The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1915-07-18


screen nOrthwestward against the
American army that now lay beyond
the Berkshire hfIis, holding the land
between western Connections and Al
bany. That army. Intact ana out OF
his reach, was q constant acute dan
ger. It endangered his communica-
lions, It endangered his base. itSendAn-
eered his divisions that occupied Bos-
ton. It forced him to advance only In
continual readiness for battle on TANKS
Z and rear lines. Its signal service and
aviafors kept constant watch Of the
invading Fegfons. It's range finders
located the exact positions OF their
guns.
During the slow approach the men
who had gathered between New Ha-
ven and Hartford began to form some
sort of an organization. Almost It
evolved itself.
From New Haven, and Hartford to
the factory cities Of Waliingford and
Meriden. Middletowh and New Britain.
along all the factory lined valleys,
there passed word that gathered
workers from shops and idle men from
streets. An one long day and an one
evening they moved toward the two
cities. They seemed aimless enough,
but there were leaders who put them
selves at their head secretly IN the
night
Suddenly they were angry, deterrnin-
ed. united bodies of men. Suddenly,
ike a suddenly awakened wind, they
stormed the great arms factories OF
the two towns.
They came with guns and pistols.
They came with crowbars and picks.
They came with stones and with noon-
ing except their bare hands They
hauled their dead aside and withered
under the fire Of the guards and burst
through and took the works.
In Hartford they seized whole train
load of rapid frers and machine guns
that had been loaded for the American
army. In New Haven they took al
most 1000 sporting rifles.
The riot fever spread to Bridgeport
The mob arose and seized the cart
ridge factories.
1t was a mad thing. springfng less
from purpose than from the insanity
that invasion had. laid on mems minds
It could have but one mad end. Yet
this army of madmen was moved and
nodded by a touch OF the American
ability to "do things"-that very abN-
tty on which the people might indeed,
have depended with perfect assurance
II only they had not depended ON IT
wholly.
America did truly have men who
would fight. They were here, and they
were to fight such fight as would be
remembered many a long day. They
took hold of men armed with magnin-
cent rifles, but of n sore OF different
patterns for different kinds OF sport
and demanding a score OF different
shapes and calibers OF cartridges.
They took hold of infantry militia
fragments whose companies had had
only two or three assemblies a year
for target practice with average Mt
tendance OF only eleven or twelve men.
Young doctors took hold with moth
ing but emergency kits, without am
balances, without litters, without even
helpers who would know how to ind
q wound or apply first aid bandage-
The army of madmen went forward to
the Connecticut river to hold the west
ern bank from Hartford to Middle
town.
They did not know how to dig
trenches; they dug bitches. They did
NOT know how to make defenses for
their machine guns; they piled trees
that would skewer them with splir,-
ters under shell Ore or heaped up rocks
that would fiy into fragments and kill
like shrapnel
That day along the Connecticut river
they showed what Americas men
could have done had they learned how
to do 1t In advance and had they been
armed for the work.