
amewhat constricted. ?
, P. Rouknight was 52 yt,ars of age
nd leaves a wife and several chil
ren. Tie was prominent in the 1
immunity and numbered his friends 0
y the score. Deputy Sheriff Miller 1
^turned to the scene to make furth- ^
r investigation, but no trace of the 1
cgro could be found.
? *
Refused to Grant Pardon.
r
A mother's pitiful plea was turned ^
own by Governor Dlease Thursday n
hen he refused to pardon G. V. s
ingham, the young Georgetown doc>r,
who, with W. B. Avant, his i
080 friend, was convicted at the fall c
mi of court in 1909 of the killing p
f young Mrs. Bingham, and each t
mtenced to a term of three years b
ad a half in the state penitentiary,
oth Bingham and Avant escaped
om the officers of the law and are u
111 at largo. 1 o
SUPPORTS TAFT
?
Finer Preside it Relief eh F&mt
Taft Fwr Repoblicai Nominee.
MAY AID IN CAMPAIGN .
^ i
At Cardinal Gibbons' Celebration Ilk
llaltimore the Two Presidents Met?Roosevelt
Will Not Consider
Taking the Nomination Himself
for President in 1012.
President Taft, in his candidacy
for the presidential nomination in
i n < n 211 i ii. . ^ nr. i
i;m<u, win receive uie umiuainieu endorsement
of former President Roose
volt, which will be uttered just as
certainly as it was In the last campaign.
This is the best political
news Mr. Taft has received in many
months, and it comes to him in a
manner that leaves no doubt as to
its authenticity.
The information that Mr. Roosevelt,
under no circumstances, will allow
his name to be presented to a
national convention was received sever:;!
days ago, but it did not become
known until Tuesday night. That
Col Roosevelt feels that the Taft
administration should be continued
was brought out as a result of the
meeting between the two at the Cardinal
Gibbons jubilee at Baltimore.
Whether the former president will
enter the campaign, as an active
worker, will be watched with interest.
It is not expected to prove pleasing
to Republicans, who have made
no secret of their desire to bring
Col. Roosevelt forward as a formidable
rival for the 15)12 nomination.
Many of these Republicans, no dou.bt,
will refuse to abandon hope until Col.
Roosevelt himself, in a quoted statement,
announces his position and
thus breaks the silence concerning
the administration, which he has
maintained since landing in New
York on his return from Africa.
The information that iMr. Roosevelt
would he found allied with tho
president rather than against him,
was brought directly to Mr. Taft
from 'Mr. Roosevelt by a mutual
friend high in official life, who was
connected with both the Roosevelt
and Taft administrations in a capacity
that enabled him to igtain and retain
the confidences in fact, the warm
personal friendship of both men.
The meeting at Baltimore between
the two was only incidental to the
Cardinal Gibbons jubilee, but it
-awakened the political interest of
men high in public life. They met
first in the reception room in the
5th regiment -armory, where the Jubilee
celebration was held. They talked
together and shook hands
with old friends, they chatted,
laughed and behaved
just as they used to do when Mr.
Roosevelt was in the White Houso
and Mr. Taft w-as secretary of war.
They carried the spirit of friendliness
up to the platform and, sitting
side by side, they conversed in undertones
through much of the afternoon.
Mr. Roosevelt reached Baltimore
1 R /\ oml mac n; o
UCIUI C l 11 V7 j'l rniviv. ui, Hinw it (to u ?*? vins
for him at the armory.
"Hello, Mr. President,** said ho in
tho high pitched voice that Washinigtonians
know well. "I'm glad to
see you. I want to inquire about
Mrs. Taft."
"Hello, Theodore," replied tho
president. "How are you' *
Shortly after, Mr. Roosevelt was
taken aside by the president. The
two men were together about ten
minutes, beyond ear range of any
other person. Afterwards it was said
they "talked about Mrs. T.affc's
health."
The president invited the colonel
to come to Washington on June 19
to be his guest in the White House
at his silver wedding anniversary.
Mr. Roosevelt said he would try to
manage it. As he had to return immediately
to New York, he was not
tho president's guest Tuesday nlight.
The president arrived in Washington
at 7 o'clock. After he had
shaken hands with tho cardinal, the
resident put out his hand to tho
olonel. "Goodbye, Teddy," said he.
rhen ho leaned forward and said
something. They both laughed and
ho meeting was over.
? ? <
DORS SOME GOOD.
Hie Torrid Weather Kills tho Cotton
Boll Weevil.
A dispatch from Tallalah, I>a., le
o the effect that the torrid weather
if the past week has .been effective
a _ m av
n putting a Dig per cent, ui \nv
treaded cotton boll weevils out of
mslness.
The tests conducted by ihe Delta,
loll Weevil Labratory, under the
llrectlon of G. D. Smith of the Unitd
States Bureau of entomology, inlicatea
that the bug has sustained its
uost serious setback since its invaion
of that territory.
Of the weevils placed in hibern&tng
catges last fall half of one per cent
?nly have emerged against 1 1-2
>er cent last season, showing that
he per cent surviving is consideraly
smaller. ; *
A man who is indiscreet in hfa
Iterances is like a postcard?every*
ne can read him. . A ^ ||
J