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DBGREE OF DEATH
FOB ALL LOOIEBS
REBEL LEADER ISSUES DRASTIC
ORDER FOR PROTECTION
OF FOREIGNERS.
BAND OF REBELS EXECUTED
~ 1
All Stores Confiscated in Chihuahua
Locked and Sealed —Many
Soldiers Deserting.
Chihuahua, Mexico.—“ Any one who
hereafter loots or molests property of
foreigners or Mexicans will be execut
ed. The right to confiscate property
will rest only with the Constitutional
ist government.’’
Oen. Francisco Villa issued this or
der as showing his intention to main
tain strict military discipline. As an
example he executed on the plaza a
band of rebels who had been found
gulty by courtmartial of sacking the
home of a wealthy Mexican. While
the six rebels were marcned before
the firing squad the stolen goods
were returned to the owner.
All stores confiscated from the ex
pelled Spaniards were closed and seal
ed. Orders were given that no more
goods are to be taken from them.
This action was believed to have re
sulted from the protest of the United
States against the seizure of Spanish
property. Already great quantities of
the goods, valued at several million
dollars, had been utilized by the reb
els. The remainder of the property
is to be held pending an investiga
tion as to whether the owners aided
the Huerta government.
General Villa proclaimed amnesty
to Federal soldiers who would sur
render and give up their arms. Many
Federal troops are reported to have
joined the rebels. Three hundred
thousand pounds or rifle ammunition,
and 500,000 pounds of artillery am
munition were recovered from a lake
east of Chihuahua, where they were
hidden by General Mercado's evacuat
ing Federate.
500 NATIVES DIE IN LAVA
Terrible Details of Volcanic Eruptions
on Ambrim Island.
Sydney, N. S. W.—lncoming steam
ers bring terrible details of the re
cent volcanic eruptions on the Island
of Ambrim in the New Hebrides group
in which 500 natives lost their lives.
Witnesses of the disturbance describe
it as having been so sudden and vio
lent that they expected to see the
whole western side of the island dis
appear.
With a terrific roar, which was fol
lowed with a rapid succession of artil
lery-like detonation, all the craters of
the volcano entered Into full activi
ty, spouting flames and lava and
throwing out huge boulders.
Great streams of lava soon were
rushing down the slopes, cutting off
the villagers from escape. In one in
stance two torrents of the molten mass
joined and made an island of one en
tire section of a village. Here fifty or
sixty persons perished.
The scenes at night were awe-insplr
ing. Flames shot into the air to a
height of a thousand feet, illuminating
the whole scene of destruction. The
ocean seemed to boil as huge super
heated masses of stone fell into the sea
and streams of lava poured into the
bay. Dust from the craters gradually
formed a black cloud which blotted
out the light of the stars.
The British hospital buildings were
wiped out, but. previous to their de
struction the doctors plucklly remov
ed all the patients to a launch and
escaped? with them.
Secretary Bryan in Florida.
Jacksonville, Fla.—Secretary of
State William Jenntngs Bryan, Mrs.
Bryan and their little grandson ar
rived here from Asheville, N. C„ and
spent the day with Mr. Bryan’s cous
in, former Governor W. S. Jenntngs.
They left for Miami, where Mr. Bry
an will see for the first time his
new country home. In commenting
upon the new currency law, Mr. Bry
an said it was a sweeping victory for
President W’ilson and that it would
prove of vast benefit to the country
generally, the banks as well as the
people.
Roosevelt Made Things Hot.
Washington.—Members of the diplo
matic corps, especially representatives
from the South American countries,
were greatly interested in a report
reaching Washington that former
President Roosevelt and Dr. Marcial
Martinez, at one time Chilean min
ister to the United States, had clash
ed at Santiago de Chile on account
of divergent views on the Monroe doc
trine. The Chilean is reported to have
strongly dissented from the Roosevelt
view that the much discussed doctrine
still Is a vital issue.
COL ARTHUR HOFFMANN
i b -
I A - '
Col. Arthur Hoffmann of the Canton
of St. Gall la the president-elect of the
Swiss republic and will enter upon
his new duties on January 1. He Is at
present vice-president and chief of the
military, and has been chief of the de
partment of finance and head of the
department of justice and of police.
URGES I). S. TO OWN LINES
POSTMASTER GENERAL BURLE-
SON FAVORS ACQUISITION
BY GOVERNMENT.
SERVICE SELF SUPPORTING
Declares Postal Service Will Be Con
ducted for Efficiency Rather
Than Profit.
Washington.—A sweeping declara
tion In favor of the principle of gov
ernment ownership of telephone and
telegraph lines and an assertion that
the postal service now is self-support
ing for the first time since 1883, are
features of the annual report of Post
master General Burleson, transmitted
to congress.
Concerning the acquisition of tele
phone and telegraph lines. Postmaster
General Burleson says that the gov
ernment lias demonstrated its capacity
to conduct public utilities, and, from
his present information, he is inclined
clearly to the taking over by the post
office department of the telegraph
lines and, possibly, also, of the tele
phone lines. Discussing that the post
master general says:
"A study of the constitutional pur
poses of the postal establishment leads
to the conviction that the postoffice
department should have control over
all means of the communication of In
telligence. The first telegraph line in
this country was maintained and op
erated as a part of the postal service,
and it is to be regretted that congress
saw fit to relinquish this facility to
private enterprise.
“The monopolistic nature of the tel
egraph business makes it of vital im
portance to the people that it be con
ducted by unselfish interests, and this
can be accomplished only through gov
ernment ownership.
“The act of July 24, 1866, providing
for the government acquisition of the
telegraph lines upon payment of an
appraised valuation and the act o»
1902 directing the postmaster general
'to report to congress the probable
cost of connecting a telegraph and tel
ephone system with the postal service
by some feasible plan,' are evidences
of tlie policy of this government ulti
mately to acquire and operate these
electrical means of communication as
postal facilities, as is done by all the
principal nations, the United States
alone excepted.
“The successful operation of the
parcel post has demonstrated the ca
pacity of the government to conduct
the public utilities which fall properly
within the postal provision cf the Con
stitution.”
Lived in One Spot 100 Years.
Statesboro, Ga.—Prigen Beasley, one
of the oldest men in Georgia, was
buried near his home in this county.
Mr. Beasley '♦as born in Bulloch coun
ty and lived In the same spot for over
a hundred years. He was born in a
leap year, on February 29, and though
he has seen 100 summers, he has had
but twenty-five actual birthdays, this
date falling every four years. On his
one hundred anniversary he was giv
en a celebration which was attended
by 1,500 people. He. was at that time
in the best of health.
WHEELER COUNTY EAGLE, ALAMO, GEORGIA.
CURRENCY REFORM
BILL IS PASSED
MEASURE FRAMED BY DEMO
CRATIC SENATE CAUCUS
ADOPTED.
CARRIED BY VOTE OF 54 TO 34
Bill Will Be Completed by Confer- :
ence Committee and Will Be
Ready for President to Sign.
Washington.—The administration
currency reform bill, proposing a re
vision of the financial system of the
United States and the creation of :
regional reserve banks to act as sta
bilizing elements in the banking and
financial world, passed the senate by ,
a vote of 54 to 34.
Forces that had fought together for '
improvement and amendment of the I
measure to the last divided when the j
final vote came. Senator Hitchcock,
who had led the opposition to the bill,
returned to the Democratic ranks and
Senator Weeks, one of the leaders on
the Republican side, with five other
Republicans, and Senator Poindexter
(Progressive voted tor the passage
of the measure.
Wide differences exist between the
form of the legislation passed by the
senate and the bill that passed the
house several months ago. Democrat
ic leaders already have partly adjust
ed these differences, however, and it
was predicted that the bill would be
completed by a conference committee
and^sent to President Wilson for his
signature.
The adoption of the administration
bill, known as the “Owen bill,” follow
ed upon the formal defeat, by 44 to
41, of the “Hitchcock bill” which had
been endorsed by Senator Hitchcock
and the five Republican members of
the evenly divided senate committee
that passed on the legislation. The
senate had previously rejected, with
out a roll call, a “central bank” bill
offered as a substitute by Senator
Burton.
—-
SUFFRAGISTS IN WRANGLE
/
Break Threatened by Removal of Of
ficer Who Refused Accounting.
Washington.—A nation-wide break
in the ranks of Suffragists is threaten
ed as the result of the action of offi
cers of the National American Wom
an Suffrage Association in ousting
Miss Alice Paul from the chairman
ship of the congressional committee
of the national association.
This action is said to be virtually a I
declaraton of war between the na- j
tional association and the Congres- ;
sional Union for Woman Suffrage
which is headed by Miss Paul, and
which raised $25,000 last year to car
ry on lobby work in Washington for
the national association.
Officers of the national association
demanded that the money raised by
Miss Paul as head of the Congression
al Union be accounted for to the
treasurer of the national association.
Miss Paul’s refusal caused the nation
al officers to remove her as chairman
of the national association’s congres
sional committee.
As a result of the internal strife,
Miss Paul collapsed from a nervous
breakdown in Washington while de
livering a suffrage speech, and is now
confined to her home in Morristown,
N, J. Her removal from office while
too ill to journey to New York City
to defend herself has created indigna
tion in tlie ranks of the Congressional ;
Union.
Officer Imprisoned for Zabern Affair. 5
Strassburg, Germany—A sentence '
of forty-three days’ imprisonment was I
pronounced by a courtmartial on I
Lieut. Baron Von Forstner of the :
Ninety-ninth infantry. The courtmar
‘ tial was opened on Lieutenant Forst- ;
net for cutting down with his saber |
a lame shoemaker in Zabern, Alsace,
on December 2. The charge brought I
against him was: “Willful assault, and I
‘ causing great bodily harm by the il- I
legal use of a weapon.” Lieut. Von I
Forstner was the officer who brought '
about the recent troubles between the ;
military and civilian population of |
Zabern.
Famous First Bale Negro Dead.
Albany, Ga. —Deal L. Johnson,
known throughout the South as the
"first bale man of Georgia,” and one
of the most prominent negroes in
this section of Georgia, died in Alba
ny as he was being hurried to a hos
pital. Jackson was one of the most
interesting men in this part of the
state, and though he refused to take
active part iu politics was an ac
knowledged leader of his race. His
big plantation in the western part of
‘ Dougherty county is one of the best
in southwest Georgia.
MAJ. GEN. THOMAS H. BARRY
- J
WB M
|K
A new photograph of Major General
Barry, who may be appointed to «uc
ceed Major General Wood as chief of
staff of the army when the latter’s
term expires on April 22 next
WANT POWER OVER ROADS
INTERSTATE COMMERCE COM
MISSION RECOMMENDS FUR
THER ACTION.
Makes Vigorous Recommendation for
Additional Powers Over the
Railroads.
Washington.—Emphasizing the ne
i cessity for further action by the Fed
eral government to provide greater i
safety for travelers and employees
upon American railroads, the inter
state commerce commission, in its an
nual report, submitted to congress,
makes vigorous recommendations for
additional powers over the physical
construction and operation of the
roads. The commission also recom
mends that it be given authority to
supervise the issue of railroad secur
ilties and some measure of control
i over the capitalization.
Conditions disclosed by the commis-
I sion’s investigation of railroad acci
dents during the year present a situ
ation, which, tlie commission believes,
ought to be the subject of immediate ,
legislation. Seventy-six accidents in- i
vestigated comprised fifty-one colli
sions and twenty-five derailments, and
caused the death of 283 and the injury
of 1,880 persons. Commenting upon
these facts, the report says:
“The commission again is compelled
to note the exceedingly large propor
tion of train accidents due to derelic
tion of duty on the part of employees.
Fifty-six of the accidents investigated
during the year, or nearly 74 per cent,
of the whole number, were directly
caused by mistakes of employees.
These mistakes were of the same na
ture ae those noted by the commission
in its last annual report, namely, dis
regard of fixed signals; improper flag
ging; failure to obey train orders; im
. proper checking of train register; mis-
I understanding of orders; occupying
i main track on time of superior train;
i block operator allowed train to enter
■ occupied block; disaptcher gave lap
i order or used improper form of order;
| operator made mistake in copying or
! der; switch left open in face of ap-
I proaching train; excessive speed; fail
। ure to identify train that was met.
; “These errors are exactly the ones
’ which, figure in the causes of train
I accidents year after year.”
Will Settle Question of Boundary.
Florence, Italy.—The international
’ commission for the deliberation of the
J Albanian frontier has decided unani
■ mously to abide any decision which
may be reached in London.
To Exempt Assistant Postmasters.
Washington. —All assistant postmas
ters will be exempted from the civil
ervice under the postoffice appropri
ation bill, completed by the house
committee on postoffices and to be
reported immediately after the holi
day recess. The Democrats of the
committee voted to put into the meas
ure a provision substantially similar
to the one in the sundry civil bill un
der which deputy collectors and dep
uty marshals were exempted from civ
il service. The bill carries approxi
mately $303,000,000.
LinLE ITEMS ^GEORGIA CITIES
p err y—B c. Holtzclaw, Jr., son of
B. C. Holtzclaw, cashier of the Hous
ton Banking company, was awarded
the Rhodes scholarship at Athens.
Young Holtzclaw has been attending
Mercer university for about two.
years and is quite popular.
Waycross.—ln a fight at the Atlan
tic Coast Line depot at Millwood:
early tonighthd. ea eta eta et ataoth
Rowe Arnold, a well known farmer,
was stabbed in the abdomen and
probably fatally wounded by Roy
Higgs. The injured man was rushed;
to a Waycross hospital, where an op
| eration was performed in the hope of
saving his life.
Americus. —Chief Johnson and a.
squad of policemen made a successful
raid upon Charles Underwood's place
on Cotton avenue, securing a consid
erable quantity of liquor in barrels,
and bottles, which was hauled to>
I headquarters. Underwood's place has
i been raided on a number of occasions;
j in recent years, and generally with
| rich results in the way of harvesting
whisky found there.
Douglas.—James Kirkland, middle
aged man, was killed at night at T
o’clock at his home in Coffee county,
near Kirkland station. Mr. Kirkland
was in the house when his wife went
on the veranda for some water and
heard a strange noise. She returned
into the house and reported it to her
husband and when he went out to
investigate he was shot.
Augusta. —Judge Henry C. Ham
mond this afternoon issued an order
overruling the motion of a new trial
in the case of Mrs. Edna Perkins-God
bee, convicted Jn Jenkins county of
the murder of her former husband,
Walter S. Godbee. The defendant
was not tried at that time on the
charge based on the killing of Mrs.
Florence Bouyer Godbee, who was
i shot to death in the Millen postoffico
at the same time.
Dublin.—Zenus Fordham celebrated
his ninety-fourth year a few days ago
at the home of his daughter, Mrs. T.
J. Perry, in this county, with a big
family reunion and old fashioned din
ner, at which about 150 people were
present, Including 125 of his descend
ants. Mr. Fordham has been holding
a dintfer and reunion of this kind for
the past several years, and they have
come to be reckoned among the an
nual events of this county. He has.
' nine children, all of whom are living.
Rome.—An expensive dinner was
enjoyed by a dog of questionable
pedigree that consumed a large pea
cock of rare plumage belonging to
O. L. Stamps, a Rome merchant. Th&
dog. on finishing this meal of fifteen
pounds or more started in to devour
a seepnd peacock, which was on dis
play in a coop in front of Stamps”
place of business, but was prevented
from the consumption of this gastron
omic feat by the arrival of a police
man, who dorve the dog away.
West Point. — J. R. Robinson of
Washington, D. C., site inspector for
the government, spent the week here,
inspecting the several lots near the
| Alabama line that have been selected
as suitable on which to put a fifty
thousand dollar building, to be used
as a postoffiee, for which an appro
priation has already been made. The
citizens are anxious for the lot to be
purchased and to see the work on
the building begin, as it has been un
der consideration so long.
Athens. —Judged by the number of
reservations being made in Athens,
for accommodation of those who have
decided to attend the short course for
farmers at the State College of Agri
culture, there will be between 200 and
300 in attendance January 5-16. It is.
stated that whether reservations are
made in advance or not that accomo
dations will be provided for all who
come, but it preferred that previous,
notice be given.
Lyerly.—As provided by law, the
county commissioners at their meet
ing, named the following gentlemen
as tax assessors: J. V. Wheeler, six
years; W. G. Watson, four years; C.
N. Pursley, two years. Their term of
office begins on January 1. The law
provides that if any citizen is dis
satisfied with the action of the board
of tax assessors he has a right to
serve notice and demand arbitration,
the citizen to name one arbitrator,,
the board one, and those two to
name a third.
Dalton.—One of the first tragedies
of the holidays was the death of
Clayton Orr, who was instantly killed
while attempting to alight from a
Western and Atlantaic train at Tun
nel Hill. Orr and several compan
ions boarded the train here, some in
tending to go to Chattanooga, and
others to get off at Tunnel Hill. His
companions urged him to accompany
them to Chattanooga, which he fin
ally consented to do. Just as the
train emerged from the tunnel, think
ing that the station had been reach
ed, and desiring to purchase a ticket
and continue his journey, the unfor
tunate young man endeavored to
alight and was thrown violently
against an embankment and died in
stantly.