Evening star., 1898-07-16
THE WAR ROOM,
The Inner Chamber of the White
House Great Center

House Great Center
From Golfers Weekly
On the walls of the war room are all the
latest maps from the coast and geodetic
survey, the photographic office and the
land office. and some that were made es-
peciaiy for the Presidents convenience.
Ihere are military maps of Cuba, the Phil
lpplnes, Porto Rico. and all other points
arranged in sections on the wall in such a
manner as to place before the eyes of the
President at one glance the entire expanse
OIL the globe. On these maps are marked
the Instances from one point to another;
the cable lines, the sailing routes, the time
needed TO cover ttem, the places where
the SHIPS OF the enemy and of the biockad-
ing squadron are located from time to time
and every possible sort of information that
could be needed during a consultation on
the war problem. The most unique of the
series OF charts are those showing the To-
cation of the Spanish and American war
Slips. So arranged that they can be changed
each hour or minute of the day as the tele-
graph may report the movements on the
chessboard of the war. Among other con-
VenlenceS designed for the President there
are Two boards covered with sheets of
paper on which are written alpha beticaily
the name of every ship in both navies
stuck INTO a little hole in the space con-
tanning the name there is PIN on the end
OF which there is a flag bearing the cor
responding name of the ship. These flag
pins are used for Indicating on the man
the places where the ships may be from
time to time; the American flags being blue
anu those of Spain red. There is an inter-
esting little corner on one of the boarIs
separated by broad black line inside of
Whlch there is group of red flags huddIed
together. This corner Is labeled the dead
line, and the flags are those that, before
the 1st of May, represented the Spanish
ships which on that day We're destroyed by
the fleet of Admiral Dewey.
In the left-hand corner of the ROOM near
the entrance from the corridor is Secretary
Porters desk. where he is at work during
many hours OF the day and night; and be-
yond him. nearer the middle of the room
Is the desk of Captain Benjamin F. Mont
gomsry, of the signal corps, United States
army, who, for several years, has acted as
telegraphic manager of the White House
AT the left of his desk in the corner there
Is wooden case through which pass fifteen
special. long-distance telephone wires and
In the opposite corner a cable containing
twenty special telegraphic wires all of
which come together at the desk and make
1t possible for him, without moving outside
radius of ten feet, to have direct COM
munication through the telephone with
every department Of the government at
washington including the Capitol, on wires
which are connected with the White House
alone and over the telegraph and cable
lines to every point in the United States
and elsewhere, that 1T may be important
for the President or the members of the
cabinet to reach at any time in order to
give or receive information with regard to
the war movements.
Into this war room, over these special
telegraph and telephone wires, comes, every
hour and every minute of the day and
night, information from a great many
sources, official and otherwise, on every
conceivable phase of the war problem that
could possibly be of interest to the Presi-
dent and the officials of the government
The press associations send all their i'm
portant news bulletins directly from their
office to Mr.. Montgomery's desk, and from
there they are at once placed before the
President at any time during his waking
hours. Much of the information that comes
is duplicated from various sources, but II
Is all OF the greatest interest, and the Presi-
dent feels that already the war room has
been of incalcuiable service. Here the cab
met consultations take place, and there is
hardly an nour that some of the officials
of the government are not studying the
maps or reading the official and unofficial
news bulletins that pour in over the num-
erous special wires. Nothing can take
place in any quarter of the globe that af-
fects in any way the situation without the
President knowing 1t instantly. The war
room is thus becoming a most important
adjunct to the military administration