Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Struggle in France and Belgium of the Most Sanguinary Nature. Ofr't'h l \l, iii i.i.KTiNS indicatk that hug M.I.IIIS are holding TUE gkrmans in check AND ARK in ilk ting TKIIIUULI1 mmsks ? GllllMANS contINt i , to wage an oi'KKNSlV? cam* i?aign?vSiur loaded with kmtgi rs destroyed hv mini:. MIST CAITl HL CALAIS. knltvr (MM ?M to Proceed Hc gu rille*? of Life or Co?t. London, Oct. 27.?The rnptute of Calais has been ordered by the K*.iso:, according to a Times dispatch nun Copenhagen, "Irrespective of expendi? ture of life or material." Fl Riol s FIGHTING CONTINUES, German* Make Slight Gain* With Heavy Toll of Life. Paris. Oct. 27.?Furious night at? tacks mark the battle between Os? munde and Nieuport, where the Ger? mans crossed the iser and are trying to break through the steel wall pre? sented by the allies' forces. The Ge' mans are still forcing the lighting In the northern sphere, but now are t>elng compelled to stand violent counter attacks. The German gains near Lille and on the Yser are out of proportion to the losses sustained in killed, wounded, and mlssln*. The heaviest lighting is now in the neigh? borhood of Labassee and Lens, south? west of Lille, between Arras and Bray and along the Meuse river. Alor,: the coast warships have been driven from their moorings by shells from the heavy German guns. Germans Attack Warsaw. Berlin. Oct. 2.?Fighting is in pro? gress about the walls of Warsaw and Zeppelins are bombarding the city. The great French fortress at Verdun has been Isolated and It Is Impossible for help to reach that stronghold. Germans who crossed the Yser re? pulsed tierce counter attacks of the allies and are making slight prog? ress. Germans occupied Dixmunde. but were driven out hy the allies' shells. Mnow and Battle Storms Haging. Petrograd, (?ct. 27.?The defeat of the Germans In a flanking movement north of Warsaw was ofllclally. an? nounced today. The Oermanr. have retreated toward the Thorn In Fast Prusala. Heavy snow storms a.e rac? ing along the battle front In East Prussia and Russian Poland, but light? ing continues with losses to both sides which have been enormous. It is re? ported that three lines of German trenches have been captured. French Take Offensive In Alsac. London. Oct. 27.?A llerlln news dispatch states that the French artil? lery Is bombarding the German posts In Sc ithern Alsac all the way from Belfort to M elhausen. The French are trying to storm the German po? sitions, and the latter nre energeti? cally building fortifications in all the villages and placing heavy artillery in position. The Cologne Gazette re? ports that the Germans in northern France near Arras have pushed the fighting- thirty-one miles further west? ward. Allies Retire from Coast. Copenhagen. Oct. 27.?A news dls petch states that the allies have re? tired from their positions along the coast. Xu-irlan- Reinforce Germans. London. Oct. 1*;. Austrian troops are being sent west i<? ibl Germar.'? Im Helglum. An Amsterdam news dispatch states that ten thousand Aus trians arrived at Ghent Sunday, Awful urnagc on Yaff, tendon. Oct. 27.?The news dla? patches tell of awful carnage along the Yser cannl. There wi re twenty live hundred German hodiSS in tin canal Sunday morning after an .ill night battle. Many wire drowned ? .fher* w? re bji> gnetted. The w a ? ? i In the ?anal w.,s bloody and the Street! of I Mxin'i leb- weie strewn with dead. \u bJsjmi Mm Um an in op| asad man. sometime-; a bun.?red mis apart, offener \\ ? n>\ tu hand, fightwu. with iuomik i i af Ihrawing thai? Opponent! int<> aannl hodlly. The Uermun losaes ajajajsj the annnl at! rntlmnted al llftaea Ihouaand. I run h Gain \<l\aiitam Paris. ? ' ' -7 The oflh i ?I si i ti m. lit issued a? i p. m says; "Hard lighting Is racing all abou th? ?real tattle Una In Frim.- a-ai Helglum. H In particularly violent in IM north? ern sph? re and In the n glon around Lens and between Vpres and Uouhrs where the allies have made progress. In the \icinity of Nancy the allies have taken the offensive. At the center an artillery duel resulted In success for the ullius, several German batteries being smashed. Greece Angers Italy. Rome. Oct. 27.?The tension in the relations between Italy and Greece was increased today when the Italians and other powers of Europe were no? tified by Groece that it would occupy northern Kpirus to suppress anarchy following the downfall of the Alban? ian government. Refugee Sldp Blown Up. London, Oct. 27.?Twenty-five hun? dred survivors of the French ship Admiral Ganteume, which was blown up by a mine off Boulogne yesterday, arrived early today. The vessel was carrying refugees from the war zone in northern France. Five hundred and forty-three were drowned. (ion Von Moltke 111. Berlin, Oct. 27.?It was officially admitted today that Gen. Von Moltke, J chief of tho German general staff, is suffering from liver and gall com? plaint, but it is declared his illness is i not causing any anxiety. British Wurships Damaged. Washington. Oct. 27.?At least three British warships off Nieuport have been damaged by the German artillery ashore says a wireless message from the German foreign olflce to the Ger? man embassy. The British squadron [ was forced to retreat out of range. The allies suffered great losses at Ypres and the Lille district and north of Arras. There have been no decls ' ive results on eastern frontier. ORDERS STEAMER RELEASED. Government Satisfied of Innocence of Vlolutlon of Laws of Neutrality. London, Oct. 2t>.?The British gov? ernment, satlslied after an examina? tion of the innocence of tho destina? tion of her cargo, has ordered the re 1 lease of the American oil tanker ' Brindllla, which will be permitted to proceed to Alexandria. The question of the transfer of the vessel from the German to the flag of the United Sttaes will not bo raised by the British government. The Brindllla. carylng illuminating oil, was seized by the British cruiser Caronia and taken Into Halifax Octo? ber 19. It was said today the Ameri? can tanker Platuria, seized under similar conditions, would be released as soon as the Danish government satisfies the British foreign oillce the vessel's cargo was consigned only to Denmark. SUGAR TRUST ENJOINED. Governor of Louisiana Starts Pro? ceedings Against American Refining Co. New Orleuns, Oct. 27.?The govern? or today Hied suit here to enjoin the American Sugar Rclining Co., from doing bulness in Louisiana. He 'asks that a receiver be appointed for I the concern. CHARLESTON WELCOMES BMP. First Vplnil from Pacific Const Via. Panama Arrives. ('hal b stem, Oct. 27.?Thousands lined tb.' water t'nml, whistles blew and syrens shrieked a welcome as lb.- American-Hawaiian steamer Washlngtonlnn entered harbor today from the Pacific coast through the I'.maini ('anal. She is the litst vessel coming through the canal making regular call. FROST TONIGHT. Weather Bureau Predicts Cold Snap gl Car SontIi Ii? Florida. Atlanta, Oct. 17.?-The co|t| snap ar? rived last nlghf und uverconts are Ihr rule today, forecast.-, for tonight arc for frost, extendlnn to the gulf coast and northern Florida. Freeslnn lern? peratures are predicted for tin- upp r Mlsalaslppl valley and eastward. VUfrt Real Snow. Chicago, net. if,?The first real snow of the season was reported a( Oreen May, Win., in the Lake su? perior region today in telcgrame i<> flic local weather bureau. FAMINE MENACES BELGIANS. NEARLY EVEIIY MILLION FACE WANT. Hi ami \\ hillock Report? Cities Have Two Weeks' Supply und Country Districts EyQU Less. Brussels, Oct. -U. (via Lodon).? Famine menaces nearly 7,000,000 per? sons In Belgium unless they receive immediate help from the outside. Brand Whitlock, American minis? ter, asserts that less than two weeks' I food supply remains in cities, while conditions in country districts are worse. Hu reports from Xamur, Lou ivain and Lieft say affairs in those cities are worse than In Brussels. Nearly half the people who have re? mained in Belgium are wandering helplessly from town to town seeking shelter with friends and relatives. Malines, which formerly had 60,000 inhabitants, has but few undamaged houses standing. The same situation exists at Nanuir and Louvain. The road from Antwerp to Brussels is black with people moving in and out. Thousands on foot are carrying bundles or pushing dog carts, moving with no definite destination. Belgians of all classes appear dis? heartened. Old women and cripples may be ?< f>n sitting near their shat? tered homes in Malines nodding mute? ly at the cathedral with its shattered windows and tottering walls. Similar conditions are found in small villages between Antwerp and Brussels. Few stores are open. Villages that stood near contested forts literally wero razed. Many inhabitants remain living In rudely constructed sheds or tents. In Brussels the streets are filled with German soldiers and ma? rines. Automobiles of the officers dash in all directions. By an official order there have been posted throughout the country names of Belgians and British sentenced to imprisonment for insuhs offered to German soldiers. Others are warned to obey military orders and are advised that the Ger? mans have no intention of seizing non combatants. The Germans pay for everything obtained in stores. ENGLAND FOR FREE TRABE. Cotton Specifically Exempted From List of Contraband and Therefore Safe for Commerce. Washington, Oct. 26.?Great Brit? ain In two notes presented today to the state department by the British ambassador, Sir Cecil Spring-Rice, de? fined her attitude toward commerce between neutral countries as* one of rigid endeavor to give every security possible in the Interest of free and undisturbed trade. The essential points in the British attitude are: American shippers should take pre? cautions to show the exact destination of their goods, mentioning either a specific consignee or a neutral govern? ment in bills of lading. Great Britain will be guided by the American doc? trine of continuous voyage or "ulti? mate destination' in respect to com? merce between neutral countries in articles generally known as condi? tional contraband. Cotton, specifically mentioned ar neither absolute nor conditional con I traband, can be shipped in neutral vessels not only to neutral coutries. but to all belligerents without moles? tation. FREE GRAIN BILL PASSED. Mcastirc to Furnish Farmers Grain at Cost Carries Appropriation of $25, 000. Columbia, Oct. 28.?The bill from the ways and means committee pro? viding for furnishing seed grain to farmers at cost was passed to third reading yesterday by the house. The I ill appropriates $25,000 for the pur? chase of seed grain which is to be dis? tributed by the commit loner of agri? culture at cost and the State protect? ed from loss by Hens on the grain crops. THEIR APPEAL DISMISSED. Supremo Court Throws Out A. C. I,. Corporation Appeal. Washington. Oct. 2b.?"Dismissed for want of jurisdiction," was the way the United States Supreme Court to? day handled the appeal <>f the Atlan? tic c.ast Lumber Corporation from the decision of the State Supreme ? 'ort. upholding the ruling of a low? er court that the corporation had for? feited its contract with O, g. Mlnshew and others, Tbc corporation some years ugu oh! tlned a grant t<? cut tim? ber under certain conditions on land now owned by Mlnshew. Mlnshew wit into courl claiming that the con? tract bad be n allowed to lapse ami was therefore null, When ibis contention was sustain? ed in the state tribunals, the corpora? tion appealed )?. the Federal Supreme < mm i mi i lie grounds i hat it bad been deprived ol its proper! > without due process oi law. Why The Bond lasuo should be Uc- i feuted. j (Some of the strong practical objec tions to the proposed bond issue by tlio South Carolina legislature are clearly stated In the following article by a South Carolina banker, who has long been a particularly close student of pul'lc affairs.) The News and Courier. Upon the proponents of the bond' issue rests the burden of proof to shuw that the State and its citizens ( will be benefited by the proposed! issue. Before the general assembly should submit the question to the people, and certainly before the peo? ple should approve it, there should be no reasonable doubt that benefit will accrue. Granting that the farmers will beneiit, can it be demonstrated that all other classes will participate in that beneht Unless this can be done, the constitutionality of the issue will be most seriously questioned and will be tested in the courts. That means a delay for many months, for a case of such magnitude, involving from twen? ty-five to thirty-five millions of dol? lars, as the issue may be, is sure to go to the federal supreme court. Able and disin.tersted lawyers are of the opinion that the State has no right to issue bonds for the assistance of one class of her people, and certainly be? fore any of the bonds are accepted by careful investors, including the banks, this question of constitutionality will have to be decided by the highest courts. It is not proposed, it may be pre? sumed, that any effort will be made to dispose of this bond issue to outside investors, but to place them with the banks of the State. It is easy to point out that it will be impossible to place them with the usual class of bond buyers. It has been pointed out that certain municipalities in this State and adjoining States have re? cently floated bond issues, but these bonds are of an entirely different class from the proposed State cotton bond issue; the municipal bonds are floated upon municipal utility plants or for p-.rmanent improvements, and are long-term issues, suitable for the in? vestment of life insurance company funds. This is not the case with the proposed cotton bonds, which will run for only a comparatively brief period, and will have no attractions for the usual class of bond investors. According to the press dispatches the committee sent on to Washington has received assurance that the pro? posed bonds will be acceptable as se? curity under the federal reserve act. So far so good. But let us see just what this amounts to. It is true that the federal reserve act permits the federal reserve banks to buy State bonds and notes, and when the federal reserve banks are in operation this is going to be a good provision for the State which, like South Carolina, have to borrow mon? ey each year; in other words, instead of borrowing every year from local Institutions the State can probably place its notes with the federal re? serve banks, provided the reserve banks have surplus funds to invest. But the reserve banks are not yet es? tablished, and when they are in op? eration it will be a long time before they will have sufficient surplus to in? vest in this manner. They will cer? tainly not do so at the beginning of the system, as the capital is to be paid in by installments, and heavy de? mands will be at once made upon the reserve banks for accommodation by the member banks u\ this section. The assurance given the South Car? olina committee, therefore, simply means that South Carolina banks, members of the reserve system, can use these bonds as collateral with the federal reserve banks. But the ( amount of indebtedness?discounts and rediscounts?which a member bank may incur with its federal re? serve bank will he limited; the act does not fix it, but it is left in the dis? cretion of the federal reserve board. This limit will be a limit that is with? in the bounds of safe banking, and In calculating what the limit will be it should be borne in mind tl~M practi-l i cally every national bank likely to come in the system has already out? standing not only its bond-secured I currency, but its full proportion of emergency currency, all of which must bo taken into acconut as liability in addition to the bills payable which these bank . may owe to their north? ern corespondents; most of them now beyond the limit of the law in this respect. Even should the federal re? serve board be so liberal as to per mit an 0\ er-cxtension of credit to the banks of this state, based on cotton bonds, it Will be a most venturesome bank which would take advantage of that opportunity, and it Is not believ? ed that many of them would do so. It v. ouhi be difficult to conceive of any? thing that would so quickly bring about a lack of confidence in the banks, ami that Is the worst thine that could happen just now. < ?n the other hand, it does r.ot ap? pear that with the use of these cotton bonds the banks could obtain any more credit than they ?an now obtain, 111 other Winds, the federal reserve act. as now amended, permit* the most liberal use of the discount privilege, with commercial paper as security, and the notes of the member banks, secured by th? lr customers' paper. In turn secured by warehouse receipts. Will give the member banks as much credit with the federal reserve banks as they can safely secure with cot? ton bonds as collateral to their notes. To put it plainly, a more liberal dis? count privilege would lead to danger? ous inllation; and it is likely that the banks in this State, having In the spring mace their usual loans in New York and the East, and having since increased these loans and also having taken out the emergency currency, are now carrying as large a liability as they can safely do. Technically this would seem to apply only to the national banks, but In fact it applies very generally to the State banks as well which have borrowed through national banks in this State and else? where. However, none but the na? tional banks, and such State banks as enter the federal reserve system, can make use of the cotton bonds with the federal reserve bank. It would appear, therefore, that even if the cotton bonds are issued and the issue held to be valid, the banks are not in position to utilize them for the relief of the cotton pro? ducers; certainly to no greater extent than they could utilize warehouse re? ceipts if the federal reserve banks were in operation. Except through the banks, how can the State put out these bonds? Can the State sell an issue of $25,000,000 or borrow that amount on the bonds and deposit the proceeds in the banks of the State? This is not, in the judgment of the best posted financiers, possible; and were it possible the S^ate would not be able to protect itself by a lien on the cotton of any kind. The only other scheme is to pay out the bonds on cotton as purchase money or a loan. Undoubtedly the State could get rid of its bonds in tnis way?or at least some of them?but the writer would prefer to have a bale of cotton, with a market price of six cents, than a $50 bond of this sort. 'Such a bond issue would clearly be in i violation of the provision of the fed [eral constitution which prohibits any State issuing a bill of credit, ^nat is the Bankhead scheme, and it is a wild one. In this connection it should be said that the fact that Mr. Harding, mem? ber of the federal reserve board, has given certain assurances to the South Carolina committee does not inspire any confidence at all, for Mr. Harding is on record as having endorsed the Bankhead plan, and that endorse? ment is sufficient to nullify confidence in his judgment. As a practical matter of finance it has been shown that the bond scheme will not relieve the situation. Even if it would relieve the present money stringency in this State, what effect would it have otherwise? With the State taking care of his cotton crop this year by what is practically a valorization plan, the farmer would be tempted, even if he reduced his acreage, to fertilize as heavily as possible next spring and produce as much cotton as possible. The result would be that next year, and as long as the war lasts, the State would have to take care of the cotton crop, piling bond issue on bond issue. But it may be said, the war will end [before that comes about. Well, if the j war ends within six months, the de? mand for cotton will readjust the mar? ket and no bond issue at all will be necessary. As a matter of equity?laying aside all questions of legality and constitu? tionality?let the bond issue be con? sidered. The farmers constitute the ! most numerous class of our citizen jship, but their preponderance in num? bers does not give them any prior Claim to the paternalism of the State. I There are hundreds of railroad men out of employment in this State, be? cause the cotton crop is not moving to the ports and freight has fallen off; there are hundreds of merchants, j town merchants, town merchants, who do no business with farmers direct, who are suffering; there are hundreds of lawyers whose clients are unable to pay fees; there are hundreds of clerks out of work; there are hun? dreds of real estate dealers with no incomes now. Any bond issue for these classes? As a matter of fact, the agitation for extreme legislative measures has come from one particular section of the State, and one particular class of farmers in that section?the rich Pee Bee section and the large land-owning class of that section. It is true the bond scheme was proposed In the sen ate by a senator, usually most con? servative, from another part of the State, but this does not wipe out the fad that the lobby which has been maintained at Columbia, and the so called mass meetings und conventions In Columbia have been composed of men of extensive planting interests in the Bee Bee section. Some of the Bee Bee farmers, it is said, are holding from li\e hundred to two thousand bales of cotton, and they are able t<? either hold it or to take their losses; certallil) as able to take their losses! STOPS AEROPLANE TESTS. Says Factories Too Rasf Building for European War: Manufacturer- Say Not?Only One Firm Has European Contracts. Washington, Oct. 26.?Cancellation of the aeroplane competition the army signal corps planned to hold at San Diego, Cal., with the object of purchasing the best three machines shown was announced at the war de? partment today. Officials suggested that American builders were too busy constructing machines for Europe to become inter? ested in such a contest. Lieutenant Colonel Beiber, at San Diego, notified Washington that only one entrant complied with conditions, forcing an abandonment of the compe? tition. There will be tests, the colonel reports, without any obligation to par? ticipate on the part of the United States. Makers are Displeased. San Diego, Cal., Oct. 26.?Aero? plane manufacturers gathered here for the government's proposed aerial competition refused today to compete without a prospect of cash prizes and contracts as had been planned. Army officers offered to conduct the compe? tition, but the manufacturers declin? ed to risk their machines without any certainty of reward. The manufacturers scouted the idea that American builders were busy making machines for Europe. Only one manufacturer, they asserted, had European contracts. DELAY PROVED COSTLY. Germans Failed to Press Their Ad? vantage. j Petrograd, Oct. 27 (via London).? Failure by the Germans to utilize an i opportune moment for an attack on J Warsaw, after they had approached ! within eight miles without being dis 1 covered, turned the tide of the Ger i man invasion of Russian Poland, ac? cording to reliable advices received from the front today, j Russian generals are absolutely at a loss to explain the German strate j gy in delaying a night attack until the opportunity was lost. I They express admiration of Gen. von Gorgens lightning advance of five German army corps over the dif? ficult swampy region approaching Warsaw from the southwest. Almost within sight of the city, however, the enemy suddenly decided to delay the attack, and that allowed the Siberian ! and other Russian reinforcements to : give adequate protection. SIXTY-ONE MEET DEATH. Explosion Kills Three Score in Coal Pit. Royalton, 111., Oct. 27.?A total of j61 dead is shown in the casualty list i issued late tonight by officials of the Franklin Coal and Coke company at I whose mine near here 300 men were entombed at the going to work hour this morning. The decrease in the number of dead from earlier estimates were account I ed for by the registration tonight of scores of miners who escaped during the day but who were too busy as? sisting in rescue work to answer to , the roll call of rescued. Twenty minutes before the explo? sion 34 6 men went into the mine, only the last cage full of the day force re? maining on the surface. Tonight 24 jbodies had been recovered and 37 men were missing. Mine officials conceded that the 37 still were entombed and never would be brought out alive. FINAL R. R. DISSOLUTION. Trustees Elected to Board of Directors. Boston, Oct. 28.?The annual meet? ing of the Boston and Maine railroad stockholders today marked the final 'dissolution of the New Haven merger, when the trustees named under the dissolution decree were elected to the railroad directorate. More Cattle Diseased. Xiles, Mich., Oct. 28.?Thirteen more head of cattle have been dis? covered afflicted with foot and mouth disease in addition to the nineteen head Flaughtercd Tuesday in the af? fected counties of Michigan and Indi? ana. It is hoped the backbone of the plague will be broken within a week. as the small farmers of the low-coun? try ind the Piedmont ction. It should be remembered the Pee Dee has another money crop besides cot? ton?tobacco?and ha? for the last few years been in prosperous condi? tion. Finally, there is only one thing that will restore normal conditions in this State, and in this country. Acreage reduction, by force of law, as well enough, and a State-supervised ware? house system would be of great bene? fit. But there is only one thing that will restore normal conditions. That is peace in Europe. Until peace is declared we may as well make up our minds to take our medicine, even if that medicine means bankruptcy for hundreds and that is just what it means.