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ESSENTIAL WORK FIRST. y_ STATE ADVISORY BOARD TO EM PLOYMENT SERVICE MEETS. War Industries Should Go Ahead Re gardless of Inconvenience to Non Essential Work. Columbia, Aug. 30.?Manifesting a quiet determination to carry into ef fect all rulings of the war industries board which look to an increase in the producing power of the nation, the State Advisory Board of the Uni ted States employment service held an important meeting yesterday morning in the Loan and Exchange bank building. The meeting was for the purpose of looking into the labor situation; for trying to get a line on essential and nonessential enterprises; for planning some method by which men who are at present engaged in non esentials may be induced to give up ' jobs which are not vitally important in war times and take jobs where their country needs them and where they can do some work for victory. The soft drink dealers and manu facturers, the bell hops in hotels who thrive on tips, the transfer men, the pool room loafers, the one horse fruit stands, the idlers around depots and the negro who wrote the Employment Service that he would do government "work for $60 per week all came in for consideration. Again and again it was brought out that when the matter of war work is properly presented, when men engag " ed in non productive work are brought to see the real need of their services by the government, when loyalty to country and the boys at the front is stressed, the response is immediate and gratifying. Some men will have to be forced into the war work, but a patriotic appeal in many cases has the desired effect according to information brought before the board. Governor Manning, who was pres ent by invitation, sized up the view taken by the Advisory Board pretty accurately when he said "We must lay aside selfish consideration and p r sonal gain, and put our hearts into winning this war and to do it, work is necessary." Another gentleman present, whc was evidently a thorough convert tc the "work or fight" plan of the gov ernment said men engaged in nones sential work such as selling soft drinks or driving transfers ought tc be told plainly that they could either vget out of their present work and gel into something that has to do with the winning of the war or else report to their local board. The use of employment cards, by which men are required to hold a card signed by their employer showing the nature of the work being done and the number of days worked, was considered when the question of get ting rid of idlers was being consider ed. The Greenville ordinance was re ferred to and the disadvantages of the card system considered. . j Mr. Montgomery^ of Spartanburg who has the- knowledge Vthat comei v from long eixperience in dealing with labor, said 'that the mills were pro ducing 75 to 80 per cent, of normal production. Some mills are actually doing war work for the gbyernmenl such as making duck while others are making cloth necessary to clothe the world. ? He said some mills were showing a tendency to drift away from war work owing to the delays and red tape con nected with government contracts. \ The vague line between essential and nonessential work received con sideration and an effort to make up a list of industries that are essential and ano'.her list of industries that are not essential in war times was made, but it was decided that the war in dustries board in Washington would be consulted in regard to the matter. The cottonseed oil mills over the State which will soon be in operation will require about 1,500 men to run them. Floating labor will supply about 500 men and the others will have to be secured from non-essen tial industries. Many other industries that are es sential are short handed, and men must be recruited. The enormous wastage of man pow er in the State was frequently refer red to. When the soft drink industry was under consideration, the board manifested a desire to put on its fighting togs right away?the labor necessary to run the bottling plants; the men necessary to drive the drays and delivery wagons hauling the soft drinks; the freight cars that carry the drinks from places of manufac ture to place of sale; the ice and su gar consumed in their sale and man ufacture*, and the absolute uselessness of the finished product, all came in for comment that was not gentle. When the pool rooms came up for consideration, the same desire to con serve man power and put the idlers and pushers to productive work was manifest One gentleman pres ent said he had seen recently in one pool room some 12 or 1"! men at about 1:30 o'clock in the day playing the game, and this when :he country is calling for all available man power to put its force into war work. The demand for skilled mechanics for government work is well known. When it was pointed out that more than 700 transfers operate in the city of Columbia, many of the cars being run by skilled mechanics, and that these men are sorely needed for gov ernment work, the board epcpressed the hope that these men would soon be in war work. Harber shops, one man fruit stands, pressing clubs and similar industries came up for discussion, and the urg ent necessity for women taking the place of men so as to release the men for war work was commented upon. One question which brought about considerable discussion had to do with sewer systems in process of be ing installed. To remove the civil engineers from work that has already been started would entail loss and hardship-, it was said, 'but to advise against the inauguration of any new work would prevent personal loss. Street paving and improvements, the employment of <v?rpenters and brick masons in building residence and' VICTORY FOR BRITISH. LAST BOCHES DRIVEN BEHIND SOMME RIVER. Haig's Men Capture Clercy and Make Advance Toward Peronne?Inflict Terrible Losses on Beaten Enemy, Who is Forced Out of Many Towns. With the British Forces in France, Aug. 30. (By Associated Press) 4 p. m.?It is reported that Bailleul, on the north side of the, Lys salient, has teen evacuated by the Germans and that the British are either enter ing the town or may soon occupy it. Longatte and Ecoust-St. Meinf, southwest of Bullecourt, are reported to have been captured today by the British. All the country south and west of the river now is free of the enemy. The fighting British Armies again smashed their way forward today all along the line. There has been very heavy fighting almost everywhere be tween the Somme and Scarpe and under the force of repeated blows, delivered with machine line precis ion, the foe has been forced to aban don many more town positions and large strips of ground. Once more the Germans have suf fered terrible losses. The British have freed all the country south and west of the Somme, the last Germans being driven behind the river this morning. Even there the enemy is now finding no rest, for the British have crossed the stream at least at one place south of La Chapellette. From Peronne southward first the British cannon and then the French guns are hurling projectiles, big and little, on the other side of the river. Just north of the Somme, after it turns to the west at Peronne, the British have captured Clery and are pressing on toward Peronne. The Germans have ' been trying ever since the fall of Bapaume to hold the line running along the road be tween that town and Peronne.! Brit ish patrols, however, actually have reached Le Transloy, directly on the road, and. it is reported that Le , Transloy has fallen and that a fierce battle within a battle is raging al most along the whole length of the road. Hard fighting is going on around Beauloncourt which is astride the road between Le Tr?nsloy and Ba paume. The Germans hold the ma jor portion of this village for the moment, but they seem destined to be thrown out from it. A bitter strug gle also is in progress at Moorval, , southwest of Le Transloy. The fight ing appears to have reached a hand to hand character, and the Germans are said' to/have suffered from the British bayonets. Other towns in this immediate neighborhood fell this i this morning or during last night. From this locality the line of bat tle swings wide around Bapaume, and there has been more heavy fighting here. Bancourt, east of -Bapaume, fell after being stormed. Astride the road to Cambrai from ; Perbnhe,~thh- British crashed into the Germans and smothered their resist ance, here again at the point \of the bayonet. Fremicourt seems to have been taken and the British drive or eastward. North of here Vau] Vrau ! court, which contained a large enemj garrison that offered the strongest resistance with machine guns, ap parently has fallen in its entirety tc the British. Ecoust-St. Mien and Longatte again have been reported tc have been captured by the British. Here the Germans delivered a power ful counterattack and the British withdrew in the face of it. The ar tillery was turned in the t**ap the Ger mans had made for themselves and ' after it had finished the British moved back again and mopped up with what remained of the Germans. Bullecourt is in Bi-tish hands as apparently also is Hendecourt. Rein court and Cagnicourt seem to be in the possession of Field Marshal Haig's men. Heavy fighting is re ported in "his locality, as here the British have reached a point only a i few hundred yards from the Dro court-Queant switch line, which ap parently is garrisoned v h every man the German high co? mand has been able to lay hands on. They are waiting for what they expect may come in their five lines of trenches which are protected by many belts of barbed wire. But even as they wait they are be ing harassed by heavy fire from the British cannon. From here northward across the Arras-Carnbrai road and along the River Scarpe the British are pushing forward, gaining more ground, straightening their line and drawing generally closer to the Drocourt Queant defenses of the enemy. Counterattacks have been launch ed on various parts of the battle front, but none of them seems to have gained anything for the enemy. A majority of them have been com pletely broken up by the hail of bul lets from machine guns and rifles be fore the enemy reached the British positions. In the north there apparently is lively activity at several places. The British are reported to have made considerable advances. A report has I just been received that Bailleul, southwest of Ypres, is being shelled by the enemy. If this is correct it indicates that the Germans have withdrawn altogether from that im portant town and that the British moving picture theaters and work of like character brought out the com ment that the war demands carpen ters and brick masons ana engi neers and that such work as that re ferred to ein wait. Various other matters were con jsidered. P'oe'd Administrator William Elliott and Governor Manning were present at the conference and gave many facts with regard to labor con ditions over -.he State. The following members of the ad visory board were present: H. L. Til ghman. chairman; V. M. Montgom ery, president of Pacolet Manufac turing Company. Spartanburg; A. C. Thompson, president of the South Carolina Federation of Labor, Char leston; Ceorge Nafey, secretary of thej City Federation of Trades, Columbia.' DOMIN ATING POSITION IN YPRES; SECTOR TAKEN BY BRIT ISH. Ridge That Germans Took Last | Spring After Terrific Fighting and!< Immense Sacrifice of Life Falls ji into Hands of Allies. ) 4 By Associated Press. - London, Aug. 31, 1.10 P. M.? Mont Kemmel, the famous strong-) hold southwest of Ypres, which was! the scene of terrific fighting last; April, has been captured by the Brit- 4 ish, latest advices from the. front i state. Mont St, Quentin, a mile and ^ a-half north of Peronne, has also been 4 taken. M The French made a small advance j< on the Ailette river and in that neigh-! < borhood occupying the southern out- j *j skirts of the wood five hundred < yards southwest of Coucy-Ie-Chat- < eau. < In the Lys salient the British hold < La Conture and Lestram, and west|< of Douliu at Nooteboom Gen. Haig's < forces also progressed a mile and a- < half east of Bailleul. The British ] have taken Mont-de-Lille and Kern- , mel Hill. British troops which cap- 1 tured Mont-St. Quentin are now ] moving in the direction of Bushu, two miles northeast of Peronne. EAST OF .PAUME.V British Attacking Strongly Held Ger man Position. With Eritish Forces, France, Aug. 30 (Noon)?Gen. Haig's men today are attacking near Marrienez Wood between Bapaume and the Somme which is strongly held by the ene my. FIGHTING IN SIBERIA. , Allied Forces Attack and Defeat Bol sheviki. Vladivostok. Monday, Aug.V26?rAl lied forces and Czecho-Slovak tro'ops have attacked the Bolsheviki. Red Guard on the Usuri River front, and | have driven the enemy back fifteen miles. Many prisoners were taken and a large quantity of booty-* captur ed by the Allies. : : BATTLE MOVES NORTHWARD. Heavy Artillery' Fire Reported North of Noyan. Paris, Aug. 31.?Heavy artillery fire north of Noyon and between the Ailete and Aisne is reported^ in the official statement. ? , _ v ( ? AMERICAN SHIP SUNK. Two Submarines Attacked Cargo Ship Joseph Cudahy. > Washington, Aug. 31.?The- United j States cargo ship, Joseph Cudahy, was submarined seven hundred miles off the English coast on August 17th. Sixty-two members of the ;Cje??^ are missing. Thirteen were rescued. The attack was made by two subma rines. PREMIER LENTNE WOUNDED. Attack Made on Lenine at Moscow. London, Aug. 31.?The Bolsheviki Premier Lenine was wounded in a criminal attempt on his life at Mos cow, according to a Russian wire less message. SPANISH SHIP TORPEDOED. Germans Sink Another Neutral Ship. Paris, Aug. 31.?Another Spanish ship, . the Alexandre, has been tor pedoed, according to a Madrid dis patch to the Journal. either are entering Bailleul or will do so later. It is time something was sa*!d of the wonderful work in the Scarpc Somme battle of the British, which made possible the victories gained. The Germans themselves testify to the terrible efficiency of the massed .Eritish cannon, which in many cases stood virtually wheel to wheel while pouring death and destruction into the enemy, knocking the will to fight out of him and blasting a path for the infantry. The prisoners all mention the ter rific barrages they have withstood and comment bitterly upon the thinness of their own counterbarrages, be cause the German heavies are al ways being dragged rearward to save them from capture. The Ger man artillery apparently had little faith in the ability" of the infantry to hold off the British attacks today. As for days past the British bar rages have fallen all along the front, ever moving forward and they have come down on masses the enemy lying in whatever shelter they could find, such as shell craters. Rarely have the Germans had the protection of dugouts. Even when they have, going into them often I meant capture, for British infantry and tanks at nearly all times have been upon them so closely after the barrages lifted that they have not had much time to offer fight, even if they really desired to. The casualties inflicted by the Brit ish shells have been larger perhapsi than ever l>efore, because the gun-1 ners, advancing closely behind the! infantry, have had many opportuni ties on this terrain, which alternate ly- is slightly rolling and flat, to lay on their weapons with open sights ano 1 our a rapid fire of steel into the Boehes. The artillery had material ly helped to increase the number of j prisoners by throwing completely out! of gear all the enemy rationing ar-1 ran gem en ts. Prisoners who had recently been in Peronne said they saw a great) many men there whose nerves) had been completely shattered. I Peronne at tho time was being! bombed from! thf air almost contin uously. < >n?' airplane after another was flying over in rapid succession, literally raining bombs on the Ger mans and inflicting heavy casualties, besides causing much material dam Building Material LIME, LATH, BRICK, CEMENT, SIDING, CEILING, PLASTER, SHINGLES, FLOORING, MOULDINGS* FIRE CLAY, FIRE BRICK, ROUGH LUMBER ROOFING PAPER ooth 6 McLeot Feed- Stuffs HAY, CORN, OATS, HULLS, TANKAGE, MIDDLINGS, RICE FLOUR, WHEAT BRAN, SUGAR FEED, MEAT SCRAP, CHICKEN FEED, OYSTER SHELL, SEED OATS AND RYE, COTTON SEED MEAL nc, Sumter, S. C AMERICANS IN BATTLE. HARD FIGHTING AHEAD FOR; PERSHING'S MEN. Additional Gains for Allies North off Soissons Will Bring Disaster Close, i With the American army in France, Aug. 20 (S p. m.) (By the Associated] Press)?Late this afternoon thej Americans held positions in the fight tag line in the Soissons -region extend ing in a northerly direction from Chavigny. All the skill of General von Schwerin, commanding the Seventh Guard Division, is being exercised to! hold back the Americans at their point in the line north of Soissons and to save the Germans from the men ace they would be under if the Allies occupied the plateau extending- far ther toward the east. Recovering before the day ended from the shock of the early morning attack von Schwerin, brought into play his artillery and other resources in a desperate effort to check the movement. Equally determined ef forts were made by those organiza tions in front of the French divis ion on the right and left of the Amer icans. j Reports from points on the line I where the attack is in progress in i dicate that the Americans are con i fronted by what is believed by many ! to be one of the most determined j stands yet taken by the Germans l who realize that a break at any poini j would likely be followed by disaster. I The opinion seems to be that even i yard of territory gained will be bit I terly contested and that it is not im ( probable that villages and other ob I jectives will be subjected to the fatr I of capture and recapture many time before their possession is undisputed The rapidity with which the gaim j were made by the Americans and j French early in the day was not du plicated in the afternoon when th< \ battle settled into a strong artiller} duel in which the guns of both side* fired often at direct targets and ai I unusually close range. The country which has been th< battlefield almost four years again i the scene of a conflict which has started out with the promise of bein? most stubbornly fought. Tonight th? , sky is dotted with flashes of shell? while the roar of the barrage and counter barrage must be audible al most to Paris. In the back area shelh are falling behind the Americans, but not so frequently as at many times previously. The Germans apparent ly are using all their guns and energy in attempting to tear down the de termined lines of their advancing enemy. Two captured officers, when ques tioned today by intelligence officer1 i attempted to give the impression tha* little resistance would be made, as suring the officers that there wert no machine- guns left emplaced. While telling the story, however, it was be ing refuted within their own hear ing. How many hundreds of thousand? of these little guns the Germans have immediately in front of the Ameri cans is not known, but the number u quite up to the lately developed Ger man tactics. Every hillside, ravin* and wood crackles with their fin whenever they are approached. And it has been in the face of their de structive offense that the Americans and French as well have been mov ing. Comparatively little gas has beer employed by the enemy, perhaps be cause the wind has not been altogeth- ; er favorable to its use. There have arrived at the dressing station a few cases of men suffering from mustar I gas. but most of them encountered 1 in shell holes, hollows and depres sions where it was old. but still ef fective. ? As the day passed the visibility im proved and the aviators of both side became more active. Those of the allies rendered valuable assistance ii observation work. The Germans today concentrated much of their efforts on the destruc tion of tanks. ENLISTED MEN PROMOTED. Three South Carolinians Given Com missions. Washington. Aug. 31.?Enlisted men in the army granteel commis sions second lieutenants at Camp Oodge, Iowa, include K. Carroll An derson. Donora. S. C.. .lames Ho well Marion, S. C. Julian Strother, Edge-i held. S. C. GERMANS CONTINUE HURRIED RETREAT ON SOMME. Allies Push Enemy Back by Sustained! Aggressive?Indications Are That Hwns Will Not He Able to Hold llindenhurg Line. I The Germans continue in retreat ! everywhere between Arras and the; j Soiscons sector under the violent at tacks by the Allied troops. As yet I there^ seems to be no slackening in ' the offensive that is steadily reclaim I ing numerous French towns and vil lages and territory that long has been ir< the hands of the enemy. Indeed instead of halting his men for a breathing spell. Marshal Foch seems to be pushing them forward with great impetus and at present j the retiring enemy shows no indica i tions of turning and offering more of J a. resistance than he recently has been ) giving with his machine gunners and i infantry units that are attacking as rear guards to aid in covering the eastward retrograde movement. Already outflanking the old Hin denburg line on - the north, Field Marshal Haig's forces gradually are cutting their way eastward, both north and south of the Somme, and putting down strong counteroffensive actions, although on several sectors they have had to cede ground temporarily. Unofficial reports assert that the British have captured the important town of Bapaume where for days there has been bitter fighting, the Ger mans exerting their utmost strength to keep Haig's men from gaining con trol of railways and the high road leading to Cambrai. To the south :he British also are reported to have >enetrated to the outskirts of Maure >as, another point of strategic value. Along both sides of the Somme run ning eastward ground has been gain ed and south of Peronne, where the river bends sharply southward, the ?stream has been crossed at several joints and this important railroad junction outflanked. Since the caving in of the German line by the fall of Chaulnes and Roye the French literally have overrun the southern portion of Picardy, having reached the western bank of the Ca nal du Nord along almost its entire !en.rth and captured Noyon, which surrounded by hills has stood defiantly i'or days under a rain of shells. East :ind southeast of Noyon other im portant positions have been taken and between the Oise and the Aisne the French have overcome the heavy re sistance of the enemy and crossed the Ailette River. Northwest of Soissons where the Americans are in the line with the French in the general movement of clearing Picardy of the enemy, there has been severe fighting but with the Allied troops having the advan tage. The American sector is between Chavigny and Juvigny and the ene my facing them includes the Prus sian Seventh infantry. Along the Vesle River at Ba tches and Fismette the situation is rather less tense than it was Tues day and Wednesday when heavy Tghting occurred between the Ameri cans and Germans. Thursday the Americans heavily shelled the Ger- j :nan positions but the Germans fail ed to accept their challenge to a duel and replied only feebly. The claim oT the German war office that 2">0 Amer icans were made prisoners during the recent fighting is denied by the Americans who assert that only a few of their men are missing. The situation in eastern Siberia seems to be somewhat clarified through the disarming by the Czecho slovaks of all the Russian volunteers who revolted recently and took sides with General Honrath, the anti--Bol shevik leader. The first big battle in which all the allied forces except the Americans ?took part occurred last Saturday when the enemy attacked but was decisively beaten. At last accounts the Allied troops were steadily ad vancing against the enemy. BAN ON PLEASURE RIDING. Automobiles May lie Used for Neces sary Pni']>osos on Sunday But No Joy Riding. Washington. Aug. ."<!.?The ban on the iis'( of gasoline on Sundays for Mieter- vehicles and boats applies only o pleasure riding. Fuel Director Oar 'm mI announced today lb' said thai ?i reasonable use of automobiles for necessary purposes is not prohibited. M LEVY REDUCED ADDED TAX VALUES OF MORE THAN $50,000,000. State Levy Reduced From Nine and One-half Mills to Eight and a Quarter. Columbia, Aug. 30.?The State tax levy is reduced from nine and one half mills to eight and a-quarter mills. This is in accord with the act pass ed at the last session of the legisla ture making the tax levy flexible, and the reduction is made possible by the fact that the tax commission has add ed at least $5o,00?,o00 to the tax val j ues in the State. This was accomplished by restoring ! to the tax books certain properties I and by the increased valuations ? placed upon personal and real prop j erty. i These additions to the taxable val | ues will permit not only the decrease in the State levy but will affect the I county levies as well. Governor Manning will bring the matter to the attention of the county authorities. In the county supply bill passed at the last session of the legislature pro vision was made for flexible county levies in respect to the following counties: Anderson, Cherokee, Ches terfield, Fairfield, Florence." Horr^f*"" Orangeburg, Saluda, Spartanburg and Union. The tax levies in those coun ties will be adjusted according to the increased valuation in those coun ties. In the other counties no such pro j vision was made and Governor Man j ning will take the matter up with the j legislative delegations in those coun i ties and ask them to confer with the 'auditor and county commissioners in these counties and agree upon such reductions in taxation as are proper. The counties in which this must be done are: Darlington, Dillon, Cal houn, Greenville. Greenwood, Lancas ter, Lexington, Marion, Marlboro, Oconee, Pickens, Sumter and York. TRUSTY MURDERS GUARD. IL Edgar McDaniel Killed by Negro Convict on Laurens County Chain gang. Laurens, Aug. 29.?At an early hour this morning a negro convict, Hill Garrett, ran amuck at one of the chaingang camps located at Oakville school house, near McDaniel's Mill, and after killing R. Edgar McDaniel, the guard', and seriously woundinr Whit Searfght, another negro prison- ] er, walked a short distance from the tent and killed himself with a pistol he had used on the guard and his fellow convict. Searight was brought i to the city and given medical atten j tion. He was shot four times but it is said that he will recover. McDaniel. who was a member of a well known Laurens county family; was shot-dead while standing just in side one of the tents and was in the net of unlocking the chains used for keeping the prisoners secure at night. It seems that on going to the tent ? to arouse the negro cook, Garrett, who was a "trusty" slipped out of the tent, went to the guard's quar ters, secured the guard's pistol, re tunred to the dormitory and opened fire on Mr. McDaniel. killing him in stantly. He then fired on Searight, . who was making an effort to sub due him by the use of a pick handle. In all more than a dozen shots were ? tired by the negro and the other pris- , oner escaped by falling to the ground as if dead. Leaving the tent Gar rett walked a short instance and shot himself, though the fact was not known until the officers from the city, n making a search for the man. found his body in the undergrowth in the , wiods. LIMITED SERVICE MEN. Will T>o Called up Only In Case Oth ers are Released for Duty Overseas. Washington. Aug. 30.?Men classi fied under the selective draft as qual ified for ' limited or special" service will not be called unless thereby able bodied men will be released for ser vice abroad. Secretary Baker an nounced today. The only exception new in force, he said, were the* cases of n few limited service men who are assisting the construction of a term5 nal .it. Charleston. S. C. This was considered a temporary detail and the men will l>e assigned to other w?>rk mnv being done by men eligi ble lor full military service.