The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1914-12-12

troops who had raised the Gray flag in
place Of the Brown flag and remained
deflantly in occupation of the outpost
they had taken.
As yet, the Browns had not attempt
ed to repel the aggressor by arms for
fear of complications. but were relying
on the Gray government to order
withdrawal Of the Gray force and the
reputation of a commander who had
been guilty of 30 grave an international
affront. The surprising and illuminat-
ing thing to Westerling was the in
spired statement to the press from the
Gray foreign Office, adroitly appealing
to Gray chauvinism and justifythg the
"intrepidity" Of the Gray commander
In response to so-called "pin-pricking"
exasperations.
At the door of his apartment. Fran
co.'s, his valet and factotum, gave Wes-
terling letter.
important, sir" said Francois.
Westerling knew by glance that 1t
was, for it was addressed and marked
Personal" in the premier's own hand
writing. A conference for ten that
evening was requested in a manner
that left no doubt Of its urgency.
Curiosity made him little ahead of
time, but he found the premier await
ing him in his study, free from inter-
ruption or eavesdropping.
In the shadow of the table lamp the
old premier looked his years. From
youth he had been in politics, ever q
bold figure and daring player, but
now beginning to feel the pressure of
younger mems elbows. Ponder even
of power, which had become a habit,
than in his twenties, he saw 1t slipping
from his grasp at an age when the
downfall of his government meant that
he should never hold the reins again.
He had been called an ambitious dem
agogue and a makeshift opportunist by
his enemies, but the crowd liked him
for his ready strategy, his genius for
appealing phrases, and for the gam.
bler's virtue which hitherto had made
him a good loser.
you saw our communique tonight
that went with the publication of the
Browns dispatch? ?" he remarked.
Yes, and l am glad that l had been
careful to send spirited commander
to that region" Westeriing replied.
$50 you guess my intention, / see.
The premier smiled. He picked up q
long, thin ivory paper-knife and softly
patted the palm of his hand with 1t.
Certainly" Westerling replied in
his ready, confident manner.
"We hear a great deal about the pre-
cision and power of modern arms az
favoring the defensive" said the pre-
mier. Il have read somewhere that II
will enable the Browns to hold US back
despite our advantage Of numbers
Also, that they can completely mar
every part of their frontier and thai
their ability to move their reserves
rapidly, thanks to modern facilities
makes a powerful flanking attack II
surprise out Of the question"
Some half-truths in that" an
Westerling. "One axiom, that mus
hold good through all time, is that the
aggressive which keeps at it Away!
wins. We take the aggressive. In thu
space where Napoleon deployed a di
vision, we deploy a battalion today
The precision and power Of moderl
arms require this. With such immens
forces and present-day tactics, the lin
Of battle will practically cover tn
length Of the frontier. Along thei
range the Browns have a series o
fortresses commanding natural open
ings for our attack. These are almos
impregnable. But there are pregnab,
points between them. Here, GU
method will be~the same that the Japa
nese followed and that they learne'
from European armies. We shall cor
centrate In masses and throw in wav
after wave of attack until we hav
gained the positions we desire. Ono
We have a tenable foothold on tn
crest of the range the Brown arm
must fall back and the rest will be
matter of skillful pursuit"
The premier, as he listened. role
! the paper knife over and over, regart
ing its polished sides, which were lik
Westerling's manner of facile stat'
ment of a program certain Of fulfil
|, ment.
How long will It take to mobilize!
LESS than a week after the raj
roads are put entirely at our servic'
with three preceding days of scattere
movements" answered Westerlini
Deliberate notifications. are all rigf
for a diplomatic threat that creates
furore in the newspapers and d.
preston in the stock market, b.
which 10 not to be carried out Whe