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Cooper Will Advocate Tax Reform Governor Elect Recommends Adoption of Budget System. Columbia, Jan. 4.?Reform of the State taxing system will be one of the chief propositions advanced by Rob ert A. 'Cooper, when he assumes the duties of governor January 21. It is understood that Mr. Cooper will recommend to the legislature the passage of a law providing an execu tive midget, somewhat similar to the law now-in-force in the State of Vir ginia. Frequently during his campaign last summer, Mr. Cooper advocated * making* the county the unit of a tax district' Under this plan which pre sumes the adoption of the budget idea, the total amount of the State budget wo^ld* be apportioned among the counties'according to taxable wealth. The; taxable wealth of the various cotmties' to be ascertained by a tax survey of eacl? county. It is und.erstQd to. be Mr. Cooper's idea in,making ? tax survey that the counties should be subdivided into school districts.* In this way it is thought that all property subject to taxation can, be listed at its actual value, as-, provided by the constitu tion. ThEs^will also do away with the State mill, levy. . In lieu of the mill levy, each county would be required to contribute a "fixed sum as its part of the State budget. It is'Mr. Cooper's purpose to make education the great aim of the ad ministration, but he realizes that the tax."question mUst be definitely settled before ;any real constructive work can be-accomplished, along other lines. MrrCooper spent yesterday in Co lumbia. When asked for a statement Mr. Cooper emphasized that he had "D& dejtnUe statement to give out, but that he would stand firmly by his campaign, pledges as to tax reform and. improvement - and development. or the' educational system. t Mr.7*'Cooper is ardently in favor of the proposed' central commission for the. .coordination of our educational institutions, as well as other institu tions supported and maintained by the State:-' Die^on Battlefield Cheraw, Jan. 3.?Mrs. C. R. Spen cejr lias .received official information that, her son, Lieut. Daniel O. Spen cer, was killed in action in France on October 21, 1918. ? Lieiitenant Spencer attended the first training camp at Fort Ogle thorper- and after, receiving his com mission volunteered for immediate service overseas and was at once sent to-France, arriving there about October T, 1917. After completing his training in France he was ap pointed as instructor in one of the largest;., army schools in France and remafeed at this work until about the nkddle of May, 1918, when he was assigned to the Thirty-eighth Regi ment ofInfantry,. .Third Division, wherje he remained in active service until;.the day he was killed. The Third- Division, regular army, was en gaged in continuous service up to the signing of the armistice and was in a numfcer of most important engage ments. It took active part in the first allied, counteroffensive, beginning abbttt... July 18, 1918, when the Rhehiis-Soissons sa-ient was wiped out since which the allies were neve: stopped. Lieutenant Spencer was seriously gassed towards the close of this of fensive, but after a few weeks in a hospital was returned to his company and' .saw conMnuous fighting from that time up t. the time of his deathv" He was not quite 24 years old when he was killed, and his un time^death is a great blow to his friends" and relatives in Cheraw and throughout the State. Saving 6 Cents a Day in Feeding Each Horse and Male. We" have always claimed and still claimjthat if a horse or mule is re ceiving 14 pounds of corn a day that he will do better on 10 pounds of corn and '.^pounds of cottonseed meal, es pecially If "his "roughage be grass hay or corn, fodder. This still, means .the savih^of the value'or cost *ofx 2 pounds of corn a day, for every horse or mule so fed. Cottonseed meal at 560 a ton and corn at $1.68 a bushel are the same prices per pound. There fore,^ we save 2 pounds of corn val ued at 3 cents a pound we save 6 centar-a day.?The Progressive Farm er. . Cleo, the son of C. M. Stokes, re ceived a painful wound Christmas day. 'j, He was riding a mule and driv ing np others when one of the mules kicked at the mule he was riding and hit ham on the leg, causing a painful fleshriwound. He was taken imme diately to Dr. Baskin, who dressed the wound and he is now getting on nice lyT?$5ishopviIle Vindicator. wnnrvQ fort,eth Jjf \J\JU O ANNIVERSARY Seed Catalog Gives the fullest and most j up^io-date information, not j only about Seeds that-can he \ planted to advantage, but j also about crops that prom- j iset? give the largest profits during the coming year. OUR 40 YEARS' EXPEREEKCE, and an equipment that Is unsur passed in this country, give us un equalled advantages for supplying THE BEST OF Farm and Garden Seeds Write for Catalog and Prices of GRASS and CLOVER SEEDS, i SEED OATS, SEED CORN and SEED POTATOES. Catalog Mailed Free on Request. Tl W. Wood & Sobs, &CDSMCN, - Richmond, Va. 5 For the Best of Gardens, PLANT WOOD'S SEEDS. The Greatest Transport Remarkable War Record of The Trans-Atlantic Liner Olympic. London, Dec. 5 (Correspondence of I the Associated Press)?Dodging- Ger ! man submarines in the Mediterranean, trying to save sinking- warships in the North Atlantic, and fighting off vic ious u-boat attacks while carrying American troops are* some of the achievements credited to the White Star liner Olympic during her adven turous career of the wartime. These were only incidents of her experience, because, on account of her great pas senger capacity, she was steadily and S faithfully keeping to the task of j transporting men and material for the j armies in Europe. First it was Chi j nese coolies for road building, then farmer boys from Canada to replace the losses of Vimy Ridge, and finally many thousands of Americans to face the German on the western battle front. "Her work during the Gallipoli cam paign," writes a member of the crew to the Daily News, "when she carried about 8,000 troops?at that time the greatest number ever carried by any : lip?following- upon her gallant at tempt off the north of Ireland to tow the water-logged dreadnaugsht, Au dacious, was sufficient to put her in the first rank of the transports, but her subsequent work in bringing Ca nadian troops and Chinese labor bat talions, and then her wonderful ca reer since Christmas, 1917. when she arrived in New York for her first load of American troops must put her in a class by herself as a "trooper." She has carried well over 300.000 people while on war service. "It would not be correct to say that Captain Hayes has brought her through without a scratch, but he' scars are marks of honor. She bent and fractured some of her plates when, in the darkness early one morn ing she 'strafed' one of Germany's finest u-boats. "The Olympic had most of her ad ventures while she was carrying American troops. ' During Marbfc: April, and May 1918, the German sub marine commanders made at least seven daring attacks on her. Not once did the enemy have time tc launch a torpedo, for in ever:.* case he was greeted by ; 6-inch shell or one of the destroyers was on his tra'rk with her depth charges. Perhaps some of Germany's missing subma rines are now lying btetfow the track of the Olympic. "The most thrilling experience which the Olympic had took place "ii the darkness of early morning of May 1.9IS, near the entrance to the English Channel. It was just about four o'clock when the look-out man nicked out of the almost total darKness the outline of a lurking submarine which was Jving on the surface. Immediate ly after his warning shout one of our forward guns blazed out. and the ship, with her helm hard over, spun' around like a great racing* yacht and crash 2 3 into the enemy. "The blow was, of course, not a clean one, or there would have boon few survivors from the submarine. Judging from the damage on the bo'^s of the ship when dry docked a few days later the blow cut one end of the submarine. The rest drifted past the stern of the Olympic, and 0 ol the gun crews on the poop plan, 'd a 6-inch shell squarely into it. One ot the destroyers in the escort dronoecl behind, and by the light of star shells picked up 31 survivors three of whon died on the way to por The totai crew of the submarine was over 60." President Has Busy Day in Rome Visits Historic Landmarks? Lunches With King and Queen and Calls on Pope. Rome, Friday, Jan. 3.?President Wilson's program for tomorrow will be quite arduous. In the morning he -.;G03 to the Parthenon, where he will lay wreaths on the tombs of Kings Victor Emanupl and Humbert. He will then go to Lyceum Academy, and afterward visit the forum. He will lunch at the American embassy with [the king.and Queen. Prince Udine and j other dignitaries. Later he goes to 1 the Vatican to visit the Pope. Imme* j diately after his return to the em 1 bassy he will receive a return visit ] from a representative of the Vatican, i In the evening before his departure ' he will attend a dinner given by j Queen Mother Margherita, President Wilson was todny receiv ed at the Vatican by the Pope. The president's arrival was announced ny the master of the chamber to the Pope who admitted the president in the throne room, where two gilded chairs had been placed. President Wilson was admitted immediately to the presence of the Pope, who was I gowned in white. ! Commander at Sevier _ Maj. Gen. H. F. Hodges Comes From Overseas to Green I vi!!e. ! Greenville, Jan. 3.?Maj. Gen. Har ry F. Hodges, who commanded the Seventy-sixth, or New England Di vision during service overseas, arriv ed here this afternoon and will as-j sume command of the Twentieth Di- j vision at Camp Sevier tomorrow morning. General Hodges is the first major general the camp has hadj since the Eighty-nrst Division left. i-rig. Gen. R. E. Steiner reported Thursday afternoon and actiyeij as sumed command of the Fortieth In fantry Brigade this morning. London. Jan, 4,?One hundred and seventy submarines, all under con ?tructicn. were found when the inter-' aiiied naval commission visited Ger many to arrange for carrying out the ! terms of the armistice, according to newspapers here. It is said thai these j submarines will he turned over to th ? allies. ' ?????????????????????? j A Good Investment j j A Permanent System of High- L ways Would Mean Many Dol- | lars in the Pockets of Automobile Owners. I ! _ j j Columbia, Jan. 3.?That the $25,-j ?000,00 bond issue for the construction j i of a permanent system of highways in j *the State would be a splendid eco nomic invstmenr. for the automobile j I owners, who would have to pay the j 1 tax with which the b^d issue would j I be carried and retiree . the opinion ; Jof R. Goodwyn Rhett, of Charleston, j who attended the conference of repre- | i sentative men frm over the State held j I here yesterday. Mr. Rhett proceed-1 ied to produce some facts and figures J I to justify his assertion, j "How many automobile owners" ?asked Mr. Rhett, "have figured h<>w j much their cars are costing ^ them , i per annum and how much of this cost I is due to the cnodition of the -cads j over which they travel. The average ! j cost of the registered cars in the Uirf I ted States is $900 and the average life j I of a car is three years. After lisrur-1 ing the cost of gasoline and oil; 4he i cost ,of tires and tubes; the cost ofj {repairs and renewals and the cost ffi ! depreciation, how much of this would j be saved if the surface of the roads [was made smooth and kept smooth, iand how much of the automobie ? j travel of the SU.te would be over a system of 1,500 miles of roadways ! connecting its county seats if such a isyetem should be made and kept 11 smooth. s I have asked a number of i owners to give me their estimates of 11 the saving in expense to them in J such event and the replies have rang 1 Jed from $100 upward Of course there I are some who seldom use their cars, ; j and who would estimate their saving ' to be much less, and there are some who would not expect to make much : use of such a rcadway. but they are 5! comspartively*few, and if such system ?' were established, most of them would 5 find a way to use it more and more. Some owners live five, ten and in iso. ? {lated cases, even more miles away ?! from any probable roadway of such - j a system. Their hope of getting the j local count}' roads improved lies inj : j the construction of this State sys- I - j tern, which will create a demand in j >! the counties thai: cannot be denied. ' j The money from the United States ? government, it will be noted, is left to ? help such counts* roads. But after '> j all the aggregate saving to the car j owners of the State would exceed $100 ' j each, and what owner of a car would object to saving $35 per annum on the ' expense of his car by adding $15 to i j his annual license tax ? The general ' j resources of the counties are not i touched, nor are the federal funds ' i provided to aid in the improvement j of roads, and any county that desires I to provide itself with improved lat j erals to the main system has every' j resource for that purpose it now en ' j joys save the pittance received as its j share of the present automobile 31 1 cense tax. /"The farmer, in greater and /eat-: er numbers, is earning enough to send {his children off to school and college. (He is finding it more and more diffi cult to induce these children to come !back and live upon, the farm because ?! it is isolated from the social life and :' j amusements to which they have ; I grown accustomed. Such a system of ; I highways would bring most farms , i within easy reach of some town or ; j city by night or by day in fair or in I rainy weather and would soon result ?jin bringing all farms within such : j reach of community pleasures. The [[farmer's wife now too leads a dreary ' j life in her isolation. She would S'>on ! be running inland out of town and finding life a totally different thing. The govezmment statistics show that the average cost of hauling a balo of ? cotton in the United States is over 75c; of a ton of cotton seed is over ,;? $3.00; etc., and that over 50 per cent of th\s is saved where the roads are properly surfaced and properly main tained. This will never be done until j the foundation for it has been lafd Jin a State system of hard surfaced J roads, which will constitute th' arter ies connecting all the conn* seats, i] "South Carolina is just marketing y j cotton crop worth over $250,000,000. Last summer it marketed a tobacco ,! crop which brought over $20,000,000. jThe cotton mills have made more in ! the past two years than in the pre ceding ten years and the fertilizer and other factories have done almost if not altogether as well. The merchants, wholesale and retail, have generally ! had the best year of their careers. I The income of the people ??f the State jfor 191S has largely exceeded he ass essed value of its property, real and personal. They have caughr n new pace, and for the first time are in a condition to obtain for themselves the | Jgood roads which have been enjoy ed by other States for many years, 'and which have done so much to help j'them to greater prosperity as well as J to greater happiness. I -The opportunity is now at band j ; without any ccs? whatever to the tax j j payer generally and with a magnifi- | jcent profit to the very large majority jof automobile owners. Let us make j the most of it." _._ ?'??-,-, ! The Tank Cats , I Charlotte X. C, Jan. 3.?The "Tank |: jCats," an organization of Chicago! Tank Corps men, was formally launch- j led at a meeting held recently at i Camp Greene near this city. The < 'movement to organize members ofM i the Tank Corps into a perman3ntj ; body is expected to spread over ?.hrll j whole country, as almost every large' city is represented in its person tel. U Qualification for membership i? b; ?ed|f rn service in the Tank Corps duringM time of war. The purpose of the organizatior is1 to promote and maintain public in' >r- ?' est in the tanks as an arm of :hoj( service and to form a bond between its members by mean:? of social .end < fraternal activities. \( Similar meetings have been caT'ed ^ if men representing the ities of New j1 York. Philadelphia. Boston, San Fran- j 1 Cisco and others. When all these s -p-l a rate chapters have been perfected it! planned to call a general meeting ?" of delegates from each for tho pur-; t pdfe of forming a national organiza- ; ;l lion. Help for Armenians January }J|to 19 is "Near East ern Week"?About 40,000 Orphans in Great Need. Columbia, Jan. 5.?In a proclama tion issued yesterday Gov. Manning designates January 5, as '"Sunday for Relief in Near East" and denominates the week beginning January 12 and terminating Jauary 19 as "Near East ern Week in South Carolina." The chief executive, in his procla mation, heartily endorses the move ment to raise $200,000 for the suffer ing peoples cf Asia Minor, the drive for which will be from January 12 to IS1, inclusive, and calls upon various agencies in South Carolina, including the pulpit, the school, the traveling men and the frateral orders, to work for the cause and to urge on the people of South Carolina to contribute out of their plenty. The following is the text of the proclamation: "State of South Carolina, Executive Chamber, Columbia. "Whereas, victorious peace which has come to America and her allies, brings with it justifiable cause for re joicing, yet with it there is broad reason*, for sober hnd consecrated thought on the part of the citizens of the United States. The hearts of lib erty loving men everywhere are thrilled with the realization that the menace of German domination is for ever gone, hut in the wake of the re tiring armies cf the central powers and their Eastern allies, there are desolated lands and suffering and dis consolate peoples, whose wants must be assuaged. To America the cry for succor is made; that cry, articulate and anguished, will not be made in vain; and "Whereas, millions of the folk of the Near East are groveling in misery and want, facing starvation, where they were left by their erstwhile con querors and ancient persecutors?the Ottoman, defiler of the holy sepulcher and object ally of his overlord, the ruthless German?and "Whereas, these people of the Or ient, Armenians. Syrians, Greeks, whose brothers and kinsmen so va liantly fought in the armies of Amer ica and her allies, are lifting up their voices to us for those things which will relieve their tremendous wants: and ? "Whereas, among them are 400,000 little children, many orphans and practically all fatherless, without homes, emaciated, starving, looking to the republic of the west for aid and relief; and "Whereas, the American committee for relief in the Near East has asked the United States to contribute $30, 000,000 out cf its abundance to alle viate to some degree the want^ ot these people, of which sum Soutn Carolina has been allotted $20,000; "Now. therefore. I. Richard I. Man ' ning, governor of South Carolina, dc proclaim Sunday, the fifth day of Jan uary, 'Sunday for Relief in the Neat East,* and; call upon all ministers ol the gospel to tell their congregations of the needs of the peoples of Asia j Minor, that the Chrisian and philan i thropic spirit of the citizens of thb j State might be aroused to this greil j and righteous cause; and I denomi nate the week beginning wtih the 12th day of Jnauary and terminating with the 19th day of January as "Near Eastern Week in South Carolina" and call . upon all the citizens of this ?Statfet'to;contribute out of their plenty to the relief of the suffering Armen ians, Greeks, Syrians, etc. "As in the school room the future citizens of this country* are taught the fundamentals of government and are instilled with tenets of humaniza tion, I recjuest the teachers of the State to stress to their pupils the splendid philanthropy of the move ment for relief in the Near East, that they may take into their homes the message of this great cause. Likewise, I urge upon the traveling men, mem bers of fraternal orders and all the people of our commonwealth to spread the propaganda of this movement and j to ask the people to contribute. "In testimony whereof I have here unto set my hand and caused the sreat seal of the State to be affixed at Columbia, this 4th day of January, a. D. 1919, and in the 143d year of the independence of the United States of America. '?Ri;chaid I. Manning, "Governor." The Price of Cotton Columbia, Jan. 5.?The central committee of fifteen of the South Carolina Cotton Growers' Association met in the office of Gov. Manning yes terday morning. After discussing the cotton holding situation in its va rious aspects, the following resolution was adopted: "First. That though the situation has changed in some respects, we are still firmly of the opinion that the minimum price of 35 cents can be obtained by concerted holding and can not be obtained by any other means at an early date. "Second. That all farmers and bus iness men be urged to continue tc support earnestly the holding move ment. "Third. That the attention cf the farmers be directed to the importnncf of increasing their acreage of food crops and of planting only a very mod erate acreage in cotton in 1919. and that there are two unanswerable ar guments for this course: "(a) That we may do cur duty ir furnishing our share of the food foj i hungry world, in addition to supply n^" cur own needs. "(b) That an ine'-onso in food acre means a re<!uetion of cotton acre age and an enhancement of the price >f the next crop" The following participated in the liscussion and adopted the resolution .'overnor Manning. D. R. Coker. E. iV. r>ai)l)s. J IT. Claffy. A. C. Sum ners. A. J. A. Perritt and Mr. Wat :ins. Miss Kristianson has returned from business and pleasure trip to At Ian- ' a. While there she was entertained s the house guest of the "Earl H. Ioores" on Peachtrce Circle. - < Fight For Michigan Senator | ? ship Taken Before the Senate. PETITION IS LAID BEFORE THE SENATE TO-DAY A Recount of the Ballots Asked ?Excessive Use of Money In timidation of Voters and Gen eral Corruption Alleged. Washington, Jan. 6.?In a petition laid before the senate today Henry Ford, who was defeated for the sen atorship in Michigan by Newberry, Republican, gave formal notice of contest, and asked for a recount of the ballots. The excessive use of mon ey in Newberry's campaign, intimida tion of voters improper rejections of ballots and "flagrant" violations of the State election laws are among the charges made by Ford. Battle in Arctic American Soldiers Win Battle in Snow?Drive Back Bolshe vists and Made Advance in Neighborhood of Kadish? With the Allied Army of the Bvina, i Saturday, January' 4 (By the Asso ciated Press).?American troops fighting desperately near Kadish have driven back Bolshevik troops which made an advance there. The Bolshe vists also launched attacks on the Onega sector and bombarded the al lied front. The Americans came into battle along the Petrograd road and in the frozen swamps that border it ' The battle was fought in snow from two to four feet in depth. American forces captured Kadish last Monday after a display of gal lantry that evoked the admiration oi ? the allied commanders. Special care : has been taken of the America! i wounded and the body of an Ameri can officer was taken back 100 miles by sledge and then shipped to Arch ) angel for burial. There were some casualties on Monday, but they wer? ? small in comparison to those inflictec upon the enemy. On Tuesday, the Bolshevists opsnec i a terrific fire from three and six incl guns and launched a counterattacl ? against the buildings held by Ameri > cans in Kadish. So hot was the ar ? tillery fire that the Americans wer< ? withdrawn temporarily from the vil l l?ge. The line, however, was no 5 taken back very far and the new po t sitions were firmly held. -? The enem: - did not occupy Kadish because th - barrage i're from the American gun t made the place untenable. Shells fall ? ing on the frozen ground spread the! : zones- of destruction twice as far a i they would under normal conditions. Ltaer under the protection of artil ; lery fire, American detachments agah ; swent forward and reoccupied th< ? town. The men engaged in the ad vance were from infantry and trend mortar units. This morning wore ? came from headquarters that th< American positions are now 400 meter: south of the village, which is the line marking the furthest advance made ! by the Americans late in October, be fore they retired to the north of Ka dish. Here and there are graves where are buried Americans who fell in the struggle that went on during the first advance. They are not- many in number, but for the troops ivolv ed, they give e\*idence that the Amer icans have been, in the hardest fight ing that has been going on here. The Bolshevists are fighting more savage ly here than elsewhere to hold their positions. The Petrograd road leads south ward .to Plestskaya. a large village on the Vologda Railway, which is the enemy's base of operations at the Ka dish and Onega fronts. Allied positions on the Onega front r.ear the village of Pechura were attacked by the enemy yesterday. This attack was centered on a Russian naval brigade, which held its po sitions, inflicting heavy losses with out apparently losing a man. On the Vologdas Railway the Bolshevists I have for the past three days kept up a strong artillery fire and have brought an armored train into action. Little damage apparently was done to the allied positions. On the other hand, an allied shell struck an enemy bar racks, doing great damage. In this sector allied forces advanc ed on snow shoes over soft snow a few days ago. Beneath the snow was an unfrozen swamp and the men often sank into the mud up to their waists in spite of their arctic footgear. The battle with the elements makes the fighting here very difficult. Hun Air Service London. Nov. .10 (Correspondence j ">f the Associated Press)?For the al lies to take 2.000 airplanes from Ger many, in accordance with the terms of the armistice, means militarily crippling Germany in the air beyond hope of early recovery, while im mensely adding to the aerial strength of the allies, says an aviation expert. This is emphasized, he says, by the 'act that in five months of the heav iest air fighting of the war, Germany lost in aerial combat with the Pritish alone something: like 2.700 machines. To this total must be added the de duction wrought by the French and Vmerican air services. The expert asserts that for severnl months before the armistice. Ger many's capacity for producing air- i planes was unequal to the task of re- ; placing her immense losses. This, he 1 adds, was strikingly illustrated by the < almost complete failure of her air : irmy during the final and most criti- < ;al phase of the war. M I Can't Praise It Enough Says Twin City Enthusiast Winton-Salem Lady Tells of Good Results She Obtained From New Herb Medicine? ?Gains Five Pounds. "Dreco has done more for me than any other medicine lever took In m3* 65 years of life," declares Mrs.._Sallie? Xing, the well known and highly es teemed resident of 1112 East 11th Str Winston-Salem, in a signed statement for publication "Life was a constant misery to me ! on account of stomach trouble, rheu matism, headaches, constipation and! a constant biliousness. I had terrible dizzy spells which 'made me helpless for the time being and 'altogether I was in a terrible condition. I had. I been reading in the newspapers 'so> much about what this new herb med icine, Dreco, was doing for other peo ple that I decided perhaps it could help my case. So I got some of it and now I can't praise it enough. It is a great blessing to humanity for it has made a new woman of me anci I have already gained five pounds in flesh and am feeling better than in years." Dreco acts like magic in stomach trouble, gas fermentation, dizziness, bloating, rheumatism and liver disor ders. It attacks and destroys poisons in the blood, corrects diseased condi tions of the organs and restores them to normal health and strength. Dreco is dispensed by best drug tsores everywhere and is particularly recommended in Sumter by Sibert's Drug Store.?Advt. BRITISH WEARY OF DELAY THE ENGLISH NEWSPAPERS CALL FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION BY PEACE CONFERENCE. Disorder in Germany Threatens The Peace of the World and May Necessitate Long Military Control London, Jan. 5.?The past week has . witnessed a strong and general de [ mand from the most influential Brit ish newspapers, regardless of politics, > for the prompt meeting of the peace I congress and prompt action to stem.: I the tide of chaos which is threatening1 Germany because of the introduction [ of Bolshevism by the way of the l border states. There is a dawning : recognition that if any anarchy seizes . central Europe the decisions of the . peace congress in drawing boundaries ? and levying indemnities can be en . forced only through military control t by the allies, otherwise becoming: . merely "scraps of paper." r The chief desire of the British peo i pie is to have the army demobilized 3 as quickly as possible. The labor ele . ments in particular oppose the reten - tion of a large conscripted army, for 3 the policing of foreign territories with the possibility.of being drawn In* . to conflicts. The Sunday Observer i under the heading of "A Warning* > gives prominence to the following: "The allies are in some danger of t precipitating in Germany what theys I should most wish to avoid. They are ? perfectly entitled to insist upon the ; disbandment of the army. They are : also perfectly "entitled to maintain the ! full right of blockade. But simulta neously to empty millions of men into civilian life and to exclude the raw ; materials which alone can give them employment is the most rapid proce? for making Bolshevists that has been discovered. "Unemployment and Bolshevism soon establish a vicious circle of mu tual stimulation, and it has already be gun to operate in Germany upon a very serious scale. Nothing could be more calculated in that country to frustrate government with which peace might be concluded. "There are arguments both for mil itary and economic pressure. But one must be chosen and the other abjured, on the penalty of giving the empire of chaos a most menacing extension. It is an option that can not be deferred until the peace conference has finished its labors. A tidal wave of Russo German Bolshevism sweeping -over Europe might give more embarrass ment at Paris than the escape of Na poleon did at Vienna." The warning of The Observer is In line with the growing belief that the most urgent business now before the conquering nations is to restore the coquered nations and all of central and southeastern Europe to a state of order and normal living, or something as near to this as possible. So. Bell Petition Denied Columbia, Jan. 4.?The South Carolina Railroad Commission has denied the petition of the Southern Telephone and Telegraph Company for a revision of and increase in lo cal exchange and toll rates in South Carolina. The following letter was today di rected by the commission to J. Epps Brown, .first vice presdient of the Southern Bell Telephone and Tele graph Company at Atlanta: "With reference to petition of the Southern Bell Telephone and Tele graph Company, filed in this office September 17. 191S, for a revision of and increase in certain local ex change and toll rates in South Caro- ; Una: "In view of the fact that your properties are now in possession of and being operated by the federal government, and that in such capacity, your company has no interest dur nsr jrovornment control in the financial results uder such operation, the Post naster General claiming to have the power to revise and make rates, schedules, etc.. and as this state of iffa;rs is in existence at this time, his commission does not deem it in :umbent upon them to go into this natter now, and having reached this ionclusion we hereby dismiss the pe ition above refered to."