Evening star., 1901-06-29

with Spain, was claimed by Japan that
year and is now shadowed by the flag Of
that aggressive oriental empire. The map
maker was likewise puzzled when he came
to the coloring Of the Nile valley, south Of
khartoum. Where Egyptian sovereignty
ended and British sovereignty commenced
was the problem. Hence the colors of the
two powers were skillfully and gradually
blended into each other.
The big map is being made at the coast
and geodetic survey. 1t was designed, COM
piled and finished by E. H. Fowler, chief
draughtsman of that bureau, who con-
ceived the idea Of thus equippng the presi-
dent with such an extensive means for
playing the interesting game of which he
has become such an enthusiastic deVotee
In compiling the novel chart, Mr.. Fowler
consulted all reliable large scale maps OF
the various countries of the world and al
tered them according to- the very latest
geographical, military and diplomatic data
In this work he consulted with all OF the
departments and in many cases had to be
taken into sacred condolences. The ortgi-
nal map contains many designations of Sc
cret nature which the uninitiated could not
appreciate. but which mean much to the
President when he plays at his unique mil
itary game.
The Brain and Nerves of War.
The White House war room will thus be-
come the brain of our military system. The
thousands of miles of telegraph and cable
lines centering there will be the nerves.
The war room was the conception of Pres
ident Mckinley upon the outbreak of the
late war. 1t is small apartment in the
southeastern corner of the Executive Man.
sion, the middle chamber between the
Presidents Office and anteroom. 1t had
been formerly occupied by Mr.. Porter, Sec
retary to the President 1t contains
switch board connecting twenty wires by
which the President can be placed directly
upon the circuits of all the telegraph com
panies of the United States, the great
French and English cables, and therefore
with the entire civilized world. A cable
room in communication with the desks of
his cabinet members, with both houses of
Congress and with the Supreme Court.
A President of the United States may
now actually assume the duties Of COM
mander-in-chief of his army and navy a
power vested in him by the Constitution.
The combination of direct cable communi-
cation with forces in operation and this
graphic representation of the whole worlds
possibilities theater of operations laid
graphically before him, even to the detail
of movable fleets and armies, alone make
assumption of such responsibility possible.
President Mckinley, being himself tried
soldier. proved this possibility during the
series of operations commencing with the
war with Spain and continuing with the
Philippine insurrection.
Fighting With Toy Forces.
The President solved the vexed problems
Of the war of 1898 with his little flags and
toy ships. Mr.. Fowler made for him maps
of the West Indies, the Philippines, the
Atlantic ocean and the Pacific. The little
pin armies and navies travelled over these
day and night Whenever a battle was
promised the field of operations was i'm
mediately portrayed in detailed bird's-eye
view upon map mounted upon lapboard,
such as the chief executive could conven-
iently rest upon his knees. Blue flags des-
ignated the American forcess red flags the
Spanish These red flags, by the way. have
all been claimed by statesmen. who treas
ure them sacred relics. During the
preparations for war before Santiago the lit
tie pin forces were moving about upon the
Presidents knee with great activity. The
wires all the while were hot with messages
direct from the boat which had taken up
the ends of the cable cut off Guantanamo.
These bird's-eye views showed even the
hills, valleys and groups of houses on the
battlef1elds. AS prospects Of war changed
new maps ordered from Mr. Fowler were
drawn, colored and placed upon the Presi-
dents knee in two hours. Sometimes nine
draughtsmen hurriedly worked upon the
same map.
These little pin armies and navies, always
kept in place. followed Dewey into Manila
bay. They represented Cervera's fleet in
Santiago harbor a week before its pres
ence there became known to the people.
They tracked Skaters army during its
mobilization, transport, landing and ad-
vance. They were studied by the President
while he, taking supreme personal command
of his forces, wired, in the White House Sc
cret cipher, the command for Dewey Samp-
son and Shafter to advance. They traced
the course of the army transports across
the Pacific, followed the advance Of our
signal corps upon Pekin and are still trac-
Ing the movements of the British and Beers
In South Africa.
JOHN ELFRETH,WAT JR.