Bruce Grit's Column
THE CAMEROONS CAMPAIGN
(Copyright by J. E. Bruce.)
Special to The Monitor.
(Continued From Last Week.)
Immediately on the declaration of
war General Aymerich. ti e command
er of the troops in French Equatorial
Africa took steps to remove the ob
stacles to communicatior between
that colony and Gal>oon by seizing
the two antennae of German terri
tory’ touching the Congo and Ubangi,
described above. A small force un
der Inspector Leprinee ascended the
Congo from Brazzaville and took
Bonga by surprise on tie 6th of Au
gust. The next day Zinga was cap
tured by a company of Bengalese Ti
railleurs, which descended the Ubangi
from Bangui, 60 miics higher up the
river, under Captain Been. At these
places documents were captured which
showed that the garrison.- were in
structed to invade French territory’.
General Aymerich despatched two
columns to take the German forces
in the rear. Colonel Hutin was to ad
vance from Bonga northward up the
valley of the Sanga river The sec
ond, under Colonel Morrison, was to
move westward along the valley of
the Lobage river, which joins the
Ubangi river near Zinga. By October
this column had advanced 200 miles
and occupied Carnot, neai the head
of the River Sanga, and at Bania, 70
miles lower down the river, got into
touch with Colonel Hutin’s column.
This column, moving partly by land
and partly by river, had advanced 300
miles by the 18th of October and cap
tured the important fortified post of
Nola, on the Sanga river, thirty miles
below Bania. At Nola. the German
garrison was captured with a small
cannon, four machine guns and a
quantity of ammunition.
Colonel Hutin now found his com
munication with Bonga threatened by
a force which had marched eastward
from Molundu and had seized N’Zimu,
half way between Bonga and Nola.
. General Awnerich at once hurried
up with a force which included a Bel
gian contingent of 580 rifles, part of
which was brought up the river by
the armed steamer “Luxembourg.”
After three days’ obstinate fighting
in which the “Luxembourg” did good
service with its gun1, being brought
to within 150 yards of the German po
sition, N’Zimu was recaptured on the
29th of October.
Colonel Hutin assumed command of
the forces now, including the Belgians,
about 2,000 strong. H;s first care
was to clear the N’Goko \ alley of the
enemy so as to secure his lines of
communication with Bon-a and Zin
ga. This involved much heavy fight
ing and it was not till the 2lst of De
cember that he was able to occupy
Molundu, the German headquarters in
this region.
Colonel Morrison, in the meantime,
had advanced westward from Bania,
the Germans retreading before him
till they reached Baturi, on the road
to Dume and Younde, where they were
joined by the forces retiring before
Colonel Hutin’s column. Baturi is in
the dense forest area, described by
General Dobell, where the movement
of troops is necessarily slower than
in the comparatively open country in
which the French had hitherto been
operating. Colonel Morrison reached
Baturi on the 9th ■>{ December, but
the Germans had evacuated it the
night before and retired thirty-three
miles west, to Bertua. Following
them up he attacked them again on
the 28th, forcing them to retreat after
a sharp fight, and advanced to the
neighborhood of Duine. The garri
sons of the posts evacuated by tine
Germans as Morrison advanced now
united and, assuming the offensive,
not only stopped his pi ogress, but re
captured Bertua and advanced to Moo
pa, twenty-five miles south of Baturi,
where they firmly established them
selves.
In this way both the French col
umns advancing from the south found
themselves hung pu, P.nd their prog
ress impeded by the difficu'ties of the
terrain, as much as by the skill and
determination of the enemy. It was
several months before there columns
were in a position to effect the oper
ations which had in the meantime
been taken in hand by the British
forces advancing from the northwest
ern seaboard.
Simultaneously with the French ad
vance from the south, a French force
under the command of General Far
geau invaded the Camercons from the
northeast. General l argcau was one
of the most distinguished officers of
France’s African army. He was with
Marchand at Fashoda, gnd had since
seen much service m the Sudan,
crowning a brilliant career by defeat
ing the Senussi in 1913. He remained
in command of the French forces in
the Northern Cameroon* till October,
1915, when, the operetiors being near
ly completed, he was recalled to
France and given eommard of a brig
ade of infantry- at Verdnu where he
was killed on the 26th of March, 1916.
Taking personal command of the
troops, he crossed the eastern frontier
immediately on the declaration of war
and attacked Kusseri about seventy
miles south of Fake Chad, in the tri
angle formed bv the meeting of the
northwest boundary line- between Ca
meroon* and Nigeria on the west and
French Equatorial A'ricn on the east.
The town is strongly placed at the
junction of the Fogone and Shari
rivers, well fortified and strongly gar
risoned. The attack was repelled, and
when the French withdrew, the Ger
mans took offensive, capturing a small
post and inducing Ka'-nak the Sultan
of Fogone, to rise against the French.
On the 28th of August the Sultan was
defeated by the French, who advanced
to Kusseri and again attacked it on
the 21st of September. The garrison
made a stubborn fight but were com
pelled to yield by a brilliant bayonet
charge of the Senegalese Tirailleurs.
They fled in panic and abandoned all
their guns, ammunition and other sup
plies.
General Fargeau took possession of
Kusseri and made it his base of oper
ations. On the 4th of October a col
umn of Fieutenant Colonel Brisset
was despatched to join p. force of Ni
gerian troops operating to the south
west in the region of the Mandara
mountains. Colonel Bridget’s force
consisted mainly of recnr'ts from Mo
shi, north of Ashanto. Capturing sev
eral small posts en route, it arrived
at Mora, nearly ninety miles south'
j southwest of Kusseri on the 11th and
joined hands with tr.e Nigerian force.
'To be Continued)
INCOME TAX DUE
Returns Must Be Made on or Before
March 15—Bill Provides Heavy
Penalties.
■Washington, D. C., Feb. 27.—Work
on the collection of $6,000,000,000 has
been begun by the bureau of internal
revenue. This is the estimated yield
for the new revenue bill. The income
tax provisions of the act reach the
pocketbook of eevry single person in
the United States whose net income
for 1918 was $1,000, or more, and of
every married person whose net in
come was $2,000 or more. Persons
whose net income equalled or exceeded
these amounts, according to their
marital status, must file a return of
income with the collector of internal
revenue for the district in which they
live on or before March 15.
Here is what will happen to them
if they don’t; for failure to file a re
turn on time, a fine of not more than
$1,000 and an additional assessment of
25 per cent of the amount of tax due.
For “willfully refusing to make a
return on time, a fine not exceeding
$10,000, or not exceeding one year’s
imprisonment, or both.
For making a false or fraudulent
return, a fine of not more than $10,
000 or imprisonment for not more
than one year, or both, together with
an additional assessment of 50 per
cent of the amount of tax evaded.
For failure to pay the tax on time,
a fine of not more than $1,000 and
an additional assessment of 5 per cent
of the amount of tax unpaid, plus 1
per cent interest for each full month
during which it remains unpaid.
In addition to the $1,000 and $2,000
personal exemptions, taxpayers are
allowed an exemption of $200 for each
person dependent upon them for chief
support. Under the 1917 act, this ex
emption was allowed only for each
dependent “child.” The head of a fam
ily—one who supports one or more
persons closely connected with him
by blood relationship, relationship by
marriage, or by adoption—is entitled
to all exemptions allowed a married
person.
The normal rate of tax under the
new act is 6 per cent of the first
$4,000 of net income above the exemp
tions, and 12 per cent of the net in
come in excess of $4,000. Incomes in
excess of $5,000 are subject also to a
surtax ranging from 1 per cent of the
amount of the net income between
$5,000 and $6,000 to 65 per cent of the
net income above $1,000,000.
Payment of the tax may be made in
full at the time of filing return or in
four installments, on or before March
15, on or before June 15, on or before
September 15, and on or before De
cember 15.
Revenue officers will visit every
county in the United States to aid
taxpayers in making out their returns,
The date of their arrival and the lo
cation of their offices may be ascer
tained by inquiring at offices of col
lectors of internal revenue, postoffices
and banks. Failure to see these offi
cers, however, does not relieve the
taxpayer of his obligation to file his
return and pay his tax within the time
specified by law. In this case the
taxpayers must seek the government,
not the government the taxpayer.
“The Fashion” will be that Cafe and
Cabaret at 1314 North 24th street.—
Adv.
A SCENE IN MESOPOTAMIA
Brazen Impostor Is
Exposed On Stage
Thousands Crowd St. Louis Coliseum
to Hear "Sergeant Henry Johnson”
Tell the Thrilling Story of How He
Was Wounded, Captured Huns and
Won the Croix de Guerre.
MEDALS MISLEAD MINISTER
Who Stages Money-Making "Recep
tion,” Under Auspices of Eight
Churches for Fake Hero of No
Man’s Land—Parker, Who Posed as
Johnson, Lost Leg in California—
Hoaxed Audience Good Natured—
Entertained With Music and Ora
tory.
(Special to The Monitor by Staff
Correspondent.)
ST. LOUIS, MO., Feb. 27.—Missouri
ans in general and St. Louisians
in particular pride themselves on
their astuteness. They ridicule the
! very thought of their being easily
deceived or taken in. “I’m from Mis
: souri; you must show me,” is the fa
| vorite and famous dictum which ex
, presses this confidence in immunity
j from deception. But St. Louis’ con
i ceit on this score has received a se
vere jolt. A much bemedalled and
, bedecked Alabama Negro, whom the
; Rev. B. G. Shaw met in Mobile, Ala.,
| last December, told the reverend gen
tleman that he was Sergeant Henry
i Johnson of Albany, N. Y., who-with
! Needham Roberts won distinction in
! “No Man’s Land.” The Rev. Mr.
j Shaw invited him to come to St. Iouis,
seeing in his advent a golden oppor
; tunity to do honor to a hero and also
J to rake in a few shekels pro bono
ecclesia. Mr. Shaw interested some of
his fellow ministers. The Coliseum
was engaged and the advent of “Ser
genat Henry Johnson” was widely ad
vertised. On the day appointed the
wounded, Hun-destroying "hero”
came. The Coliseum was crowded.
The “hero” limped into the hall amid
the plaudits of the throng; but he
did not speak to the audience. He
was called upon to explain to the po
lice how it was possible even in this
day of miracles for him to be in the
parade in New York city in the after
noon of February 17, 1919, and at the
same time be in St. Louis? But here
is the story as told by the St. Louis
Post-Dispatch in its issue of Febru
ary 18:
The Coliseum, which seats about
10,000, was packed last night with
Negroes to hear Sergt. Henry John
son of Albany, N. Y., member of tTis
I 369th New York “Black Watch,” who
f
with Needham Roberts destroyed a
German patrol of 36 men with holo
knives, for which he was awarded the
Croix de Guerre. But Johnson was
in a parade of the 36!)th in New York
City yesterday, as told in late editions
of the Post-Dispatch, and what St.
Louis Negroes saw was Albert Par- i
ker of Alabama, betinseled with
tawdy decorations of brass medals of
no significance and a gilded bathrobe
cord on his shoulder to resemble the
regimental decoration of the fourra
gere, masquerading as Sergt. Johnson,
the hero.
As a result of this imposition on
the Negroes of St. Louis, Parker was
arrested and spent the night in a cell.
Instead of litstening with exultant
admiration to a recital of thriRing
events in No Man’s Land in which
one of the race distinguished him
self, the Negroes heard only a fine
musical program and eloquent
speeches abounding in glowing super
latives on world democracy and of the
share of it that should be apportioned
to the black race. Instead of Sergt.
Henry Johnson relating how he re
ceived wounds in France while fight
ing for the democracy in which his
race should share, the police heard
Albert Parker of Alabama relate how
he lost his left leg in an accident in
California, and received wounds in a
fight with razors in an American city.
Mayor Kid There.
Among the speakers was Mayor
Kiel, who entered the hall when the
[ meeting was about half over. The
1 mayor was apprised at once of the
; deception, and he accepted the cue of
' others and ignored the attraction of
! the evening, Parker, who sat through
I it all, staring stolidly ahead.
The meeting was advertised as a
i “reception to fearless Henry Johnson,
I hero of No Man’s Land,” in a local
{taper for Negroes. A Post-Dispatch
reporter yesterday morning inter
viewed “Johnson’ at the home of the
Rev. B. G. Shaw, 613 North Garrison
avenue, pastor of the A. M. E. Zion
Church, who, with other ministers, ar
ranged the meeting. The Negro wore
a regulation army uniform, but his
“decorations” were palpably false. An
investigation was made, and it was
ascertained in the afternoon that
Sergt. Johnson was in New York. The
Rev. Mr. Shaw was apprised of this,
but the tickets for the meeting had
been sold, the hall rented and all ar
rangements made, so it was decided to
go through with the affair.
Applause for Fake Hero,
A few minutes after the meeting
was called to order, Parker hobbled
in on crutches and was received with
a burst of applause, and after a se
lection by the band it was announced
by the master of ceremonies that the
real Sergt. Henry Johnson was not \
present, but in his stead an impostor. '
The audience sat for a full minute j
is though dazed, and then everybody
smiled. There was no demonstration,
mutterings or threats. A chanting
song was given and everybody joined
in. The only unhappy person in the
house appeared to be the “hero” who
shrunk in his seat, visibly embar- j
barrassed. In the ensuing two hours
he was quietly ignored, while the
speakers who passed back and forth
before him conducted themselves writh
dignified aloofness.
At the close of the meeting Parker
was taken from the hall to police
headquarters.
The receipts of the meeting will
net the eight churches, which united
to bring the man here, about $2,000,
according to the Rev. Mr. Shaw, who
said this money will be used for re
ligious and charitable purposes. The ;
“hero” was to have been paid $150, |
but he will get nothing.
The Rev. Mr. Shaw explained to a
Post-Dispatch reporter how the mis
take was made.
“I was in Mobile, Ala., last Decem
ber, at the railroad station, waiting
for my train, when I noticed a large j
crowd around a Negro in uniform. I
approached and asked the man his
name. He answered that he was Sergt.
Henry Johnson of No Man’s Land.
“The man wore what appeared to j
me to be many decorations ,and be
ing unskilled in such things, I as
sumed them to be genuine. As my
train started out I gave him my card
and told him we would be glad to see
him in St. Louis. Later I received a i
letter from the man, and took the mat- !
ter up with the local Colored minis
ters. We agreed to give the man we
thought to be Sergt. Johnson a patri
otic reception and use the proceeds
for church work. So we arranged the
meeting and charged an admission of
26 cents.
Hoax Discovered Too Late.
“The first intimation we had that
the man was an impostor was when
we saw in the Post-Dispatch that
Sergt. Henry Johnson was in New
York. It was too late then to call
off the meeting, so we arranged the
best program possible in the circum
stances and did the best we could. The
only apology we have to make is that i
we were duped by an impostor.” 1
A resolution was adopted calling j
attention of the peace conference to
the condition of * the Negro race!
throughout the world, and copies will
lie sent to the conference.
The speakers were the Rev. Mr.
Shaw, the Rev. B. F. Abbott, Union
Memorial Church; Dr. Charles Phil-j
ips, Frank L. Williams, principal of
Sumner High School; the Rev. George
E. Stevens, George L. Vaughn and Dr.
3. C. Maxwell.
In closing an eloquent plea for
squal rights for the Negro, Dr. Phil
lips said:
“And while all the world is safely
reposing in the fields of democracy
here in America dwells the most elo
quent exponent and builder of free
iom the world ever saw—the Negro,
but still chasing this phantom of de
mocracy with outstretched hands, only
to see it elude his grasp. We have no
Wendell Phillips, no Charles Sumner,
no William Lloyd Garrison to plead
our cause; no Lincoln to proclaim it,
no Grant to enforce it; but we have
here in St. Louis a most powerful
agency for right, the St. Ix>uis Post- x
Dispatch—the most ardent and effect
ive, fearless and courageous champion
of human liberty in the world today.”
Several hundred singers from the
different church choirs sang selections
and two bands kept the audience in
a lively mood.
h
1
CHILD KILLED BY AUTOMOBILE
Frankie A., the 4-year-old daugh
ter of Mr. and Mrs. Milton Mjllan,
of Patrick avenue, who was killed by
an automobile driven by Mr. Van
Sant at Twenty-fourth and Patrick
avenue late Saturday afternoon, Feb
ruary 8.