Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-09-22
Men EnIisting BY Thousands
and PacifiSt PIeadings Are
Simply Laughed Away
lRv Riley 4. ALIEN

"a States today is a revelation in an
awakening war-spirit
Having just finished a journey that
began at Victoria. 3. Con the United
States side, at Seattle-aDd has been
temporarily ended at New York, the
fact that Uncle Sam Is getting busy
all across country is my one most
Listing and emphatic impression.
i saw evidences OF 1t at Seattle. IN
young men in khaki. going some
where" by the trainlOad and boat
load. | saw 1t a few nights later as
our train stopped in the small hours
OF the morning at a "tanktOwn Homo
lulu never heard OF. There was de
t.chment of militiamen at the station.
At Spokane there were women all
around the station, doing work which
was done by men when ] was last
there Reason: the men have been
drafted or have enlisted. In Montana,
where | stopped a couple Of days. the
air is full OF good sound American
talk that is as welcome a. meat TO a
hungry man-patriOtic to the core.
Montana has set a great record in vol
unteering, and did not wonder when
found the spirit there. In Montana,
IL man is turned down, on volun-
teerinG, for some reason or another, It
Just about breaks his heart. He vol
-unteers not because he is afraid Of be-
kng drafted but because he wants to
deliver some healthy walIOps for Tn
Gle Sam.
Home Guards Formed
These towns and cities not only
have their militia, their volunteers for
the regulars and their drafted conting-
ents, but home guards" Of various
kinds-men unavailable for military
duty but who are determined to be OF
immediate and definite value to their
country at this time when the services
Of every loyal citizen are needed. The
home guard" is no joke as the slack
ers have found out The men who
are in IL can hit and they can shoot
] know of one instance where they
choked an incipient community revolu-
ton Of aliens-and their Colts auto
mates were full of real bullets, too,
though luckily unused.
Men in khaki and men getting ready
to don the khaki are everywhere. Our
trains were full Of young men on their
way to camps. A veteran railroad trat-
fic man told me, as we were drawing
into Chicago, that his line had moved
four full train-loads of men toward
training camp within the week. 1t is
no secret that all over the country
our boys are taking up arms. The de-
tails OF their trips are usually not an
nounced, but the papers carry great
deal of news of their camp training
and camp life and the interest of the
people at large in the men in the
camps is encouraged and stimulated
by the "higher!ups" Of the regular
army. This apparently is part of the
policy fithe war department. / heard
a general at q public speech to 10000
people the other day invite all who
were interested to come TO the train
ing camp-at certain hours on certain
DAYS. of course. 1t is evident from the
newspapers also that the authorities
in charge are giving the newspaper
correspondents every freedom and
facility in the camps-in order that
the public may be kept closely in
touch with the great new American
army and feel that every man, woman
and child has lively personal interest
IN the preparation VI lIldt army lOl
its tremendous duty ahead.
Soldiers Guard. Bridges
Little evidences Of our war activity
kept cropping up at the most uneX-
pected places. II seemed queer to-
find, at a lonely bridge far out in the
Montana hills, a regular soldier on
guard, pacing slowly to and fro. Soon
we got used to this. The railroad
bridges throughout the United States,
II seems, are closely guarded to pre-
vent some of our trattorous friends
from blowing them up. At Niagara
Falls, on the Canadian side, great
deal OF the promenade was fenced off
with close-woven barbed wire, just as
they make barricades in France, and
this, IL appeared. was to keep all and
sundry persons from walking close to
the cliffs above some of the big pow.
erhouses, for fear they might be tempt
ed to drop a bomb thereon. On the
American side the, officials such as
customs and immigration, were ex.
tremely alert.
How FARGO Diseouraues Paeifists.
AS we came through Fargo. North
Dakota, the citizens were just finish.
Ing I'D llJllS SGSSlOu Will SOLuS Vi
our so-called ''pacifists" and other
creatures who ought to be suppressed
effectually now. Max Eastman, a
radical agitator, had tried to hold
meeting. Fargo would doubtless have
liked to tar and festher him, but Fargo
is law-abiding. What Fargo did was
to make his meeting first farce and
then a rousing patriotic session. East
man couldn't get up any excitement
and they laughed him off the stage
and let him know that il he didn't stay
off the next step would be more Wig.
orous. Then civilians, soldiers anG
the crowd toGsE possession of the meet.
ing and hurrahed for Uncle Sam.
I Out in Honolulu we near lot of
talk that the Middle West-the great
agricultural section of the country
is pacifist-that it won't back the
war. Don't you believe it, La Fol-
lette is not representative of this par
section of American people
amy longer, if the talk which men in
dulge in on the train, around hotels
: and on the streets can be taken for
anything-and it's pretty nearly apt
m reflect nuhlic sentiment