River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1914-11-12

ally iOilStA. Il ISCtANSd 0sNCfe Ill iiOkti t6O
TO proceed to san Fra ncisco and take
charge of the equipment % couple of
aeropiane tenders now building Of the
| Mare Island yard Leave here tomorrow
Will write you from F'risco
Bernice Gethelds went 10 New York
on the Sd of October with tight heart
and the expectation Of an enjoyable
| time
And yet several thinga had happened
even before that time. and occurred
Immediately after, which might have
| pointed the results TO follow. or SO 1t
seems in the tight uf retrospecti0p
For instance. in the latter part or AH
! gust portion of the Japanese feet
sailed on practice cruise. with tbe
| ayowed intention OF eating M varionS
European ports
They stopped at Manila. were dip
lomatically enterJainei and departed
westward. They were afterward re-
ported from Bombay. Suez and vari-
Gus Mediterranean ports and passed
Gibraltar Oct. 2
On the Sd of October a large vessel
chartered for the purI use. sailed from
Vancouver. damned With 1000 jap
.aneSe laborers from various points III
British Columbia I'll vessel cleared
for the Hawaiian islands, and it's de
parture was recorded 0y paragraph
in the papers. covering some scant four
lines
On the morning of the 18th Of October
the Japanese government officially
nOtitied the United States that its feet
would call ut various ports and expect
ed to be among the first vessels OF war
to pass through the Panama canal
and as by parallel the secretary OF war,
on the same day. received "A code Ines
sage which caused BIN 70 visit the
White House and afterward summon
the strategy board to u meeting
Gentlemen" said Secretary Barri-
son, when the board was assembled,
Il desire to lay before you Il message
from a man in whose Judgment place
great deal OF faith received ii "A
few hours ago Translated from the
code it reads Pursuant with your
instructions have done my best to ar
rive at some true understanding of the
anomalous situation We referred to-
There is a peculiar atmosphere Of con.
6dent expectation peryading this city,
despite the recent results Of military
operations
"'This is only explainabe in my
judgment TO some secret affecting the
probable future actions Of some outside
power Without being IN definite pos
session Of their plans can only surmise
from present conditions Would. how
ever. advise taking steps for the
mobilization of large bodies OF volun-
teer forces. and the mobilization OF
large bodies of an efficient aeroplane
corps at San Francisco
"'Same would apply TO eastern sea
board in neighborhood OF New York.
Believe action of Mexico in nature Of
feint attack. preliminary 10 some in
ternational action by larger power
This government was today mott
fed Of the approach Of the japanese
| fleet" said the secretary OF war.
Good Cod" Monse came to his
feet. "You think. Mr. Secretary, that
your man refers to Japan as d possible
! Mexican allyn
Il hardly know what to think, Mr..
Monsel" returned the cabinet official.
Il have the greatest faith in my mans
shrewdness and good Judgment, and
have TODAY ordered ana received an
answer to an inquiry 10 the San Fran
cisco authorities. Which STATES that
large numbers Of Japanese have been
.oming into the city within the last
few days"
They naturally would. now that the
main fruit picking season is over,
would they not?" queried GotZ, who
had joined the meeting on Barrison's
invitation. because OF his activities in
the crisis which had arisen ut the time
Of the California alien land laws agi
tation and his consequent knowledge
of the local situations
"They could very plausibly do So"
admitted Barrison.
Gotz laughed.
"You boys are still! playing with the
same old bogy we talked about a year
ago, amt you? he remarked.
Barrison froWned.
MY informant will be brought to
New Orleans on a fast dispatch boat"
Barrison resumed. Perhaps then we
had better await his arrival. You gen
tlemen will in the meanwhile give the
suggested possibility your most earnest
consideration"
Thus was lost the opportunity fore
seen surely by one man for safeguard
ing the country. Had immediate action
been taken perhaps the result had diff
fered. Who knows?
1t was on the night of the 9Th that
the cable to Honolulu went suddenly
out Of commission, and repeated at
tempts to reach the island by wireless
failed On the same night, or rather on
the morning Of the 7th, between 2 and
o'clock, large schooner entered the
Golden Gate, fell off In a most mex
plicable manner and grounded amid
fbo e,booJc ~, <ba oftv e.sIo OF old Lf0rf