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GRADY COUNTY PROGRESS, CAIRO, GEORGIA.
EPITOME OF THE
WEEKS EVENTS
In a Condensed Form the Happenings of
All Nationalities Are Given
For Our Readers.
WEEK’S NEWSAT A GLANCE
Important Event* of the United State*
and Particularly in the
South.
Foreign
Great Britain has expressed regret
to Norway at the violation by British
warships of Norwegian territorial wa
ters, especially by the seizure of a
German steamer inside the three-mile
limit.
The Norwegian press expresses sat
isfaction with Great Britain’s note of
apology, but calls attention to the un
fortunate procrastination of that coun
try.
At a meeting held at Berne Switz-
erland to celebrate the anniversary
of the battle of Sempach, Gen. Ulrich
Wille said that while Switzerland
hoped that the worst would be spared
her, the future was still uncertain.
American representatives in Bon.
don of detained cargoes do not be
lieve there is much hope of forming
In the United States an organization
to insure imports against falling into
the hands of the enemies of the Unit
ed Kingdom.
Eighty thousand lives have been lost
in the Chinese floods.' The American
navy department has been appealed
to for help.
The Carranza forces have again lost
possession of Mexico City and the
Zapata forces now occupy the city.
Carranza has gone further north, sup
posedly to meet a strong Villa force
which is supposed to be advancing to
meet him.
The food situation in Mexico City Is
desperate and the suspension of oper
ation of the railroad between that
place and Vera Cruz will make it
worse. Thousands are said to be
practically without supplies and there
is no relief in sight.
Since March 11 Great Britain has
paid $3,500,000 for 49 cargoes of cotton
which have been confiscated.
Sir Thomas Llpton describes the
work done in Serbia and other Euro
pean countries by American physi
cians ns miraculous, and days that no
other country approaches this when
it comes to a question of systematic
effort and executive ability.
Food prices have risen in Germany
until they are almost prohibitive.
Speculation Is said to have been an
important factor, and government reg
ulation is expected.
Sir William M. Ramsey, the well
known British scientist, discussing
the statement of W. F. Reid, that cot
ton is not necessary for production of
high explosives, renewed his campaign
for the "supreme necessity for exclud
ing cotton from our enemy’s coun
try.”
Floods continue to.cause large prop
erty losses in the Missouri valley. The
Missouri and Kuw rivers and smaller
streams are still flooded at Kansas
tty and further damage is expected.
Train service is almost at a^standBliil
and industries of all kind are suffer
ing.
The federal trade commission Is ltt
session at Chicago trying to And out
some cause for the high price of luni
ber. Prominent representatives of the-
lumber industry from all sections of
the country are in attendance.
Domestic
After a day of conference with
heads of international labor unions at
Bridgeport, Conn.,’ Samuel Gompers,
president of the American Federation
of Labor, announced that his organi
zation endorsed demands made in the
strike in the plants of the Remington
Arms and Ammunition company and
sub-contractors manufacturing war
munitions for the allies.
The United States torpedo boat de
stroyer Ericsson was almost sunk at
her slip in Philadelphia by the open
ing of a sea cock which flooded two
comparments of the vessel. The most
powerful pumps obtainable had to be
used before .the vessel could be clear
ed of water.
The Republican Metal Wire compa
ny of Buffalo has refused an order
from the allies amounting to $89,-
000,000 for cartridges. In a statement
they said: “We will not undertake to
manufacture any article that will
cause the Iosb of human life. There
are higher standards in business than
the accumulation of profits."
The inmates of all federal prisons
will soon be set to work making army
supplies for the use of the United
States. The plan is one suggested by
Attorney Qeneral Gregory.
Following mysterious fires on sev
eral battleships, including the Okla
homa, New York and the destroyer
Warrington, extra guards have been
placed on all war vessels in the vari
ous ports.
it is reported from London that
the British government has instruct
ed Its American agents to arrange
with factories having contracts to
furnish war supplies to submit to the
requests of labor unions for more pay
and that they will pay the increased
expense.
Russia is said, to have placed orders
amounting to $5,000,000 with Birming
ham firms.
The American reply to the laBt Ger
man note has been written and will
he delivered after some minor Chang-
-■es in the wording have been made.
The state department will not give
out the text of the answer until after
it has been delivered, but it is said
to have an air of finality that is ex
pected to go far toward settling the
matters in dispute. The note will not
be an ultimatum, but will curtail the
field of discussion.
, A convict in the Pennsylvania peni
tentiary killed his cellmate in the
same manner in which William Creen
attempted to kill Leo Frank.
Washincton
With communication with Mexico
City cut for live days, since the ;reoc-
cupatlon by Zapata forces, and with
agents in Washington of the Mexican
factions in ignorance of military op
erations, the Mexican situation Is
again assuming an air of tension.
The American note on submarine
warfare, presented to Berlin by Am
bassador Gerard, lias been made pub
lic. It reveals that Germany has
Been Informed -It is the intention of
the United States to regard as "de
liberately unfriendly” any repetition
by German naval commanders of acts
in contravention of American rights.
President Wilson has called for re
ports on the subject of national de-'
fense. These will be made to him
personally by the heads of the war
and navy departments.
For the time being President Wil
son feels that it is desirable to drop
all discussion of the controversy with
Germany, and he is turning to ques
tions of permanent national policy.
The president is seeking advice
from those who Jiave knowledge of
actual conditions of warfare existing
in Europe.
James M. Sullivan, American minis
ter to the Dominican republican, has
tendered his resignation, and it has
been accepted by President Wilson.
It is rumored he had been asked to
resign.
Washington has made it clear that
it extends no official recognition to
any arrangement made by Great Brit
ain with American cotton shippers.
The American Red Cross has is
sued a statement that Mexican leaders
will not permit native civilians to buy
Mexican grown foodstuffs, and that
this is largely responsible for the de
plorable conditions that now exist in
that country. The order was issued
for two reasons. One was to force
every .one into the army. The other
was to allow the export a large
amount of foodstuffs, on which the
various leaders collect an export tax.
Secretary McAdoo has announced
that the government will bring quit to
recover thd money advanced to return
to this country Americans who were
stranded in Europe at the outbreak of
the war. This applies only to those
who are able to repay the money.
Commissioner of Commerce Red-
field has rebuked a Cleveland con
cern for publishing an advertisement
calling attention to a so-called acid
bomb manufactured by the company,
and which is claimed to "be particular
ly effective.
Statistics just issued by the de
partment of agrlcutlure show that the
farm products to the value of $5,000,-
000,000 were exported last year.
Importation of a corps of Swiss dye
stuff chemists to aid in the develop
ment of the new American coal tar
industry is the latest project of the
bureau of foreign and domestic com
merce In its effort to meet the Amer
ican dyestuff famine.
The state department has written
the Atlanta chamber of commerce
that every effort is being made to ar
range for the unrestricted export of
cotton to neutral ports. The letter
was in reply to resolutions recently
adopted by the chamber of commerce
asking the department to bring press
ure to bear upon Great Britain to
revoke the order which practically
places an embargo upon cotton con
signed to any European port.
Dr. Francis Delafleld, who attended
President McKinley at the time he was
assassinated, is dead.
The entire cabinet agree fully with
the views held by the president as
to the form our reply to the last Ger
man note should take and it is said
there will not be the slightest disa
greement over the words of the an
swer.
HUNDREDS DROWN
IN CHICAGO RIVER
Steamer Eastland Turns Turtle Causing
The Death Of Many Persons
Going On fexcursion ' ' Ji
OVER 1,000 REPORTED SAVED
Funds Have Been 8tarted To Relieve
Those Left Destitute By
Tragedy
+ ++ + + + + + + + + + + +
Telegram Of Sympathy
From President Wilson.
Chicago. — Acting Mayor
Moorboude Of Chicago received
the following telegram from
President Wilson at Windsor,
Vermont:.
“I am sure I. speak the uni
versal, feeling of the people, of
the country in expressing my
profound sorrow in the pres
ence of the great disaster
which saddened so many
homeB." ■ 4
LITTLE ITEMS OF
STATE INTEREST
European War
Berlin claims that seventy thousand
Russians have been captured in the
fighting around Warsaw. •
The strike in the coal mines of
South Wales, which was seriously af
fecting the coal supply of the allies,
has been settled and the men have
returned to work.
Speaking for the government in the
house of lords, Lord Newton said the
number of married men at present in
the British navy was approximately
843,000. The aggregate cost of sepa
ration allowances paid to wiyes and
children of these men has been $125,-
000,000.
Russian destroyers sunk a fleet of
fifty-nine Turkish sailing vessels load
ed with war supplies. The crews of
the Turkish ships were made pris
oners.
A message from Vladivostok says
that twenty thousand American freight
cars and four hundred American loco
motives are expected to arrive short
ly. The arrival of these shipments will
enable the Russian government to re
lieve the congestion of supplies intend
ed for the Russian army which have
been ready for shipment for some
time, but which have been accumulat
ing because there was no available
means of transportation.
The Italians have been making im
portant gains the past few days, not
ably in the Falzergo district.
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Chicago.—Hundreds of persons lost
their lives in the Chicago river by
the capsizing of the excursion steamer
Eastland while warping from Its wharf
with more than twenty-four hundred
persons on board, bound-for a pleas
ure trip across Lake Michigan.
The bodies of the victims, of the
catastrophe (most of them women and
children) were collected in temporary
morgues and taken to the second reg
iment armory.
The Eastland, Bald by marine archi
tects to have been top-heavy and bal
lasted in an uncertain manner, turned
over inside of five minutes after it
began to list, pouring its gala passen
gers into the river, or imprisoning
them in its submerged hull.
Every effort was made by thousands
of persons on the river wharf to res
cue the drowning men, women and
children, but many went down almost
within grasp of the river bank. Moth
ers went to death while their chil
dren were snatched to safety. Other
children died in the arms of their
parents who finally were saved.
Various theories as to what caused
the Easlland to turn over were dis
cussed. The four considered most
probable were:
1. That the boat was overloaded.
2. That she was not properly bal
lasted.
3. Thai a tug that made faBt to warp
the Eastland from' the docks started
pulling too soon.
4. That congestion of passengers
rushing to the port side attracted by
some passing sensation tipped the
steamer over.
Stories by witnesses and survivors
cleared many details of the catastro
phe and events preceding and follow
ing it. All the Eastland’s passen
gers except two or three hundred
who clung to the starboard rail or
climbed out starboard port holes,
were thrown into the river, crushed
into the slimy mud of the bottom or
imprisoned between decks.
Bodies of 901 persons drowned when
the steamship Eastland capsized have
been. recovered, after forty hours of
searching by divers.. The total dead
was put at approximately one thou
sand by Coroner Hoffman, whoso re
ports indicated that possibly one hun
dred bodies were held in the mud of
the river by the superstructure of.
the boat. While only 1,002 of the
2,408 passengers of the Eastland have
registered as saved, it was thought
that about four hundred and seventy-
five survivors, Including the crew of
72, had' failed to report.
Investigation Ordered By President
Cornish, N. H.—President Wilson
ordered that the department of com
merce Investigate thoroughly the sink
ing of the excursion steamer East-
land in the Chicago river with a loss
of many hundreds of lives. Acting
Secretary Sweet of the department
sent the president word that the caus
es of the disaster would be looked in
to, and the president directed that
nothing be left undone to fix the re
sponsibility.
Thousands View Bodies Of Victims
Chicago.—Sorrow which spread over
the city with the Eastland disaster,
and beclouded a thousand homes with
grief, hung lowest over the silent
forms of tb e v ' c ' ims in the drill ball
of the second regiment armory. There
was little sign of violent emotion.
Men and women, boys and girls, and
qven little ones, bereft in many cases
of all their- loved ones, shook with
sobs, but made no outcry as they be
held their dead.,; Some few collapsed.
But of the thousands who visited the
armory about a hundred needed aid.
Divers Search Wrecked Steamer
Chicago.—Divers continued the
search of the wrecked steamer East-
land. The boat’s position has not
shifted and the river current, which
ordinarily is from six to eight miles
an hour, has been reduced to about
one mile by closing gates in the drain
age canal da mat Lockport. This
keut the great hull steady and pre
vented drifting away of bodies. Police
lines drawn from Lake street to Rush
street keep the bridge at Clark street
free of curious crowds, and allowed
the officers unhampered freedom.
Covington.—Accused of killing Mon-
roo Smith over fprty-flvo years ago,
Rev. W. H. McCart Is held for trial
In tbo Newton county Jail ^ere onUj
chhrgb of. murder,' - : w’«> - ’
'kuitnmn.—-Jack, Miller (sentenced
tA:bh:Nshf>d hdre July 23) has been
respited until August 27 by Governor
Harris. No reason was given for the
respite in tho governor’s telegram to,
SherlftfWado.
Atlanta.—About threescore of gin-
ners from all sections of Georgia con
vened in Atlanta to organize the
Georgia Glnners’ association, which
will be affiliated with the Dinners’ as
sociation, an organization comprising
eleven states,
Macon.—Night riders appear to bo
abroad in Bibb county, the sheriff’s
office having been asked to investi
gate the whipping of George Brown,:
an aged negro, by four masked white
men, on W. II. Mansfield’s farm below
the city.
Hartwell.—Tho body of an unknown
white boy, about thirteen years old,
with light hair, was recovered from
the Tugaloo river, about eight mileB
from here, by Bheriff A. S. Johnson.
The body was unclothed, and it Is
presumed that the youth wob drowned
while in swimming.
Rome.—Officers and committees of
the Forrest Highway association met
in Gadsden county’ to make plans for
the furtherance of the work of the as
sociation. Richard W. Massey of Bir
mingham was in charge of the meet
ing and practically all of the officers
were present and representatives
from the five counties along the route.
Savannah.—The first bale of Geor
gia upland cotton of the new crop
has been sold here. It was sold at
auction and brought 16 1-2 cents. It
was grown by Ned Sanders, a negro.
The bale was shipped by express to
New York.
Milledgevllle.—Frank Reid, serving
life term at the state farm for
murder, attacked and seriously wound
ed Charles Miller, recently sentenced
from Atlanta for huhglary. The two
men had been serving as stewards in
the hospital ward. It Is rumored that
the attack fallowed an argument over
the Frank case.
Athens.—A drainage association is
being formed to include Clark and
Oconee counties, the purpose of which
is to reclaim several thousand acres
of land on three creeks in the two
counties. It is proposed to float a
bond issue of $60,000. Similar bond
issues have been passed in Jackson,
Walton and Gwinnett counties.
Rome.—The solicitor general has
refused to nolle prosse the cases
against the Rome city commissioners
accused of selling goodB to the city
during their term of office. The ac
cused men are under indictment by
the grand jury, which requested that
the case be nolle prossed, believing
that the men were only technically
guilty.
Milner.—An effort is being made by
the Central of Georgia to change the
name of Milner on account of the
similarity of that name and Millen.
The residents of Milner are very
much against the change. The rail
road officials say that as Millen is
the older town it is up to Milner to
make the change, if one iB made by
either town.
Waycross.—Mrs. J. S. Baugh is dead
as' a result of burns received when
her Clothing caught fire from a match
she had thrown down after lighting
a fire in the kitchen stove. She did
hot know her clothing was burning
until she went,into the yard: where
the wind caused the fire to spread.
A- peculiar incident of the tragedy 1b
that Mrs. Baugh fell to the ground
on the exact spot where her husband
fell dead from an attack of heart trou
ble three years ago.'
Decatur.—Mrs. Nelson C. Brown
was electrocuted and Mrs. Custis C.
Hewey severely burned by overcharg
ed service wires of the Suburban Gas
and Electric company. Mrs. Brown
never recovered Consciousness, and
as she was alone at the time, it is
not known how the accident occurred.
Mrs. Hewey was Ironing and says
there was an explosion of the electric
iron, it -is- thought that an indirect
connection was formed between two
or more service wirep by leaves on
trees on which the wires passed.
Marietta.—J. R- Brown, sixty-three
years old, was run down, and killed
by a W. and A. train here. He leaves
a wife and eight children.
Macon.—E; F. Decottsi secretary of
the Jacksonville'Baseball team, was
drowned while bathing at Recreation
park here. This is the second drown
ing at the club this summer.
Madison.—Two negroes got into a
quarrel at a negro church near God
frey, this county; both drawing their
pistols and Bhooting at each other.
The result is Henry Morton is dead
and Oscar Pettigrew is in a dying
condition.
Douglas.—One hundred Coffee coun
ty boosters have completed a tour
of. a large portion of the state. The
object of the tour was to acquaint the
people of tbe state at large with the
resources of Coffee county and to pro
mote a closer personal and business
acquaintance.
Rome.—William Brown, who was a
sailor aboard the, Maine when that
vessel was sunk in the Havana har
bor, is under arrest hero, charged
with the murder of his wife. The ar
rest was mnde as the result of infor
mation furnished by the eight-year-old
daughter of the accused man.
T
IN THt CATACOMBS
HE world has heard many
strange accounts of the ex
ploits of German army spies
in all parts of Europe, but
surely the strangest of- all is
that they have concealed themselves
in the Catacombs of Rome in ( order
to spy on the operations of the Ital
ian army, says a writer in the New
York American.
Where the earliest Christians con
structed these wonderful secret hid
ing places in the rock to escape the
bloodthirsty tyranny of the Roman
emperors, these efficient moderns have
concealed themselves for the purposes
of war. Where the earliest Christians
Bought refuge to conduct their sacred
services in safety, the modem mili
tarists have made a stronghold for
the most subtle and deadly objects
of the gospel of war.
The Catacombs furnlBh an almost
impregnable hiding place, for there
are about sixty of them in all, with
uncounted entrances and the winding
passages within them are perhaps
two hundred miles in length. Their
exact length has never been measured,
but as they wind about one under the
other until there are often five or six
of them in depth, it will be easily un
derstood that they may have at least
that length. They are just outside
the ancient city walls and are exca
vated in a kind of rock called Tufa,
which, though soft, holtjs its form
when excavated.
Endless Maze of Galleries.
The Catacombs now consist of an
endless maze of galleries. This was
not the original condition, but the re
sult of the gradual evolution through
centuries, during which one genera
tion after another added to their com
plications. During the first and' sec 1
ond centuries - some of the Roman
Christians built small catacombs for
the burial of themselves, their fam
ily and friends. These usually con
sisted of a square chamber, " in which
a single gallery ran around the'-sides,
about eight feet high by three feet
wide, in whose sides were cut recesses
called “loculi,” one above the other,
to receive the bodies.
Persons of distinction were buried
in special chambers, or cublcula,
third century, when Roman perse
cution of the Christians was carried
to extreme violence. Persecuting offi
cials and mobs, refusing to recognize:
the sanctity of the Christian places
of burial, entered the Catacombs and
began to deface the chapels, tombs
and sacred decorations. Christians
then destroyed the entrances with
their oratories, their open stairways
and their halls for the '"agapemone.V'
or Christian lovefeasts, filled up the
galleries and made other and secret
entrances from neighboring sand pits,
called “arenariaB.” Thus they com
pleted the inconceivably intricate and
confusing character of the passages,
which has so strangely furnished a.
basis of operations for military spies
in our day.
During the terrible persecution of
the Christians- under Emperor Dio
cletian, hundreds of martyrs were
buried- in secret here, .and the en
largements necessary Were carried on
with the same secrecy. Eveni after per
secution had ceased under the Emperor
Constantine, burials were commonly-
made here because the place had been
rendered sacred by the bonfiB "of-the
martyrs. At last these reasons-
ceased to appeal to the 'people, and ■
the Catacombs were no longer UBed for
burials or religious' service's. ’ For Sev
eral centuries in the early middle
ages they were.the objects of pilgrim
ages by pious Christian’s from all
over Europe.
Then came the: disabtrdud ‘invasion
of Italy by Goths and other Teutonic
barbarians, and by Vandals,' Lombards
and Saracens. Once more the cata
combs served a vital purpose to
Rome. Th^e ' treasures of the city
\yqre. - in many’ bases carried here to
save them from the barbarians. The
entrances were' once more closed up,
aud in many cases parts of the gal
leries were filled, in order that the
barbarians might not lay hands on
lacked relics and treasures and
deface their sacred decorations.
From the invasion of the Saracens
in the tenth century down to the fif
teenth century thp Catacombs were
.more or.loss forgotten by civilization,
but there is no doubt that they served
as a refuge for many brigands, rebels
cophagi were often used, placed in
arched niches or'"arcosolia.” These
recesses it appears, have-been used
aB hiding places for the food, fuel ahd;
papers of the German spies.
Usually some early Christian mar
tyr was buried in: such chambers and
biB tomb served as an altar at which
religious services were afterward cele
brated.
As the number of Roman Christians
increased in early times and conse
quently the number of burials, the
originally small catacombs were hon
eycombed with galleries and exten
sions. When one. story of them was
no longer sufficient, stairways were
made, and another system of galleries
excavated beneath. This : was fol
lowed, if necessary, by a.third, fourth,
fifth or even Bixth Btory of galleries.
The catacomb of St. Calixtus occu
pied a leading position, and here the
bishops of Rome..of the third century
were burled in a special crypt. ' It
is said that this catacomb concealed
the principal headquarters of the Ger
man Bpy organization.
During this ancient period passages
were gradually cut to connect the
neighboring catacombs,. thus joining
the whole of them together into an
endless labyrinth, through which no
body but an experienced person, such
as one of the monks or church offi
cials, put in charge of these places,
was likely to find his way. Indeed,
there are gruesome stories of curi
ous Americans in modern times who
have tried to explore these catacombs
alone and have lOBt themselves and
starved to death.. A trained "track
er,” however, with proper lights and
some method of marking his track,
would have no great difficulty In find
ing his way out again after a trip to
tho deeper releases.
History of tho Catacomb*.
The catacombs reached their high-
preyed upon' travelers or fought
against the authorities during the
stormy "" medieval” history of Rome.
During the great Italian Renaissance*
they were reopened, and since then
they have ' been more and more ex
plored, with wonderfully interesting
results;’ but' eVpn'today their full ex
tent -Is' not knowb, and the art treas
ures which they contained have not
all been studied. '" Perhaps at this
moment some German spy, with his
little-eleotric- pocket lamp, his mind
divided between espionage and arche
ology, (a gazink' with interest upon
the earllesL.plctures of the, holy apos
tles which have? not yet been seen by
the eyes'of the modern ecclesiastic or
archeologist. •
Interesting Test of Timber.
The strength of it’ nemlock stick «■
foot square that b'adi>een in water for
almost forty years was recently tested,
in the GOO,000-pound testing machine«
at,Rensselaer Polytechnic institute at
Troy, N. Y. The timber, which was 16
feet 9 Inches long, had formed part
of one of the piers of the Congress
street bridge at Troy. When the pier
broke down after the flood in the
spring of 1913, the timber was turned
over to one of the material-testing lab
oratories of the institute. It was kept
in the open air for three months, and
then placed in a dry room for a little
more than nine months. When placed
in the testing machine, the column
failed under a load of 384,000 pounds;
that Is,, the long-submerged wood
-showed an ultimate strength of 2,670
pounds to tlio.square inch. In the opin
ion of Prof. T. R". Lawson, who con
ducted the rteat, the remarkable
strength of .this piece of hemlock
seems to show that being immersed
in water for a long time does not de
crease the column strength of timber
.est development in tho middle of the out
that is subsequently permitted to dry