THE UNION COUNTY PAPEREVERYBODY READS IT
-THE UNION COUNTY PAPER EVERYBOlf nEEDS IT
be Monroe Journal
PUBLISHED TWICE EACH WEEK TUESDAY AND FRIDAY
VOL.25. No. 93.
MONROE, N. O, TUESDAY, JANUARY 6 1920.
IL50PER YEAR CASH.
1H.AKFXFY fONDEMXS pkopos-
Ell COTTON AKHIOI SK SCHEME
Monroe Itankrr Says II li plan ttf Sew
KiiuLiihI .Mill Men in "Feather
Their Own t - Maintain
State Warehouse I'lun I Ucm.
The plan of forming a huge corpo
ration, to have as lis objoa ihe stan
dardization of tho cotton compress
ing and warehousing facilities of ihe
South, as told in a new story sent
out from Washington recently, is
barked principally by the rot ton mill
men of the New England states, is the
opinion of Mr. V. S. Blakeney. sec
retary of the I' n Ion county branch of
the American Cotton Association.
The story sent out from Washing
ton said in part:
Rnfus K. Wilson, secretary of the
..National Association of Cotton Man
ufacturers, and secretary also of the
world cotton conference, recently held
in New Orleans, made the announce
ment of the warehousing project. At
the New Orleans meeting it was de
clared that adequate warehousing was
a "paramount necessity" in the han
dling and distribution of the cotton
crop. Mr. Wilson says that arrange
ments have already been made for ac
quiring various compress plants In the
southern states and the entire field of
warehousing and compression of cot
ton is now under survey.
"It has long heen well known In
the cotton Industry." says Mr. Wilson,
"that sufficient facilities already exist
to house most of the cotton offered
for storage. However, the location of
these warehouses is such that they do
not adequately serve (he storage need
of the producer, merchant and spin
ner. They are nut located with re
spect to distribution so as to best
serve the needs of the trade. For this
reason much cotton thai ought to he
stored Is now kept in open lots, on
streets iiiul on platforms, with the re
sult that each years crop sufTers mill
inns of dollars' worth of loss from
'country (Lunate. ' Many of the exist
ing warehouses are so poorly con
structed and carelessly operated that
Insurance rales for cotton stored In
them are pbnomially high and re
ceipts for stored stocks are, In many
cases, unsatisfactory collateral for
hank loans.
"In addition, arrangements have
been made to take over a large num
ber of warehouses scattered through
out the cotton belt, and to erect ad
ditional ones both In the south and
the , es!. petall. annouucewemv f
these will be made shortly.
SCHEME OF NEW ENGLAND MILL
MEN.
"It is also planned to orgaulze a
subsidary corporation whose business
will be to buy and sell cotton receipts
and acceptances, thus facilitating the
financing of cotton In storage."
"I have heard of this plan before;
in fact, it was advanced at the last
New Orleans Conference, where It
did not gain Ihe sympathy of the Col
ton Association." Mr. Blukeney said.
He pointed out () The Journal that
should Ihe mill men of the New Eng
land Stales get control of the cotton
compressing and vn rehousing system
of the South that I hoy could control
the price of the staple to a considera
ble exient.
Mr. Blukeney seemed to have form
ed the opinion that the New Eng
land men were bent on feathering
their own nest. The naming of
Southern men as officers In the pro
posed corporation is only camouflage,
he thought.
The story from Washington de
clared that bankers would gladly
lend money on cotton receipts issued
by the proposed corporation. Mr.
Blakeney showed how the Slate Sys
tem of North Carolina was much pre
ferable to this, as receipts Issued un
der the state system would bear the
stamp of the state.
Mr. Blukenev expressed himself as
follows regarding the construction of.
warehouses In the county under the
state system; '
"Let me preface anything I may say
with the statement that I have made
no special study of warehousing and
am therefore not setting up to be an
authority on the subject. Being sec
retary of the Union county branch of
the American Cotton Association, I
am naturally Interested In the erec
tion and operation of one or more cot
ton warehouses in I'nion county. I
do not believe thai the Association
will at all perform its proper function
to the producers and business inter
ests of the South unless it gives all
possible encouragement and support
to the construction and operation of
the necessary warehouse facilities, iu
every culton producing county in the
South. In fact, the Association will
utterly fail In its mission unless these
facilities are promptly afforded. The
great bulk of Ihe protita made in col-
ton in the past has gone into the
pockets of people other than the .pro
ducers. Cotton is an onerous and te
dious crop to produce and yet singu
larly enough Ihe producers have de
voted nearly all their energies to the
production of the crops and paid but
little attention to what is equally im
portant, namely, the best methods of
marketing the crop.
"The present association is based
upon the need for an awakening along
this line and If the cotton farmers
particularly fail to become members
and do not co-operate with those sim
ilarly situated over the whole South,
then they will only have themselves
to blame for whatever evil results
may follow for lack of co-operation
and co-ordination.
PROPOSED MONROE WAREHOUSE
"The general association has a
number of methods deemed helpful to
pursue, amongst which might be es
pecially mentioned control of acreage
and dissemina'ion of literature in re
gard to supply and demand, but Ihe
main factor to control ,he price lie-
in the warehouse movement, t'ottcn
ought to be marketed only when there
is sharp competition for it and the
mills actually need It to supply the
trade. This is the only way to pie
vent congestion and leverage for the
bear speculators. This can onlv be
accomplished through he warehouse
system. There is a federal system pro
vided by act of Congress, the details
of which are too numerous to n.on
t'on. but fortunately here in Nor:h
Caiolina we have a system which '
simple and not fettered by too inu'ih
tape. We propose to begin now to
sell stork to organize a corporation
for the erection of n standard ware
house at Monroe with a capao;:y of
at least C00O bales and 10 have this
ready for operation by ihe thn .he
next crop comes to maturity. It Is in
timated that at Ihe present time to
avoid any debt stock to the amount of
(60.000 should be sold and all our
people will have an opportunity to
tubsertt -to this enternrtxe and i.'uke
It a success. Of course the faciei l
will be of 'he best pattern and "tio-
vided with the best sprinkler s.istem
Ov 1
.4
MAJOR W. C. HEATH
The members of the 'Melvln Deese
post of the American Legion count
Major Heath as one of their best
friends, and as a token of their es
teem, presented him with a hand
some 17-Jewel watch at their banquet
Friday night. Major Heath, an ex-
service man himself. Is strong for the
soldier, and makes no bones about
showing his partiality.
MOMtOK HAS DISMAL SWAMP
ACCOKIHVt; TO THIS WHITER
following our mood for adventure, we
so as to assure the very lowest ratc"'ayel'' but carefully sway across the
So Bail Is One Particular Street That
Even the Merry Little Ford Gets
Stink
To Ihe Editor of The Journal:
Noticing that our broad - minded
mnyor invites critical discussions of
our alleys and si reels, I have sharp
ened my pencil for tin essay on that
subject.
We live on a most wonderful
street! It begins attractively with a
broad, city like appearance which
leads us to the bow-wows. The
broad paved street abruptly narrows
down into a bypath of rocks over
which we stumble, running into pro
truding fences. As we travel west
ward we need rubber boots to plow
through the mud at the crossings and
find ourselves In a deep pulley! This
leads down into the Dismal Swamp.
Across the swamp Is a narrow plank,
bridge and find ourselves at the foot
of the hill. A narrow zig-zag path
runs on and stretches across the hill
and then ends without any warn
ing. This street is called West Jef
ferson.
Olteu-times Innocent travelers In
e had narrow
of insurance possibly. The property
will be leased to the State Warehouse
Commission and the receipts will be
guaranteed by the Stale and there
fore will become gilledge security for
loans anywhere In the world. Then
nn f .inner will he coiniielleil to so'l
hi cminii n. niPi-t his nlillffuilons h.-i cars and vehicles hav
cause he will be able to boi vow on ' escapes from plunging head-forward
these receipts as collateral a:d sell '"'o '"' dismal swamp, being deceiv
when he thinl.s the market righi. The '' ' ' the broad avenue leading into
v.-nrphntisrnuiu will lie n homieil of U-1 ' 'S I lap.
no.. ,..,! nil c, nf ...fupiiania win hp A few nights ado a merry, little
in.vi.i.ut n sit nn, I Vi-iForl got lost and bogged up and had
ii,.i,w ti,- rmiiiii imp niPiiihor-. to c:i!l lustily for assistance. The
but it must nil be understood thai sb tnnce charged him four perfectly
Ihe p. oph wh subscribe the stock are Sood dollars for pulling him up out
&s
COMMANDER CRAIG.
Captain Gilliam Craig, commander
of the Melvln Deese Post No. 27. of
the American Legion, saw service In
the war as an artillery captain. He
was a member of the A. E. F. for over
a year. Commander Craig was toast
master at the Legion banquet, which
was beld at the Joffre Hotel Friday
evening. He Is a son of Rev. Bravton
Craig, former pastor of the First Bap
tist church of Monroe, and la a mem
ber of the law firm of Stack, Parker
A Craig.
doing so for it" general welfare alone
and are to receive no Income from
ih" money jnvistrd. On the contra
ry, if tli- patcnag" I only sufficient
for half capacity of the building on
tho 'ivp-p.se, yet it Is believed the
dividends to utorkMt'era would be
reasonable compel1 tlon and if the
farmrs or others f lil to store cotton
to nnv appreciable xtenl nn account
of (i favorable nmik -t the spfieo could
probilly be easily used for other pur
poses and stockholders remunerated
with reasonable returns in any event.
"We hold options on lots contigu
ous to that on whieti the cotlon plat
form is to be erected aloneside of the
proposed spur track of railroad and if
we aro to ever have a standard ware
bouse In keeping with the needs of
the county and the movement to reg
pintp cotton prices, now is Ihe psy
chological time to get It going."
Notice to White Teachers.
There will be held teachers' meet
ings at the following places Saturday,
January 10, 1920: Monroe Graded
School, Waxhaw High School, t'nion
ville High School, iMarshvllle HiKh
School.
The lesson In Davis. "The Work of
Ihe Tearher," has already been as
signed. The meetings will begin at
eleven o'clock.
It is very Important that every
teacher In the county attend one of
these meetings. A very important
question will be brought before the
teachers at each or these meetings.
We want your opinion and advice on
the measure to be presented.
There will be only two other meet
ings besides this one Saturday. To
receive credit on the Reading Circle
work a lencher must attend all Ave
or these meetings. I sincerely trust
that every tearher wl'l do the work
required for the ren"wnt of certifi
cates. County second trade certlfl
rales will be given credit just as State
certificates.
If there is any teacher ' ho as yet
has not attended one of these meet
ings, let him attend at any of the
places mentioned above. Teachers
will attend the meetings at ihe place
where they first enrolled.
RAY Fl NDERBt RK.
The clly aldermen. In session last
night, decided to release all soldiers
who did not return until after May 1
from paying poll taxes.
Mr. T. J. W. Broom will be at the
Junior hall, Roughedge, Friday night.
Subject: Soil building and fertilizer.
of the ?treet and back into civiliza
tion
Ther is ne redeeming feature
about I lie rt reel It is a llii" place to
gra::? the tows of the town. In sum
mer It is r.iickiy dotted with cattle
which furnish us with music and
flies.
Looking down into the meadow to
day, I see one patiently standing
among the tall dead weeds.
Dear Mr. Mayor and Mr. Alder
men, we love "our side" of town, but
we can't get up much civic enthusi
asm, when every day, this street
looms up before us like a big giant.
We would like so much to be able
to hold up our heads and feel that we
were city folks too. But I wonder if
I am not Just blowing bubbles Just
blowing bubbles Into the air! 0. M.
ft V
1
ADJUTANT HUDSON
Mr. Joe Hudson, Adjutant ot the
Melvln Deese Post of the American
Legion, saw service In France with
the Third Division, classed as one of
the few regular army outfits. He was
in the infantry, and went through
some of the hardest fighting in which
the American forces wese engaged.
He is a son of Mr. and Mrs. W. J.
Hudson of Monroe.
A special school tax election has
been ordered for Mill Grove, in Vance
towuship. on Fibruary 28,
I'NIOV t Ol .XTV VhTHUXS
V I.F Tin: WAH HAVE ItlNVl KT
Seveial hinds T Spirit Ciin High
vVloiliul Fecial lUmnl. nimI Suiiiptu-
liamiiet l')lliiMn Parade
AimiiikI ('It).
To hundred I'nion county men
who saw sen ice in the world war.
niemWrs of Melvin Dvese Post No. 27
or ttit? American Legion, banqueted
ai me Hotel Jo fire here Friday night
ml spirits of several kinds ran hUli
Al .M5 the buglrr sounded the
drill call and the former doughboys
"fell in." as they had been wont io
do lu the days when they wore the
uutrorm. The old familiar order,
"Atteniion." was heard, followed by
Otlii! on." Then, headed by Ihe
Icemorlee band, the boys inarched
through the principal streets of the
City, singing the old army songs, and
no dpuht. their minds reverted to the
aay when "shave tails" and ser
geants were deemed to be the most
cantankerous creatures In existance.
Back at the hotel after the hikp
ths a.-Sammiea were ushered Into the
dining room. There, gating rrom the
labia at each man, was a glass of ihe
best looking punch ever brewed. But,
on voy, the smell. It was real Inter
estlilg. Quite the most Interesting
tning a few or the fellows had met
since the beginning or dry times.
Forthwith cries for pints and quarts
of the rare stuff were heard. But Ihe
officers in charge said. "No." How
evera few, who evidently had learn
ed qtiite a few things in the army,
mnde sly trips rearward and returned
wnnvreniiea glasses. Some went so
far as to say afterwards that the
punch had Just a little "kick" in It.
Capt. Gilliam Craig, Post Comman
der, Introduced Mayor J. C. Sikes.who
extended a welcome to Ihe members
of the legion. Mayor Sikes declared
that he felt somewhat like an intruder
as he had not served in the army,
which fact would remain a life long
regit,. After recounting the Impor
tant"'part which Union county men
had played In the winning of the war,
he declared that, "Nothing succeeds
like uccess, and the man whom the
people of the United States wish to
back" to-day is the ex-soldier, for he
succeeds in his undertaking."
Hn. R. B. Redwine, who served as
chai(!f?iin of the exemption board for
Unitft county cUiring the war, express
ed life appreciation at having been ln
TitedJ.co the occasion. "Two years
ago," he said. "I little thought that
I should be present at such a meeting
as this to-night." Speaking or his
work as chairman or the exemption
board, he said that it had often been
his thought that he would have much
preferred service in the trenches, If he
could have known that he would have
not been the mark of a German bul
let. Dr. S. A. Stevens, former member
of tln exemption board, expressed his
appreciation of the spirit In which the
men had received the work of him
self and colleagues. "You went like
men should, and you come home vic
torious." Major W. C. Healh, official mascot
of the Melvin Deese Post, and for
merly major in the old state guard,
contrasted the heroism displayed bv
the American boys lu France, with
the heroism shown by 'the men of the
south in the war between the stales,
pointing out that the men who served
with such distinction In the past war
were descendents of the heroes of the
60s.
Much merriment was afforded by
the presentation of an enormous dis
tinguished service medal of tin to G.
S. Lee, Jr. The cross of metal was
gracefully tied with a blue string.
The presentation was made by Archie
Faiiley In words somewhat like the
following: "Gentlemen, we ''ave
among us a hero tonight of whom
you have not heard. Congress, how
ever, has at last recognized the merits
of his distinguished services and has
thrown the responsibility of present
ing him with a medal on me. Our
hero, ex-parleyvours. did not cross the
pond, but it was not his fault. If he
had gained his heart's desire and been
sent over. Congress has decided that
he would have most assuredly won
the battle of- cognac, single-handed
and without assistance. He would
have unflinchingly faced a barrage or
popping corks, and the mod severe
of the offensives of the .Madamols
elles. Therefore, It gives tne pleasure
to present him wilh this honor. Mr.
Lee replied that he thought Congress
would sooner or later recognize his
merit, and honor him forthwith, rn it
was not a surprise.
As the punch went down, the lnt-
atiiy and good fellowship of the occa
sion went ui. Cries of "On In. la.
and other a nnv FfMirh. formerly etu-
ulncd to good effect in homhirdmx
the Mademoiselles ile belle France,
were heard from every quarter of the
room.
Amidst this pcr-ne Vnjor Hi'irh
Himle, whose subl'"ct hs placed on the
Plot i am rend "diuN," p-wiited Maj.
W. C. Heath' wilh a fold watch as a
token of esfem from iboiit forty
members of the Post. He said:
'Comrades, it was mv prlxlleee to
speak for a few moments tonight on
a sad subject, one however, close to
all our hearts. Now I'm on my feel
Benin and mv subject. 'Duds. nm
clothes, my friends, but unexploded
shells. I nronose lo burst a una
here to-night, the explosion of whirh
will be heard down t the deot. or I
am very much mistaken. A 'dud. un
friends. Is s I have sl"'l. an "ner
nloded shell. It l v ronti"i M" ex
plosive and it ' co-''-'" T.-hrv-mn'orv
-- p-.atlv know
- ' ' ". but I'll bet on the tear
n. "f?hlnc. 1 spoiiiu say two
hundred and twenty at least,
so It Is some shell. It contains explo-
Isives in ihe shape f a beating mech-
MlliMlli I hut iu .it ,l..l ... ...... ik.t
I" -. liur ma!
lit s eay for some one who knows the
'secret lo sel ii oft" with a l-pihIp inci
sure of the hand. A delicate mechan
ism has however by the help of a
number of the comrades been pro
vided, all wound up and chained in
place, and carefully covered iu gold
and velvet. We hate lo bust the
shell, gentlemen, but thank God. this
is a shell that despite repealed ex
plosions can be re-loaded and will
work again, for years we trust, as
well as ever.
"You sir, are the Dud. and here's
the mechanism the lads who love you
have prepared to explode you wilh.
riease don't explode until I get my
distance from you."
In addition to the members of the
American Legion, the following
guests were present: Mayor John C
Sikes. Major W. C. Heath. Charles
Iceman, and the members of the ex
emption board,' R. B. Redwine. Dr. S
A. Stevens, and B. C. Ashcraft.
I'KH K LFMt.NS .s 4 H IIKMIX
t'Ol NTY COTTOX AS.VH IAT10X
GKKMAXY IS TO PAY $:lMMM
FOU DEATH OF XEY McXEELEY
Attorney W. 11. lve(Yill Probably
lie .successful In His Suit to Collect
:ttl,iHMI Damage for Estate ot the
Young Consul Hitherto Unknown
Facts Concerning Finding of Hotly
lil Fur Away Arabia.
A claim for thirty thousand dollars
damages against the German govern
ment for causing the death of the
late Consul Robert Ney McNeelv of
this county, who was drowned when
the British steamship "Persia" was
torpedoed off the t oast of Et,ypt on
December 30lh, 1915, has ben filed
with Secretary of State Lansing by
ir. W. B. Love, on behair or Mr
W. R. McNeely of Jackson township,
father of the late Consul, and admin
istrator ot his estate. Definite us
surance has been given that the
amount w ill be paid in full or in part
li may be sometime, however, before
the matter is finally settled.
Mr. Love has been working on the
case Tor several mouths, and has col
lected a great mass of evidence rela
tive to the discovery of the body of
the Union county man who was
drowned, and lo the subsequent ef
forts to find it, in order that it might
be sent to America. In this work,
Mr. Love has been in correspondence
with, the British nd A mer loan Con
suls at various cities In 'Egypt, and
has secured copies of reports made by
men attached to these posts, relative
to their efforts lo recover the body.
The assertion that the claim will
be paid in whole or in part, is based
upon the fact that the German gov
ernment finally admitted that it was
a German submarine whirh sent the
"Persia" to the bottom, resulting in
the death of Consul MrNeeley, and
numerous British subjects. Further
more, it was later borne out
I hat a German submarine did
the deadly work, when an of
ficer of a German undersea craft
admitted that it was his sub
marine Hint fired the torpedo; this
after he had ben raptured. For
sometime alter the sinking f the
vessel there was considerable discus
sion us to whether she had been tor
pedoed.
The claim for damages In the death
of Consul McNeely, according to Mr.
Love, will 'be paid from money se
cured by the sale of German prop
erty seized during the war by the
Alien Property Custodian. All claims
or the nature of the McNeely case,
says Mr. Love, will be refered to a
commissioner appointed for this pur
pose, and he will decide upon the
justice of the claim, and the amount
to be allowed. When the case win
bo settled It is not known.
When the "PeiBla" was torpedoed
iiirrc was some doubt as to whether
Consul McNeely really lost his life.
Some thought that he had lived until
the Egyptian coast was reached, and
was there captured by the wild tribes.
The facts gathered by Mr. Love, how
ever, put an end to such Ideas as
this.
The informal ion wh'ch gives the
knock out blow to the talk that Con
sul McNeely being captured by the
wild tribes or the coast is n copy of
a telegram from Second Lieutenant
H. A. Churchward, or the British
army, reporting the discovery and
burial of a body, w hich Troiii a watch
and clothing, was later Identified as
that of Consul McNeely. Upon dis
covery Ihe bodv was buried In a calm
of rocks, according to informal ion in
Ihe hands of Mr. Love. The burial
of the body in rocks was made nec
essary by the nature of the coasv
Later the Vice Consul or the Ameri
can Local Ion at Alexandria, in com
pany wilh British officers, visited the
"oaf.l for lh purpose of iwove'tifr
!le body.. The found, hovover. that
n heavy storm had in th" menntim"
deslvoved the rock calm :,u l cartlec
the body out lo oa.
A cop" of :i Ictler nrtdrossed to
Arthur Carrels, American Consul at
Alexandria. Egypt, received by Mr.
Love, gives the following account of
the efforts made to recover tho body
of Consul McNeelv reads as follnv:
"Dear Sir: I beg to report as follows
"In accordance with your Instruc
tions and lu pursuance to arrange
ments mnde wilh the British Military
Authorities lo oxhunie and to convev
o Alevndri. the remains of Ihe late
fonsut Vw VcNee'y. assigned Amer-"-n
Consul tt Aden, ! left Alexan
dria on March 13th. 1!)16. at !:0b.
s. for El Dabaa on th" cons! of
the West Eirvntton Frontier. I was
sceomfptMiipd hv Dr E. F. Vnlenzla.
of the AW?mdrin Munlrlnalitv. and
two witivp of thuf Administration
who carried a temporary coffin, and
certain accessories, necessary for the
lliit Desire In Make Karr for Sheriff,
ll l Bclirxcil. Actuated lliit Ke
tircinciil. Mr. J. N. Price resigned Moudav as
chairman of the Union couniv cotton
association, and the directors of the
oreaiiization immediately elected Mr.
T. J. W. Broom as his successor. Mr.
Price resigned, it is understood, be
cause he intends to enter the Demo
cratic primary for the nomination of
sheriff, and did not care lo embroil
the cotton association in partisan pol
itics in any way. He has headed the
association since its organization in
the early fall.
Mr. P. P. W. Pller. who recently
resigned as vice-president of the
Bank of Union, was employed by the
cotton association directors to sell
stock in the proposed $60,000 cotton
warehouse to be erected at Monroe.
He enters upon his duties at once. A
site for the warehouse has already
been secured. The lot lies near the
railroad, and will adjoin the fertil
izer warehouse which will be erected
In a short time. The directors of the
cotton association plan to build a
warehouse with a storage capacity of
between 6,000 and 8.000 bales. It
will be so constructed as to permit
additions from time to time.
Several subscriptions for stock,
ranging fmrt $100 to $500. have al
ready been pledged, and Mr. Plyler
does not export to experience any
particular difficulty tn disposing of
the allotted u,(i()0. Slate cotton as
sociation authorities believe the ware
houses will iv! urn a 20 per cent an
nual dividend, and they point out that
the erection of warehouses not only
does the community a great deal Of
good, but returns a neat sum every
year to the Investors.
exhuming of the body. We arrived
at El Dabaa, rail head, at 2:20. p. m.,
that afternoon, and were met al the
station by Colonel T. M. C. Pitt, the
officer commanding the lines of com
munication at El Dabaa, and his
Staff Officer, Lieutenant Stern. After
some consultation with Colonel Pitt,
it was decided that our party was to
proceed In armored motor cars the
following to the spot some sixteen
miles due weBt from El Dabaa, on the
coast where the body had been dis
covered on February S, 1916. Col
onel Pitt also made arrangements for
covering squadron of calvary to leave
for the place to act as protection to
the armored motor cars against the
belligerent Bedouin tribes.
"On our arrival at the Indicated
place of temporary burial, no traces
of the body could be found. We re
turned to El Badaa Immediately, t
then telegraphed you the result Of
my Invest Ration, and again consulted
wilh Colonel Pitt. It was decided
that 2nd Lieutenant H. A. Church
ward, who In company with a ser
geant and patrol, had originally dis
covered the body, and burled It,
should be recalled from Alexanderla,
where he was then on military duty;
and that he should accompany us
personally to the coast.
"Our party again left El Dabaa on
Thursday. March 16, 1916. at 5 n. m.,
in armored cars, pimilur measures be
ing taken at that time. We arrived
at the port on the coast some few
hours later. Second Ll. Churchward
pointed out to tne the spot where he
and his patrol sergeant had come
across the body. He showed me
w here he obtained the stones to cover
it. and called to my attention the very
rocky character of the coast, and the
practical Impossibility or burying tne
bodv In the usual manner. No sign
or the body or or the Cairn of stones.
with which he had originally covered
It remained.
"It is evident that the recent heavy
storms on the coast had inundated
the spot where the body was tempora
rily buried and carried away the body
with the covering.
"Our parly returned to El Braa
and left for Alexandria again the af
ternoon of March 15, 1915, at 2 p. m.
"I feel that I cannot close this re
port without calling to your attention
the extreme kindness with which we
were treated from the time we arriv
ed at El Dabaa. not only from Colonel
Pitt, the officer commanding the lines
of communication of the western
frontier, but also of his staff officer.
Ll. Stern, and the squadron and troop
commanders of ihe One-Half London
Yeomanry Regiment (Westminister
Dragoons) who formed our covering
parlies. Very respectfully yours, S.
Pirkney Tuck, Jr., American Vice
Consul, Alcxandi iu."
Th" re;iort of Lt. Churchward, who
was a m 'inner ot tne pariy, ioiiows;
"I. the undersigned, II. A. Church
ward. Second Squadron, county of
London Yeomani ', hereby certify and
declare that on t' 16th day of March
1!H5. In cov.ipan. w ith S. P. Tuck, Jr.,
American Vice Consul, Alexandria,
and Dr. K. F. Valenza of the Alexan
drian Municipality, t visited the exact
spot, soni" s:.ecn sport due west of
El Dabaa. where on February 5. 1916.
in the company of Serseant of the 1-2
County of Yeomanry I discovered and
burled to the best of my ability a male
body, later Identified to he that of the
late Consul Robeit Ney McNeeley, as
signed American Consul at Aden, and
known to have been drowned on thi
30th of December. 1915, on the P.
and O. Steamship 'Persia.' and after
Identifying the exact spot, found no
trace of the above mentioned body, nr
the cairn of stones, with which I cov
ered the same. I further declare that
it Is my belief that the body above
mentioned was washed out to sea dur
ing a recent heavy storm. C. A.
Churchward. 2 Lt. 1-2 County of Lon
don Yeomanry El Dabaa, 16 March,
1916."