The Sentinel=record. (Hot Springs, Ark.) 1900-current, 1914-11-26
LOCATED IN SCHO0LHOUSE
Allied Leader is in Constant Com
munication With Commanders of
the Six French, English and Bel
eian Armies in Field.

General Joffre's headquarters,
Nov. The nerve center that moves
more than two million men is in
village scaol house 20 miles behind
tlhe firing lines. The rare observer
who is permitted to learn of its
whereabouts and approaches it finds
an absolute contrast between the
tranquility here and the intense ac.
ton near the trenches. No cannon,
machine gun or rifle fire can be
heard here.
The commander-in-caief co-ordi-
mates his information and arrives at
his decisions not only far from the
disturbance Of actual conflict, but Ia
the depth Of the country away from
the first and second line Of reserves,
the inc6ssant movement of motor
transport and the dislocation of civn
life. An air of repose surrounds tn.
headquarters but life is intense here
also, each day "a hours of study and
acts of Judgment.
"W hat young colonies you have
here" remarked the correspondent
to a member of the staff
They are the men OF the future"
he replied Some of these young
colonels are al their desks at in
the morning and go to their quarters
in pleasant private dwellings nearby
10 at night"
General Joffre has six subordinate
nerve centers in the six armies into
which the field forces ave divided.
The six generals commanding thes,
armies, Pau, Foch, Dalstein, F'ranche
.dEsperray. Castelnau Manoury--
each with his general staff are con
nected by direct telegraph and tele-
phone wires VITA headquarters. Gen
eral Joffre often talks over situations
by TELEPHONE, receives suggestions
and gives orders which are confirmed
and recorded by telegraph. He is
also in direct and frequent communl-
cation with Field Marshal French
and Belgian headquarters and with
Bordeaux and Paris.
A single sentinel PAGES in front OF
the entrance. Except a few 0f th5
forester guards there are no soldiers
in General Joffres village except the
men on his staff picked for their ta'-
ents among the finely trained officers
Of France. The roads OF approach
are watched by gendarmes and it is
impossible to enter the place except
by a pass from either the chief of
General Joffre's staff or by one OF the
few persons in the military adminis-
tration authorized to sign such a
pass
The headquarters Of a commanding
general used to be distinguished by
the orderlies and horses in front and
his rank could be pretty well deter
mined by their number Now it Is
the number Of motor cars. Some
fifteen or twenty long, high power
runners are usually lined up in the
playground of the school house.
There is no footing Of horns. The cars
come and go quietly and swiftly.
The representative of the British war
office. Colonel Yarde-Buller, arrives,
the Russian military agent, an officer
from the immediate front or dee
gate from the government, but for the
most part there is little coming AMI
going.
The vast business is transacted by
wire. The meaning and significance
of it all can only be determined by
events remote from here.
General Joifre when he goes to the
headquarters Of one Of the armies
he has with him an automobile fittea
as an office. It looks inside very
much like the little drawing rooms
attached to steamer cabins A writ
ing desk let's down from one end.
Two divans are along the sides and
there are convenient devices for
docketing the papers.
General Toffre appears in grave.
calm mood and in vigorous health.