Newspaper Page Text
DOUGLAS COUNTY SENTINEL, DOffGLASVlLLE, GEORGIA
REVIEW OF Bin MO 01 UFO
non EVENTS OF THE ei I*
Great Conflict Rages With Increased Intensity—Roumania, Fif
teenth Nation to Enter Struggle, Overrun by Central Pow
ers—Teutonic Allies Make First Peace Proposals—
United States Faces Several Crises.
THE EUROPEAN WAR
Those who nre engaged in or are
viewing at close range the titanic con
flict in which all Europe Is involved
<?an with difficulty appreciate the
magnitude of the events which have
transpired during the past 12 months.
Generations to come, however, looking
hack upon this period with a clearer
vision, will recognize the year 1910
ss one of the most tremendous, from
a history-making standpoint, since the
world begun.
Europe continued its blood-letting
throughout the year with even greater
ferocity than marked the first 18
months following the breaking of the
storm. The great war rounded out
its second and entered upon Its third
year, with little promise of an early
conclusion of peace, pining the year
new nations entered into tho war, one
of them, Roumania, to become the
scene of some of the most ferocious
fighting of the year, one new nation
was created, another tottefod to Its
fall, while on a dozen fronts millions
of men were fed as human sacrifices
to the insatiate war monster.
There were seven outstanding
phases of the great war during the
year 19^0. These comprised the great
offensive of the Russians in Galicia,
which was finally checked by the Teu
tonic allies; the superhuman efforts of
the Germans to capture Verdun,
Which were thwarted by the equally
superhuman defense offered by the
French; the long-awaited grand offen
sive of the British and the French on
the western front, resulting in the re
covery of considerable area "*in the
Somme region, but not definitely break
ing the deadlock in northern France;
the ?hecking t>f nn"Austiinn offensive'
by the Italians and the launching of
a counter-offensive by which tire-Jtal-
ians made big strides in their cam
paign against Trieste; the conquest of
Roumania by the Teutonic allies; the
drive of the Serbs, aided by French,
Italian nnd British troops, in an effort
to regain thel# lost kingdom, nnd the
final abandonment hy the entente al
lies of their disastrous Gallipoli cam
paign.
The Russians launched their of
fensive in Galicia on the first day of
the year. On January 9, the effort of
allies ta-joreg^ho Dnrdn-
.Jbflnltely abandoned, and
forces of the allies entirely evacu-
! the Gallipoli peninsula.
Verdun Attack Launched.
In February, the Russians, nft-
«r a lull in the fighting, resumed their
•offensive in Galicia and on February 10
they crossed the Dniester and threat
ened Czernowitz. The Russians, un
der Grand Duke Nicholas, also con
tinued their drive in the Caucasus and
on February 14 they captured the
important town of Erzcrum. Febru
ary 21, the Germans, led by the crown
prince, launched their attack on Ver
dun, and during the next few days
they smashed their way through the
outer defenses until they came within
big-gun range of the -French strong
hold. The French, taken by surprise,
were forced to give ground, but by
the last of the month they had
strengthened their shattered lines and
had checked the German drive. In the
Verdun sector, for the next few
months, occurred some of the most
sanguinary fighting of the entire war.
The Austrians had considerable suc
cess on the Italian front during the
month, entering Durnzzo on February
26 and driving the Italians before
them. Portugal signalized Its entry
Into the great conflict February 29 by
seizing 34 German steamers interned
in Portuguese ports. Germany demand
ed the release of the ships nnd on
March 9 declared war on Portugal, tho
thirteenth nation to enter the con
flict.
The month of March was marked
^chiefly by the continued determined at
tacks of the Germans upon Verdun.
The assault entered its third stage in
fliis month with repeated attacks on
,Vaux, Douaumont and other outlying
towns, most of which were repulsed
With terrific Losses. During the month
the Italians finally checked the Aus
trian drive and launched a big offen
sive along the entire Austrian front.
The Russians continued their victori
ous drive against the Turks in Ar-
ponit, capturing Bitlis on March 3,
, d other important towns later in the
■nth.
he early days of April saw a slow-
l*'jp of the Russian offensive in Ga
ft**‘The Germans launched a coun-
offensive all__nlojLg the Russian
•'gained little headway. The
Rowing months saw •
^along this front. April 23, the British
admitted a defeat at the hands of the
Turks in Mesopotamia and on April
?29, General Townsbend and 10,000 Brit
ish soldiers, who had been besieged by
the Turks/ at Kut-el-Amara, werb
ender after repented ef
hem had fp.
number of light cruisers nnd destroyers.
More than 9,000 lives were lost. Both
sides claim the victory. Five days later
Great Britain received a staggering
blow when the British cruiser Hump-
shire was blown up in the North sea
hy a mine and Earl Kitchener, British
secretary of wur, nnd his entire staff,
were lost. During the early part of
June the Russians broadened their of
fensive in Galicia and along the lines
further north and on June 7 they an
nounced the recapture of the fortress
of Lutsk in Volhynin and the crossing
of tho Ikwn nnd Styr rivers at several
points.
On July 1, the British and French
launched their great drive on the west
front. A concerted attack was made
on n 25-mile front north nnd south of
the Somme river. July 11, after ten
days and nights of continuous fight
ing, the British claimed the capture
of the whole of the enemy's first lines
of defense on a front of 14,000 yards.
During the remainder of the month the
British nnd French continued their ad
vance, the British occupying the entire
village of Pozleres July 20 and the
French advancing close to Peroane, an
important railroad center.
During the month of August the
Russians, after terrific fighting, pierced
the Teuton linos on the Lemberg nnd
Kovel fronts and advanced in the Car
pathians. The Italians continued their
drive on Trieste. August 9, after days
of terrific fighting, they captured Go-
ritz and pushed forward, pursuing the
retreating Austrians.
Roumania Enters War.
Roumania, after mouths of wavering,
entered the war on the side of the en
tente allies with a declaration of war
on Austria-Hungary. Roumania was
the fifteenth nation to enter the war.
On the same day Italy declared war on
Germany and the following day Ger
many declared war on Roumania. With
the declaration of war fighting began
between the Roumanians and Aus
trians on the Transylvanian frontier.
August 30, the Roumanians occupied
Kronstadt and Herinannstadt, the two
chief cities of Transylvania. Field
Marshal von Hindenburg, whose suc
cesses had made him the Idol of the
German people, succeeded General von
Falkenhayu as chief of the general
staff of the German army August 29.
Durlngjhe month of September, the'
TCcftVimniuns,' co-operating with the
Russians, advanced In northern Tran
sylvania and Bukowlnn, but suffered
severe reverses at the hands of the
Bulgarians and Austrians In Dobrudja.
The allied troops made decided gains
in the Somme sector, occupying
Combles and other important towns
on September 20.
Early in October the tide turned
against the Roumanians and Russians
In Transylvania nnd the latter were
forced to retire before a strong Austro-
German force under command of Gen
eral von Falkenhayu. On October 11,
the Teutons began an invasion of Rou
mania. On the Verdun front, the
French smashed the German lines Oc
tober 24, retaking Douaumont fort and
village.
The struggle between the Roumanian
and Russian forces on the one side and
the Teuton and Bulgarian armies on
tho other held the center of attention
in November. Taking advantage of
die plight in which the Roumanians
on the Transylvanian front found
themselves Von Mackensen held his
lines in Dobrudja and, attacking the
Danube line, forced the river barrier
at several points. Effecting a Juncture
of their forces, the Teuton command
ers drove the Roumanians hack upon
Bucharest. The Roumanians retreat
ed rapidly toward the capital, burning
villages nnd all stores of grain nnd
munitions In the district through which
they passed. November 28, the seat
of the Roumanian government was
moved from Bucharest to Jassy, near
the Russian frontier. The Roumanians
evacuated Bucharest December 0 in or
der to save their army.
The Serbians, aided by French nnd
Italian troops, made n start toward
winning back their country during No
vember. Their big drive resulted in
the capture of Monastic on November
19. On the Somme frtmt the battle of
the Ancre opened November 13 with
the capture by the British of five miles
of the German positions, together with
three strong towns.
An announcement of fnr-renehing
significance was made In the Russian
duma December 2 by Premier Trepoff,
who read a proclamation announcing
officially that an agreement concluded
by Russia, France and Great Britain
In|i\915, and later approved by Italy,
"ef^dishes in definite manner the
ngnt? of *ft\u,5lTr ranliu straits und
Constantinople.”
The fall of the British cabinet early
In December furnished one of the most
sensational features of the year’s war
developments. Demands of David
Lloyd-George for tjie .formation of ft
imalli
sent identical notes to the entente al
lies through the United States, Spain
nud Switzerland, proposing that the
belligerents arrange a conference for
the discussion of peace terms. Tho*
notes were transmitted to the allied
governments by President Wilson with
out comment. The pence proposals
were received coldly. ILemler Briand,
In the French house at deputies, is
sued a warning against a premature
peace, and the Russian duma, accord
ing to announcement made December
10, pnssed a resolution favoring a re
fusal on the part of tho allied govern
ments to enter into any peace nego
tiations whatever under present con
ditions.
As if in answer to tho pence pro
posals. tho French in the Verdun sec
tor delivered a crushing attack on tlie
German forces December 15, winning
12 square miles of territory north of
Verdun and driving the Germans back
close to the line from which they start
ed their great offensive against Ver
dun in February. General Nlvelle,
who directed this attack, had been n
few days before placed in supreme
command of the French armies in the
west, succeeding General Joffre, who
was made commander In chief of the
French armies, but with little more
than advisory powers.
WAR AND THE UNITED STATES
Diplomatic difficulties growing out
of the war in Europe continued to
confront the United States govern
ment throughout the past year. The
submarine controversy with Germany,
which had been urore or less acute
since the sinking of the Lusitania, was
intensified March 2, whep the British
Channel steamer Sussex and the Brit
ish steamer Englishman, both of which
carried Americans, were torpedoed
and sunk without warning. This oc
curred about two weeks after congress,
at tho urging of the president, had re
fused to adopt a resolution warning
Americans to remain off tinned mer
chant ships of tho belligerents. The
german government at first denied any
responsibility for the attack on the
Sussex, and on April 18 President Wil
son addressed a note which amounted
practically to an ultimatum to the Ger
man government. In this note the pres
ident declared that unless Germany
immediately declared and effected an
abandonment of its methods of sub
marine warfare against passenger nnd
freight-carrying vessels, the United
States could ‘‘have no choice but to
sever diplomatic relations with the
German empire altogether.” Gar
ina ay’s reply to this note, received In
Washington May 5, promised compli
ance In tie future with the laws of
warfare In its submarine operations.
A supplementary note from Berlin, re
ceived Mi y 10, admitted that the Sus
sex was torpedoed, expressed regret,
offered hvfrninity nnd declared that
(Arf* KrUmuiine commander had been
punished. No further serious contro
versy occurred with Germany until
after the sinking of the Marina, with
Americans aboard, October 28. It was
charged that the vessel was torpedoed
without warning. After an investiga
tion Germany assumed responsibility
for the sinking of the boat, declaring
that the captain of the submarine
thought the Marina an armed trans
port. f|
An interchange of notes between I lie
United States and the entente govern
ments, regarding the seizure and exam
ination of American mails, was produc
tive of little result. # In several com
munications Groat Britain nnd France
insisted upon their rights to examine
neutral mails, but on October 12 they
made some slight concessions, promis
ing to improve the mail service be
tween America nmrneutrnl countries.
A blacklist against American firms
and individuals, charged with dealing
with Germany, which was published
by Great Britain July 18, and by
France August 0, brought emphatic
protests from the United Stales gov
ernment, hut on November 14 Great
Britain formally rejected the American
protests, declaring that the blacklist
was not aimed at neutrals.
MEXICO AND UNITED STATES
The relations of the United States
with Mexico became more strained
during 1910 than at any previous time
during.the years of civil war that fol
lowed the retirement of President Por-
firio Diaz. They approached a crisis
early in the year when, on January 1U,
nineteen men, nearly all of them
Americans, were taken from a train
near Chihuahua and killed by a band
of bandits.
Conditions became still more tense
when, on March 9, several hundred
bandits led by Villa raided nnd burned
tlie town of Columbus, N. M., killing
nine American civilians and eight Uni
ted States soldiers. March 10, Presi
dent Wilson ordered 5,000 United
States troops into Mexico to catch
Villa.
General Carranza, head of the de
facto government in Mexico, began
soon to display antagonism toward the
American expedition and on March 17
he Issued orders forbidding American
troops from entering Mexican towns.
Ek* also refused to grant permission
for the American forces to use the
Mexican railroads for the transporta
tion of supplies.
April 12, a detachment of United
States troops was att
za trooi
“recourse to arms.” nnjl followed this
up on June lfl with a definite threat of
attack unless tho troops were with
drawn northward. The following day
re-enforoements were rushed to the
United States troops in Mexico and
within a short time tho expeditionary
force aggregated about 12,000 men.
June 18, the war department ordered
all the state militia mobilized and with
in the next two weeks 50,000 of the
state soldiers had been rushed to the
border.
A detachment of American troops
was attacked by Carranza troops at
Carrizal, June 21, nnd twelve Ameri
cans were killed nnd 17 captured.
A short time later Carranza aban
doned his hostile attitude and in a
conciliatory note to President Wilson
suggested the appointment of a joint
commission to settle the dispute be
tween tlie two countries. July 28,
President Wilson accepted this pro
posal.
President Wilson named Secretary
of the Interior Lane, Judge George
Gray and Dr. J. It. Mott ns members of,
tlie American commission on August
22 nnd on September 0, tlie joint com
mission began its sessions at New Lon
don, Conn. The sessions continued un
til November 24, when a protocol was
signed providing for tlie withdrawal
of the United States troops from Mex
ico In 40 days, conditional upon the
Carranza government showing within
that time that it could protect tlie bor
der and prevent raids by bandits upon
American territory.
Two days before tlie signing of tills
protocol, Villa, at the bead of a strong
force, attacked Chihuahua City nnd nf-
ter a battle insffng several days lie
captured Hint city.
Carranza forces regained control of
Chihuahua City December3 nnd Villa’s
forces fled to tlie mountains west of
that city, where they were later re
ported to be gathering new recruits
in preparation for more extensive
operations.
INDUSTRIAL AND ECONOMIC
the four, great railway.^brotli
which was prevented hy
The outstanding feature of tlie year
in the Industrial world was the throat-
nod strike of tlie 400,000 members of
^brotherhoods,
tlie pas
sage by congress of tlie Adamson bill.
The demands of tlie four brother
hoods, representing the engineers, fire-
111011, conductors nnd trainmen, were
made upon tlie railroads early in the
year nnjl after fruitless conferences
between tlie representatives of tlie
nrotherlA.ods nnd the commltisA
general mnnagi
ticnlly every rif
States, a strike votWhis taken among
the membeis*of the brotherhoods. On
July 20 It was announced that tlie
vote had been overwhelmingly in favor
of a strike unless the demands of the
men were granted by tlie railroads.
The federal board of mediation Im
mediately offered its services In an ef
fort to prevent a strike but on August
12 the board announced that it had
been unable to bring about an agree
ment and on the following day Presi
dent Wilson summoned tlie general
managers’ committee and the brother
hoods’ representatives to the White
House for a conference. This confer
ence produced no result, tlie railroad
managers offering to submit tlie whole
controversy to arbitration hut the
brotherhood representatives refusing
to agree to arbitration of their eight-
hour day demands. August 29, Presi
dent Wilson, with a promise from the
brotherhood lenders that they could
rescind their strike order, already is
sued, if a law were passed providing
for the placing of their wage scales
on nn eight-hour basts, went before
congress nnd asked tlie passage of
three bills which he deemed neces
sary to meet the situation. One of
these hills provided that “eight hours
shall lie deemed the measure or stand
ard of 11 day’s work for tlie purpose of
reckoning the compensation for serv
ices of all employees” operating trains
in Interstate traffic.
Other bills proposed by the president
provided for the compulsory submis
sion of rail,labor disputes to n board
of mediation to lie appointed by tlie
president before n strike could be de
clared and ror government operation of
tlie railways In case of military neces
sity.
The bill embodying the provision for
the eight-hour basis for wages, known
as tlie Adamson bill, was rushed
through the house September 1 and
was pnssed by tlie # senate September 2.
The order for a strike which was to
have gone into effect September 4 was
then rescinded. The session of con
gress ended shortly afterwards nnd
consideration of the other measures
proposed hy the president was post
poned until tlie next session.
Strikes were in progress in a num
ber of industries during tlie early part
of the year and some were marked hy
scenes of violence. April 24, striking
employees of the, Westlnghouse com
pany, led by a masked woman, rioted
in East Pittsburgh. Fatal strike riots
occurred at the Carnegie Steel works
in Braddock, Pa., May 2. A big strike
was started by the Chicago garment
workers May 9. Express drivers In
Chi
able]
prei
November 5, a large party of I. W.
W. members from Seattle engage*! lu
a battle with a sheriff’s posse at Ever
ett, Wash. Seven men were killed dur
ing the fighting.
November 22, Judge Hook of the
United States district court at Kansas
City, Mo., held the Adamson eight-hour
law unconstitutional and an agreement
was reached between the representa
tives of the government and of the tail-
roads for an appeal to the United
States Supremo court In nn effort to
obtain a final decision on the validity
of the law ns soon as possible.
The year was one of great prosperity
in all manufacturing and agricultural
industries. Foreign trade of the Uni
ted States, as shown by reports of the
department of commerce, reached a
total of .$7,403,000,000 in tin* year end
ing November 1, an increase of $1,500,-
000,000 over 1915, nnd $2,500,000,000
over 1914.
The total wheat yield of the United
States in 191G was only 547,000,000
bushels, ns compared with 1,011,000,000
bushels in 1915 and at the same time
tifcere was almost a proportionate fall
ing off in all other grain crops. While
the crops decreased enormously in
Quantity, they also increased enor
mously in price. Tlie value of 19 staple
crops, as based on the November 1 es
timate of tlie department of agricul
ture, was $7,099,338,031, as compared
with tlie estimated value on November
1, 1015, of tlie same crops of that year
of $5,983,300,817. The aggregate value
of all farm products, including live
stock, was estimated at $12,000,000,000,
POLITICS IN OTHER LANDS
Tlie Sinn Fein revolt in Ireland, tlie
establishment of a revolutionary gov
ernment in Greece, tlie proclamation
of Poland ns an independent nation by
its Teutonic conquerors nnd tlie res
toration of the republic in China, con
stituted tlie most important develop
ments of a political nature in coun
tries outside of tlie United States in
1916.
An official mandate, issued March
22, announced the nbnnrionment'of tlie
Chinese monarchy and the restoration
of the republic which had been dis
placed by the monarchy during the lat
ter part of 1915. Yuan Sill Kai an
nounced his rejection of the emperor
ship nnd resumed tlie presidency of
the republic. June 6, Yuan Shi Kai
died suddenly and Yuan Li Hung be
came president.
The Sinn Fein rebellion in Ireland
was precipitated on AnrilJLR wine Si'f
Roger Casement /'vitteT consular offi-
C uited Kingdom, was cap-
while attempting to land in Ire
land from Germany and a German
ship loaded with arms to be used In
an Irish uprising was sunk while at
tempting to land the arms. April 24,
the Sinn Fein rebels seized parts of
Dublin and serious fighting in the
streets followed. The revolt spread,
and on April 27 martial law was de
clared over tlie entire Island. April
28, loyal troops took St. Stephens
green in Dublin from the rebels, cap
turing 400 of them, nnd the following
day/ I’eter Pearse, “president of the
Irish Republic,” surrendered. Tlie
next day t lie main body of the-reb
els surrendered, May 3, Pearse, Thomas
J. Clark and Thomas McDonngh, lead
ers of the revolt, were executed in the
Tower of London, after being found
guilty of sedition at a military trial.
Ten other lenders of tlie rebels were
executed during tlie next few days.
June 2G, Sir Roger Casement was
placed on trial for treason in London.
He was convicted nnd sentenced to
death June 29 nnd the sentence was
executed by hanging in Pentonville
prison, August 3. Following the Sinn
Fein revolt, an effort wus made by the
government to bring about n compro
mise which would result in the grant
ing of home rule to Ireland at once,
but tlie effort was fruitless.
Tho revolutionary movement in
Greece, which resulted in the forma
tion of a provisional government by
former Premier Venizelos, grew out of
tlie refusal of King Constantine to
be drawn into tlie war on tlie side of
the entente allies. September 21, the
island of Crete seceded from Greece,
and on September 28, Former Premier
Venizelos and Admiral Coundouriotis
issued a proclamation declaring the
establishment of a provisional govern
ment for Greece.
The independence of Poland, which
lmd been wrested from Russia by Teu
tonic arms, was proclaimed by Ger
many and Austria, November 5.
The deatli of Fransi Josef, emperor
of Austria-Hungary, which occurred
November 21, was expected In some
quarters to be productive of even]
of far-reaching importance from a p
litlcnl viewpoint in the dual monarch
nomination arid the.j
members of the Ptfl
committee, meeting.'
dorsed the candldod
The election orf
one of the most
the United States,!
definitely knotfn un
ter tlie election, whe
California gave tlie 1
of that state to Pn
gave him victory,
won 276 votes in the!
and Mr. Hughes 255.
tlie election was larger{
lion than any ever ea
United States, Preside!
celving a plurality of at
the popular vote. The <
In the size of the vote \
to the fact that worsen %
dent in this election In 1
Four more states vc
state-wide prohibition
They were Michigan,
braska nnd South Dak<
crats retained control
States senate, but as
close election, neither
jor parties has a majo
er house of tlie next
balance of power Is lieli
hers not elected as meq
party—1 Socialist,
Prohibitionist, 1 Prote
independent.
DISASTERS ON LA
Thousands of lives! 1
tlie yeur by the si nil”
vessels and warships
their being torpedoed
or blown up by mine!
loss of life In accid«
of this kind occurret
when the^. French cri
was sunk in the Med
nnd S 111(1 noT'tnna t
and 3,130 persons
April 23, more than ij
lost in a collision beti
cruiser and a transpo:
February 2, the
Dnijin was sunk In a
lives were lost. 1
February 9, the
Admiral Cliarnier wi
sunk with a loss of 3'
16, nine persons were
opera house at -Mexii
stroyed by fire. FebJ
snowslides in the Sal:
nearly 100 persons, j
persons were killed
lision on the New Y<
& Hartford railroad;
/him. U'eDr
a mine at K
men.
March 5, jtj
cipe de
sank off ti
loss of 1!
March
and many wi
on the New
near Cleveland,
April 19, Ka:
swop.;, by tornui
persoifft- Tune,
persons in Arka|
middle western
steamer Kirby,
and 20 live:
explosion in the
at GIbbstown, N|
Hundreds of
a monsoon off
July 20. July 24,|
by nil explosion oj
nel at Clevdfi
at Johnstown, Pal
lives, August 12.
ed States cruii
wrecked by a stoi
Santo Domingo ah!
Twenty-seven nr
ternber 12, when tl
great bridge beJn,
Lawrence river
lapsed and fell.
'great dam near l|
burst nnd 300 peri
A fire In the Chrisj
lege at St. Louis, Mi
October 5, and 19
lives in a fire whicl
pital at Farnhnm,
November 3, the st
and Retriever
in the Irish st
November 7, 1
a Boston “L” ear
An explosion at Bi
November 21, resul
341 persons.
THE LAV
Congress was in j
ly fron
POLITICS IN UNITED STATEl
The presidential election and,
campaign which preceded it occupied
a large part of the attention •yt the
people of the United States through
out the year 1910. June 5, tin** Wom
an’s party was originated and opened
its first convention in Chicago. Two
days later both tlie Republican and
Progressive national conventions open
ed in Clfiengo. June 10, former Presl-
inlt
lives
ate
and on Aligns?
a compromise pic
to tlie Philippines wlil
are fit for self-goverjj
February 2, the hof
prohibiting child laU
fucture of products f6
merce, and late in thd
was passed by the se
by the president,
senate ratified lh«SH
viding for American J
the finances and poll<|
the republic.
Legislation provldid
creases In tlie stren
and navy receive
The navy appro
