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KT Aerial Routes Chariest on Expected to Be on Line From Washington to L Far South. X J Washington, Dec. 5.?Congress maii'Dr&ne of Florida today made the important announcement that within a^^ej^.days a special report of the p03toffi.ce department regarding the . e^hiishment of an. air mail route in &e South, would be made public. Mr. Drane -has been endeavoring to have ^ district utilized as early as pos sible ..tor- this purpose, but at the same time there will be much in the forth corning, report of general interest to other parts of the South, he said to . day;,, -?pOne^ report which is expected to be adopted' will provide for mails from Washington to Charleston in an air ,l%ie,. thence to Key West, Flo., fol fcvwing well along the Atlantic sea hoard, thence to a large base, pos ' e*%ly at Tampa, and on to Habana, Panama and South America. At Val dosta, Ga., the route would turn and cg^nng a dozen or more prosperous ?pBijpjte:. in Southern Georgia, proceed t ^^Eqntgomery, Ala., where another b&3e\would be placed in operation ' *n Atlanta. There will probably be jfor 2aaeon, connecting at Val br Key West for the far south. Important feature of these reports view taken of some of the ;^^es: .where landing fields will be operated. ' The views were obtained ?v^^if,altitude of. 3,000 feet. With ^r^ai'ls. from Habana. Panama and Si^sitV^?merica reaching important ^Wautlo cities, such as Charleston, Tampa and Jacksonville, with South Georgia cities on important branch :jJMeis; will hasten business relations ' i?>>^?uth American countries in the immediate future by the saving of tfcaa. Oyer the Top >e?gi Peter Gallagher Tells of ?^ve^Service on the Front. ;Ur.^S?mewhere in France, Oct 28. Dear Pat, " l/i^ve_"iust; grot back from the front afte^.thirty days of the hardest and a -.i^?b^st bahle that we have- had ? since coming over, and believe me this isuch sure, was a happy crowd when ; 10ar<i tnat we were going out for *r^weft' earned rest, which is the first that "we have had since arriving and ^Jaefr^s?re are taking the advantage of My:%first trip over the top in this hi^e^as: bh- September ?, and it 'il^e^-was: some experie-.ce, as it was i^jfc.aud you could hardls' see your Haid before your face, and it sure did ;?>dk impossible how we got through - .barrage without all of us being J^^?* ^t,-we.. were very lucky and '?d; notjiiave but very few casualties, ^hat night* I had charge of a ma -cfoihegnn, squad. arid a working party -aind^fter we had gone about 250 - yards,'-the working party got lost and ' g?\ back'and.' find them ^tch. is a::H?? of a job at night. "But."*-after about two hours I founo. most of Vhem and started again, this we were under more shell fire ajKBy other time, but after about ^^o-Jscrurs of crawling and running ^.O-re?ched our objective, and we sur?; .?&d for we were about all in. \ffl|k':was the start in getting our line .straight tor the breaking of the great Hfndenburg hne which we helped in getting through the following Sunday. - Nomone will e^ver be able to describe to anyone -what going "over the top" ?rs-aad. when you hear of anyone say finjg:jtlrat it is great sport just tell him ?s pot? me, he is a liar, for it is like Sher ; man said and he didn't know what it v/tSS. rXjt of the work that was dorn i under -a sergeant, as we did not 'have-but one officer with us and all of us" got very highly praised for the spay we handled our men. When we "fljst" started in we had nine, sergeants, ;aud:*when we came out we did not ihaye but three and I happened to be > one of the lucky boys. And how it happened I do not know, fox I have sefch squads wiped out at a time. The ejiJy close call I had was when a piece of shell tore my pack off my back and tore-1 my mess pan up. I am keeping it as a souvenir and will try and send it, home for you all to see. X also goi a-big dose of gas which got me by . surprise ?s I did not have time to put on my mask for the shell burst just behind me and before I knew what it was I had gotten a good dose, as we were not advancing at the time. 1 ,di*opped in a shell hole, it was rain in? at the. time and I spread a cloth ovei my face and got over it in an hour ? and was all right again. ' I don't know how much ground we covered but they claim it was about thirty miles. The only boy in our company from Sumter that got hurt was Sergt Wilkie who was with the old S. L. I. when we were called out Ijldon't know whether Roach was r. wounded or taken sick. Bill Boart field is still with the bunch and get ? ting along fine, but he is like a good many others, he is "bloody weil fed .Up** on this war; that is the expres that all the Englishmen use over -y^r' was oh short leave some time age to one. of the large cities of Franct arid saw the Cathedral which is one .Q^thfe' wonders of France, the build ing> of .which seems impossible. I certainly is a magnificent structure Well Pat. give all the boys my best regards and write often. Hoping al" the folks are quite well and that " will see them some day. Affectionately, Pete. London, Dec. 6.?Serious disorder have"arisen in Berlin and consider able firing occurred in the principal streets, according to reports reach ing the Dutch frontier, says an Am sterdam dispatch. The trouble is said to have been caused by the German bolshevik. Vancouver, Dec. 6.?This city wa: shaken violently by earth tremors ai 1-2.45 this morning. The tremors wer? felt for two minutes.. Occupants of tair-buildings were especially affected many being seized with nausea. The shaking of furniture and tumblin< dishes awakened persons ;in all parts -ef-the city. Florence Booze Still Facing Serious Situation as Re sult of Arrest of Three Employees. Florence, Dec. 5.?As the situation now stands the patrons of the Flor ence Gas Company face the prospect of having no gas next week and pos sibly for days thereafter. Some time ? ago the Florence police department unearthed a whiskey still on the prem ises of the gas plant. Thre* men, one of them white, had been running a profitable business there for some time, it is siated. The still bore the marks of constant use and more thar. this it was a scientifically constructed affair, consisting of a tank such as it used on kitchen ranges, skilfully con nected with the gas supply, with yards of piping leading to the receptacle; into which the manufactured products found its final outlet. The discover of the still created a sensation here. The three men arrested were re leased on bond, but now the United States court is in session in Charles ton they must answer the indictment. Yesterday the attorney for the defend ants appeared ' before Judge Smith praying for a continuance of the case on the grounds that though the local company has made every effort to se cure experienced men to handle th< plant, it has been unable to do so, and that should the defendants be haled into court, it would mean the shutting down of the plant, with consequent inconvenience to half the population of Florence which uses gas for cook ing, or for heating purposes. Judge Smith refused to grant a continuance and unless something develops soon a really serious condition will result here. Lost in Paris Sight Seeing American Soldier Winds Up at Y. M. C. A. Paris, Nov. 6.?He was splutterin? with the helpless indignation of the man who wants to tell folks what he thinks of them and can't pronounce the words, when he came into the Y. M. C. A. headquarters. Two gen darmes with ferocious mustaches and friendly eyes shepherded him intc : the room. "L'Americaine*" they announced, simply, and turned away with the air of those who have done their dutjv They had learned that the Y. M. C. A. would always look after the Amer ican soldier in France. "What's the matter?" asked the secretary. "Matter? There ain't aynthing th< matter with me!" said the American soldier angrily. "You better ask them policemen what's the matter with them. Say, they couldn't hold down a job ten minutes in New York: They can't even talk?just make noises." "What did you want to talk to them about?" inquired the - Y. M. C. A man. "O, I just want to ask the way back to the station, that's all. I left mj rifle and my pack in the corner, and came up to see Paris. Now I got tc 1 go back to catch my train." "Where do you live back home?" asked the Y. M. C. A. man. "Brooklyn," said the American sol dier. "I'll just telephone and find out where you left your rifle ( and your pack," said the Y. M. C. A. man. A few minutes later he was ready with ! the desired information, and with di rections for getting "back to the sta tion." "Thanks," said the American boy "I sure am much obliged; but. say Paris is a funny place, ain't it? J> ? little cleaner than New York, maybe but, say, I'd rather be a wart on the ; nose of the Goddess of Liberty thar ! the whole Eiffel Tower." He turned abruptly and went out. County Health Survey. Mrs. F. M. Dwight, of Wedgefield has turned in the $48.50 collected from citizens in; and around Wedge field for the county health survey, a^ follows: Miss Betty Ay cock . $10.0o Mr. E. E. Ay cock . 10.00 Mrs. J. H. Ay cock. 10.0C Mrs. Sarah R. Fiud. 10.00 Mr. W. T. Brown . 5.00 Mrs. J. H. Hammond. 1.00 Mr. J. Singleton Dwight _ 1.00 Mr. R. C. Burress . 1.0C Mrs. Cleo Troutman . .50 Total .c. $*i$.5f Rev. J. R. Mitchell has turned ir from colored citizens of Manchestei township for the county health surve> $23.20 and $5.00 collected by him from Rev. R. B. Curry, of Stateburg township. Rev. J. R. Mitchell, $5; Rev. W. M Grant, $1: E. W. Singleton, $1; Rev. E. S. Garey, $1; Mrs. J. S. Ragan. $5: W. S. Simmons, $1; Mrs. M. J. Allen 50c; Mrs. E. E. Mitchell. $1; J. S Simmons, $1: Isham Mitchell. $1; Ber* Richardson. 25c; Ezelia Ragan. 25c; I Susan Mitchell. 25c; Lemuel Mitchell, i 50c; Lottie Mitchell, 50c; Lezear Ra- j gan, 25c; John Ragan, 50c; S. M Richardson, $1; Isham Ragan, 25c; P Ragan, 25c; Emma Brown, 15c; D. H Ragan, $1; Mrs. M. L. Xelson. 50c: Eliza Robinson 5c; Edward Polkson. 50c. Eliza Robinson who is ninety year: old stated that she was only able t( contribute five cents but requestec that this be accepted as she realize^" the importance of teaching peopie how to take care of their health. Th< fact that she has lived to the ag< of ninety veal's by observing the rules of health as to regular habits, prop er dieting, and abstaining from ex cesses in eating or drinking and oth er common sense principles of health ful living is a tribute to her intelli gence'and shows the importance of learning how to live to reach a healthy old age. Mr. W. T. Whitehead. treasurer of The United War Work Campaign stated today that the payment of Wai Work pledges is not as brisk as i should be. State headquarters call ing on him for the remittance of casl which has not yet been paid in. H? ?:rges that nayments b*? made prompt ly at the Sumer Trust Co. A WORTHY WILL. A Unique and Exemplary Way to Dis pose of Property Accumulated Through the Hard Labor of Many Years. ; _ ; Editor The Daily Item: j Yesterday afternoon, Judge Thos. B. Richardson asked me. to step into his office as he had something of importance to show me in my official capacity as a member of the State Board of Education. He said that it was contrary to his custom to publish any will, but the one that follows is so unusuai in every way and so exemplary in its letter and spirit, as richly to deserve wide publicity. Whfcn I read the will of Mr. W. J. Ardis, so well known to newspaper readers as "Hard Times," I, too, was struck with its uniqueness and its worthiness. The fact that one?an old Confederate Veteran?who had labored for so many years to accu mulate a little property should give all of it, a^ter he had paid his just debts, to two school districts whose funds always stand in need of every addition that they can receive is a striking fact that is noteworthy in the history of Sumter county and deserves more than a passing notice. Instead of putting his money into a monument of marble a.id of brass he has wisely decided to put it into living monu ments whose influence may be boundr ed only by eternity. Could this worthy Confederate Soldier have put his prop erty to better use? Could he have set a more worthy example? Is it not a plea in most urgent form to all of us to join our efforts as never before in removing ignorance and illiteracy? Today there is a very earnest move ment on foot to try to remove illit eracy from our State and thus save her fair face from the blush of shame if the census of 1920 should re veal the fact that in. illiteracy our State heads the list. No greater ar gument, no more stirring speech, no more cogent reason, could be given than the expression of the will of one who "though dead yet speaks." The will in its simplicity and eloquence fol lows: Respectfully submitted, S. H. EDMUNDS. Member of Illiteracy Commission. STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, County of Sumter. In the name of God Amen. I, William J. Ardis, being of sound mind and good judgment, do make and publish this my last Will and Testament: 1st. I wish to be decently buried. 2nd. I wish all of my just debts to be paid. 3rd. I wish all property both real and personal to be sold, and to be put with any moneys (if any) I may pos sess at the time of my death, to be given to the school funds of Man chester and Privateer townships, equally between the two. And I appoint my nephew Bland - ing Ardis, and my great nephew Rob ert Ardis, as my executors. Witness my hand and seal this 11 th day of October, 1916. WILLIAM J. ARDIS. (L. S.) Signed in the presence of: W. C- Broughton, R. E. Wilder, B. C. Walla.ce. (In connection with the comments in Mr. Ardis' will by Dr. Edmunds, the fact that the bequest was undoubt edly inspired by Mr. Ardis' persona' knowledge of the handicaps of illit eracy will be of interest. In speaking of his life in the Confederate army Mr. Ardis once remarked to the writer that he got all the education he ever had while in the army?that when he enlisted he could not even sign his name to the muster roll or the pay roll when the men were paid off. Some of his comrades first taught him to write his name and later to read and write and before he returned home at the surrender he was able to write letters to his folks at home. Mr. Ar dis made the most of his limited op portunities and in his later years was a great reader and a well informed man on many topics. We feel surf that his appreciation of the value of an education and the handicap that il literacy imposes inspired him to give his entire estate to improve the schools of the community in which he was born, reared and lived to rine ole" age?Ed.) _V_ War Savings Stamps. In calling the public's attention tc the fact that the cessation of hostili ties in no way releases the signers ol W. S. S. pledges from the obligation of making good their pledges, the South Carolina War Savings Commit tee points out that all unredeemed wai savings stamps pledges are moral ob iigations to the United States govern ment, and, being moral obligation, it is not, doubted that the subscribers wil redeem them in full. It is not de nied, however, that in the few week attendant upon the signing of the ar mistice many pledges were forgotte or neglected, and November sales ol W. S. S. have proved far from satis factory. \ During December special efforts wir ! be made in practically every county ir '.he Palmetto Stat ?? for the purpose o: getting W. S. S. pledges redeemed an. W. S. -S. sales increased in general md it is believed that practically all :>f the pledges s:igned during the Jun< campaign will be paid up in full. The December price of war savings stam] is $4.23, and the maturity value is ?5.00. The war savings officials justly la> stress on the fact that during th< many months which must elapse be fore all of our troops overseas are re turned home and mustered out of scr vice the government must exp/>nc huge sums of money, a large portion of which is scheduled to be derivec from th<- sales of W. S. S. Reports compiled at the tr*??srir* department indicate that the othei states in the country are vigorousl: conducting their war savings com paigns and are having fine sales, and in this patriotic movement it is no to be doubted that the men. women a.nd children of Smith Carolina wil1 ?espond to their duty. London. Dec. f..? The Germans are building an airplane zeppelin with which they will try to cross the At lantic. The Exprejss correspjbnden' reports. Demand Many Marks [Germans Are Called on to Make Payment. Amsterdam, Dec. 5.?The D?ssel dorf Nachrichten, a copy of which has been received here, says General Nudant, president of the French ar mistice commission at Spa, has pre- j ! sented a note to the German commis (sion demanding- for the first month j for the British troops of occupation J I 40,000,000 marks and for the French J j troops 54,000,000 marks. Manning; and Kilmer. The New York Times. Of the men who went straight from the editorial offices of the New York Times into the wear of khaki, two have been killed, two of the brightest minds that ever served this news paper. The first was Sergt. Joyce Kilmer of the Sunday department, who was killed while performing du ty of special danger at the battle of the Ourcq in July. Now comes news of another, Maj. William Sinkler Manning of the Washington bureau, j killed only five days before the end I of the war. Manning's work was known to hundreds of thousands who did not know his name or that he ex isted; for after being a reporter in New York he wrote, for years, the news coming out of the United States senate. About these two young men there/ hangs an odd similarity. Both were gentlemen to the finger-tips, of aft almost dilettante sort of gentlehood. Kilmer was! from the North, Man ning from the South; New York and South Carolina were their States. Both seemed to be appointed for greater things than they were doing, and to be idling along a pathway waiting for a call. The momenta the call came they answered with a sten torian voice, and were transfig/jred. They did not seem to be the Isame men. Manning thought he hear/d the call to Mexico in 1916, and' bade adieu to the senate for booLs and saddle. That was a short, strangled campaign, and he came home/ bitter ly disappointed after his shara in the Villa hunt resuming with difficulty the humdrum life: 1917 sounded jthe real call, and this time there was/ no mis take. The promise of both the/se lives wilted before German bullets^' In Man ning's case it is easy to see where the fulfillment of that promise would vhave lain; South Carolina could not have done too much for tlhe gallant representative of this fifth I generation ^>f soldier Mannings, whose blood has honored every war from t/he Revolu tion. He was a man. too. /born to dis tinction, with a 3 4ce a:nd a figure meet for it. with a heart ?f iron under the gentlest of manner. Kilmer, al ready of celebrity as a T'oet, but ca pable of vastly greater tilings than Ik had ever done, and nee/ding only thf contact with the realit\/ of life which the war gave him?as Iiis letters shov ?to rise to great heighis in his choser field after battle should be ended had already given proolf of the prom ise he held out. / Manning, the son of/a governor, the scion of a notable Southern family had always about hiifn a half-grave insouciance which gave character tc his manners. He seemed to take life idly, and not to be sure,that it was not wholly humorous; until, indeed, some incident crossed his way that I called for the dropping of the velvet glove, and then a hand of steel sprang forth. Rougher men, deceiv ed by his manner, sometimes under valued him and found it a costly mis take. There were cases where such men, recognizing a master, became h;s friends and devoted admirers for life, though he and they continued to speak a different language. He had the keenest of wits, and a gentle hu mor which, when the chance offered, Shone unexpectedly through his writ ings on the gravest subjects. As a reporter of national conventions, the hardest and yet most delicate work known to the newspaper business, he developed immediately what other men learn through long experience, the ability to seize instantly the cen ter or cause of every incident in the panorama and make it vivid to'his readers. Of these two brilliant men, for whom the future held promises so high, which had the hardest fate, he who fell at the beginning of American campaign, or he who saw all of it but five days? The hardest fate fell to Manning, if we are to follow James Whitcomb Riley's "Good-bye. Jim": Think of him?with the war plum through And the glorious old Red, White and Blue. A-laughin' the news down over Jim, And the old men, bendin' over him. And yet Kilmer's fate was the fate of Ellsworth and Baker and Theodore Winthrop in 1861, and there was a time when the nation thought theirs the hardest of fates. Of both these men it may be said that the chief sufferer is their country, which would have had great things from | them, but which yet has had from them the purest and highest girt, the 1 gift of young, spotless, and noble 'ives: Curtins' gift, the greatest ever offered to the altar of Rome. Capt. H. L. Shaw. R. M. C, who has I been in the service for several months, j ! spent Thursday in town. Dr. Shaw ! has made his home at Fountain Inn. j S. C. for more than twenty years and 1 is recognized as one of the leading?\ physicians of the up-country. For a I number of years he has been a leader ' in the State Medical Association and!, has served as a member of the State:? Board of Examiners. He has decided]4 to make his future home in Sumte:-!, and will move here about the first of ? the year to take up the practice ofl' his profession. Dr. Shaw is a native !? of Sumter county and lived in Sumter " for several years before entering theJJ medical profession. He will be N warmly welcomed back home by his!^ many old friends. 4 -' J Hadn't Sense Enough. *i ,The Huns?"Peace: Peace! Weil must have peace!" '] The Allies?"Well, why didn't you 4 '<?-pp it when you had it?"?Kansas') ? City Star. i Railroads Exempt From City Taxation General Counsel of Federal Ad ministration Renders Opin ion of Much Importance. license. As if to support its-PQsftkm, j this railroad referred"'the question to j Mr. Payne and Mr. Payne rendered I the opinion noted. "Washington, Dec. 5.?'Che opinion of John B. Payne, general counsel cf the railroad administration, to the effect that railroads while under gov ernment control are not amenable to municipal statutes requiring them to pay cit^r licenses or privilege taxes has struck a blow to the vitals of every American city suffering from more /or less depleted treasuries, for it is -evident that if the opinion ap plies j to railroads, it applies with equa/ force to telephone and tele graph companies. T|ae opinion of the general counse ls brased on the case of William Mc Coalch, collector, ogairst the MinehiP & fcchuylkill Haven Railroad Com pany, in which the supreme court h^ld that as long as this company lejased its properties it was not engag ed in business in the legal meaning or the term. / "It is interesting in connection Tnth the opinion to state that it was ren dered at the request of one of the /railroads operating within the mu [nicipal boundaries of Bessemer, Ala., which had declined to pay to that city a balance due on its "privilege" Veterans on Duty i Fighting Divisions Will Be Re tained in Europe for Gar- \ rison Purposes. Washington, Dec. 5.?Secretary Baker gave it as his personal opinion today that none of the veteran divis ions of the American army hi France will return home before peace is formally declared. He indicated that the tried fighting men would com pose the bulk of the force to be kept in Europe y for the present. Hereto fore the understanding has been that the Rainbow Division and two or three other famous units would be brought home soon, leaving the plac es to be filled by some of the new comers. Several of the divisions which have seen much hard fighting are assigned to the American army of occupation which is marching into Germany Army officers say that it was neces sary to make up this army of tried troops because there was no saying what eventualities might come to pass. Recent dispatches from France have said than an American army of 1,250,000 was to remain in Europe for duty until after the proclamation of. peace and some veteran divisions in^addition to those now marching into Germany probably will be in-" eluded in that force. % Building Material and Feed Stuffs Rough and Dressed Lumber, Lime, Cement, Plaster, Biick, Shingles, Mouldings, Etc. All kinds of Feed for Horses, Cows, Hogs and Poultry. We solicit your patronage. LB00th & McLeod, Inc. Phones 10 & 631 BANK SP* and you can BANK 1 The First National BafiK SUMTER, S. G. BUY WAR SAVINGS STAMPS Our Total Resources in 1917 Were $900,000. OUR RESOURCES NOW ARE $1,500,000 AN INCREASE OF $600,000. Our business is growing rapidly, as our one desire is to give our customers prompt and cour teous treatment at all times. We would be glad to have you give us your banking business, we feel sure we can please you in every way. The National Bank of Sumter, 7 he "Old Reliable" Since 1889 J. P. BOOTH, President W. J. CROWSON, Jr., Cashier mi?<i;h i m h ?????? HARD LICKS. ? Ninety five per cent, of the suc cessful business men rose from obscurity by hard licks, systematic saving, and good business judgment?no chance game, no luck. * This bank offers a helping hand to every worthy young man willing to pay the price. Come and let?s talk it over. The National Bank of South Carolina C. G. ROWLAND, President f E. HiNNANT. Cashier. ?. irj ? ' ?? ? ? ? ' ?? M ** ? ? 4 ,