Newspaper Page Text
BREAK DELAYED
BY UNITED STATES
German Note Accepted With
a Warning
IF GERMANY KEEPS WORD
United States Announces Future Rela
tions With Germany Will Depend
on Scrupulous Execution by Latter
of New Orders in Regard to Subma
rine Warfare.
A note mbit <1 by Secretary Lansing
to Ambassador Gerard for delivery to
the Berlin foreign office informs I lie
German government that tlie United
States accepts Germany’s “declaration
of its abandonment" of its former sub
marine policy and now relies upon a
scrupulous execution of the altered
policy to remove the principal dangei
of an interruption of the good rela
tions existing between the two coun
tries.
With this acceptance is coupled
formal notice to Germany that the
United States a moment
entertain, much less discuss, a sugges
tion that respect by German naval,
authorities for the rights of citizens
of the United States on the high seas
should, in the slightest degree, liej
r made contingent upon tlie conduct of
any other government affecting the
rights of neutrals and non-combat
ants.
This is in reply to the concluding
statement in the Inst German note b
the effect that while submarine com
manders had been ordered to sink no
peaceful freight or passenger-carrying
ships without warning, or without
safety for passengers and crew, the
German government would reserve to
itself complete liberty of decision un
less the United States was successful
in its efforts to break the British
blockade.
Secretary Lansing issued a state
ment saying that the greater part of
Germany’s answer to the demand of
the United States was devoted to mat
ters which the American government
could not discuss with the Berlin gov
, eminent, tint lie considered Germany
had “yielded to our representations.”
and that “we can have no reason to
quarrel with her” so long as the al
tered poiicp-is lived up to.
TRANSPORT SUNK.
Carried 600 Russian Troops, Most oi
Whom Perished.
The sinking of an allied transport in
the Mediterranean late in April with
the loss of nearly _a]l the 600 Rus
Have You Stopped to Think
That you read all important happenings in the County and in
Sift THE PROGRESS FIRST?
Why not become a regular subscriber to the Official Organ
of your county ana read all the news while it is still news ?
Remember our JOB DEPARTMENT is unexcelleed in
South Georgia.
The Coffee County Progress
“The People’s Paper.”
sian troops on hoard is reported in ad- ]
vices from Corfu, says tlie Overseas
News agency.
The transport was sunk by striking
a mine about the same time the Brit
ish battleship Russell met a similar
fate, the advices stated.
The news agency statement regard
ing the reported sinking is as follows:
“According to reliable reports from
Corfu, in addition to the battleship
Russell, a transport steamer with 000
Russians on board, struck a mine and
sank. Only a few were rescued. The
bodies recovered were buried by the
British at Malta.”
PEACE DOVE FLUTTERS.
Pope Benedict XV Approached by
Kaiser.
Pope Benedict XV lots again been
approached by the kaiser with refer
puce to peace, according to the Ger
man Humanity league.
The German emperor dispatched an
autograph letter to the pope at Easter,
says the league, expressing the hope
that the pontiff, together with the
king eif Spain, would be able “to con
struct a scheme to bring together un
der the auspicious emblem of the dove
and olive branch a conference of bel
ligerents for the consideration of an
immediate peace without detriment t(
the legitimate aspirations of .nations.” j
Liner Cymric Sunk.
Tiie White Star liner Cymric,
bound from New York with a general j
cargo and munitions, was torpedoed (
in the English channel, according to
a dispatch to the Lloyds. The Cym
ric left New York on April 28 with
a general cargo and munitions. She
displaces 1ff..”70 tons, was built in
1 sms and plies between Liverpool and
New York.
To Extradite Spy.
Upon motion of Hie attorney gen
eral. The supreme emit at Washing
ton ordered immediate issuance of a
mandate in the ease of Ignatius Lin
coln. self-described German spv. the
result of which will he Lincoln's ex
tradition to England to stand trial on
a charge of forgery.
Air Attack on Avlona.
Avlona. Albania, was bombarded
by Austrian aeroplanes. Austrian
aeroplanes, while returning from Hie
attack oil Brindisi. Italy, tired upon
the Italian cruiser Marco Polo.
The Serbian crown prince, who is
in Rome oil a visit, ocenpicd a seat
in a hydroplane of the Italian squad
ron which coursed through the air
over the Italian fleet in Tarento har
bor.
Announcement comes from Opelika,
Ala., that work will begin May 15 on
a ILL- mile gtrefeh oj road between
COFFEE COUNH PROGRESS
Opelika and Notasnlga on the At
lanta-Moutgomery highway, making
the highway between these cities al
most uniform and complete.
SECRETS OF A GUN
The Famous French 75 and Its
Wonderful Mschanism.
IT HAS TWO HIDDEN DEVICES.
These Are the Fuse Setter and the Re
coil Absorber, and They Make This
Monster Weapon a Most Fearful En
gine of Death and Destruction.
What is a 75V By this is con versa
tionally understood a French field gun
the caliber, or interior diameter of the
bore, of which is seventy-five niillime
ters. Incidentally it is the finest man
killing machine the world lias yet
known.
In 1808 France surprised the armies
of the world by the introduction of an
artillery weapon which till then had
only existed in the dreams of experts.
Till this period the slowness of artil
lery tire was due to t lie fact that after
the gun was laid and tired the shock
of discharge so upset the aim that the
gun had to he rein id for a second shot
The rapidity of tire thereupon became
a matter of how quickly and accurate
ly a gun could he laid by the personal
skill of the layer. The French, seek
ing artillery progress and confronted
with the inexorable shortness of their
conscripts' period of training, sought to
improve in mechanism what they could
not improve in personal skill.
Briefly, the new French field gun of
1808 ceased to he attached to its axle
tree. hut was attached instead to a
buffer in a eraule. which not only ab
sorbed the shock of recoil, but ran hack
the gun so exactly into its former po
sition that no second laying was neces
sary.
The primary trouble of laying-having
been got over, rapidity of fire appeared
to have been attained. Experiments
then proved that, though a rapid rate
of fire was possible, this rate was only
as fast as that at which the gunners
con LI adjust the fuses of the shells.
llow now improve the rate of fuse
setting? This task was and is a mat
ter of meticulous accuracy, needing
careful training to he done correctly.
Moreover, it could not lie hurried, since
a shell badly fused by ever so little
was not only innocuous to the enemy,
but was a danger to one's own side.
Once more the French put aside any
idea of brisking up the personnel and
Invented a machine to set the fuse.
The details of this fuse setter are still
a secret. Let it sjiffk-e. .that it. is sim
pie, accurate and very rapid in its
work. Thanks to it and to the steadi
ness of the gun after each discharge,
tiie French field gun Is easily capable
of twenty-five aimed rounds a minute.
One more word about the recoil ah
sorber and the secret thereof. The
recoil is taken up by a cylinder be
neath Hie gun. which contains a com
bination of glycerin, compressed air
and springs. It is this combination
and the exact proportions thereof
which make the secret of the gun. It
is not even ascertainable from a cap
tured gun. since if you take a void
chisel to it and try to examine tiie
works by opening the buffer the com
pressed air escapes, and Hie secret
which lies In its density evaporates
with it.
Having solved the question of the
rate of fire you would have thought
that the French would have been con
tent. Not they! Range and accuracy
were successively taken in hand. Muz
zle velocity, which, after all, means
range, was increased not by increasing
the charge and with it the thickness
of the gun that withstood it. but by
lengthening the gun to a hitherto un
heard of extent and giving it a slow
burning propellant.
The temptation to put in a lightei
shell and so get if farther on the same
hang was successfully resisted. The
designers never lost sight of the fact
that the primary object of the gun
was to deliver death to its enemies at
the greatest speed, range ami effective
ness possible. So they concentrated
their energies on a man killing shrap
nel which in the end weighed sixteen
pounds and left the gun on Its long
journey at tiie unprecedented pace of
1,73!) foot-seconds.
And there you have the present
shrapnel.
Tactics here began to get mixed up
with mechanics and ballistics. It was
pointed out that troops would not ai
ways remain in the open to be whiffed
out of existence by shrapnel. Rather
would they got under cover at what
speed they might. So a shell to deal
with entrenchments, buildings and for
tifications was indicated. Here again
careful thought showed the need of
accurate gunnery and a still higher ve
iocity in the shell which, being more
local in its effects, could not be allowed
the same latitude in its action as its
shrapnel confrere.
So a high explosive shell weighing
only 11.68 pounds was introduced
Thanks to the chemists this time, its
contents were of such a startling na
ture that its weight became a second
ary consideration. It raced away on
Rs mission at a velocity at that time
nnequaled even by the latest small
bore rifle, anil when it exploded its
melinite charge blew great holes in the
scenery. Pottsse Cailloux in Black
wood's Magazine.
SHE SPURNED RICHES,
New York Woman f orced to Take a
Fortune.
Some persons are horn rielt, others
aequire riches and a few have riches
thrust upon I hem.
To the last-named class belongs
Miss Edith 11. Kitching, of New York.
Miss Kitching must take a legacy of
$15)4,860 left to her by Frank F. Rip
ley, tin uncle, who died last Novem
ber in Brooklyn.
When first told that her legacy
would he $40,000, Miss Hitching said
she would not accept it. because the
money was “tainted" and "coined
from the life idood of the people.”
Had Iter uncle left her the entire
estate she might have accepted it,
she said, as “reparation for wrongs
he had committed against his mar
tyred family.”
An appraisal of the estate in
Brooklyn showed that Miss Hitching
received virtually tiie entire fortune.
Site must accept the riches, lawyers
assert, because no one lias it right to
abandon title to property. Claims of
$73,000 for hospitals were denied by
the appraisers.
MOVIE CENSORSHIP.
Measure Creating Board Adopted at
Washington.
A bill to create a national board
of censors to pass on all foreign and
domestic moving picture films shown
in tliis country and to prevent the im
portation and interstate shipment of
immoral pictures was agreed upon tit
Washington hv the house education
committee. .
It would provide for a hoard of five
members and a large number of dep
uty censors to be located In the larger
cities of the country. All fi'tns ex
cept those dealing with current news
would have to tie submitted lo censors.
Shippers of improper films would he
subject to lines ranging upward t<
SI,OOO.
A fee of $2 on each original flhn
and fifly cents on each reprint would
be assessed against the producers, but
provision is made for lowering tliis
fee if it is found that the running ex
penses of Hie board can he met at a
smaller cost than the total revejim
iliat would lie produced from tliis levy.
42 MEXICANS SLAIN.
Had Running Fight With Unit-' '
States Troops.
A full squadron of two hundred
and thirty men of the Eleventh
cavalry surprised and routed a much
larger force of Villa bandits at Ojo-
Azules, seventeen miles south of
Cusihuirachic. Forty-two Mexicans
were killed and a number wounded.
There were no American casualties.
The American command, tinder
Major Robert L.. Upwzo, had boon pur.
suing the bandits tinder Generals
Cruz Dominguez and Julio Acosta, for
several days when they encountered
them encamped in the huddled adobe
huts of (»jo-Aztlles.
The Mexicans were completely sur
prised and sprang from their pallets
half clothed. After firing a few wild
shots they began a flight, Cadi matt
shifting for his own safety. Rome of
them were able to seize their horses,
already jaded from a hard day’s ride
previously, but others fled into the
hills afoot.
RETIRED ON PENSION.
Remarkable Record of Rock Island
Engineer.
Engineer James H. Sheehan, of
Rock Island. 111., retired on a pension
by Hie Chicago, Rock Island and Pa
cific railroad, after a half century of
continuous service for that company,
has tiie unusual record of not having
injured it passenger or employe, and
never himself having received a
scratch in an accident.
Sheehan became a fireman for the
road out of Chicago when 16 years of
age. lie is now (55. Ilis pension !»
$88.15 per mouth.
MILLIONS OE DAMAGE.
179 Buildings Destroyed in Dublin
Rebellion.
One hundred and seventy-nine
buildings were destroyed during the
fighting in the streets of Dublin, it
was announced by the chief of the
fire department.
The damage to buildings in tills
city is placed at $5,000,000. while the
damage to stocks in the buildings is
estimated at $3,750,000. Among the
structures wiped out by artillery and
fire were business buildings, publiw
buildings and dwellings.
FOR HOME MISSIONS.
Women of Methodist Church Raise
$3,432,505.
The women of tiie Methodist Epis
copal Church have raised $3,432,505
during the last year for Itome mission
purposes", according to figures sub
mitted to the ginernl conference at
Saratoga Springs, N. Y.
This is tin increase of nearly SIOO,-
000 over that raised during the pre
ceding four years. Tiie money is con.
tributed through the Woman's Home
Missionary society.
Are You Saving?
The little savings bank in the home
means more for the future of the chil
dren of a family almost than all of the
advice in the world. It gives them the
right start.—William McKinley.
Duty and pleasure make a bad team
to manage.
PAGE SEVEN