The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, May 17, 1919, Image 1

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THE SPMIEB WAICHKAX, EstabS Consolidated Aug. 2, li TO ENFORCE COMPLUSORYLAW ? Action Taken by the Boards of Education to Enforce School Attendance LAW IS OPERATIVE ON JUNE FIRST County Boards Bust Appoint | Attendance Officer and Re-! port to Mr. Swearingen. - Columbia, May 13.?The initial! . steps looking to the enforcement of! . the compulsory attendance act will be i taken by the several county boards of! education this week. In each county the attendance officer must be selected by the county board of education, and ?-. his name must be reported to the. State Superintendent 01 Education by i jl?a,y 15. About one-fourth of thej counties have already reported their j selection to Superintendent Swearin- . gen* The State Board of Education has I ordered that in every county the at- 1 tendance officer shall be ready to en- \ ter upon his duties June 1. Both men j * and women are eligible for this ser-j \ vice. Several county boards have; selected women for the work. In j cities having a population of 2,000 or : more, according to the census of 1910 ; the local board of district trustees has j the option of appointing a district at tendance officer for the schools of the city in their discretion. There are in the State some twenty-eight such in-1 corporated places The school author- j ites of each of these cities have been j requested to make their choice promptly between the county attend-J ance officer and the district attend- j ance officer. The decision of the lo-1 cal trustees should be reported to the J county boards of education in time for. :ibe, decision to be acted upon before I May 15. Wherever no city attendance | officer is appointed the schools of the I municipality will be under the juris- j diction of the county attendance of- i ' fleer. Every special city attendance j ?j?o&r will be required to perform in! his municipality all the duties required 6i.the county attendance officer. In! Charleston the city trustees and the | city superintendent prefer a special | district attendance officer and have se- j lecteda.woman for the work. The State Superintendent hopes j that ihe school authorities of every; county and every municipality having i a population of 2.000 will attend this j important matter without delay. The j salaries of attendance officers for city i districts must be paid from the special j tax funds of the district. Two attendance officers have beenI allotted to each of the following large j counties: Anderson, Greenville. Spar-; Tanburg, York. Aiken. Orangeburg, i Florence, Horry and Lexington. In I making the allotment the State j board of education considered area,! school population, the number of! schools-and th?- difficulties of travel. In every county the salary of the at-] tendance officer will be $100 per month, beginning June 3. j The first duty of each attendance1 officer wili^ be to acquaint himself fully and accurately with his territory. This knowledge will be absolutely necessary to the taking of a correct N school census of all children between and fourteen years of age during the "calendar months of July and August This census must be taken by school districts. ' The meets and bounds of each school district are determined by the county board of education. Wherever these boundaries have not been definitely marked out the limits should be settled promptly. "If this is not done confusion and con troversy will invariably result. Blank forms for the taking of .he census will be sent out from the State Superintendent's office by order of the State board of education These forms will require a mass of printed ma terial, but the legislative printing committee will secure the delivery of the blanks on time. The compulsory attendance law re quires that all children between the ages of eight and fourteen years shall attend school during four consecutive months, or eighty days, each year The State Board of Education has rec ommended that the terms of compul sory attendance begin in each district with the opening of the public schools of the locality It is hoped that ever} board of district trustees will adopt this recommendation in order to se cure the maximum number of pupils promptly as well as the maximum at tendance. Classification and gradua tion of pupils will be greatly facili tated by this policy. The general as sembly, however, refused to designate the specific months c.f compulsory at tendance and the State board did not feel authorized to fix a ruling in this connection. The opening of the schools in each community is regulated by the local trustees. The practice varies widely in the various com munities of the State. Xot a few dis tricts run summer terms. In the to bacco counties a summer term is im possible. Cotton picking also affects the opening of many schools, a defi nite rule for all the districts of the State can hardly b^ laid down unless the recommendation of the State board is approved. Certainly the schools ought to run when the ma-, joritv of the pupils can attend. In city and town schools and in j country schools, running eight or nine' fed April, 18(0. "BnJofta; $81. COTTON GROWERS FORM LEAGUE Organization Perfected to Fight Combination That Seeks Control of Market? mill men and specu ~ l'atoi?^antagonistk: Strong Organization of South- i > ern Interests Will Destroy i Cotton Ring. New Orleans May 14.?At a secret! meeting here tonight of cotton grow- ! ers representing 400.000 acres of cot-: ton producing lands the American j Cotton Grower's* League was organiz- ; ed designed to combat what was al- j leged to be "a strong influence j brought to bear by representatives of, cotton brokers and New England, manufacturers on the proceedings of the conference assembled here to . consider the organization of a $100,-' 000,000 exports corporation." j A committee was appointed com-1 pcsed of A. Allen. Greenville, Ala.; ' George W. E. Hasting. Mobile; Har vey Swain. Atlanta: R. F. Work,; Houston Texas, and Justin Fair, \ Montgomery, Ala., empowered to] work out plans to meet the alleged I "influence." S Announcement that the growers I had organized was made to the As-; sociated Press by one of the mem-; bers of the committee who expressed j the belief that "the death knell of j the speculator in the cotton produc- ? ing world may have been sounded" j by the organization of the league. Cotton Used in April \ Consumption for the Month j 475,753 Bales . Washington, May 14.?Consumption j of cotton during Apr^ amounted to< 475.753 bales of lint and 11.169 ofj [inters, the census bureau today an aounced. ? Consumption during April last year j was 544.125 bales of lint and 106,- j >32 of linters. Cctton on hand April 30. in con- j suming establishments was 1.373,226: bales of lint and 272.854 of linters.! compared with 1,807,788 of lint and: 154,155 of linters a year ago. and inj public storage and at compresses 3, 970.129 bales of lint and 211.083 of linters. compared with 2.828.126 bales! of lint and 279,073 of linters a year j ago. Cctton spindles active April num-! ber?d 33,213,026 compared with 33,-; 734.997 in April last year. Imports were 36,4 03 bales, compar- | ed with 21,158 in April last year. Exports were 411.016 bales, in-j eluding 951 linters, compared with | 2i 7.^.02 bales including 15,466 bales j of lintel's last April. Cotton consumed in the cotton- \ growing Slates: was 259,449 bales.! compared with 205,528 last April: cot ton on hand in consuming establish ments 645.042, compared with l.lOG.-j Sf?7. in public storage and at com- i presses 3,671,116. compared with 2. 486.021. Spindles active during April in cotton growing States were 14. 328,272, compared with 14,315,602 in' April last year. Dismantle Skoda Works Austrians Will Be Required to Destroy Famous Munition Plant Paris. May 15.?The Austrian peace terms will probably be pre sented to the Austrian delegation on Wednesday. The terms, it is under stood, will require the dismantling of the famous Skoda works, among Other armament plants. The council of four this morning discussed with military advisers the military terms of the treaty. It is un derstood these are similar to those in the German treaty, including a pro hibition of conscription. Wilson Changes Plan George vVashington Can't Sail From Antwero Paris. May 14 (P.y the Associated Press).?President Wilson was con sidering sailing for the United States from Antwerp so that he mighl visit firussels <>u the way. but on inquiring! it developed today that the United States transnort George Washington is of too great a draf' t<> enter the; port of Antwerp. Tiie project therefore has been abandoned. Tim president will visit , Kr?ssels, however. Tiefere startint: <>n his homeward voyage. month", this compulsory attendance is both logical and feasible. The diffi culties in other districts arc negligible when compared with tlm resulting advantages to teachers, schools and puoiis. The interest in this problem i-? State-wide and enthusiastic. The State Superintendent hopes to be ab'e to announce the full list of attend ance officers early next week. od Fear not?Bet all the ende Thon All SUMTER, S. C, SATU LODGE CONTROLS! PARTY CAUCUS Republicans Meet To Arrange: Congressional Program and Organization ROW OVER CHAIRMAN SHIPS TO COME! i 1 ; I - , Contests Between Aspiring; Loaders Temporarily Post-! * i poned. i - i Washington, May 14.?Republican j senators in conference today agreed j unanimously cn a program for or-1 ganization of the next senate but de-i ferred discussion of the opposition by I the Progressive group to the eicc-! tion of Senators Penrose of Pennsyl yania and Warren of Wyoming as: chairmen of the finance and appro- ; priations committees, respectively. With only six of the 69 Republican members absent the conference with complete outward harmony and by unanimous votes named a slate, of j nominees for senate offices. ! Senator Cummins of Iowa, on mo tion of Senator Borah of Idaho, spokesman of the progressive group was chosen for president pro-tempore of the senate without opposition. Senator Lodge of .Massachusetts like- i wise was reelected Republican floor | leader. Senator Curtis of Kansas was j reelected whip, and Senator Wads- | worth of New York, conference sec- | retary. Ceorge A. Sanderson of Chi-! cago was chosen for secretary of the j senate and David Harry, a Provi- j dence, R. I., newspaper man. fori sergeant at arms. All committee assignments were \ left to a committee on committees.! which Senator Lodge was authorized to appoint and of which Senator | Brandegee of Connecticut, of the, regular group, will be chairman. Eight other members will be named soon and another party oenference will be held probably next week to receive the committee's report. The. seniority rule, it is expected, will be! followed closely by the committee, a!- j though some of the progressives to day deck-red privately that they would j carry their fight against -Senators; Penrose and Warren to the senat< - i'.oor. The .conference also authorized, Senator. Lodge to appoint a commit tee on .order of business, or leglsla- ! tive steering committee, of nine mem- I bers, with Senators McCumber of North Dakota. Sherman and Mr. j Lodge, an officio member. A com- j mittee on ])atronage distribution,! headed by Senator New of Indiana.: also was-ordered. ? No indication of the fight against j Senators Penrose and Warrou. develop ed in the conference, which was con fined to the routine business or' plans for organizing che senate. It was said that the factional dispute was1 not mentioned. Soven members ofj the Progressive group met in Senator Borah's office previous to the con ? ference and agreed to nominate Sen- j ator Cummins for president pro tern, i after Senator Johnson, of California j had rejected a suggestion from a del- ! egation of the socalled regulars that j he become a candidate. The contest over th<> election of; i Senators Penrose arid Warren to the : [committee chairmanship is expected! j to develop in the committee on com-! imittees and at the next conference. ? Senator Borah declared today that he would not attend the conference un j less it was open to the public and un ; der an agreement that senators are \ not to he bound by a majority vote on: : committee assignments, j A few of the Progressives, it was! stated, plan to absent themselves! ; from the committee conference, while! ! others were reported to intend to j ; vote against Senators Penrose and , i Warren in conference but prepared | j to accept a majority vote of the con- ] j ference. It was said that the Pro jgessives would nominate Senator; ? Townsend of Michigan for chairman I I of tiie finance committee from the : ?door of th" senate. Friends of Sen jator Penrose expressed confidence] i that he linally would head that com-! .mittee hut there was said to be strong; ?sentiment among the regulars as wellj ;is the Progressives for ejection of! Senator Smoot of I'tah. to the ap-j I propriations committee chairman-1 i ship. Leaders of both the party groups j joined in predictions tonight that th" slate of senate officers selected today ! would be adopted nexl Monday when , the senate convened. Organization of committees, however, was expected . to go over it that time, as tin* com-! mittee on committees, it was believed] would not be able to report until late, next week. Job For Fosdick - ! New York Lawyer Will Have Place With League of Na tions Washington. May 15.?Raymond B Fosdick. the New York lawyer, who was chairman of the commission on ; training camp activities during the; war. will be cue of tha permanent> American officials in the league of: nations when the league is organized, i His exact position is not known here i today. I tim*t at be thy Country's. Toy God'i I RDAY, MAY 17, 1919. REPLY TO HUNS Note From Peace Delegates Re-1 reived Immediate At tention PROTESTS OF GERMANY NOT VALID I - Strong Objection Made by Ger-; mans to Paying for Destruc-i tion of French Coal Mines. i _ i Paris, May 14.?The answers of the | council cf ton;* to the German notes j on prisoners of war and labor sub-; jects wore delivered this afternoon. \ One of later German notes, deal- i ing with the economic clauses of the; treaty, declares they mean the ruin *>f Germany if they are enforced. A note on territorial questions pro- < tests particularly against the Saare valley arrangement and the transfer of the Malmedy Moresnett and Eupen districts to Belgium, as well as the forced evacuation of a part of Schles wig. A note on reparation does not pro- i test against the payment by Germany I for the devastation wrought in Bel-1 gium and northern France which it j says, Germany is ready to do will ingly. It is added, however, that Germany will not pay reparation for this damage on the principle that she was responsible for the war. The note on the question of prison ers says: ??The German peace delegation notes with satisfaction that the pro ject recognizes the principle of the re turn of prisoners of war, and civil ians with the least possible delay. The delegation deems that all th<* details of the execution of^ this measure ought to be submitted to a special commission. "Directoral discussions between the commission and nearly all the bellig erents concerning prisoners of war have been considered even during hostilities as the surest means of solv ing the difficulties it ought today to be all the easier to reconcile the different viewpoints and clear up cer tain obscurities still existing on cer tain details of the problem.' "For instance, as a result of the diversity of the Viewpoint of the law in the different countries interested the Gefman delegations considers it indispensable that -prisoners of war and the civilians undergoing penal ties fcr other infractions than those of discipline should be in a group that ought to be repatriated uncon ditionally. Germany has recognized this principle regarding power and civilians of the allied and associated I powers in its custody. '"The German delegation deems it ? necessary for reasons of equity to ac cord certain improvements in the j treatment of prisoners, military and | civilians, pending the time when they j may return to their own country." | The notes from fount von Brock-j dorff-Rantzau have been referred by the council of four to special com- j mittees. The report of the committee! on the German note regarding] changes in the labor convention has! been approved and sent to the Ger- j mans. Close scrutiny of the treaty i revealed several omissions. The j council corrected one of these by de- i ciding to insert a clause providing* for the withdrawal of representation oil ? the repatriations committee on a 12 j months' notice. Foch Prepares for Hunsi Marshal at the Front to Lead; Army if Treaty is Not Signed - I Paris. May 1 1 (By the Associated Press)?Immediate measures tending j to the further subjugation of Ger- j .many if its delegates refuse to sign ; the peace treaty were indicated today : by tin- announcement that Marshal j Foch had been sent to the Rhine by j the council of four to take such ac- ! lion as may become necessary in thoj event that the treaty is not signed, j Six Persons Drown Coal Barge Goes Down OlT Isle of Shoals i Portsmouth. X. II.. May !.">.?Six persons, including the captain's wife and four children and the engineer, were drowned when the coal barge Xanticoke sank off Isle of Shoals early today. Captain William Gray and one deck hand, the only surviv ors, were picked up after they had drifted several hours in a small boat. Message Will Be Short President Wilson Will Condense Address to Congress into Few Words v PaHs. May I.").? President Wilson has advised the cable companies that his message to the forthcoming spe cial session of congress will not be more than a few hundred words, en abling it to be cabled, probably, on the day of delivery. i So? ad Trvlfc'l." THE TKUJE AUSTRIANS GIVEN HEARTY WELCOME Chancellor Says He Comes With Glad Heart to Make Peace GIVEN PLEASANT VILLAS i FOR QUARTERS No High Fences and Sentries,: Such as Surround Germans at Versailles. Paris, May 14 (By the Associated; Press)?Karl Renner, Austrian chan- j cellor, Drought his peace delegation j and attendants to St. Germain, near; Paris, today and at a later date will! appear before the representatives of j the A1 lied and associated, powers to: receive the conditions that will spell! peace ior the former empire. A hotdble feature of the reception ; was the absence of Germans, who I had requested permission . to greet j the Austrians, but had been denied . this privilege. The prefect of the; department, M. OhalloII, met thej Austrians courteously and although; there was no official handshaking.; many members of the party were I greeted by unofficial handshakes from; old acquaintances as they were be- ' ing shown to the waiting automo- j biles. The delegates then proceeded un der military escort to the villas set aside for them overlooking the val ley of the Seine and Paris and lacking the high fences and sentries so much in evidence at Versailles. Chancellor Renner was apparently in excellent spirits. lie smiled en gagingly and his eyes shone as he greeted the representatives of the al lied" countries. In the course of his remarks he said among other things: "I hope I may go away with as joy ful a heart as I bring." ! St Germafh was at its loveliest this i afternoon when the Austrian delega | tion was "-eceived. Although the i crowds of cillagers were held back ! by sentries, such precautions were j unnecessary, for the crowds displayed i mild curosity rather than hostility. ! The brilliant, warm day enhanced j the kep.uty*"T<T the historic town whose villas were embowered in blooming lilac hedges with chestnut groves full flower. Under official escort the correspon dents and others were conducted ceremoniously to the station through streets from which other traffic had been barred. It seemed like a fete day. and the good spirits or" the crowd awaiting the Austrians appeared to be shared by them, for they emerged \ smiling from their special train. It was a cosmopolitan crowd which ] awaited the delegation and the! French. English. Italian. Japanese! and American journalists and officers, j Navy Requisitions 14,000 Tons Steel; - Places Order With the Carnegie j Steel Company to Build Battleships i i - I Washington. May 14.?Acting un-! der authority conferred by war enter-1 gency legislation, the Navy De-1 partment today placed an order, or what amounts to a requisition, for fourteen thousand tons of steel with the Carnegie Steel Company. The steel I is to be ttsed in starting construction f of four battleships, work on which, under the act authorizing them, must! be begun before July I. Decision to requisition the steel was j reached today at a Navy Department j conference, at which it was found i that the bids submitted yesterday forj the fourteen thousand tons were the; some as bids which previously had j been submitted, and which were has- \ ed on prices agreed upon between i the steel manufacturers and the now j abandoned industrial board of the j department of Commerce. The previ ously submitted bids were rejected on* the ground that they showed no indi- I cation of competition. The order, according to an an- : nouncement issued by Acting Secre tary Roosevelt, was placed '"at a ten tative price, subject to later adjust ment." and explained that the Carne- ; ?ie company was the only bidder sub- j mitting estimates on the entire ord-:; er. The announcement said: "Today the navy placed with the j ? Car neige Steel Company an order fori about 14.000 tons of steel required for ( beg:nuing construction before July 1. 1919. of battleships 49. 50. 51 and \ 52. ordered constructed at Xow York , Norfolk and Marc Island navy yards. , "The order was placed at a tenta- i . tive price, subject to later adjustment , ifter further conference with the Car- ; negie Steel Company officials. 'Thar company was the only com- , i?!ete bidder on the entire schedule ofj. requirements. By placing the order } with one company the navy felt as- t aired of better service and a mar? ! , convenient and economical baspec- j? ?ion-"_ !< Vicksburg, Miss.. May 1 I.?Lloyd ;;iay. 24. a negro, alleged to have as- < ?vaulted a young white woman, was T ynched and h:s body burned here to- c light bv ? mob of between 800 and i, L,00? persons. j? ; S??THK?V, Established Jaua, UM VoL XLYIII. No. 27. SOUTH MUST HOLD COTTON Senator Smith Delivers Address At New Orleans Convention FARMERS AND BUSINESS MEN MUST STAND FIRM Other Well Known Public Men Also Make Speches on Situ ation. New Orleans, May 14.?Emancipa tion of the South from what was termed the ''financial domination of the North" was the prevailing note of speakers heard by representatives of QOtton interests from the entire South ern cotton belt assembled here today to consider the formation of a $100, 000,000 cotton exports corporation and the organization of a permanent cot I ton association. Federal, State and municipal of ficials were unanimous in the belief that it is "high time the Southland asserted it9 independence." Addresses were made by Senator E. D. Smith of. South Carolina, Rep resent taive J. T. i Hefiin of Alabama. Governor Pleas ! ant of Louisiana and Mayor Martin I Behrman of New Orleans. Govern I or Pleasant presided. ! It was announced tonight that a ; draft of the proposed charter of the j exports corporation probably will be submitted to the conference late /to morrow. It was said the draft as ap proved by Gov. W. P. G. Harding of ! the federal reserve board the sub | stance of which already has been, I made public, will be but little chang jed. j A statement by Senator Smith that i the fight the South is waging is like ! the great battles on the western front i in which he urged cotton * men to "buck the line" was met with storm ; of applause by the 400 delegates. I "The boys of Dixie broke the Hin I denburg line," he declared, "and we j have met here to break another line, j You can break that line and roil back j the obstacles that have held back ! the South as our gallant ioldiers j rolled., the Hun hordes o*rersaas.-. "We stand today surrounded by civ ;umstahces that never existed beftre I for at least a half a century. For 50 ? years we lived under a cloud. We I were robbed of capital and credit i after the War Between the States, i But they could not rob us of the spir i it that always has characterized the i white man of the South. Let us say this is the army of emancipation. Give I the farmer a chance, so that he can j finance his own crop. When you have ! lone that you will have emancipated i the South and not until then." Senator Smith outlined what he <aid was a long fight he waged in the Cnited States senate for protection of he cotton growers of the South. He pictured what he said has been the ?joverty and distress in the rural South and urged his hearers "not to iesiroy the market place but to drive cut by direct legislation all prostitu tors of such places." "Th" man who will not join this bcw army we are forming is a slacker "0 the South," exclaimed -Senator Smith. Declaring that high grade cotton of the South can not be produced any where else in the world, the senator concluded with a plea for the support of the measures which will be placed before the conference. Representtaive Hefiin was greeted with a generous display of enthus iasm when he declared that "in a fight between the spinners and grow ers, the. growers were bound to win if they were properly organized." He warned the delegates that it would be wise to keep a "sharp watch" to make sure shares in the proposed ex ports corporation do not ultimately find a resting place in the "great financial interests of the North." "Watch your shareholders,*' he urged. "If these interests obtain con trol they can use it as a club, but if we control it we have our own club, and it's a club with spikes in it." Sweeping Up Mines Seaplanes Being Used in British Waters London. April S.?Sweeping up the thousands of mines which strew the seas in the neighborhood of the British Isles has proved sucb a cost ly and dangerous job when carried cm by the ordinary methods, that the admiralty has turned to the airship "or relief Experiments conducted in the North Sea. it is announced, have been successful, mines being located xnd exploded much quicker than vhen the usual mine-sweeping ship is used. While the airship has the advant age of height in locating mines, the nere fact that an airship cannot hit a nine adds so much to the element of safety that it is expected that much >f the 5.000 square miles of mine jtrewn waters which remain will be rleared without loss of life. Paris. May 15.?The council of "our has declined to consider the totes from von Brockdorff-Rantzau. :hief of the Gefnian peace mission, relative to international labor legis ation.