Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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THE SUMTER \VATCHMAN, Eetab Consolidated Aug. 2,1 ST. iEffl MEN. GERMANS DRTVEN OUT OF CHIEF STRONGHOLD ON HINDEN BURG UNEr Huns Play Losing Game?Turks Said to Realize Critical Position in Which They Find Themselves and to Be Sending Out Peace Feelers?Aus tria Withdraws Forces in Mace donia. The town of St. Quentin, upon -which the Germans had so firmly bnilded their hopes of providing an insuperable barrier to the allies, at last has been entered by the French and seemingly the gateway is open to Marshal Foeh for a swift advance eastward in his task of reclaiming northern France. Meanwhile the Germans and their allies on all the battle fronts have continued to play a losing game, and report has it that the Turks, realiz ing their critical" situation through successive defeats and the withdraw al of Bulgaria from the war, are send ing out peace feelers. " From northern Belgium to the re gion of Verdun the battle front is still seething with activity on various fronts and with the entente forces continuing to make gains against the Germans which are seriously imperil ing the enemy lines. : * In Flanders the Belgians, and Brit ish in the region from Dixmude to Armentieres have further driven in their sharp wedge eastward, captur ing important towns and cutting linos of communication recessary to the continued holding by the Germans of their submarine bases on the North Sea. From Cambrai to St, Quentin, not withstanding most vi??ent reactions from the Germans, the British, Americans and French again have won heavily fortified positions of the enemy all along the front." Midway between St. Quentin and Cambrai the remaining portions of the -old Hinden burg line are slowly being demolished although the Germans have imposed the strength of nearly half a million men against the allies to hold the front, the breaking.through of which, in conjunction with the successful maneuvers inv* Flanders, along the. Aisne and in ^ Champagne, would mean disaster: Between the Vesle and Aisne rivers the French have begun to push back the Germans north of the Aisne while in Champagne the French operating in conjunction with tne Americans are steadily advancing northward. Their guns now dominate the Aire " ;River "valley Tunning to the north of the Argohne forest, while on the oth er side of the forest the Americans are slowly coming up in the Aire val ley from the south and soon will oe in a position with the French to nip -4i^-gre^Vwooded bastion out of the . 'German line. In the mountain region of the Ital - ian front there has been a consider able increase in artillery activity and it is probable thai Marshal Foch soon will begin an offensive here against the Austro-Hungarians. General Allenby in Falestine has surrounded Damascus and French cavalry is reported to be working its way up the Mediterranean sea coast toward Beirut. In the Macedonian theater west of Ja.l<e Ochrida the Austrians are evac uating territory in Albania, probab ly indicating that now Bulgaria v is out of the war the Austro-Hungarians realize they are in a serious predica ment far from home and with no allies to aid them. Peace demonstrations have been held in Berlin in which police inter vention became necessary. Some ex cesses were committed by the crowds such as the tearing down of statues. The possibility of a cabinet crisis in Germany is indicated by the resigna tions of the imperial chancellor, vice chancellor and foreign minister. ? In the recent fighting in France and Flanders the German losses in men. killed or wounded, and in gun.; captured have been enormous. To the Belgians the Germans lost vir tually all their forward defensive ar tillery and some heavy naval guns. Many men were made prisoner. WILL SEE PALMETTO BOYS. Whaley and Byrnes to Visit Our Boys! Over There. _ i Washington, Sept. 30.?Representa tive Richard S. Whaley, of Charles ton, and James F. Byrnes, of Aiken.; have left Washington for a visit to , the European war zone. They will be gone about six weeks, according to their expectation, and their trip j will include the Italian front, as weil as the front in France. Tne two South Carolinians intend to make a special call on the Pal metto State troops wherever these] boys may be stationed 'n the war territory in or out of the trenches. The rule? of the voluntary censor ship make it impossible to say from what port the South Carcliniansglr.'* leaving or at what port on the Mgher side they are scheduled to lan#' Representative Carter OlasF of Virginia, chairman of the ofmking' and currency committee of the house. ; will be traveling companion of Messrs. Whaley and Byrnes. OSBORNE WINS OUT IN THIRD j PRIMARY. Columbia, Oct. 2.?The State Dem j ocratic executive committee met at noon yesterday to declare the nom inee of the primary held one week previous to nominate a comptroller i general. Rut. L. Osborne, incum- ? bent, was declared the nomine-''. Mr. Osborne received 7.1.OOS votes and E. C. Elmore 5,7?s?. This was probably j the record or smallest vote ever cas in a Statewide primary in South Carolina? fc?ed April, 1850. "Be 3uat a 881. / I H?SS Q8E?TLY WEAKENEB. LONDON NEWSPAPERS SEE BE GINNING OF END. Whole Fabric of Hun Ground Schemes Raidly Being Torn to Pieces? s Turks May Quit Too. London, Oct. 1.?The loss of the Bulgarians to the Central alliance is regarded by the London morning pa pers as foreshadowing the end of the j great four year's' tragedy. The edi torial writers for the most part are unable to see how Turkey can avoid following the Bulgarian lead, while some believe that Austro-Hungary i must do the same. ! For Germany it is held that the surrender spells ruin to her hopes in middle east and her aspirations for world empire. "We have come to a solemn mo ment in this greatest of all wars and in the long process of civilization." says the Times. "It is no time for exultation, but we may recognize in j this great event the first clear, unmis I takable pressage that the confederacy j of our enemies is tottering to its fall, j The entire surprise which Bulgaria's ! desertion is to the peoples of the Cen j tral Powers can not fail to enhance j the moral consequence of the shock, j The Daily Telegraph says: "It [must bring the German rulers face rc j face with the unpleasant fact that ! the keystone nas fallen out of the arch i of Pan-German designs and should I Turkey follow in the steps of Bulgar ia the whole Pan-German fabric fall;: to pieces like a house of cards." The Morning Post says: "The Ger j mans have had their heaviest blow j in the Near East since Frederick ! Barbarassa perished in the first at j tempt to establish a Berlin-Bagdad ! route. The allies have cut the Achil ; les tendon of the outstretched Ger j man foot." The Daily News, which sees the j whole German position in France ; starting near the point of dissolution ?as a result of recent military success j es by the allied there, says: ] "This drama in the meantime is I overshadowed by the still more im j pressive fact that the Central Powers I are in disruption and the Mittel Eu ! ropa system is in ruins. It adds that I the recent visit of the kings of Saxony I and Bavaria to Sofia indicates a stage : in the situation that may lead to the j isolation of the Hohenzollerns. Ii ^concludes: ! "Despotism is at its last gasp; the j final victory of democracy is a= nand." The Daily Mai! says that Austria is placed in a terrible position," while ; if Turkey does not make peace imme diately nothing can prevent her de struction and dismemberment. Th/ collapse of German influence in 1 Ukraine and the Caucasus, it adds ! will quickly follow. The hope of rehabilitating Rou mania is confidently expressed by : several of the writers. "Roumania may now," says the Post, "shake ofl the chains of servitude and emerge a free nation." ; Warnings are uttered to avoid the erro. of regarding Germany as beat '? en. "She will fight to the death," says The Times, "and she and Austria may j yet offer prolonged and obstinate re* ! sistance. Unrelaxed efforts by the al lies therefore are still necessary." The Daily Chronicle also warns that I it will be a long time before the demobilization of the Bulgars and that other terms of the surrender can be effected and adds: "What has happened does not spell the definite and inevitable defeat of , the Germans and Austrians. It merely opens fresh and valuable avenue's thereto." STICKING TO GERMANY. Cologne Gazette Says Turkey WiL' Stand by Central Powers. Amsterdam. Oct. 2.?The Turkish cabinet, according to the Cologne Ga zette. has decided "in all the circum stances adhere to the alliance witl the Central powers." Over 7,000 Turks Taken. London, Oct. 2, 8 p. m.?More thai: 7.000 Turks were taken prisoner when Gen. Allenby's forces occupied Da mascus, the war office announced to night. rod Fear cot?Let all the en da Thon At SUMTER, S. C SATUR MM HUE BROKEN. -I j GERMAN DEFENSE IN ST. QUEN TIN REGION CRUSHED. -_ i i \Ji Weather Holds Good There Wili j Be Great Change on Western Front Before Winter. j London, Oct. 2, 1.30?Be ween j Cambrai and St. Quentin the -^"ain ! German line of defense has been j broken, but it is uncertain what lines j the enemy has in the rear. In view of ; the loss to the Germans of St. Quen | tin and the lines north of that city j the enemy's retirement on a fairly ! large scale seems probable. Given ? fairly good weather, some very big ' changes on the western front may j be seen before winter. IN BITTER BATTLE. - j PALMETTO LADS SMASHED HIN ! DENBURG LINE WITH SPLEN DID DASH. j They Hold Their Gains Well and Germans Unable to Dislodge Allies From Their New Front South of Cambrai. j - ! With the British Army in the Field. J Oct. 1.?The only impressions made by the Hun on the new front south j of Cambrai have been at Bony and j Villers-Cuislain. Bony is one of the fortihed villages commanding , the j three-mile gap in the Scheid canal j where it lies under ground. Pockets j of machine gunners came out of their i obscure hiding places when the first ! attacking troops had gone through j the Hindenburg main line and began j shootipg at their backs. Our retire" {ment was due wholly to this local j rally and not to fresh counterattacks ! American infantry men from North and South Carolina, Tennessee and New York, with Australians following; them, went through the Hindenburg trenches with splendid dash and en thusiasm. Today the Allies have been attack ing again in this region. On the right of the American-Australian front the Forty-sixth division made a wonderful advance, one of the most glorious exploits of the war. Theso I battalions?the Sherwoods and Lei i cesters?rushed the canal at Bellen tglis, where the Hindenburg lines are j considered to be the strongest Ger j man defenses on the western front. J They drove right through it with such rapidity under the cover of fog and a screen of smoke that the Ger mans scattered away from the canal bank. Many men of the Forty-sixth division plunged into the canal loadc-' j with heavy kits and swam over while i others used improvised lifebelts and pieces of planks as rafts. The canal is nearly sixty feet wide at this point and the water is ice cold. Yet these amazing men clam bered cut on the German embank ment and went cn into the blue, cut ting off complete companies of sur prised infantry. They rushed the deep underground gallery connectin;.; Magy La Fosse with Bellenglis. a dis tance of nearly a mile; stopped ur the exits and thus trapped hundred. of Germans. They spread fanwise j over the surface between Bellenglis j and Magny and eastward of the lat ter hamlet penetrated a difficult maz'. of trenches still netted by barbed ! wire. They; would go down the rav ines and up the sharp ridges through broken, strongly fortified ground and ?eomed to make the journey with cringed feet. If the descriptions given of them by their prisoners are to be believed the line they drove into the enemy'? country extended far back of the Hindenburg labyrinth toward Jon court. Probably a single division has never before taken 4,000 prison ers and such a great number of guns ! in a single rush through the enemy lines. Other divisions of the British Isles performed feats hardly less re markable. ? EVACUATION OF SERBIA. Bulgarians Returning to Their Own Territory. ?-i London, Oct. 2.?Serbia is being j evacuated by the Bulgarians who are I returning to Bulgarian territory, ac cording to the Serbian official state 1 ment issued Tuesdav ninrh.. 1 TOM't at be sliy Oomnsry'j?, Jhy God's ? DAY, OCTOBER 5, 191? WBM??B??B??i 11,818,000 BALE CROP. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE! ISSUES COTTON CROP ESTIMATE. On September 25 the Crop Condition; Was Repoited as 54.4 of the Nor- j mal?South Carolina Percentage 65. i Washington, Oct. 2.?This year's; cotton crop, it is estimated, will to- [ jtal 11,818,000 bales, the department! of agriculture announced today, bas- j ing the estimate on the condition of, j the crop September 25th, which was i 54.4 per cent of the normal. The I condition of the crop in Georgia was I 62. per cent; Florida. 50, South Car I olina 65. G9IT0N DINNERS' REPORT. GINNING S EXCEED LAST YEAR BY MILLION BALES. Crop Has Been Harvested and Ginned With Unexampled Rapidity?South Carolina's Total 345,951. J Washington, Oct. 2.?Cotton gin I ned prior to September 25th amount led to o,719,915 bales, the census bu ; reau announced today. This com j pared with 2,511,000 last year. By j States, including Florida 6,560: Geor gia, 617,007; South Carolina, 345,951. WAR SAVING STAMPS. I - j Charleston, Oct. 1.?More than ; $6,000.000 worth of wa~ savings I stamps have been purchased by the ! people" of South Carolina, according I to the sales report up to the week 'ending September 21. Beaufort coun ?; ty still leads in total sales, with Charleston second. For the week ending September 21 Calhoun county led in : ales with 2?,c per capita. The j leading counties in sales through j September 21 are as follows: I Beauf rt. $7.72'per capita; Char jleston, $7.11; Horry. $6.75; Florence, !$6.48; York, $6.16: Spartanburg, I $5.64; Greenvile, $5.56; Anderson. !$5.41; Marion. $5.10; Calhoun, $4.11; jand Jasper, $4.02. I Plans are in progress for a wind j up campaign the last week in Novem ber or the first week in December, so that before the ^ear is over all the pledges made in the June campaign will be redeemed and additional pur chases be made. The State's maxi mum quota for the year is about the j same as the State's quota in the J r ourth Liberty loan -campaign. ORDER NUMBERS DRAWN. Washington, Sent. 20.?The draw ing of order numbers for the 13,000, j 000 draft registrants enrolled Sen j.tember 12, was started today by i President Wilson. Blindfolded, the president groped into the great -glass lottery bowl and drew out one of the 17,000 capsules. It contained a slip numbered 322. thus giving to men holding that se rial number first place in their respec tive classes after registrants already classified under previous registra j tions. The number was low enough to touch the list of every local draft board in the country, except one o; two of the very smallest. Vice President Marshall drew the {second number, and was followed by {16 other notables who had been in j vited to participate in the formal cer emony of opening the drawing. When it was over officers and enlisted men of the army, assisted by, a corps of tellers, settled down to 'the task or emptying the bowl. Two thousand numbers had been drawn and record ed before 4 o'clock in the afternoon indicating that probably 36 hours j would he required to complete th; I work. The readers and tellers work ed in relays, so the drawing continued j almost without interruption through J the night. Provost Marshal General Crowder hoped to finish early tomor row evening. N TWENTY-SIX WORKMEN KILLED. Cleveland, Ohio, Oct. 3.?More than twe ty-six workmen were killed and two injured when the Pennsylvania Flyer smashed into a crowd of work men from the Inter-state Foundry at Bedford, Ohio, this morning while they were waiting on the tracks for a work fr.iin. ad TrBSfc'ft." THE TRUE BRITISH RESBME ATTACKS. DRIVE IX ST. QUENTIN REGION GOES STEADILY ON. Germans Retreating on Twenty Mile Front From Lens to Armentieres? They are Driven Out of System o? Highly Organized Positions. London, Oct. 3.?The British this morning resumed their attacks north of St. Quentin, it is officially an nounced. The German" are continuing rear ward movement on the front from Lens to Armentieres, and have evac uated a system of highly organized positions that are along a twenty mile front. In pushing after the retreat:ner enemy the British have reached the general line of the cities of Augsto. Douvrin, East LaBasse, East Augers, west of the Grenier road. The ad vance is continuing. Paris, Oct. 3.?Heavy fighting con tinues in the region north of Rheims. The French have continued to ad vance, capturing Loivre, it is official ]y announced. j The railway junction of Cballerancc in the Champagne has been captured ; German efforts to drive the French from woods southeast of Orfeuil wer?: repulsed with heavy losses. BELGIAN DRIVE UNCHECKED They Improve Positions at Several Points?Cen. Plumer Capture* Towns. London. Oct. 3.?The Belgian forces on Wednesday improved their po j sitions at various points, according to j the Belgian official statement issue '* I last night. ! General Plumer's army has cap i tured Gheluwe, near Menin and Leb ! izet, just north of Armentieres. _ HUNS LEAVING ALSACE. Gene\a Newspaper Reports That Civ ilian Population is Being Removed I Geneva, Oct. 3.?Germans have i begun to remove the inhabitants of I Alsace, according to the Demokrat. j STRING OF TOWNS OCCUPIED. - ? ' Gen. Haig's Men Making Clean Sweep in St. Quentin Region. j British Headquarters. France, Oct. ! 3.?Gen. Haig's forces are reporte " I to have captured Ramicourt. Geouy j LeCatelet and Sequehart, but this re I port has not been officially confirmed I More than two thousand German? < were taken prisoner today by th " ! British. I_ i TUR.KISH FORCE CAPTURED. - ! British Cleaning; up North of Damas cus. j London, Oct. 3,. 3 o'clock?Britisr { troops operating in the region north j vast of Damascus Jbn Wednesday cap j tured a Turkish column, taking fifteer I hundred prisoners, two guns and fort: i'machine guns, according to the of j ricial statement ?.od^y. MANY LIBERTY MOTORS. Acting Director of BlfcreaiWof Aircraf Production Makes S^tj&adtory Ln spection Trip. Washington, Oct. 2.?Liberty rn\ tors now have reached quantity pro duction and American built airplanes are being shipped in train load lot: daily $rom the factories for service overseas. W. C. Potter, acting direc tor of the bureau of aircraft produc tion', made this announcement today upon his return to Washington from an inspection of factories building olanes and motors. ARMY PROMOTIONS ANNOUNCE!) Gen. Harris Becomes Adjutant Gen eral and Gen. Ireland Succeeds Gen Gor^ as. Washington, Oct. 3.?Brigadier General Peter C. Harris has been nominated by President Wilson to be adjutant general of the army with the rank of major genera*:, for four years, beginning September 1st. Maj or General Merritt W. Ireland, of the medical corps was nominated surgeon general with the rank of major gen eral, for four years beginning Octob er 1th. Major General Wm. C. Gor gas will be retired October ">th. To the Citizens of Sumter County: The allotment for Sumter County fcr the Fourth Liberty Loan has been announced, viz: $900,000.00. Lp to the night of October 2nd our total subscriptions amounted to only $479,450.00. This leaves, in round numbers, a balance of $-121,000,00 which must be raised within 15 . .. - V \ working days, as our time expires on the 10th instant. Tins means ?hat we will have to secure an average of not less than $28,000.00 i>cr day. Our solicitors a/e~ meeting with indifference and (rival causes of delay on every hand and I heg to remind the people that these solicitors are busy men and are contributing their time entirely without remuneration and from the hiebest patriotic motives. It is an injustice to them not to m.H-t them half way and take care of/the obligations which arc reqtifrcd of us by the Government. This is no time for trifling:. It is up to every citizen in the county Jo do hi:- or her duty at once. We have no right to stand hack as slack ers and have the remainder of the Slate carry our burdens for us. Come across with your subscriptions promptly and stop quibbling and side stopping. About 90 percent of the anuvitnl subscribed up to flicWescnt time comes from the City of Sumter am! they arc still doing their duty, with bat few exceptions, to the limit of their ability, the farnh^rs am: citizens of the County generally arc badly 'behind with their subscrip tions and this request is directed Co yon personally, to insist upon p>a>n:j?t action. 1 Remember, we have only 15 working days loft ami practically hall, of our allotment to raise yet. Gel busy quick and come across. It must be done so what is the use to delay? II. J. McLURIX, JR., County Chairman. I SOUTHRON, Eotabibbed ilane, MM VoLXLVII. No. 15. VICTORY FOR HUES. LENS AND ARMENTIERES EVAC? UATED B YGERMANS AT LAST. Fortified Positions Between Cambrai and St. Qnentin Smashed While Austro-Hungarians, Deserted by Bulgarians, Are in Full Retreat in Albania Toward Border. By Associated Press. Lens, the heart of the great coal region in Northern France, and Ar mentieres almost equally ' important as a manufacturing center, have been evacuated by the Germans; the Germans' fortified positions between Cambrai and St. Quentin have been definitely smashed, and the Anstro Hungarians in Albania, forsaken by their former allies, the Bulgarians, are in full retreat northward toward their border from the Adriatic Sea to Lake Ochrida. Or* the reconquering of invaded Bel gium and the progress of the French and Franco-American forces respec tively north of Rheims and eastward in Champagne to the vicinity of Ver dun, the tale remains the same?the Germans slowly but surely are being forced everywhere to give ground and their defenses daily continue, to be eaten into notwithstanding the strong resitance the enemy is imposing to make null the efforts of the allies to close in on all sides of the great bat He arc from the North Sea to the Swiss border and compel the Ger man high command to reconstruct its righting line. In Belgian Flanders the Belgian, French and British troops are keep ing up their eastward progress in :heir endeavors to compel the Ger mans to give up Ostend* and Zee brugge, their naval bases on the North Sea. Roulers, the important railway junction, with lines radiating to the North Sea and eastward; to Ghent, has been entered by the Belgians, and at Hoogedele to the north, King Albert's men are virtually upon the Roulers Ostend-Bruges Railway. To the south Menin and Courtrai are seri ously menaced. Across the border in France the capture of Armentieres brings"} /Lille, capital of the department of the Nord, within striking distance and the evacuation of Lens places Douai, the fortress northeast of Arras, and all the territory between Arras and Men?? in, virtually in the hands , of the British. , " ,- ? ? To the south from Cambrai to St. Quentin the German resistance is still strong, but nevertheless the Eritish, Americans and French on all the sec tors which are essential to the car rying forward of the allied program have valiantly attacked and wihstood rounterattacks, smashed the old Hindenburg positions and materially ldvanced their line. Squehart, north of St. Quentin, which the Germans in violent counterattack recaptured from the British Wednesday, again has been taken by Field Marshal Haig"s men, wfro now are out on the rolling country, to the eastward, as likewise are all 'the allied troops J^TV St. Quentin \prthward. Northwest of Rhejm^the Germans" are offering _njep?^esjstance to-the French^^hg the Aisne and on . the sector^^hich are protecting the eastejf end of the Chemin-des the western end of which al is dominated by the French but General Berthelolt's forces nevertheless have captured Cormicy and reached the Aisne Canal be tween Concevreux and La Neuvillette, a front of( more than 12 miles. . In Cambrai the French have en larged their gains from the region north of Somme-Py to the western fringes of the Argonne forest, taking prisoners and inflicting heavy cas ualties on the enemy. The raiiroad junction point of Challerange, a short distance south of Vouzieres has been captured and here the French have completed the domination of the Aire Valley, running north of the Argonne - forest and are only awaiting the ar rival of the Americans at the eastern end of the valley to nip the big wood ed bastion out of the fighting Ine, The Americans are slowly approach ing the rendezvous. In their retreat from Albania the Austro-Hungarian everywhere are in flight before the Italians, burning towns and depots be'hind them. Large. J numbers of prisoners and quantities of war material have been captured. ?Many presidents and secretaries of War Savings Societies report that they can get their members to take but little interest in the societies, that } they will not come to the meetings, and that they will not send in reports of what stamps they have bought. This is a bad state. There is a great work in front of the War Savings Societies, and instead of becoming less active since the June campaign they should redouble their efforts, j The June campaign taught people i v?'hat Saving Stamps were, the Socie j ties can encourage the people in the j actual saving work, and through as j sociations make saving both pleas j ant and interesting. Members should I take interest in their societies and j should try to get others interested in I it. New members should be taken ! in and those who have failed to so far i realize what a patriotic work saving 1 is, * should he talked with until they do .realize how they too can help in a great national work by simply help ing themselves. Hagood W. S. S. reports that It has fifty members who have bought $1, 810.00 worth of stamps. This is through September. Miss Ida San ders who was the very efficient secre tary of :hr> Society has gone to college and has Vn-en succeeded as secretary by Miss Sarah Sanders. ,