The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1911-11-09
MEN, WOMEN And BOYS
SHOT DOWN BY THE ITALIAN
SOLDIERS AT TRIPOLI.
But the Army is Pressed by tine Arabs
While Cholera is Raging Within Its

While Cholera is Raging Within It's
Ranks.
"Annanias in his palmiest days
never wrote half as many falsehoods
and misrepresentation as have ap-
peared in the Italian press and in the
official statements issued by the Ital-
ian government" telegraphs the cor
respondent of Reuters Telegram Co.,
Ltd, at Tripoli, who arrived at Malta
on Monday.
He said the Italians hold, with
nearly twice as many men, half the
ground that they held three weeks
ago. They have lost in killed and
wounded, not counting the sick, we'll
over 1000 men.
Many Arabs have been killed and
vast numbers were shot in cold blood.
Now twenty-five thousand soldiers
find themselves with their backs to
the sea, cramped and confined, with
an active enemy within a few yards
Of them and with cholera raging, for
despite official efforts to conceal the
truth there have been many cases of
cholera among the troops and the CIV
il population is suffering so much that
whole streets in Tripoli have been
closed by armed sentries.
There has been no disgrace. On
the contrary the Italian troops have
fought with great bravery and their
officers set a noble example. How
ever the Arabs have advanced their
artillery and are shelling the Italians.
One shell dropped into General Can
eva's headquarters. The foreign NIL
itary attaches have been kept aboard
boat and not permitted to land, the
explanation being given that it would
be too dangerous for them to go on
shore.
The Turks and Arabs, the CORE
spondent says, hold the oasis, Is
miles long and from two to five miles
deep, where they can subsist on dates
and olives until April, meanwhile
harassing the Italians by nightly
raids. There are no signs of the Ital-
ians preparing to advance. The cor
respondent describes the spirits of the
invading army as demoralized. The
men expected short and sharp cam
paign. Instead they are lying in the
trenches with sand storms blowing
over or rains soaking them with con-
tinual night alarms. They are dis
gusted with the war and hate the
country. They long to return home.
For four days after the engage
ment of October 23, the Italian SOL
diers engaged in indiscriminate
slaughtering Of the Arab population
under General Caneva's sanction, who
first issued a general order to shoot
all Arabs found with arms, but only
when caught by troops in charge OF
officers. The troops complained that
numbers of Arabs had hidden their
arms and resumed their work as hus-
bandmen. Thereupon General Can
eva issued another order to shoot all
Arabs who could reasonably be sus-
pected of having borne arms.
The blood Of the men was up nat
urally, as they had seen their COM
rades shot from behind and, it is re-
ported, even mutilated, though Of
this it is impossible to ascertain the
truth. With their eXcitable tempera-
ment and highly developed imagina-
ton, the Italians suspected every liv-
ing soul of guilt, and for four days
gangs Of soldiers, often without Off
GERS shot every one they encountered.
Previous to October 90, the italians
treated the Arabs with ctmost kind
ness and it is only fair to say that
many Italian officers who looked at
the affair calmly afterwards, deplored
it,
The troops made a clean sweep Of
that portion of the oasis in which
they were fired upon from the rear,
although there is no certain proof
that any Arab in the west end of that
section took part in the rising and
there were vast numbers Of women
and boys who were perfectly inno-
cent. Of these nearly all the men and
even the boys above a certain age,
4 l. 4
that a great many women perished.