The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-06-21

!, moved to their appointed places. So far scattered was the American army so small were it's units, that only a I few civilians here and there could have noticed that troops were being 1 moved at all
 More than one unmiIitary citizen look ing over his newspaper that morning, cursed the politics that had maintain l ed the absurd, worthless, wasteful l army posts, and cursed himself for having paid no heed in the years when | thoughtful men had called on him and his fellows to demand a change. | More than one citizen, when he left his house to go to his accustomed work, looked up at the sky and won dered with a sinking heart how soon it would seem black with war.
 It was a peaceful. soft sky, with baby clouds sleeping on it's bland, blue arch. It radiated a tranquil warmth of coming spring, and under it the l Atlantic ocean lay equally peaceful, equally soft, equally tranquil. Yet even as the people of America were taking up the days work, under that soft tranquil sea, message was l dartfng through the encrusted cables that swept away all peace. Before noon, from sea to sea and from lakes to gulf, from the valley of 1 the Hudson to the Sierras of the Rockies, from Jupiter inlet to the | Philippines, ran the silent alarm of 1 the telegraph that the great coalition had declared war!
 Forty-eight hours later the combined 1 battle fleet of the four nations put to sea with it's army transports, bound for the American coast. [Speed of l authorization of a mob1lized and pre- pared army as calculated by Euro pean military staff oncers.l The United States learned of its de parture before it's rear guard had well cleared the land. The news did not come from American spies. It came from the coalition itself.
 War, the chameleon as C1ausewitz 1 called it, was presenting new aspect 1 of it's unexpected phases. Not a cable had been cut following the declaratio of war, and now the submarine cables and the wireless began to bring official news from the enemy-news addressed 1 not to the American government. but to the American people. 7 It was news that told of an nvufner- able feet carrying more than thou. | sand riffed cannon of the largest caH- Der ever borne by. ships in all the world.
 It told of enough great battleships alone (and named them) to match the republics fleet, with a Dreadnought for every effective American ship of 1 any kind. lone thousand rif1ed cannon could be enumerated from the naval lists of less than four powers. Less than four powers could match our navy with battleships.1
 "Clever!' said the secretary of state 1 to the president. ''It is terrorism 1 Don't you think that you'd better reconsider your idea of letting this go | through?" asked the secretary of war 'tIt's pretty dangerous stuff"
 s'1t's the nations war answered the president twill it demoralize our speo- 1 pie to know the truth, even under the l guise of terrorism? Do you know in whose hands I'm going to leave that 1 question:
 tsI can't guess,'' said the secretary.
 tsIn the hands of the newspapers replied the president
 The newspapers did not require to be l told that the purpose of this novel news service from the enemy was ter rorfsm.
 They answered terrorism by printing the news.
 Then the sea coast cities began to call on Washington. By telegraph and telephone they demanded protection. It was a chorus Sfrom Maine to Georgia. l Into the White House thronged the I cenaressmen.
 Defend us! Defend our people! De fend our townsI'' said they. [This is exactly what happened during the Spanlsh-American war.]
 We cannot do it!'' said the chief of j staff ''1lo wit of man can guess at i. what point of many hundred miles the enemy will strike. He may land on the New Jersey coast to take Philadel- phia. He may land on Long Island to march to New York. He may strike at Boston. He may land between Bos- i ton and New York, on the Rhode Is- land or Massachusetts coasts, and keep us guessing whether he'll turn west to New York or east to Boston He may even strike for both at once"
 ''Then why not put men into each place to protect it?'' demanded a con- gressman. Are these great cities to be left wide open?"
 'tYou know how many regulars we've
 got. Do you know how many effective men we've pulled together by calling
 out those eastern divisions of organized
 militia? Their enrolled strength is 5O,- 900 men. Their actual active strength
 as shown by attendance ngures nas
 been only about 30 per cent of that, but
 we were lucky. [From United States
 war department reports for 1915 on
 militia organization.]
 'iThis danger has brought out all
 probably, that were able to come. Still
 there are less than 3oOO0 men, and not
 quite half of those have had good field
 training. We need them. We need
 them so badly that we're putting them
 all in the first line. But it's 8 little bit
 nke-welI, it's murder"
 F"Then you mean to say"-
 s1 mean to say,'' answered the chic.
 of staff, with a set face, t'that the arm!
 is going to take what it has and do it