The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1915-08-19
By JULIUS W. MULLER


equally sealed. Nothing wa6 permit
ted to pass out Of the gagged and fet-
tered town. The messages that stem
ed at II were delivered to censors. who
did what they pleased with them, and
passed practically non0 to the parnsns
for whom they had been destined
There had been an eficial notice on
the front pages Of al the New York
newspapers on the morning after the
occupation:
ALL AsSEMBLAGEs Or GATH
ERINGs ON THE ETREET6 ARE
STRICTLY FORBIDDEN.
By ORDER OF THE MILITARY
GOVERNMENT.
8 There was no threat as 10 penalty
for infractioa. None was needed The
machine guns In all the towers and
skyscrapers were sufHciont waInlng.
The city's newspapers, Ike those OF
Boston and all New England, were
controlled ana edited by military cen
sors. They were permitted 10 tell their
readers nothing Of Importance. This
utter ignorance In which the multi
tudes were kept made them more help
less than did even the guns that watch
ed them everywhere.
It was a city surrounded. perpetual
II confronted and oppressed By the
unknown. The veil Of secrecy and 81
lanca was lffted only w9sn newsparers
Or placards printed some new pE~Ga-
nation IN formal legal veabaagA
Tna ant one TO b. izEuea haA 20
claimed the oecupation and tia 4nstttu-
tan ct military government ft had
added that tho existing eAvdl sw&hnri
ties bad been empowered and cEV5ered
to Gestures THAR admanMxnftem With
the sanction and participates Of the
military goveenHasnt ana that 81 evil
and criminal laws remained "a eject
subject 10 changes demanded by rui1t
tary exigency.
But immediately unthsr tafs en-
aouncsnent was paragraph hAade4:
LAWS SUSPENDED.
On and after this date tia Saalowang
classes Of laws are suspended: % The
right 70 bear arms. % Ths right Of Euf-
frAga. an The Eight &c aaEsUmblaan ~
ia r.est to publish newspapers a. csxuu-
late ether matter. O. TAo right - Quit
occupisd territory or travel freely in
sarnA.
Another announcement that struck
home after the people saw its real
meaning under It's smcoth wording
was:
Tho munletpai and other eva ana eEasn-
inai laws az administered By the clvi1 su-
thorfttea are for the benefit ard protection
Of the civilian population. Their eontin-
ued enforcement II not for the protection
or control OF offlcers and soldiers Of the
occupying army, who are mIb5ect to the
rules Of war and anenahle only - their
own military government.
A few days after the surrender PEG
pie along the water front notieed a
great movement Of vessels The big
Fan River line and other hound steam
ers moved up the North river toward
Yonkers in long procession. with sezne
steamships seized at the whaPves.
The next day they esue down the
river again. They were fun Of troops.
Some Of the vessels tovssd railroad
floats with nat cars, on which were
dashed cannon 20 big thae even from
the shore the eye could perceive their
unusual size. Other craft towed
strings Of small scovvs, and stdn others
lowed noating derricka Z 9ssa7sA
The fotilla passed down, the upper
bay, but It dfd not go out through the
Narrows. It disappeared "a tie nar-
row waterway Of the Kill Won Kull
that winds between Staten Island and
the mainland OF New jersey ana cen
meets with the lower haEiso< thEo9gh
Tartan bag.
TIE story Of the nsystaziO1s Aokalla
spread quickly through q city whose
lack Of newspapers made I'm apDEe-
hensive curiosity only the more ksen.
Robbed Of its news and balllettn sarv-
ice, thu people, without any conscious
plan, had organized a news service Of
their own They had falasn back on
the primitive method Of circulating in
formation from man to man.
The citizens committee ana the city
officials, however, were able to guess
pretty Clearly what this mcvamenk Of
troops and heavy artillery meant.
There was nothing In the lower hsrbor
that possibly could demand such farce
except one piace-the forts on Sandy
Hook, the last remaining barber de
tense that still was under the Aneri
can nag. Solitary though 1t was. &C
long as it remained intact it forbade
the entrance Of New YORK hafbor t.
any hostile vessel. ~rra
Thers had been wonder before be
cause the enemy commander had no
demanded the surrender q ne sand,
Hook defenses under threat OF bonn
harding the city, az he had demanded
and forced the surrender OF FOrt,
Hamilton and Wadsworth. ~