The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1915-06-13
anv kfrl. lOne ,housand rthed cannon

president --will # demoraItze our peo-
Die to know the truth. even under the
sutse OF terrorism? Do you know In
whose hands I'm going to leave that
question:
Il can't guess. said the secrerary-
I'm the bands OF the newspapers"
replied the president
The newspapers did NOT require to be
told that the purpose OF this novel
news service from the enemy was ter
rortsm.
they answered terrorism by printing
the news
Then the sea coast cities began to
cali on Washington Byrelegraph and
telephone they demanded protection 1t
was chorus from Maine. to Georgia
Into the White House thronged the
congressman
..Defend.u us. Defend QUIZ people! De
fend our cowos,'' said they This is
exactly what. happened during the
Span1sh-Amertcan war
I'VE cannot do it!- said the chief OF
star. NO wit OF man can guess at
what point OF many hundred miles the
enemy VIII 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 Eos
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 itg. demanded con-
gresham Are these great cities to
be left wide open2
you 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 So
GOO men. Their actual active strength
as shown by attendance figures has
been only about 80 per cent OF that. but
we were lucky From United States
war department reports for 1915 on
militia organizat1on-1
..This danger has brought out an.
probably. that were able teceme.@S TIL
there areless than 900 men and not
quite half OF those have had good field
training. We need them We need
them so badly thae were putting them
NIL in the first line. Butts little bit
nke-wen. IT'S murder"
Then you mean to say
II mean TO say answered the CHIEF
Of staff with set face. that the army
Is going to take what it has and do Its
best Butts going to do it In its own
way. No enemy VIII dream Of landing
an invading army unless it IS decisive
". overpowermsly superior to our own
Now. congressman the only way for
an inferior army to accomplish any
a. 11otfl no
chances are as favorable as they can
be made. The inferior force must re-
tire before a superior. It must force
the invader to follow till he IS weak
ened by steadily lensthenfng lines Of
communications His difficulties OF.
food and ammunition transport grow
He becomes involved in strange ter
rain. Last but not least. he gets more
and more deeply into a land filed with
q hostile population But II We must
defend specific place at all hazards
then we must stand and give battle
well. 1t will be only one battle-
you mean'-
.1 mean that such battle IS decided
already 1t was decided years ago
when the country refused to prepare"
Good God. man. The congressman
wiped his forehead with a trembling
fat hand II can't go back and tell my
people that
you'd better not said the genera;
rimly.
The unhappy man and other unhappy
men Ike him went back to their con-
sdtucncies knowing that now no cam
pa1gn oratory would serve Soften the
news. they must and would. but they
were the bearers OF III ttdinss. and
they knewwhnt comes to these
The stricken cities heard From all
the great coast with It's piled gold and
silver. there arose q cry Men shook
their fists and cursed the machinery OF
politics that had worked through the
blind years to hinder. TO deceive and
to waste The pork barrel ceased all
at once to be the great American joke
Throw men into our harbor De
fensesr' cried the cities OF the coast
-SHold them. hold them
I'VE have 1000 trained regulars
and 5000 nIIi.ia more OF less e1-
perienced to handle these complex 81
ants answered the army implacably-
There are 1-1Sf guns and mortars TO
handle It leaves no men to defend
the works. To throw the mobile army
or any part of It into the defenses for
mere protection Is only 10 lock them
up. The mobile army must defend the
defenses from outside II IL cannot
do it they fan This statement does
not betray military secret Il Is
well known to ali foreign governments
thar we cannot defend our coast de
S,>,.SsS -.,--sr-s-.- - ~: