The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-11-07
The Announcement by The
Gate City Precipitates Pan
demoniuln Which Con-
tinues for Hours.
ENTHUSIASM UNBOUNDED
Every Sort of Device Used to
Express Delight of People
That the Boche Has Been
Forced to Knees.

Flash-Germany signs armistice.
1t was exactly 11:01 o'clock this
forenoon when O. o. Tracy, operator
on the leased wire of The Gate City
wrote that on his typewriter and
shouted it at the same time.
The telegraph editor wrote Dig
placard for the bulletin board and
the city staff quit work and stood on
tiptoe for four minutes, until at ex-
actly 1905 O'Clock the telegraph In
strument clicked out:
Flash-Germany signs armistice.
Hostilities cease at 2 p. m.
In few seconds the bulletin was
out. Another man grabbed a tele-
phone and phoned the mayor. who
simply said:
Go across and tell Chief Anderson
to ring the bells and give 'em hell"
Which the firemen proceeded 10
do.
A DeIuge With a Smile.
Then the deluge of humanity began
rushing toward The Gate City office.
The first ones poured out OF Main
street on the run, disdaining side
walks There were men and women,
boys and girls, running madly, the
faster passing the slower and some
men putting with short breath.
Next came the bicycle brigade,
runners from longer distances, and
the beginning of the automobile
squad. All roads in Keokuk led to
The Gate City office within two
minutes.
And the whole crowd wore one ex-
nhco
disclosed that every single person
was grinning. None staid long. and
the crowd was constantly changed.
Telephone Girls Overwhelmed.
At the same time, every drop on
the big switchboards at the telephone
central dropped within minute after
the bells began to ring. The oper-
ators were not simply swamped-
they were overwhelmed. It was I'm
possible to get central until girl
happened to plug In on your call
among the two thousand lighted
lamps on the board.
The Gate City, like many others,
had to take it as it happened and
was unable to telephone factories
which is the answer to the repeated
question about why the whistles were
not blowing. Nobody was to blame.
Keeping It Up.
At 11:35 O'Clock Chief Anderson
concluded he had not made enough
noise with his department equip
ment to fully comply with Mayor
Lotions order, and again started the
bells.
That time the whistles joined IN,
and the automobile horns, which had
been doing their full duty before
started all over again. And the crowd
kept coming to The Gate City bulle
tin board
Then a few small boys and a
couple of girls had an idea and pulled
the rope outside and rang the Sixth
street fire station bells, helping the
firemen. In a few minutes the small
boys had. been crowded away by a
bunch of high school girls; the fire
men spliced on long line, and q
double row Of girls extending almost
across he street were making that
fire bell go some. And they kept
1t up.
pandemonlum Outclassed.
The noon hour seemed the busiest
hour. The fire bells kept up an In.
cessant din, fire crackers were sud.
denly produced from no one knows
where shot guns blazed away at the
sky. automobile horns permanently
connected to current blared contin-
uously, and Keokuk undoubtedly new,
er made so much noise in her long
life
Main street was full OF auton obiles
each with special contraption to
make a noise, ranging from big COP
per tank pounded with a piece of gas
pipe to horns of all kinds.
Several firms loaded their employ
ees into trucks with flags and sent
them out with orders to earn an in
crease of salary by making more
noise.
At eating time the high school boys
replaced the girls at the fire station
bell rope.
Flags and Music.
Flags came out as quickly as noise
producers. Some automobiles were
draped with large flags and some
were covered with small ones.
I'VE were going out to get
drunk, but could not find an automo-
bile for hire" was the angle of view
of couple of men at the Hotel Iowa.
The bands were scattered at work.
Manager Wolf sent an automobile to
Hamilton for some of the men of the
Keokuk Concert band. All Of them
were ordered to report for duty at
100 o'clock this afternoon. Then it
was a contest between music by the
bands and noise by the populace.
The Organized Celebration.
Charles S. Abel was busy instantly
planning a fitting celebration parade
for tonight.
He wants every person in Keokuk's
entire population in it.
Organizations of all kinds viii form