Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Story of Service Overseas Toldj i Officially in Army ?e- j ports ?REAT WORK DONE BY FORMER CIVILIANS 3^nits Composed of Specially Trained Men Rendered Dis tinguished Service. "Washington, May 11.?The war story of the Engineer Corps at home and in France is*told officially tor thej first time in chapters of the war ^de partment's brief history of American war efforts made public today in ad vance sheets. Many of the recorded accomplishments of the engineers -have been published before as isolat ed incidents, but this is the first com P- ' plete and connected story which* givesj any idea of the extraordinary scope of Bp the duties modern warfare has laid upon engineering troops. Probably-' the best illustration of this so" far as the troops in France are concerned is the technical organ ization of the units of the engineers which reached the other side. There were seven regiments and two- bat talions Of railway construction engi neers; five; battalions for maintenance of way;' two battalions for mainten ance of railway equipment; four reg iments.and one battalion to operate the main American railways in France; three regiments to operate light railways and their repair shops; .;. - twe regiments to operate the regular railway repair shops; two regiments and six separate battalions on gener al construction work; two regiments for storing and transporting engineer supplies; a forestry' regiment; a light railway construction regiment; a road Touilding regiment; a water supply regiment; a mining regiment; a quar rying regiment; a technical regiment for surveying and sound ranging; three survey and printing battalions: two railway transportation battalions; an electrical and mechanical regiment; several separate companies to operate cranes; a. camouflage service; five inland waterway companies to oper ate canal boats and the like; five pon toon trains\and a pontoon park; a railway transportation and stores bat talion and a searchlight" regiment. . Tliese special units, all composed of men trained in civil life in the United States for the work they did in France, were in addition to the fight ing engineers with each division, the sappers, who formed about eight per cent, of all the combatant troops in J?rance. One section of the report is devoted .to the develppmentof American rail ways in France and to the production Jof railway equipment in the United States to meet the call from the front. There were shipped to France 1,303 locomotives before the armistice was signed of which 90S were in service at that time. In addition, 1S.313 freight cars were shipped abroad, both en gines and cars having been produced specially for service in Franc- These ?were employed upon the 937 miles of standard guage track laid in France by the engineers with equipment shipped from this country and the rolling stock was in addition to great Quantities of light railway equipment for front line work that was also sent abroad. Hospital trains were obtained in England, 19 of them with a total of 304 cars having been completed by December, 1918 with 29 additionai trains under construction. They cost more than $18.000 per car, but it is estimated that to have produced them 1 in the United States and shipped them ! would have cost $40,000 per car. j The report lays stress on the fact j that great progress was made during j the war in the development of road j building, railway and other engineer- j Sag equipment which will be of value i commercially in peace* time. The rno- j torized machine shops alone, it is) stated, are practically certain to bring I about in this country the use of mov- j ing shops of this character in agricul tural communities as farming machin ery increases. "The day may come," the report! says, "when the traveling machine j shop will be a familiar sight upon our rural highways." Among the motorized shops created were the photolithographic press trucks, which were able to reproduce j maps from original sketches within 12 hours as compared with f/our days required by similar French and Brit ish units. A special chapter is devoted to lis tening instruments developed during the war to locate hidden guns. Im proving upon Allied designs, the engi neer corps produced machines for this purpose which operated with "uncan ny accuracy," one of them having spotted. 117 German gun positions in a single day. Subsequently these Were followed by instruments of even greater power and at the close of the war there were 12 complete outfits,j each covering a five mile stretch of] fr?nt, at work on the American lines, j Similar deevlopment of instruments] for locating hostile ariplanes were carried out until it was possible to determine the location of a raider at hight within an angle of three degrees. The American types produced were easily portable and quickly set up to aid the searchlights. A hint at the scientific developments which were in sight in connection with these sound ranging devices is contained in the following paragraph: "When the fighting stopped our j military scientists and others cooper- j; ating with them were working o.u the j1 development of a sound ranging ap- N paratus intended to give troops warn-! i 'log otsbeU fired by the enemy in their j" direction. The preliminary experi-'* HUNS CALL FOR ! BIG REVOLUTION; _.? Socialist Party Invite Workmen j of All Nations to Join in Revolt j PROTEST AGAINST DRASTIC j PEACE TERMSI ;But They Admit That There is I Nothing to Do Save Bow to Compulsion. Berne, May 13.?"Even if unim porant changes are not made by the I negotiations begun at Versailles, there remains no choice but to bow to compulsion and sign the treaty," said the appeal of the centrar committee, tv.-> independent Sociali party in the party organ, Die Freiheit, yesterday. The appeal was prefaced by a de nunciation of the severity of the peace terms. . It concludes with a demand that the workmen of all countries unite against capitalism for a world revolution. Sidis in Trouble [Former "Boy Wonder" Sen tenced to Serve Boston, May 13.?After he told the ] court thai he believed in the soviet form of government, but that he countenanced the.use of force "only in case it should be necessary," William James Sidis, 21 years old, was sen tenced in Roxbury municipal court today to six months in the hquse of correction for rioting, and one year for assault upon a police officer in the May day demonstration in the Roxbury district. Sidis was graduat ed from Harvard University at the age of 15 and is a son of Dr. Boris Sidis. a psycho-pathologist. He ap pealed the sentence and was held In $5,000 bail. Weather Remains Bad Seaplanes May Not Hop Off This Aftrnoon i .Washington. May 14.?While weath er conditions along the route from j Trepassey Bay to the Azores improv ] fed today, meterological experts in j Newfoundland and here say they are ! still unsatisfactory for a'start by the I seaplanes on the trans-Atlantic flight. ! according to dispatches received here. ments found that at 4.1 miles these mechanisms could detect the firing of the gun as long as in seconds before the shell arrived, thus giving troops ample time to get under cover. Such a development was possible because of the far greater speed with which i earth vibrations travel than those of sound in the air. j "Except for lack of time in the j brief seconds between the tiring of (the gun and the arrival of the shell, lit would be quite possible with this J proposed apparatus to calculate at ? most exactly where the shell would hand." j The corps produced also a new form I of searchlight more powerful than any (that had preceded it in any army and i with which the second field army had ! been partially equipped, j "It weighed," the report says, j "one-eighth as much as lights of form er design, cost only one-third as much, was about one-fourth as large in bulk and threw a light 10 per cent stronger than any other portable pro jector in existence." The engineers were at work when the lighting ended upon a mechanism which would enable them to control searchlights from a distance. The chapter devoted to the work \ of the Engineer Corps in France! [draws a vivid picture of the duties of i the combat engineers who played their I full part in the fighting~from the be- j ginning to the end. It also tells in ] detail of the building of the railways; j the cutting down of French forests to! convert them into barracks for Amer- i ican troops; of the miles of high ways b :ilt and constantly rebuilt as] shell fire tore them to pieces; of ce ment mills taken over in France by] American troops to provide trench' materials; of the great map printing} plant where the engineers finally were! able to produce not only all maps! needed for the American army but { e\en supplied the French Seventh! and Eighth Army with base maps for ! their fronts, in this huge plant at] Langres in November over 1,900,000 lithographic prints were made and' over a million sheets of type work j done. There is told also the story of a camouflage factory at Dijon where material to blind enemy airplanes'j eyes and to confuse the enemy's pick- j ets was turned out in vast quantities. "Utilizing .and applying the newt knowledge and scientific achieve ments of recent years," the report says in concluding that port.on devoted to I the engineers, "drawing upon the-i fund of experience acquired by the! regular army in its theoretical studies! and past wars, making available thei vast amount of techni? ! skill which has assisted this nation 'o its present: commercial and industrial status, the-' engineers of the United States army; worked and fought, planned, and ac complished in France a work which in magnitude exceeds any similar un-j dertaking recorded in American his-'; tory. From base port to first waves < of tin assault upon the enemy's po- ' sitions. engineer troops have been i constantly in action tirst to last and | have "carried on' always with the high ; ideals of the profession and with the' motto of the corps of engineers 'Es-1; sayons' before them." {t Fiume Problem Seems Nearer Solution than Heretofore ORLANDO CALLS ON COL. HOUSE They Show Disposition to Make Concessions from Original De mands. Paiis, May 13.?The Ttalion prob lem seemed 10 he nearer solution when today's conference began among the allied representatives here and it is thought that probably a basis of understanding wil he reached dur ing the day. j The Italian representatives are re ported to he evidencing more of a willingness to make concessions. The discussions began when Premier Or lando called this morning on Coi. House of the American delegation. The council of four held no meeting 'during the morning. SUBMIT OR FIGHT I WHAT HUNS FACE I _ (Allies Have Dictated Peace i Terms and Will Not Permit ? .=? Any Modification i l . _ j GERMANS SLOW TO ADMIT THEIR PLIGHT i i _ -r? Conclusion of Treaty is But the Next Step in Signing of Armistice Terms. ? Paris, Saturday, May 11 (By the Associated Press)?The first exchange between Count von Brockdorff-Rant zau and the allies was considered a preliminary skirmish to the main bat tle and as . .-losing the allied po sition as, in effect: "Accepting the treaty as it stands, or reject it. one or the other, as there is ho middle ground." ' This was the prevailing view today in the American delegation, the peace conference and in conference circles generally after the four notes had oe.en analyzed The head of the Ger man delegation also was thought to j accept this conviction as reports were he was giving his chief attention to the formulation of a complete treaty which he would present as a counter project in about five days, instead of seeding to amend or modify the terms of the allied treaty. Since the foregoing was written, however, the two additional notes by Count von Brockdorff-Rantzau have j been dispatched. This counter treaty would be treated the same as the Ger I man plans for a league of nations, j neither of which will be considered. J the only question being the acceptance S or rejection of the allied treaty. [ The German project for a league of I nations, which the reply to Count von Brcckdorff-lianty.au said had been referred to a committee, had not reached the committee on the league of nations, today, but members of the j committee said it was generally known to have been drawn by Pro fessor Schueckmg of the German j delegation and that it was in the form j Of a general thesis on the merits of a world parliament which would seek to bring about the proportionate lim itations of armaments of all nations alike on sea as on land and an equality of economic conditions?bringing, about a sort of economic brotherhood. "The project," a member of the committee said, "has only academic interest, as the committee will not ex amine or consider it, for it has no pur pose to let the Germans confuse the allied project, which has unanimous support." Paris. Sunday. May 1 1 (French Wireless Service).?France is not in a mood to listen to Germany just now. The .Journal des Debats says, in con cluding an article on the manifesta tions?against the peace treaty by the! German government and the German press. j ? The president of Germany." the ed- j itorial says, "protests against the peace- terms and declares them im-J possible of acceptance. This attitude will be lost on us. The Germans, as usual, will yield only to- force. Dur ing the time allowed them to. make up i their minds they will try to persuade us to conclude peace upon such and ! such a basis. ... j "It is comical, indeed, to see at al time like this, tier Germans seriously proposing io us a version of the league of nations and plans for then reconstruction of Europe. They'' should put'them all back in the cabi- L nets at Wilhelmstrasse." < Dutch Deny Report j; The Hague. May 11.?The Dutch 11 irovernment denies it has decided to j surrender William Hohenzollem. j r*he question at present it contends,}] :oncerns only Germany and the en-jj ente. |i -.-.-, i Halifax, May 14.?Seaplane NC-4'I irrived here at 2.10 p. m. Halifax t ime, from Chatham, Mass. ? r ? V I Berlin Reports Tha? Party Lead ers Will Withdraw if Treaty Is Signed - # IMPERIAL MINISTRY HELD.. MEETING YESTERDAY Working for Union of German Austria With Germany Berlin, May 13.?The imperial min istry met yesterday to discuss the peace terms, but no positive propos als have yet been communicated to the entente. It is reported that the German democratic und centrist par ties have threatened to withdraw their representatives from the government if the treaty is signed. The Neue Freie Prosse of Vienna declares that von Rrockdorff-Rantzau, the head of the German peace mis sion to Versailles, has informed its representative that he is making, ev ery effort to secure the union of Ger man-Austria with Germany. HUME REMAINS IN DISPUTE _ - I (Italians Not Insisting Upon Fulfillment of Treaty of London THIS PHASE OF DIS PUTE NEAR ADJUSTMENT Objection Raised to Making City a Free Port like Dan zig. Paris, May 14.?The Italian dele gates to the peace conference are no longer insisting upon the fulfillment of the secret treaty of London and that part of ?the controversy relative j to territory on'the eastern shore of the Adriatic Is tending toward ad justment, according to those who have taken part in the recent confer ences. j The status of Fiume is still being [discussed as the plan to make it a j free city, similar to Danzig, has not j proved acceptable. j Drowned Off The i Battery - ?Charles Wilson Kollock, Jr., Aged 8, Falls into Water Charleston, May 14.?Master Chas. Wilson Kollock, Jr., aged eight years, son of Dr. and Mrs. Charles W. Kol lock, 24 South Battery, was drowned 1 yesterday afternoon while playing on j the sea wall nearly directly in fronf i of his home". ! The lad was playing" with the sons of Commander Allan G. Rogers, as [ sistant commandant of the Sixth Na i val District, throwing stones into the ! lagoon formed by the erection of the new sea wall. Leaning over the rail ing, he heaved a stone with all his strength, the effort releasing his hand. He fell into the water. This was at about S o'clock. It is supposed that when he fell he struck his head on rocks at the bottom, which ren ! doted him unconscious. His body was recovered at the spot where he had fallen. The other children immediatelyi rushed to their home, next door to the Konock residence, and called Com mander Rogers and Dr. Kollock. They went at once and dived for the body, but failed to find it. In the mean lime the police had been sent for, and when they arrived \vith grappling hooks they started to drag the water, but owing to the high tide, about ten j feet, it was nearly an hour before thei little fellow's body was recovered. Work was then started to revive! the hoi. but though four tanks vi oxygen were used in connection with a pulmotor. he failed to respond and til li o'clock he was pronounced dead. Fully a dozen men endeavored to lo cate the body, and everything that { could he brought into [day was used in efforts to find the body in hope of resuscitation. _ Bolsheviki Gunboat Sunk n Engagement With British Flo tilla on Dvina Archangel. Monday, May 12.? C?y the Associated Press).?A Bolsheviki runboat is reported to have been sunk h jn the Dvina river Sunday during an engagement between the British river lotilla and land batteries and the en fray fleet. The allied flotilla, aided by airplanes, also conducted a brisk bombardment along the Vaga river. [ I Washington. May 14.?Lieut. Com-1 < minder Read plans to stop with sea- \ ? )lane XC-4 at Halifax only a fewjl ninutes during his flight to New- ? oundland. He so advised the cruiser 1 Baltimore at Halifax, by wireless. ^ which intercepted and relayed to the ^ lavy department this afternoon. J BUILDING MATERIA L MPWWj?S Build Now Production depends on Construction U. S. Dept. of Labor W. B. Wilson Secretary Rough and dressed lumber, brick, lime, cement, plaster shingles; in fact everything for the builder. BOOTH & McLEOD, INC WEATHER RULES LONG AIR FLIGH Navy Planes Will Start on Trans-Atlantic Flight at First Chance ALL IN READINESS FOR THE HOP OFF Commander Towers Maintains Strict Silence as to His Plans for Future. : Washington, May 12?The, navy de partment announced today that upon I the outcome of the proposed test j flight of the new navy dirigible C-5 "om the naval air station, Montauk, N. V.. to St. John's. X. F. would "de pend the future plans in regard to a trans-Atlantic flight by a dirigible." The flight to Newfoundland, a dis tance or* approximately 1.000 miles, it was said, would he made "whenever weather conditions are favorable." , The navy department also dis closed much data regarding the C-5 not heretofore published. The new dirigible, which was commissioned only a week ago, is commanded by ^??mndr E. W. Coil, and the mem .> of the crew are Lieut. J. V. Lawrence and M. P. Easterly 'En sigp D. P. Campbell, and Chief Ma chinists Mate T. L. Moorman and S. H.' Blackburn ? ' The C-5 is a twin engine non-rigid airship with two 125 horse power en gines. The dirigible has an evelope displacement of approximately 178, 000 feet, an envelope length of 192 feet and envelope diameter of near ly 42 feet, making her the largest of the navy airships. The normal speed of the C-5 is placed in the navy department's an nouncement at 50 mih'S an hour with an endurance at normal speed of ten hours. However, in addition to the useful load of 4,000 pounds and to the crew of six, it was learned that pro visions can be made for a greater gas oline carrying capacity, thus, increas ing her cruising ability greately be yond the estimated 500 miles at a speed of 42 knots. Officials of the navy department ap pear to-be entirely confident that the C-5, which was designed during the war for coast patrol work, has ample i endurance to cross to Europe without a stop. Th<-ro is a general belief at the navy department that the trans Atlantic attempt wili be ordered im mediaely after the arrival of the C-5 at St. John's and before the naval craft patrolling the Atlantic for the flight of the heavier than air ma chines the NC-1 and NC-3 have dis persed. It is regarded as practically certain, however, that the dirigible will not start until after the sea panes are well on their way or have arrived on the other side as the navy will permit nothing to interfere with the seaplane attempt. The department put finishing touches today on preparations for the "hop off" of the two seaplanes from Trepassey Bay, X. F. The start may come at any time now. it was learned, depending on weather conditions. Tht weather forecast system is said to have worked thus far with clocklike precision. The department received today and transmitted to Commander Towers of Rome, Ga.. the following message from Admiral Benson in Paris: "Congratulations upon your success so far. The navy department confi dently expocts you to make a success ful trans-Atlantic flight." In his official account of the flight from Rockaway, transmitted to-day, Commander Towers described the (light in detail and added: "Each seaplane spent approximate ly 4 0 minutes maneuvering for land ing at Trepassey under very adverse weather conditions. Winds as high as ?35 miles an hour were encountered, although fairly smooth air was found at 3,500 feet. Engines functioned well on both legs. Radio telegraph main tained excellent communication. Navi gation was rendered difficult by the high velocity and varying directions of wind and necessity of flying high to avoid rough air. but means are re g irded as satisfactory. "Are engaged in overhauling and refculling NC-3 and NC-1 and will start when conditions are favorable. Treaty with Austria Paris. May 14.?The belief that the >cace treaty with Austria will be hand ?d to the Austrian delegates by the end of the week was expressed to lay. It develops that the all-allied powers to be representd in the ne gotiations with the Austrians will be ess numerous than those at Versailcs. Phese powers will comprise the states vhich declared war, or broke diplo- f( nr.tic relations with Austria-Hungary. Jai GOVERNOR SIGNS TELEGRAPH ACT Wire Companies Must Use Intra State Lines For Trans mission of Message^ HARDSHIPS RECOGNIZED BY THE GOVERNOR j ' 1 Before Signing the Bill Chief Executive Gave Out State ment. Columbia, May 13.?^Governor Cooper today signed the act, pass ed at the last session of the general j assembly, requiring telephone and j telegraph companies to transmit all j messages originating in this State for : delivery in the borders of South Car olina to be delivered over the most ; direct route. A strong effort was j made on Governor Cooper to''veto the j bill, because of its alleged unconstitu tional ity and the excessive amounts J necessary to be expended by the wire [companies to make its provisions ope j rative. When he signed the bill Governor Cooper gave out the following state ment: "1 am in grave doubt as to'the constitutionality of this act,, but' since there is a doubt I feel that I should solve that doubt in favor of - the act, j and let the courts decide the ques j tion. ' *' j "It was urged before me that it ! would be a great hardsip on " the (telegraph companies to transmit." all instrastate messages wholly' witb/m the State. My construction of the act is that a telegraph company" is re quired to transmit messages * orfginat ing and to be delivered witHiri the [State by the most practical'rOUt?. If j there is no practical route, wholly within the State between "' thepoint j of origination and the point of deliv J ery I have no doubt that such com-, pany would Yiave a right to transmit j the message by some practical route without the State. The act, therefore, when properly construed, will'require a telegraph company to transmit arid' deliver messages wholly within' the State where they have a practical routs for such delivery." The following is the te*xt of the I act: "Section 1. Be it enacted by th* General Assembly of South Carolina! I A message delivered to a telegraph or telephone company within' this I State for transmission to any other point within this State shall be as a matter of fact, and regarded as a matter of law, as and for an intra state transaction, and shall be.trans mitted by such company by the most direct and practical route within the State. "Sec. 2. That for any violation of this act said corporation shaJL-he sub ject to a penalty of $500 for each vio lation, to be recovered by the party aggrieved and forfeit its right to do business in this State. "Sec. 3. Nothing herein contained shall bar any action for actual or punitive damages growing out of any violation of the provisions of this act, and any cause of action may be united in the same complaint." Consider German Proposals Special Committee of Five Great Powers Appointed Paris. May 14.?The council of four appointed today a subcommittee, comprising one member each from Lhe five great powers to deal with the objections and proposals from the German peace plenipotentiaries. German Notes Presented r*eace Council Receives Three Long Communications Paris, May 14.?The council of four net this morning and is considering iroblems relative to ports and water-, rays and some details of the Aus rian treaty. It is presumed that the ferman note reported to have been elivered last night was also taken up. 'hree notes from .he German del ation were delivered to the council ais morning. They are very long h*** ic subjects discussed were not di> losed. Montauk Point. N. Y.?Navy diri ible C-5 left here today on a flight > .St. Johns, Newfoundland, which lay be followed, if the coastal per >rrnance proves satisfactory, by ah rtempt to fly-across the Atlantic. ^