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A Southern Newspaper for Scuthem People FORTY-FIRST YEAR.—NO.II7. HAWKER REPORTED NEARING IRELAND TOWERS AND U. S. PLANE FOUND SAFE EQUAUUZERS OF COUNTYTOLDTO RAISE VALUES ‘ALL ALONG LINE’ “Go to It and Do The Best You < Can," is Message of County Com missioners as They Start Work. Sumter county tax valuations are to be raised “all along the line,” ac- ' cording to an understanding reached ’ this morning between the board of county commissioners and the board of tax equalizers at a conference at I the court house previous to the equal- 1 izers by the commissioners, and they were told to “go to it and do the best < you can.” < It had been understood prior to the 1 meeting that a program for a definite < increase in tax values within the t county would be adopted or agreed up-I1 on it being the belief of members of 11 both boards that Sumter county’s to- s tai assessed valuation of $9,500,000; was lower in proportion than other 1I counties in t>e state. This impress- i ion was dispelled at the beginning of the meeting, however, by Dr. E. T. ( Mathis, a member of the board of < equalfe..tion, who was subsequently ( chosen chairman of the board. Dr. • Mathis produced a letter he had just £ received from State Tax Commissioner ( Fullbright giving the valuation in con tigious counties and stating that Sum- i ter already is paying a just share of , taxes toward the state. This being offi- i cial information, neither the commls- ’ sioners nor the equalizers were willing | ( to endorse a wholesale increase of val- | ues which would cause the county to . pay an unjustly great proportion to ' the state, the state tax being raised on a flat rate of 5 mills for the whole state. Alternative. One alternative suggested, but which was not passed upon, was for the comnyssioners to increase the county tax rate of 12 mills, leaving the valuations undisturbed except for, equalizing, thus producing more rev-1' enue for the counfv witbcuc pr d>°y’vporcionate share ’ income. JorV f Dr Mr •* v '. J -ue board that la'V n “ cUI secured from Tax Commissioner Hart the information that at that time Sumter county was paying its full proportion of state , taxes. “Last year,” said he, “the county board of equalizers increased values throughout the county 36 to 37 per cent, over 1917. Recently I wrote to the present tax commissioner, Mr. Fullbright, as to whether Sumter ' county was still paying her just per- 1 centage of state taxes'. I have a letter here stating that Sumter- is doing her share. Dr. Mathis then read statistics fur nished him by the tax commissioner 1 of the average assessed valuation of lands for the last two years as fol lows, showing Sumter to be close to the top of the list: 1917 RETURNS. Valuation County— Per Acre Sumter ■ • .$3.56 Webster ■ 5-14 Schley 6.04 Macon 6.04 Dooly 8.97 Tee 6.99 Terrell 7.03 Crisp 8-52 Marion 4.10 1918 RETURNS Sumter ~.511.75 Webster 7.35 Schley 8-15 Macon 6.41 Dpoly 11.90 lu;e 7-14 Terrell 7.58 Crisp 8.30 Marion - 4.49 "These figures show,” said Dr. Ma this. “just what Sumter has actually been doing in proportion to the re mainder of this section of the state. It is true, of course, that many of these other counties have much poorer land than Sumter county’s, but it is also (Continued on Page Five.) GERMANY WILL NEVER SIGN, IS DECLARATION OF LEADER EBERT Count Von Brockdorff-Rantzan Re turns to Versailles With Other Delegates. BERLIN, May 18.—(Sunday.)—Pres ident Ebert, addressing a demonstra tion here today, said Germany would “never sign the peace terms.” BRDCKDROFF-RANTZAU RETURNS TO VERSAILLES. VERSAILLES, May 19.—(8y Asso ciated Press.) —Count Von Brock dorff-Rantzau, head of the German peace mission, who left for Spa Sat urday night, returned to Versailles this morning. He waj accompanied by Ministers Landsberg, Geisberts and two others members of the commis sion. CREDENTIALS EXCHANGED WITH AUSTRIAN DELEGATES ST. GERMAINEN-LAYE, May 19. (By Associated Press.) —The exchange of credentials between representatives of the Allied and Associated Powers and the Austrian delegates .took place at 3:20 o’clock this afternoon. The ses sion lasted 4 minutes. COUNCIL OF FOUR TAKES UP MORE PROBLEMS. PARIS, May 19.—(8y Associated Press) —The Council of Four met this morning. The German note o n the status of German religious missions and further details of the Bulgarian and Turkish affairs were to be consid ered. PADEREWSKI DUE IN PARIS THURSDAY. PARIS, •''May 19.—(8y Associated Press.)—Premier Igrtac? Paderewski, of Poland, is expected in Paris Thurs day Conference ' ■ s believe the cris’e '■ *** compromised Laac Paderewski will .„i. premiership. It is said he may seek release from the promises made by Poland regarding hostilities with the Ukraine. State Fair to Stage St. Mihiel Battle MACON, May 19.—The Battle of St. Mihiel, in which many Georgia sold iers took part, will be reproduced at the Georgia State Fair next fall. There will be several hippodrome acts, horse races and all kinds of agricul tural and mechanical exhibits. More than 25,000 in premiums will be awarded. Counties not winning prizes will be awarded SIOO this year to de fray expenses. There will be 4,500 cattle, 4,000 swine and the government display will be much larger than last year. MACON WANTS CREDIT MEN. MACON, May 19.—Efforts are be ing made to bring the next convention of the National Credit Men’s associa tion to Macon. The convention meets this year at Detroit, June 9, and a strong pulling delegation will be present from this city. I LOCAL SPOT. Good Middling 29 cents. NEW YORK FUTURES, Prev. (Low) Close Open High Close May 29.75 ——‘ 30.15 30.15 July 28.38 28.60 28.97 28.79 Oct 26.85 27.25 27.33 27.14 Dec 26.38 26.60 26.90 26.76 FORECAST, j For Georgia.—Local showers and thunderstorms probably tonight and Tuesday, Not much change in tem perature. THE TIMES? 'RECORDER PUBLISHED IN THE HEART OF DIXIE ■_ '^ The End of a Perfect Day some , Dav I p fTTTthTi thu is sbMq 1 |s[ for A SP J N . KMfAT car J? w £? Th 15.6RtAT I? > $ counts | in ' - £ ® S’ fWHATS] TH' LIFE | THAT?] a I \ (Copyright) \ ' A ' _ G. CONTROL WHEN CONGRESSOPENS WASINGTON, May 19.—(8y Asso ciated Press.) —Promptly at noon to day the extraordinary sosiaen of con gress got smoothly under -way. With the republicans in the major ity in*6oth tho f lenders plunged into the work of organization. The programs were well arranged in advance, the election of Representative Gillet as speaker of the house andl Senator Cummins as president pro tern of the senate following as' the first , preliminary. The session marks the return to power of the republicans. Organiza tion of both the senate and house is | today’s principal business. All of the Georgia representatives. > with the exception of Lee and Larsen, reached Washington Saturday, and with Senator Hoke Smith attended the democratic conference. The represent atives held a conference in the office of Congressman Charles R. Crisp and endorsed him for membership on the ways and means committee. He was instructed to make the best arrange ments possible towards securing com mittee assignments-to be had for the new members of the delegation. The old members will retain their present leading committee places. The Georgians also voted to support H. W. Ketron, of Cornelia, who was a candidate for one of the seven minor ity places in the house organization. Later at the democratic caucus Crisp placed Ketron in nomination and he was promptly elected. Senator W. J. Harris has not return ed from Europe, and was not sworn in when the senate convened. He miss ed his boat last week and was unable to sail until May 15. Senator Harris and sih brother, Gen. P. C. Harris, are expected to arrive in New York are expected to arrive in New oYrk the last of this week. Mitchell County to Vote on Pavingßonds THOMASVILLE. May 19.—Mitchell county will hold a bond election for permanent roads July 3, $500,000 be ing the amount voted on. Os this amount SIOO,OOO will be used to build a new courthouse and $400,000 for road improvement. AMERICUS. GEORGIA,.'ONDAY AFTERNOON. MAY 19. 1919 [ LET’S WELCOME OUR BOYS HOME RIGHT ON JULY 4TH | Sumter county’s soldier lads are coming home rapidly now, and in a few weeks they will practically all be home —at least the most of those who are coming any time soon will have ar rived. And Sumter county hasn't turned its hand yet to give these boys a welcome fiu.Ke or do them public honor in the slightest manner. Wouldn’t it be a splendid thing to have a great celebra tion for the boys right hetwin Americus on July 4—A Welcouy* i ( Home, with all of our returned boys present in uniform, with 1 business absolutely suspended for the day and everybody here from al! the country around to tell the boys how glapl they really are that they are back home again, sound and well, after I offering their lives for us who stayed at home —and trimming the Kaiser to a fair-you-well. The Times-Recorder does not offer this suggestion as some thing to replace a permanent memorial to Sumter’s heroes; a per manent memorial we must have, something that will perpetuate in the memory of coming generations the heroism and true Ameri canism of our youth. But let this be a great jollification; the most joyous celebration of the birthday of Independence and Liberty the South has ever seen. Let’s have a gigantic barbecue, and free lemonade, with patriotic speaking and fun and frolic, ending the big day with a great fireworks display. What do you folks say about it? The time is short enough to demand immediate preparation and action. You may count The Times-Recorder in with its share of the cost. Col. James Furlow Awarded Distinguished Service Medal Colonel James Furlow, of Ameri cus, was today awarded the Distin guished Service medal, according to a telegram received by the Times-Re corder this afternoon from Congress man Charles R. Crisp, in Washington. 6 More Divisions Are Ordered Home ! WASHINGTON, May 19.—(8q Asso ciated Press.)-The Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh regular divisions, and the Ninetieth and Eighty-First National Army divisions have been re leased for return to the United States in June. Col. Furlow is a son of Mrs. Lou , Furlow, of Americus, and a brother of [ T. M. Furlow, while he married an j Americus girl, Miss Maggie Buchanan, j a sister of Neon Buchanan. He re- j cently visited his old home here. 1 ; 12 More Steamers ■ J for Southern Ports WASHINGTON, May IS.-'ißy Asso ciated Press.) —The allocation of twenty-four new wooden steamers by the shipping board today included 9 to Jacksonville, 2 to Brunswick and 1 to Pensacola. • “w " SOPWITH PLANE MAKING NO-STOP ATLANTIC FLIGHT LONDON, May 19. (By Associated Press.) —Hawker has been compelled to land in sea within a hundred miles of Dinoe Bay, according to a Central news dispatch. LONDON, May 19. (By Associated Press.) — Harry G. Hawker, in a Sopwith airplane, has been sighted off Ireland, ' ac cording to an unofficial report received by the American navy here. The Sopwith Company received a report at 5 o’clock this even ing that Hawker was 150 miles off the coast at 4 o’clock. —* ■ 1 ■ ■ | CRAFT RIDES ON SEA TO WITHIN 7 MI. OF SHORE Plane Believed to Have Made Prob ably 500 Miles on Surface of Water. WASHINGTON, May 19.—(8y Asso ciated Press.) —“NC-3 located seven miles north of Ponta Delgada, under her own power,” said a message to the navy department this afternoon, from Rear Admiral Jackson, at Ponta Delgada. The message was filed at 12:10 o’clock this afternoon, Washington time. While it made no mention of Commander John H. Towers and his crew, naval officers were certain all five-were safe. Admiral Jackson’s report was taken here to mean that Commander Towers after being forced to alight on the wa ter by fog, had been driven fiorthward and eastward by the storm until he was able to taxi, his craft to safety on the surface, probably five hundred miles from the point of aUghting on the water. I The NC-3 had been unreported since Saturday morning. New Director for War Risk Bureau WASHINGTON, May 19.—(8y Asso- j ciated Press.) —R. A. Cholmeley Jones,! a colonel in the army’s war risk in-I su rance section in Fance, who was for merly a New York business man, to day became director of the war risk insurance bureau, succeeding Col. Henry D. Lindsley, who retired after! charging the treasury with interfer ence in details of the bureau manage ment. A complete shake-up in the bu reau is expected to follow. TWO BROTHERS CAUGHT OPERATING WILDCAT STILLS Arthur and Mathis Corley, brothers, | and evidently congenial in other ways I as well, are in Jail here, charged with illicit distilling. The two brothers I each had a still of his own, and each | burned a quantity of leaves and trash in the vicinity of their cabins Satur-1 day night. Burning the leaves is what> | caused their arrest, for Sheriff Har- I vey knows the odor of burning leaves will disguise the odor of boiling “beer” and he made an investigation. Both brothers, busy making a “run” for j Sunday sale, were captured and > brought to Americus, and their lard- j can stills destroyed. The two outfits I were found tn the 27th district, only a j short distance from the city. (APT. COBB RETURNS. Ordinary John A. Cobb returned this afternoon from a trip of ten days [ during the latter part of which he visited his son, George Cobb, who is a, Y. M. C. A. secretary in an army hos pital at Biltmore, N. C., near Ashe ville, N. C. HOME EDITION PRICE FIVE CENTS. I : EXPECTED TO COMPLETE I FLIGHT IN 24 HOURS. TREPASSEY, N. F„ May 19. Hawker and Grieve took the air at 5:55 p. m. Sunday, Greenwich time 1:55 p. m. New York time) and ex pect to reach the Irish coast in 24 hours, unless some accident forces them to plunge into the sea. When the Sopwith biplane passed from view beyond the hills to the northeast, headed for the open sea, ft left behind with shattered hopes Haw ker’s English rival, Frederick P. Raynham, who had hopeed to be the ■ grst across in a Martinsyde plane and I win glory and the 250.000 prize of the London Daily Mail. Rynham was tuning up the engine of his machine when Hawker flashed over the Englishman’s airdrome dropping as he went the under carriage of his Sop with to lighten the load he must carry. Raynham and his navigator, Charles W. Morgan, realized then that the Aus tralian was on his way. Instantly they determined to follow him for all their preparations had been made weeks ago, but misfortune inter vened. As the Martinsyde “taxied” along the uneven surface of runway prepara tory to the take-off, a rear axle broke under its heavy Ibad and the machine ploughed into the ground. Pilot and navigator were jammed in the wreck age but apparently neither was se riously hurt. • If the daring Australian wins his gamble with death It will bring him first honors in the non-stop trans-At lantic race, undying fame and a rich 1 prize. He decided to risk everything when he heard of the arrival of the United States seaplane NC-4 at Horta and rt’terated his statement that the. t would “beat the Yankees across” al- ”■ though the venture of the navy air- .; 1 craft has no beayfng on the-Daily Mail contest, nor did they attempt a n u n-. stop flight. Hawker got away in a lurching 800- yard run. bumping hazardously over the uneven field. The little plane ca reened and rocked recklessly until a hummock lifted it and its wing “took the air” for a low. swinging start. Hawker was at the control. The Sopwith began to speed up as soon as it floated into the air and Hawker headed straight into the northeast. When he dropped his un der-carriage he and Grieve waved a - farewell. 1 Hawker’s start was made in the face of weather conditions which he characterized as “not yet favorable— but possible,” He and his navigator gravely considered the hazards of the attempt and decided to stake every thing in an effort to “beat the Amerb J cans." i Overnight reports to the meteoro- ? logical station had shown increased at- •' mo.pheric pressure and fair barom eter conditions. Although winds and pressures were not all they hoped for. Hawker and Grieve ordered their hand ; satchel packed and made ready for the j start. Hawker considered weight as of ut- ■ most importance. Lifting Mackenzie Grieve’s bag he found it heavy and in quired sollcitiously if he couldn’t dis pense with “pajamas on the trip.” When asked if he thought he would ( have a chance to sleep during the vbyage, Hawker replied, "WeTI have a long sleep coming at the end of it.*’