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A MILITARY TRIUMPH. SURRENDER OF AUSTRIA WAS FORCED BY VICTORY ON ITALIAN FRONT. Terms of Armistice Granted Were Even More Drastic Than Those Al 1 lowed Turkey and Bulgaria. Washington, Nov. 4.?Austria Hungary, the last and most powerful ally of Germany, passed out of the world war today under terms of ab ject surrender. Not only have the armed forces of the once powerful Austro-Hungarian empire laid down their arms to await the end of the war and peace terms dictated by. the allies and the United States, but Austro-Hungarian terri tory is open for operations against Germany. Even the munitions of that former ally are to be used against the kaiser's armies if refusal to accept conditions now being pre pared for them make prolonged fight ing necessary. The terms which stopped the vic torious advance on the Italian front were accepted- by the Austrian com mander in chief in the field in the name" of the Vienna government and their execution is guaranteed by the thorough beating already administer ed which had converted the defeated army into a disorganized fleeing horde. Even the terms imposed previous ly upon Bulgaria and Turkey hardly were so drastic. In addition to all of, the military precautions the Autsrian armies are compelled to retire from a wide spread of territory within the "border of their empire when the war began, surrendering all of Italian Ir redenta and thereby losing any ad vantages for argument over boun daries around a peace table. A map' survey of the geographical lines fixed for Austrian evacuation shows that the area, is even greater! than that set by the Italians as the goal of their ambition when they en tered, the . war. At that time the Ital ian leaders carefully outlined and in dicated on their war maps the ter ritory along their borders which they deemed it necessary that they acquire lor racial and sentimental reasons and also to insure the security of their frontiers. 'In decreeing Austria's surrender terms, the supreme war council at .Versailles has followed this outline closely, but has enlarged upon it to some extent. The right of occupatior of these vacated provinces is stipu lated, but it is to be noted that for the time being civil government is to be administered by the existing loca: civil authorities in cooperation with the occupying garrison. This means that the whole question of final disposition of the territory in volved is left to be settled at the peace table. Italian- military officers here thrill ed with pride tonight over the evi dence of final victory contained in the armistice program. "It is a triumph," said General Gugliemotti, military attache at the Italian embassy, "which hardly 10 days ago seemed far distant, but in which Italy and her soldiers have al ways had unshakable faith, even ir . the saddest moments of last yeai when they were compelled to give way before the crushing superiority of the German, Austrian, Bulgarian and. Turkish forces. "From' a purely military point o? view, thriee causes have, in my opin ion, especially contributed to the triumph'of today, the choice of the right moment, the efficient direction of the attacks; and rapidly of exe- j cution. "The happy successes of the allies I oh the French front, the withdrawal j of Bulgaria and Turkey from the war, left Austria, although with forces greatly superior, alone againsi us. The bad weather and the snow had already begun to make the move ments and the provisioning of the armies in the mountain zone rathei - difficult.. The same effect was pro duced hi the plains near the sea by the violent rains which caused th( streams to rise and overflow the low lands. Such conditions narrowed the defense; in the concrete case the: made the attack easier because sucr difficulties made it impossible for tb> enemy to counterattack successfully on 'our flanks and gave us an oppor tunity to concentrate greater force:^ in a narrower space. "From' the very first moment th' intention; had been evident of divid ing the Austrian army in such a war. as to separate the mountain section J from that of the plains and possibly j outflank the retreat of the Austriar troops. Hence the rapid and vigor ous push towards Vittorio Veneto Ponte Niello Aple. which promptly attained the first aim. Hence the rap. id advance in Val Sugana. Grigno am Caste! Neuova. On the 24th of'Oc tbber the initial bombardment wa: I begun. Today, November 4. the Ital J ian flag flies over the castle of Trem j and on' the tower of St. Giusto at Triest and at 3 o'clock this afternoon an armistice became effective, th< clauses of which mean the uncondi tionai surrender of the enemy. "Against about 70 enemy division have fought on Italian soil. .">8 Italiai divisions, three British divisions, om French division, a regiment of Araer ican infantry and the Czecho-S!oval legion. Nor should the help giv-n b; our brave allies to us be considere: slight. Besides the intrinsic valor o the units which have fought side h;< side with us. their presence has re affirmed before the enemy the unit; of aims of all the allies on the Ital ian theater as well as on all the othe? theaters of the war." Following are the terms of th' armistice imposed upon Austria which went into effect at 3 o'clock today: Military clauses: 1. The immediate cessation of hos tilitiesj>y land, sea and air. 2. " Total demobilization of the Aus tro-Hungarian army and immediate withdrawal of all Austro-Hungarian forces operating on the front frorr the North Sea to Switzerland. Within Austro-Hungarian terri tory. limited ns in Clause? ?, i>< ^ow there shall only be maintained os a? organized military force reduced tc pre-war effectives. Half thk. divisional, corps and army artillery arid equipment shall be col lected at points to be indicated by the allies and the United States of Amer ica for delivery to them, beginning with all such material as exists in the territories to be evacuated by tin Austro-Hungarian forces. 3. Evacuation of all territories in vaded by Austro-Hungary since th( beginning of the war. Withdr?wa within such periods as shall be de termined by the commander in chiel of the allied forces on each front ol the Austro-Hungarian armies behind a line fixed as follows: From Pic Umbrail to the north o? the Stelvio it will follow* the crest of the Rhetian Alps up to the sources oJ the Adige and the Edisach passinp thence by Mounts Helschen and Bren ner and the heights of Oetz and Zoal ler. The line thence turns south crossing Mount Toblach and meeting the present frontier Carnic Alps. It follows this up to Mount Tarvis and up to the watersheu of the Julian Alp; by the Col of Predile, Mount Man gart and Tricorno (Terglou) anc! the watersheds of the Cols di Podberdo. Podlaniscan and Idria. From- this point the line turns south east towards the Schneeberg, ex cludes the whole basin of Save and it? tributaries. From Schneeberg it goes down towards the coast in such a way as to include Castua, Mattuglia and Volesca in the evacuated terri tories. It will also follow the administra tive limits of the present province 01 Dalmatia, including to the north Lisarica and Trivania and, to the south, territory limited by a line from j the Semigrand of Cape Planca to the ! summits of the watersheds eastward, j so as to include in the evacuated area all the valleys and water courses, flowing towards Sebenico, such as the Cicola, Kerka, Butisnica and theh tributaries. It will also include al. the islands in the north and west of Dalmatia from Premuda, Selva, Ulbo. Scherda, Maon, Fago and Pu: tadura in the north up to Meleda in' the south, embracing Santandrea, Busin. Lisa, Lesina, Tercola, Curzola, Cazza and Lagosta, as well as the neighbor ing rocks and islets and passages, only excepting the islands of great and small Zirona, Bua, Solta and Brazza. All territory thus evacuated (shall be occupied by the forces?) of the allies and of the United States of America. All military and railway equip ment of all kinds, including coal be longing to or within those territories (to be?) left in situ and surrendered to the allies according to special or ders given by the commander-in-chiel of the forces of the associated pow ers. Four: The allies shall have the right of free movement over all roads: and rail and waterways in Austro Hungarian territory and of the use ol the necessary Austrian and Hungar I ian means of transportation. Th;> : armies of the asociated powers shal occupy such strategic points in Aus tria-Hungary at such times as they may deem necessary to enable them to conduct military operations or to maintain order. They shall have the right of requisition on payment for the troops of the associated powers (wherever?) they may be. Five: Complete evacuation of all German troops within 15 days not only from the Italian and Balkan fronts, but from all Austro-Hungar ian territory. Internment of all German troops which have not left Austro-Hungary within the date. Six: The administration of the evacuated teritories c ustria-Hun gary will be entrusted to the local authorities under the control of the allied and associated armies of occu pation. Seven: The immediate repatriation without reciprocity of all allied pris oners of war and interned subjects and of civil populations evacuated from their homes on conditions to be laid down by the commander-in-chiel of the forces of the associated pow ers on the various fronts. Sick and wounded who can not be removed from evacuated territory will be cared for by Austria-Hungary personnel who will be left on the spot with the medical material required. Naval conditions: One: Immediate cessation of all hostilities at sea and definite informa tion to be given as to the location and movements of all Austro-Hun garian ships. Notification to be made to neutrals that freedom of navigation in all ter ritorial waters is given to the naval and mercantile marine of the allied and associated powers, all questions of neutrality being waived. Two: Surrender to allies and the United States of 15 Austro-Hungar ian submarines completed between years 1910 and 1918, and of all Ger man submarines which are in or ma; hereafter enter Austro-Hungarian ter ritorial waters. All other Austro Hungarian submarines to be paid off and completely disarmed and to re main under the supervision of the illies and the United States. Three: Surrender to allies and United States with their complete armament and equipment of three battleships, three light cruisers, nine destroyers. 12 torpedo boats! one mine layer, six Danube monitors to ? >e designated by the allies and Unit ed States of America. All other sur face warships, including river craft are to be concentrated in Austro Hungary naval bases to be designat ed by the allies and United States o' America and are to be paid off and completely disarmed and placed un der the supervision of allies and i'nited States of America. Four: Freedom of navigation to all warships and merchant ships of al lied powers to be given in the Adria tic and up the river Danube and it* tributaries in the territorial water, and territory of Austria-Hungary. The allies and associated powers shall have the right to sweep up all mine fields and obstructions, and tin positions of th^se are to be indicated Tn order to insure the freedom o. navigation on the Danube the all:?.? ind the United States of Amc i -a shall be empowered to occupy r>r i< dismantle all fortifications or defo/ise works. Five: The existing blockade con ditions set u;> by tin- ;>)li?-(i and a: o ciated powers are to. remain un changed and all A?stro-H?ngarian merchant ships found at sen are to remain liable to capture save exoep ?ons which may be made by a com mission nominated by the allies and the United States of America. Six: AM naval aircraft are to be concentrated and impactionized in Austro-Hungarian bases to be desig nated by the allies and the United States of America. Seven: Evacuation of all the Ital ian coasts and of all ports occupied by Austria-Hungary outside their national territory and the abandon ment of all floating craft, naval ma terials, equipment and materials for inland navigation of all kinds. Eight: Occupation by the allies and the United States of America of the land and sea fortifications and the lands which form the defenses and of the dockyards arsens.1 at Pola. Nine: AU merchant vessels held by Austria-Hungary belonging to the allies and associated powers to be returned. Ten: No destruction of ships or of materials to be permitted before evac uation, surrender or restors.tion. Eleven: All naval and mercantile marine prisoners of the allied asso ciated powers in Austro-Hungarian. hands to be returned without reci procity. AUTO LICENSE TAGS. Licensing of Automobiles Requires Much Work. The owner of an automobile who fills out an application form and sends it in with a postoffice money order or certified check for a license tag for his car doubtless thinks he has had to go to a great deal of trouble. And he may think that after all his trou ble the State Highway Department should have nothing to do but mail out his tag in the next mail after re ceiving his application and check. However, there is as much to do to his application in the offices of the Highway Department as he has done in filling out the application form and getting his money order or cer tified check. The men who buy their tags at the window appreciate better than those who send by mail the amount of work required to check, correct, number and file the appli cations and issue the tag. When a tag is purchased at the window the following operation must be gone through with in order tc compiy with the law, as well as to en able the clerks to answer inquiries about owners and license numbers oi cars later. First, the clerk must of ten help the owner fill out the appli cation, since this was not done before coming to secure the tag. The stated horsepower must then be checked tc see that it agrees with the horse power figured by the formula which, is used, by the department. The fee for that particular horsepower is then found from a card giving fees for va rious horsepowers. The clerk ther gets a tag from the box and enters the number of the tag on the appli cation. To show the actual fee paid in there is installed a special style oi cash register, which prints on the ap plication the fee registered on the keys. Consequ3ntly, the application card must be inserted in a slot in the cash register before <.he amount ? rung up. The cle*then returns the proper change Aad delivers the tag Hut the wor'. is not yet completed for the name of the owner and the county in which he lives, together with the amount of fee paid, must be copied from the application into a large registration book. This musi be done so that the book will show how much money goes back to each county to be spent on its roads, a: well as to enable the auditor to checu the receipts and disbursements of the department. After the entering oi this information in the registrat'or book the card is filed in a drawer as signed to that particular county. When applications are reeeived b\ mail a big item of work is the open ing of two thousand to three thou sand envelopes per day and clipping the contents together to be passed or to the checking clerk. It is the duty of this clerk to see that the necessary information is on the card, that the horsepower given is correct for thai particular make and model of cai and that the correct fee is enclosed. If all is correct the number of the li cense issued to the applicant is writ ten on the money order or check and on the application, the tag addressed and stamped. The data from the application is then entered in the big registration book and the application filed. k Each night the total cash on hand must be balanced against the appli cations handled for the day, just as in a bank the business for each day is balanced at night. During the last two weeks of De cember and the first part of January applications come in by the mail bag full. These bags are dateS and are opened in consecutive order. During the greatest rush the bags pile up faster than it is possible to handle the applications: so that some are obliged to be delayed a few days. In order to relieve this rush and to get license tags to the owners in time to prevent inconvenience to them the Highway Department will start is suing license tags the first of Decem ber this year. WINTERFELDT TO ACT FOR BER LIN. Will Conduct Armistice Negotiation? on Western Front. Amsterdam. Nov. 5.? (By the As sociated Press).?Germania, of Ber lin, says that Gen. von Winterfeldt former German military attache at Paris, will conduct the armistice ne gotiations for Germany on the wes tern front. AUSTRIA MAY PROTEST. Vienna May Have to Read Armislio Again. Amsterdam. Nov 5.?Austria wil' protest against th*"* interpretation oi any clause in the armistice as mean ing that enemy armies are entitled io attack Germany through Austria according to advice? from Vienna. The South Carolina Methodist Con-.j ference will meet in Orangeburg December 4th. having been postponed to that date from November 27th. 1 iy. mistake it was published a few days ago that the conference would moot ?>n December 27th. 1 CENTRAL RELIEF COMMITTEE. Chairman Stranss Announces That Committee Has Been Disbanded. The Daily Item: Please announce in The Item that the work of the Central Relief Com mittee is practically concluded .and the Civic League Relief Committee of which Mrs. Horace Harby is chair man and with which the general com mittee co-operaed, will be able to caVry on all necessary relief work. The Central Relief Committee is therefore disbanded. It is but fair for us to state that | the relief work was inaugurated by1 the ladies of the Civic League and tv good work accomplished is really due to the efforts of the members of that, organization. I desire to thank all those who helped in the work and only regret any inability to express in person my affection to every one who rendered service or aid. Tours truly, I. C. Strauss. PRICE OF WHISKEY. Prohibition and War Taxes Keep Mar ket in a Turmoil. Louisville, Ky., Nov. 6.?After eighteen months of extreme uncer tainty in the whiskey ma ""at, the price of bonded goods toda. ".en tucky, the largest straight' whiskey producing State in America, is 95 cents to $1.15 a gallon. The imminence of complete pro hibition, coupled with the belief that higher taxes may cause a marked de crease in consumption, is expected by large operators to keep prices at a low level. A few dealers, however, believe the approach of prohibition will stimulate demand and bring high prices. The sudden, sweeping market changes have kepi operators in a tur moil. A year and a half ago many of them would have been bankrupt had they been forced to liquidate their holdings. Then prices rose and on paper some of the holders were millionaires. The order stopping production for beverage purposes sent nrices upward until newest whiskies approached $3 a gallon in bond. Owners counted gains in big figures, and many held on for higher prices. The cautious ones unloaded at the peak, however. Then came the certainty of pro hibition for the duration of the war and that greatly increased taxes must be paid. Prices crashed and brought the low levels of today. There are between thirty and forty millions of gallons of whiskey avail able for sale today on which the tax has been paid. The present tax on whiskey is $3.20 a proof gallon. Deal ers said they expected the new $8, 000,000,000 revenue bill to provide a tax of at least double and probably treble the present rate. A SOLDIER OF THE SEA. Advcintures of a Brave Marine. Paris. Sept. 22 (Correspondence of The Associated Press).?The only decorations won by Private Luke Thayer, Jr., of the United States Ma rines up to two years ago were those received about his optics when h( settled his disputes in the good old Yankee way. Today, Luke who is a trifle over nineteen years, wears three campaign ribbons, a croix de guerre with a palm, two wound stripes and two oth er stripes indicating a year's service in France. Incidentally he is wearing half a dozen scars from Boche shrapnel and bullets. ? ? Luke is the son of the chief of po lice of Georgetown, Pa. He was liv ing at 1707 Arch Street. Philadelphia when a recruiting poster caught his eye and he decided to see the world through the medium of the U. S. Ma rine Corps travel agency. By stretch ing his five feet six to the full limit and by looking the recruiting officer in the eye without blushing while he ?wore he was within the legal age limit for enlisting, Luke got into the "Soldiers of the Sea." The story of Luke's adventures since that date came out in this cit>\ when, while convalescing in a large military hospital, he got permission to visit the headquarters of the Knights of Columbus so that he coulc obtain free smokes and entertain ment. He got both and I got thi1 story. Within a few months after Luke en listed he earned his first campaign ribbon by helping to impress the might of Uncle Sam on some of the natives of San Domingo. A jaunt to Flaiti was next in order- where he ac quired another ribbon. It was at Belleau Woods that Luke earned the right to wear the wa; eross with a palm. A detachment of the marines was with a French regi ment at the time. On a little hillock well camouflaged by a clump of bushes, two German machine guns were spitting death into the ranks of the French and the marines. Twelve volunteers were called for to storm the two nests, and Luke was one o the twelve. The twelve divided into two bodies j but of the five with Luke only om J got as far as the objective with him The others were either killed or wounded. Three grenades well plac ed by the boy from Pennsylvania linished up the crew of the gun ht was after. Over on the other part of the hil lock Luke noticed his "pals" were having a tough time. He turned the gun he had captured on the German.1 -till fighting with the other "bullet spitter" and not only finished them quickly, but routed a counter attack ?nade by about thirty of the Boche. Aid arrived a little Inter, but before that time fragments of a shell had put Thayer out of action temporarily. Since that time he's recovered enough to have had thrt war cross pinned on him. ;ind he's happy, for the surgeons have told him he'll get back into ac tion soon. "This wouldn't be such a bad old war." said Thayer. "if* only those French generals wouldn't insist on cissing a guy when they pin a meda' ii him." ENTHUSIASTIC APPRECIATION. Lieut. Wendell Lcvi Pays a Glowing Tribute to the Work of the Y. M. C. A. in France. Some time ago the committee that is working in the interest of the sev en organizations learned that Lieut. Wendell Levi had been expressing in quite a number of letters his delight with the work of the Y. M. C. A. in France. Knowing how valuable per sonal testimonials of this sort would be from one of our own boys the committee procured from Mrs. Levi i ermission to publish extracts fro"^ ne or two of these letters. Th' expressions will convince everyoru that the work that this organization is doing for our boys is held in the highest possible esteem. The extracts follow: Extract from a letter under date of October 1st, 191S, "Somewhere in France." "Tell every one that they musi give to the Y. M. C. A. and the Red Cross and the Canteen. If they evei came over they would realize thjpf worth. No matter how much -^Su give, I want to assure you that your son is getting value received. And give to the Fourth Liberty Loan. The more you buy the better our spirit and the sooner we will win the war. My little tour of Europe is quite an education. I must, however, see how the people dress in Berlin, before I return." Extracts from a letter under date of October 17th, 1918: "The Y. M. C. A. here has plenty of candy, cakes, tobacco, etc., and it is surely appreciated by the men. We don't ha*-^ many luxuries, but, you need never wory that we are not getting the essentials of life. It look* now as if peace is imminent. How ever r don't believe we will have peace for a few months anyhow. Per sonally, I hope that we fight unti* Germany surrenders unconditionally, for Mother dear, that is the only just terms. You loved ones at home can help by giving and giving to the Y. M. C. A. and the Red Cross." The Y. M. C. A., God, bless it, is with us always, and, is the one big gest factor in. the men's lives." SUNDAY SCHOOL WORK. Report of Six Months Activities Sub mitted by Secretary Webb. Spartanburg, No vi 6.?Gratifying progress was made in'the work of the South Carolina Sunday School Asso ciation for the last six mor*hs, ac cording to a report submitt vy R D. Webb, General Secretar. a the semi-annual meeting of the Centra: Executive Committee Tuesday after noon. The employed workers of ihe association, according to this report have attended a total of 121 Sunday School Conventions and conferences at which there were -present a tota of 9,194 people, representing a tota of 1,396 Sunday schools of all de nominations in the State. In spit< of unusual conditions during the firs six months of the association year and the quarantine caused by the in fluenza epidemic in October, the re '? port shews that more convention: * were held, more schools were reach ; ed, and mre liberal financial suppor . was received than during the corre . sponding period of any previous year Many plans for new and advance< work along Sunday School line were adopted by the .Central Execu tive Committee. It was voted to con duct throughout the State a Sunda: School drive on Sunday, Decembe 1st. The South Carolina Sunda: School Association is asked to job the otber State and provincial asso ciations of the continent in promot ing the continent-wide school visita tion on December 1st. The purpxse for the county associations through out the country to send a visitor t< every school to awaken it to the im minent need of the starving people in Bible lands. In South Carolina this plan has been enlarged so as tc include the holding of a District Con vention in every district in even county in the State, for the purpose of arousing fresh enthusiasm in Sun day school work. The School Visita tin will take place in the morning, and it is expected that more than 2, 000 speakers in the State will be used on this occasion. The Sunday Schoo] Conventions will be held in the after noon, and it is the purpose to use a thousand people on the programs and to reach with helpful methods oi work more than three-fourths of the Sunday Schools of the State. The committee adopted an enlarged budget, which, when raised, will en able the association to employ a spe cialist in boys' work and a specialist in rural work on full time. Accord ing to plans outlined, this budget will be raised by a finance committee composed of some of the leading I Christian business men in the State. According to action of the Central Committee, the State Association will, during the months of February and March, direct the holding of County Older Boys' and Older Girls' Con ferences for the development of lead ership among the young peoole, and will conduct Sunday School institutes in the larger towns and cities of the State. Much attention will be given to the observance of Chi'dren's Week April 27-May 3. for emphasiz ing religious education for all chil dren. The date of the next State Convention was changed from May 6-7-8, to June 3-4-5, 1919. Medical Advisory Board. I The War Department has appoint ed a Medical Advisory Board for Dis ' trict No. S, to handle cases referred ! by the medical examiners of Local Boards. This advisory board will handle cases from Lee. Sumter and Clarendon counties, and Board No. 2 of Orangeburg County. The advisory board is composed of the following members: Dr. E. Ii. Wilson, Ophthalomology. Otology, etc. Dr. Carl B. Epps. General Surgery. Dr. H. A. Mood, Internal Medicine. Dr. Walter Oheyne, Genito-Crinary Surgery. Dr. A. Weinberg. Dent.nl Surgery. At a recent meeting of the Board it was decided to hold the meetings at the court hous<\ at 3 p. m. on Mondays, and the following officers w^ro elected: Chairman, Dr. Wilson; Vice Chairman. Dr. Mood: Secretary, Dr. Epps. SENATOR SMITH MAKES INQUIR IES. Takes up Decline in Cotton Prices With Mr. Barock The Daily Item has received the following statement from Senator Ev D. Smith in reg?rd to the present decline in the cotton market: "Lynchburg, S. C Nov. 4, 1918. . "I have received numerous letters and telegrams concerning the present unwarranted decline in the cotton! market. I assumed that there was pone better situated than the two committees appointed by the govern^ 'ent to act in reference to the sup ply and distribution of cotton, es pecially so because on one of the com mittees were Messrs. McFaddenv Gwathmey and Inman, with Mr. ChaSi J. Brand, chief of the Bureau of Mar kets, chairman. Mr. Baruch of the War Industries Board, was named to take charge of having these commit tees appointed and under the gener al auspices of the War Industrie?? board they were to act. "I sent Mr. Baruch on October 24 the following: "Why was not the price or cotton goods revised on October 1, as sched uled? The condition of the cotton market is demoralizing because of the widespread belief that government agencies are in favor of lower"prices. " 'If assurance could be given that the government would not attempt to interfere with a normal market, it would go far in averting impending disaster at once.' "To this inquiry on the 28th Mr. Baruch replied, which reply I q??te in part: 'The price of cotton goods was not revised on October 1, and' was so stated because of the lack of infor mation regarding cost. You say there is widespread belief that government' agencies are in favor of lower prices. I do not see where they have gotten any such information or belief, as, so far as I know, there has never beeh any expression on that. The cotton' committee meets next Tuesday and I trust they will be able to make some definite and final announcement. "On November 1 I sent the follow ing to Mr. Charles J. Brand: " 'Cotton market declining disas trously. Farmers holding. Who is" it" selling such quantities of contracts in spite of the fact that spots are not moving? Give me what facts you have as to reasons for present condi tions and who are the parties selling < the mark?I' "To this* I have had no reply. .Now ? it seems to me that, in view of the ? action of the government and the ex . perience of some of the men appoint : ed by the government to act for--the I government, they should know exactly - the reasons for the present conditions i and be able to give the facts to the , public. Hence my communication to r Messrs. Baruch and Brandt There , are no men of wider experience in cot 1 ton market than Messrs-McF^o^Dy . Gwathmey and Inman, and they sure - ly ought to be in a position to inform b Messrs. Brand and Baruch what is the t cause of conditions and what is the remedy." \ > WELCOMED IN AUSTRIA.- >-\v - French War Mission Received Cordial t Reception. V _ Sydney, Australia, Sept. 18.?Tne i heartiest hospitality, interest and s ' commendation have everywhere - greeted the French War Mission to - Australia headed by General Paul V Pau. Since the moment of the r Frenchmen's arrival from San Fran y cisco, they have been constantly en i tertained. General Pau explained - the purpose of the mission as intend-. - ed to express gratitude of France to - Australia, to give assurance that vic - tory is certain and to consider eco - nomic subjects that will lead to mu ) tual prosperity. ^ Council of Defense Meeting. ) To The Officers and Members of the Sumter County Council of De fense: i A meeting of the County Council of ? Defense is hereby called to meet at the Chamber of Commerce on Sat* , urday, November 9th, at 11 o'clock. ? This meeting is a most important l one, and the three most important I i things to be considered are as fol lows: . First, the United War Work . Campaign; Second: Production of I Food Crops; Third, the County Health Survey. You are urgently re i quested to be present without fail. The work of the Council will not b? I ended for many months, even though the war ends tomorrow. Let me as sure you, gentlemen, that I would not urge your attendance unless I felt that it was necessary. There may be other matters of equal importance to bring to your attention. I hope that when the roll is called every member will answer "present" to his name: Faithfully yours, A. C. Phelps, Chairman. CUTS GERMAN OIL SUPPLY. Washington, Nov. 5.?One effect of the elimination of Austria from the war, the fuel administration announc ed tonight, will be the cutting off of Germany's suplies of fuel oil and gas oline. Germany was obtaining fuel oil and gasoline from Galatia and Rumania and was planning to import extensive ly from the Caucasus, the announce ment said, but under the terms of the Austrian armistice, all traffic between Germany and her former ally must stop. Within the German borders there are no supplies of fuei oil. and infor mation possessed by the fuel admin istration is that Germany has been using benzol?a derivative of coal ! tar?for lubricating oil. This latter source, it was said, will not supply German needs. The Italian' fuel situation, which has been serious from the beginning of the war, it was aid. will not be im proved materially by the Austrian ar mistice. The Austrian mines worked to full capacity furnish only enough coal for the nation's needs. Demoliiza tion of the Austrian army will al low the return of the miners to their work and thereby probably prevent suffering because of lack of coal with in that nation this winter, but will not provide supplies sufficient to aid