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thr SUMTERj WATCHMAN, K?tab 4i>ed April, 1850. Sunt a Consolidated Aug. 2,1881. SU Americans and French Start Big Push Against Huns. Attack This Morning on Both Sides of St. Mehiel Salient Has All the Ear Marks of a Major Operation?Idvasion of Ger man Territory May Be Object. American Forces Lorraine Front, XBy the Associated Press)?The French and American artillery this morning directed a terrific barrage fire on the German positions on this front The reply of the German big guns was vigorous at some places. There are some indications that the ?Germans are withdrawing their ar tillery. . ThtJ Germans are now falling back on. the fronts on each side of the St. Mihiel salient Though undoubtedly suspicious of the intentions of the Americans, the Germans were un aware of the time or the direction of the attack. The American troops are ail intensely eager, and are fighting magnificently. DRIVE AT ST. MIHIEL. Rig Guns and Airplanes Used in Great Numbers. "With American Forces, Lorraine Front. Sept 12 (Reuter)?The French and American forces this morning launched an attack against the Germans on both sides of the St. Mihiel salient, along a front of twelve miles on the western side and a front of eight miles on ? the east side. There is a great concentration of ' Franco-American lartillery on this front and airplanes are operating in large numbers. DRIVE STARTS WELL. . Americans Launch Attack and Cap ture German First Lines. American Forces, Lorraine Front, 9 A. M. (Associated Press)?The ^American forces early this morning launched a vigorous attack on Ger man positions in this region. : r At 9 o'clock they had progressed generally along the line. Some, piis jo|ter^5Fj^ .pa: csv of ?i?^'sector. The first wave of the Americans met with little resistance and at '8. o'clock the second wave was in pos session of several points in the Ger man first line. '? BRITISH ADVANCE TOWARD ST. Q LEA! TIN. Take Several Towns in Spite of\Stiff German Resistance. London, Sept. , 12.?The British taptured the towns of Vermand, At tilly and Vendelles, all on the front northwest of St Quentin, Gen. Haig reports officially this morning. In the advance toward St. Quentin the Brit ish progressed as far as the western Outskirts of Holnon Wood, southeast of Attilly. The Germans offered stiff opposition in the Havrincourt-Moeu vres sectors, which the British over came. CANAL DUNORD CROSSED BY HAIG'S MEN. Main Defense of Cambrai Penetrated and Held Strongly. London, Sept 12.?The British ef fected a crossing of the Canal Du nprd northwest of Vavry Nor Court, it is officially reported. The canal lino here forms the main defense of Cambrai on the southwest. A short ditsance to the north the British pushed to the WTest bank cf the ca nal, west and north of 'louvres and have established themselves there. FIGHTING Dff ALBANIA. Vienna Reports Capture of Allied Po sitions. Vienna, Sept. 12.?A succesful at tack on Tomorica Ridge. Albania, gave us possession of enemy po sitions at a few points, says the Aus trian war office statement today. PRESIDENT WILSON WINS IN GEORGL\. William J. Harris Nominated for Sen ate by Large Majority. Atlanta, Sept. 12.?The overwhelm ing defeat of Hardwick is shown in today's returns from yesterday's pri mary, which is equivalent to elec tion in Georgia. William J. Harris, supported by the president, appeared to have carried a hundred and twelve counties with '.wo hundred and eighty-four convention votes. Under the county unit system ninety-one votes is necessary to a choice. How- j ard was given twenty counties with fifty votes; Hardwick, eighteen coun ties with forty-two votes; Shaw, one j county; Cooper, none. In the congressional contests W. D. Upshaw is leading in the Fifth Dis tricts for Howard's seat. Congress man Vinson and Tom Watson al locked in a close race in fhe Tenth j Wright is apparently leading Per sons in the Fourth. The leaders in State officers are J. D. Price fcr rail road commissioner; Guy MeLendon. for secretary of State; T. E. Pattei sor> for prison commissioner: Clifford Walker for attorney general: Frank Harwell, for Judge of the Court of' Appeals. i CAMPAIGN HEARS CRISIS. I ONLY A SUCCESSFUL STAND ON PRESENT LINE CAN SAVE HUNS. [ _______ ! French, British and Americans Cou ! tinue Advance Despite Most De j termined Resistance of Germans and Unfavorable Weather Condi I tions. - I London, Sept. 10.?The critical j military position of the Germans I from the region west of Cambrai j southward to the St. Gobian massif land around this strong coi.".*? :a:t j ward to the territory no i ano northeast of Soissons continues to j hold the eyes of the world. I For the moment the tactical ma neuvers of the belligerents in Artois land Flanders as well as eastward, of i Soissons into Champagne, although jthey are still of the greatest import, [ necessarily continue to take' second talace in interest to those sectors [which are filled with momentous pos sibilities, where a successful move ! by the Allies may bring a quick I change in the entire German battle front, or, on the contrary, a deter mined stand by the enemy with the large reinforcements in man and gun power he is known-to have assembled may result, for a time at least, in a stalemate in the game which is being played by the Allies to crack the al ready demoralized German line. The heavy rains of the past few days have turned lowlands through out the fighting zones into quagmires, but on. those sectors of the high, ground between Cambrai and Sois sons the storms have not kept the British and French armies from mov ing *torwaTd^wi_^WT3sr^^ seTvtidT to lessen , the strength, of the enemy's resistance. Near Gauzaucourt and Havrincourt ! the British have pressed on a little farther toward Cambrai, in the form er" region after having put down counterattacks by the Germans -who endeavored to reclaim the high grcund won by the British <n Sun day's fighting. To the south the French from the district west of St. Quentin southward to the western side of the St. Gobian forest have pushed eastward toward the Oise, which they are virtually upon all along this front, with their flanks now resting dangerously near both St. Quentin and La Fere. St. Quentin now stands only a little more than three miles away, while La Fere is so closely encroached upon from the west and outflanked from the north that semingly it soon must fall. The maneuvers of the French have added materially to their program of turning the St. Gobian forest from the west and also the capture of St. Quentin, and the French and Amer icans who *are fighting shoulder to shoulder northeast of Soissons con tinue to carry out successfully a core lated movement having the conquest of the St. Gobian forest in view and also the outflanking of the German positions to the east. In their latest endeavors the Franco-American forces have made some slight pro gress in the face of the extremely stubborn resistance of the enemy. Likewise, in the sector east of Sois sons, the French and Americans have gained additional ground be tween the Vesle and Aisne Rivers. Far to the north the British now are so nearly upon Armentieres that a few more strides forward seem ingly will place them in a position to make the one time cotton spinning center theirs for the a.sking. La Basse also daily is being brought I nearer in this general movement. ; which apparently has as its ultimate j objective the recapture of Lille, and j possibly the eventual falling back of i the German line northward in Bei : gium. WORLD SERIES ENDS. 1 Rod Sox Defeat Cubs in Final Big Game. Boston, Sept. 11.?Taps for pro fessional baseball for the duration or the war was sounded at Fenway Park today when the Boston Ameri can League pennant bearers won the first war scarred baseball champion ship of the world by defeating Chi cago National League championship holders of series by a score of 2 to 1. This gives the Red Sox a record of six victories for the over-lordship of the baseball world in as many starts, and as the Boston Nationals won the championship in 1!>!4 it brings to this city seven world's ti tles without one blot on the escuteh eon. Blonde Carl Mays, of underhand delivery, was th^ winning i itebor. while George Tyler, one of the Cub's stellar- left handers. and Flack, <'hi ea pro's rtgrht fielder, who has be^n playing such a brilliant game, must] bear between them much of the bur-] den of defeat. od Fear not?Es? ?0 the coda Thon AU __^_ MTER, S. C, SATUBD.fi TSO?P SHIP TORPEDOED. AMERICAN TRANSPORT ATTACK ED NEAR ENGLISH COAST. Ship Carried Twenty-eight Hundred Troops But All Hands Were Saved and Ship Beached. London. Sept IT.?A, troop ship with twenty-eight hundred Americans aboard has been torpdoed. All hands were saved and the ship beached. Bv, order to save time the men clamber ed down ropes to destroyers which swarmed around the stricken vessel; and came close alongside. The op eration was facilitated by the fact that the sea was not rough. The troop ship was a member of a large convoy which was approaching the English coast. It was torpedoed two hundred miles from shore at 3 o'clock Friday afternoon. Many troops * from Chicago and Cleveland, a large per cent of them of foreign extraction were on the] ship. Several soldiers said they saw the submarine lifted clear out of the| water after one depth bomb was ex:-' ploded, and then disappear. The; troop ship was lagging behind the rest of the convoy because of engine trouble. ? BBITiSH GAIN SLIGHTLY i SMALL ADVANCE MADE. NORTH--] WEST OF ST. QUENTIN. Germans Fighting With Dcte^taina-i tlon?Several Counterattacks Beat-*; en off Except at One Point Where: Germans Captured British Position; London, Sept 11.?During lasf; night the British advanced slightly/ in the region of Vermand, northwest of St. Quentin, Gen. Haig reported' officially this morning. A Germane counter attack in the region o| Ecourt-St. Quentin was repulsed ir| stiff fighting. There was sharp fight|S ing also at Gouseaucourt and the* Germans were beaten off except afj one point where British posts res mained in enemy possession. j - % FRENCH CAPTURE IMPORT ANT POSITION IN GERMAN LINE. Paris, Sept. 11.?Havas?The v l?ge of Travecy, near the southern end of the main Hindenburg linlj has been captured by the ?French, ?j cording to reports received here.'^ 5?f the French can hold the fown important enemy position of La Fer?sf , two'miles south of Travecy willS BRITISH SUSTAIN REVERSE. V ' , Berlin War Office Reports Defeat of British in Ypres Sector and Cap-' ture of Three Thousand Prisoners. Berlin, Sept. 11.?The British at tempt to advance yesterday south of Ypres and north of Labasse canal was repulsed, it is officially announc ed. The statement says three thou sand prisoners were taken by Gwr-. mans. AUSTBIANS REGAIN POSITION. Successful Attack Made in Asolonejj Sector of Italian Front. Vienna, Sept. 11.?In the Asolone sector on the Austro-Italian front where the Italians penetrated the Austro-Hungarian lines the situation was restored yesterday by an Austrian counter attack, it is officially an nounced. GERMANS STILL ATTACKING. Less in Three Day Fight With Amer icans Appalling. American Forces, Aisne Front. Tuesday P. M. Sept 10?The Ger mans this evening are still attacking on the Mont Rouge plateau with desperate determination. The enemy loss during the last three days must be appaling. BRITISH CUT RAILROAD. Gain Footing in Two Villages Be tween Roisel and Mareoing. With the British Armies in France. Sept. 11.?The British today gained a footing in Peiziere and Epesy, on the railroad between Roisel and Marcoing. GERMAN REGIMENT MUNITIES. Outbreak Occurred at Cologne Aug- j gust 31st. Amsterdam, Sept. 11.?A German' regiment, the twenty-fifth, mutinied at Cologne on August 31st, accord-j ing to an Exchange Telegraph Com-! pany report. CROP CONDITIONS. Synopsis of Weather and Crop Condi- j tions in South Carolina for The! Week Ending September 10. -, , Columbia. Sept. 11.?Drenching; rains in most of the State during the I latter part of the week have greatly ' improved all late crops, especially: sweet and white potatoes, gardens.] forage, sugar cane a\jd pastures, andi late tru'-k in tbe southern counties is progressing favorably. Late corn: has revived considerably and has; made fair to good progress. The early cotton crop is made, and bolls are opening rapidly. with picking general, but labor scarce; deteriora tion and shedding in the Intermediate j crop have been checked, and many vigorous top bolls remain: the late crop has improved to such an extent that production will bo inerensed with warm weather and a late season.; The soil is now in good condition.! and fall plowing will again become j general. ?? ?|t at be thy Oounia^'e. Thy God's k Y, SEPTEMBER 14, 19 PETR??R?D IN FLIES. ! AN INDISCRIMINATE SLAUGHTER I AND PILLAGE IN "PROGRESS. City Burning: in Twelve Different i J~ Places and Massacre of People is! ? Taking Place in the Streets. Washington, Sept 11.?Word was received today from European Source that reports there said that Retrograd is in flames in many places j and that indiscriminate slaughter ofj citizens, pillaging and rioting are; talcing place in all parts of the city, j i ANARCHY IN PETROGRAD. rte Department Receives Official I Report of Conflagration and Mas sacre. I Washington, Sept. 11.?A dispatch fom the American legation at ferristiana today said that reliable information had been received that jietregrad is burning in twelve dif ferent places, and that there is indis riminate massacre in the streets, jcretary Lansing said the message Id not indicate whether massacre fas organized or merely the result the general state of anarchy. ?-B??T SENT DOWN. RICAN STEAMER SINKS HUN SEA WOLF. le Begun by Enemy Ends Dis | astro usly by Two Well Placed " Shots of Naval Guard. - f Washington, Sept. 10.?Destruc- ' >h of an enemy submarine on Sep maber 3 off the Atlantic coast by ifire from the American steamer rank y. Buck was reported to the ivy department today by the master the sto rimer. He said that two >ts were observed to hit the subnia le, y hich sank after a "terrific :plosion." ' The submarine, the captain said. J ened fire on the steamer at a range j 4,000 yards, but when it found j ter an interchange of three score J iots that it was outranged by the nerican guns it tried to draw off. was then that the ship put in the ro shots which the captain believes sstroyed the enemy. The captain's story of the encoun as made public tonight by the de Ijtment, was received over the long stance telephone from an Atlantic it at which the Back had arrived. j|jgge^dj|?. the department had between a steamer and a subma rine in which the enemy was sunk and began an investigation to learn the facts. The captain's narrative as sum marized in the report to the depart ment follows: ' On September 3,. at 3.25*a. m., an enemy submarine was sighted on the starboard beam at 4,000 yards. The submarine opened fire with two six inch guns. We answered with for ward guns. We saw the shot fall about 400 yards short and imme diately swung stern forward to sub marine, using after guns. Our shots were very close to the submarine and the submarine shrapnel were bursting! very near to us, some of the pieces falling upon, our deck amidships. Wej changed course frequently which seemed to upset the submarine's aim i and range. As soon as the submarine saw our range was equal to hers she sailed away from us. Up to that time she had been dosing in on us. 1 "Before the submarine could getj out of range our 28th shot from thei after gun apparently hit her stern, j The 29th shot hit her just forward of j the conning tower, near and under the water line. The bow immediately | shot up into the air very suddenly then settled and went down out of sight, the stern making a half turn toward us and then it disappeared, j "Upon our shots striking the sub-1 marine we saw very closely a terrific j explosion and black smoke, which j enveloped the submarine. I am pos-1 itive that we destroyed her as she sank .almost instantly after the shots! struck her. "The engagement lasted 20' min- j utes. Some of the fragments of the j submarine fell on our decks and were picked up by the quartermaster and i chief gunner's mate. "The submarine was about 300 feet; long, of the early type of Germai; submarines with high bow. and hau. two six inch guns close to the con ning tower, fore and aft. She fired '? in salvos, using about 60 shots alto- j gether. She was camouflaged and j Hew no flags." The navy department announced; that the capain of the Buck highly j commended the efficiency and con duct of Chief Gunner's Mate Joseph ! Steffens and the entire armed guard under his command. NICHOLLS LEADS BOM AR. Incumbent Apparently Defeats Bo mar. Who Will Ask for Recount o,' Votes. Spartanburg, Sept. 11.?Unofficial returns from 83 out of S5 boxes in Spartanburg county in the congres sional race give Nicholls 3.H99 and Bornar 3.496. The later boxes have served to reduce Nicholl's lead to _<>:; in Spartanburg county. The two missing boxes .ire small and wil make no change in the result. It is understood here that Bomar will ask for a recount of .-ill the votes in alii the counti?-s of the district tomorrow Reports from th<- other counties re ceived during the day served to giv Nicholls a 1< id in district of ;i r>~ proximately 500 votes, but rh<- figure* were unofficial. id Tntf*.7* THE TRU1 L8. VICTORY III SIGHT. LLOYD GEORGE SAYS NOTHING BUT HEART FAILURE CAN PREVENT TRIUMPH. Premier of Great Britain Who Has Neve: Been a False Prophet of Easy V ictory Makes an Optimistic Address?Casualties Much Less Than in 1916. Manchester, Sept. 12.?"Nothing but heart-failure on the part. of the British nation can prevent ou: achievement of a real victory," said Premier Lloyd George, in speaking today. He also said the British casualties in the last offensive had been one-fifth what they were in 1916. WEATHER HELPS COTTON, CHECKS PREMATURE OPENING IN MANY CASES. Outlook In Texas, Oklahoma and Ar kansas Still Regarded as Very Un satisfactory. Washington, Sept. 11.?While the weather was beneficial in checking premature opening in many localities and there' was less complaint of in sect activity and shedding, cotton con tinued on the whole to make little progress last week, and the outlook still is unsatisfactory in most dis tricts, especially in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, the national crop bul letin announced today in its report for the week ending yesterday. Moder ate rains fell in most districts, the re port said, except that falls were rath er heavy in the Atlantic Coast sec tions. L The report continued: '/In portions of North Carolina cotton made satis factory advance during the <week which was the cause for the imme diate and late crops in South Caro lina, but it continues in poor condi tion in Georgia, where the probabil ity of much improvement is slight. Shedding and weevil arc causing de terioration in Florida, and there is little change in the outlook in Ala bama and Mississippi. Some new growth has started in Mississippi but the prospects for a top crop in the State are poor. "The plants that survived the drought in Texas are also putting or. new growth as a result of recent rains but muon of the crop is dead ir. portions of the State. The soil is in ^jo^^c^^^gg^in. |^laJh^a^^^^||. ment of a top crop while conditions continued generally unsatisfactory in Arkansas and Texas. "Picking and ginning made rapici progress in nearly all portions of the belt except for some delay by rain in Oklahoma and in some localities in the lower Mississippi valley. "The harvest situation appears tc be well in hand with only a few com plaints of labor shortage." COTTON CROP STANDSTILL. Recent Rains Too Late for Best Re sults?Shedding is Checked. Memphis Commercial Appeal, Sept. ?9th. The cotton crop has held its own and probably registered a slight im provement in some sections, no \bly Oklahoma and Arkansas, since the end of August. A top crop has started since .the drouth was broken, but this prospeci is dependent upon the date of killing frost. Rains caused considerable shedding, but that was probably more chan offset by new growth. Shed ding has been checked. Pic?iiwr and ginning have become general, and in some sections are ex pected to be completed by the end o' this month or the middle of October. The crop averages from a week tc two weeks early. Ginning' has been unusually heavy for the period since August 1. Attractive prices are putting the crop on the market about as rapidly as it is ginned, but correspondents say there would be a disposition to hold at only slightly lower prices. The portion of the crop that has been sampled compares very favorab ly with the Quality of former years. There is very little off-colored cot ton, but the length and in some in stances the strength of the fiber has been reduced by the drouth. Labor is scarce and high. Anything like a protracted spell of wet weath er or other element delaying picking for long might produce an actual shortage with serious results. FAVOR LIBERTY BONDS. McAdoo Would Have Certain Tax Exemptions. * Washington. Sept. 11.?Secretary McAdoo's ideas in specific exemp tions of incomes on Liberty bonds from surtaxes under the new reve nue act became known today follow ing transmission yesterday of a let ter of Chairman Kitchin of the house ways and means committee, advocating his exemption to promote sale of bonds and eliminate the ne cessity or raising the bond interest. The secretary suggests exemption in form net more than $30,000 worth of four loan bonds owned by any individual, partnership. corporation or association, and from $45,000 worth of bonds for the lirst loan con verted and of the second and the third. He proposes also further lim itation of exemption on lirst. second and third bonds subscribed for and owned at the time <>t" making the ro t urn. These exemptions would be in ac cordance with those already provided for <>n liberty bonds. VoLXLVII. No. 9. GREAT BATTLE COMING. : DRIVE OF ALLXES HALTS AND HUNS PREPARE FOR STRUGGLE. Decisive Operation of Campaign on Western Front is Now Impending ?Bad Weather Cliecks Rapid Ad s vaace of Allies and Germans Gain Time to Bring up Fresh Troops. Eight weeks to the day and for the first time the great allied v offensive of Marshal Foch is at a virtual pause. True, both the British and French oni isolated sectors of the front ex tending from Flanders to the east of Soissons again have recorded ad vances, but Wednesday witnessed no such progress by the allies toward strategic objectives as past day tave brought them?before the toi oal j rains turned the lowlands ir m passable marshes and the _.*lly worsted enemy rushed large""rein forcements forward to stop the gaps through which the British, French and American armies were threaten ing to filter and wreck his entire mil itary situation. During the eight weeks that have passed the Allied troops have cleared almost in its entirety the enemy-held territory from the Marne to the Aisne in the great triangle which had Cha teau-Thierry at its apex and Soissons and Rheims its western and eastern anchor points, from Soissons to Arras the old bulge westward to Montdidier and toward the doorsteps of Amiens has all but been obliterated and the allies now are standing across a large portion of old Hindenburg defense line and virtually are upon the re mainder of it while to the north in Flanders the deep salients which threatened the English Channel ports have bent eastward and the enemy is expelled from the vantage points from which phase expected ultimately to make his drive in an endeavor to gain the seaboard and thus* cause a liversion of the transport service from Englahd to southern France. The British and French troops are apparently in a hard race for the prize for St. Quentin, forces of both armies now being at equi-distant ; j points west of the city?the British in the vicinity of. Vermand and the French at Etrillers and Coucpy. To the north the British in local opera i tions have made further progress north of Ephey, which has for its purpose the driving of a wedge mid way betwen Cambrai and St, Quen tin, and also have successfully sus tained heavy counterattacks-, by the i Germans near Gouzeac?urt, where -? _s_____s__i ? TW^'<lm^J_?^~.. e- - .? . brai. r. North of the St. Gobain massif, the French have made a slight advance notwithstanding the bad condition of the terrain and the strong forces of [ the enemy aligned-against them in an i effort to prevent the turning of this important position from the west.-' i Heavy artillery activity is in prog ress all along this front and likewise on the sector northeast of Soissons and between the Aisne and Vesie Rivers the operations on which have a direct bearing on those of the St. . Gobain forest. In Flanders the British have been , successful in local encounters near Armentieres and the region of La Bassee Canal. BIG BATTLE OR HUNS' RETREAT INDICATED. . Germans Can Not Hope to Check Al lies on Long Hindenburg Defenses. Washington, Sept. 11.?Behind the - apparent lull in the battle in France events are swiftly shaping for oper ations of crucial importance, in the opinion of officials here who are : keeping in hour to hour touch with , developments. These observers believe a week's time will see either She greatest bat? tie of the war in progrss along the ' old Hindenburg line or the enemy .again in full retreat toward the Bel gian frontier, refusing to meet Mar shal Foch's forces. There is evidence that the German ' high command may plan further ex ' tensive withdrawals in order to ! shorten defensive lines and ease the j strain upon Germany's w*aning man j power. There is-now little doubt that j it was lack of fighting effectives that ? forced the eijemy to abandon all he i had gained in his dri**e of this year i and narrow his front. Unofficial es { limates from France say the Ger j mans have left behind them during J the withdrawal more than 300,000 j prime fighting men, killed, badly j wounded or prisoners. This is in ad j dition to the heavy losses in the fron i tal attacks by which the enemy early j in the summer drove his way toward i Paris and the channel ports, i With such losses as these draining the ranks and American troops pour ,'ing into France at the rate of 200,000 a month it would not surprise orTi 1 cers here if the German leaders have been compelled to fix upon a much shorter front than the old Hindenburg j line as one which would offer any hope of staying the Allies' onward march. Unofficial reports from Dunkirk, where allied air patrols are based, indicate that the preparations to evacuate Douai. northern cornerstone of the Hindenburg arch in France, are well advanced. The allied air men also are said to have seen the enemy airdromes and aviation sta tions 15 miles beyond Douai being hastily evacuated of heavy mater ial. Quiet Reigns Along French Front. Paris. Sept. 12.?Only, raiding op erations and artillery activity along the French front is reported in to day's war office statement.