Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-03-22
The Great War Syndicate.
By FRANK R. STOCKTON.

!
 and the storms that came In from tn,
 German ocean beating upon her tall sid'
 or solid iron, with no more effect than i
 1t had been precipice of rock. Agains
 waves and winds she formed d massive
 breakwater. with wide stretch oi
 smooth sea between her and the land
 There she lay. proof against all the artn
 !ery of Europe and all the artillery of the
 sea and the storm, until fleet of small
 vessels had taken from her her ponder
 ous armament, her coal and stores. and
 she had been frightened enough to float
 upon high tide and to follow three tugs
 to Portsmouth.
 When night came on Repeller No. II
 and the crabs dropped down with the
 tide and lay to some miles west of the
 scene of battle. The fog shut them in
 fairly well. but, fearful that torpedoes
 might be sent out against them, they
 showed no lights. There was little dan- 1 ger of collision with passing merchant men. for the English channel at present
 was deserted by this Nass of vessels.
 The next morning the reieller. preceded
 by two crabs, bearing between them a
 submerged net similar to that used at the
 Canadian port. appeared off the eastern
 end of the Isle of Wight The anchors
 Of the net were dropped. and behind it
 the repeller took her place, and shortly afterward she sent a flag of truce boat to
 Portsmouth harbor. This boat carried a note from the American war syndicate to the British government.
 In this note it was stated that it was now the intention of the syndicate to
 utterly destroy. by means of the instanta-
 neous motor. fortified post upon the
 British coast. As this would be done solely for the purpose of demonstrating the irresistible destructive power of the motor bombs, it was immaterial to the syndicate what fortified post should be destroyed. provided it should answer the requirements of the proposed demon stration Consequently the British gov ernment was offered the opportunity of naming the fortified place which should be destroyed. If fsaid government should decline to do this or delay the selection for twenty-four hours. the syndicate would itself decide upon the place to be operated upon.
 Every one in every branch of the British government. and. in fact. nearly every thinking person in the British islands. had been racking his brains. or her brains, that night. over the astound- ing situation: and the note of the svndi- cate only added to the perturbation of the government. There was a strong feeling in official circles that the insolent little enemy must be crushed, if the whole British navy should have to rush upon it, and all sink together in common grave.
 But there were cooler and more prudent brains at the head of affairs; and these had already decided that the contest be- tween the old engines of war and the new was entirely one sided. The in- stincts of good government dictated to them that they should be extremely wary and circumspect during the further con- tlnuance of this uneXampled war There fore, when the note of the syndicate was considered, it was agreed that the time had come when good statesmanship and wise diplomacy would be more valuable l to the nation than torpedoes, armored l ships or heavy guns.
 There was not the slightest doubt that | the country would disagree with the government. but on the latter lay the re- sponsibility of the country's safety. 1 There was nothing, in the opinion of the ablest naval officers, to prevent the sym dlcates fleet from coming up the Thames. Instantaneous motor bombs could sweep away all forts and citadels and explode and destroy all torpedo defenses, and London might lie under the guns of the repeller.
 In consequence of this view of the state of affairs an answer was sent to the syndlcates note asking that further time be given for the consideration of the sit uation. and suggesting that an exhibition of the power of the motor bomb was not necessary, as sufficient proof of this had been given in the destruction of the Cana dian forts. the annihilation of the Crag- levin, and the extraordinary results of the discharge of said bombs on the pre- ceding day.
 To this reply was sent from the office of the syndicate in New York Ey means of cable boat from the French coast, that on no account could their purpose Do altered or their propositions modified. Although the British government might De convinced of the power of the syndi- ,ate's motor bombs, it was not the case with the British people, for it was yet oopularly disbelieved that motor bombs existed. This disbelief the syndicate vas determined to overcome, not only for he furtherance of it's own purposes, put to prevent the downfall of the present British ministry. and a probable radical 'hange in the government. That such a political revolution, as undesirable to the yndicate as to cool headed and sensible was imminent, there could 'e no doubt. The growing feeling of llsaffection, almost amounting to dis oyalty, not only in the opposition party, put among those who had hitherto been firm adherents of the government, was mainly based upon the idea that the present. British rulers had allowed them elves to be frightened by mines and orpedoes. artfully placed and exploded. Therefore the syndicate intended to set fight the public mind upon this subject. The note concluded by earnestly urging he designation, without loss of time, of place of operations.