Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-11-20
ARMY OF 10000 MEN TO BE
PLACED ON DUTY NEAR
GREAT WATERWAY.
FEAR SECRET ATTACK
sY SOME WARNING NATION
Land Rttaek by Small Force With Ex-
p,o.ive. Greatest Danssr-Watsrway
Constantly PatroIIed by Civilian
ouards-coethaIs May Be Promoted
to Command Of Forces.
Especial Correspondence

washington, Nov. 20. - President
Wilson'S warning against acts OF
belligerency in the canal zone is sim
iply supplementary to the eXtraordi-
mary precautions which are being
taken at Panama, not only to conserve
the neutrality of the canal, but to pre-.
vent the preparation Of some hostile
act by any nation which hard pressed
in war might consider an act OF de-
struction on the path of the waterway
a necessity to insure it's own safety.
| The Fifth United States infantry Is
now on its way to the :sthmus. soon
the Twenty ninth infantry will sail and
before long additional troops OF all
branches of the service will start for
the canal zone. Camps and barracks
already are provided for the troops
| who will man the great Notifications
guarding the entrances, the smaller
| field Notifications commanding the APP
proaches, and for the mounted and dis
mounted troops whose stations will be
along the water right-of-way.
I 1t is generally understood In Wash
ington that before long there will be
! 20 900 American soldiers on the 18TH
mus Of Panama, a major general
| command 1t is limited occasionally
that II the senate shall pass the bill
which the house already has passed
making Col George w. Cocktails a
major general Of the line. he would be
put in command of the small army
gathered to protect the waterway
| Just Sentiment.
! 1t is probable that Colonel Goethals
will prefer to come back to the United
States, for he has been long time
on the isthmus and moreover 1t would
be perfectly natural for him to pre-
fer that some officer who has seen real
field service should undertake the COM
mand of the isthmus. Goethals always
has been an engineer officer. 1t seems
that sentiment more than anything else
is responsible for the feeling that this
engineer officer should be given the
command of the troops on the isthmus
| Military sense, however. probably will
suggest that major general OF the line
be given the post.
| Recently a force Of men has been
busy on the zone clearing away the
| jungle to line we'll back from this
canal There was difference of opin.
ion among army officers as to whether
or not the jungle should be allowed tc
maintain Its luXuriant growth up t.
within a few hundred yards of the wa
terway. 1t was held by some Officers
that the jungle would act as an i'm
pediment to hostile force attempting
an overland expedition against the
canal. BY others it was nc!d that the
jungle would screen the operations OF
such a force and that it should be
cleared away. 1t is to be cleared away
Biggest Gun in World.
BY this time the biggest gun in the
world probably has been mounted ir
one of the Notifications guarding the
Pacific entrance to the canal. There
are big guns enough on the islands OF
Naos, Perico and Flaminco in the Pa
cific to stand off any fleet which might
threaten an attack on the entrance tt
the waterway. On the Atlantic side
big guns at Toro Point and Mar
geurhita Island command the north en-
trance to the canal and will be an Of
fectual preventive against any sea at
tack on that side. No military mar
believes that any fleet will attempt t.
attack the canal in force.
The feeling is that If any country