Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 19??-1918, 1918-02-08

partment. A few minutes later
George Creel. head of the bureau OF
public Information. reached his Of
fee and the announcement was
made to the newspapers that the
first loaded transport had been sunk
In the Atlantic. The early news was
most alarming, as It placed the num-
ber Of missing at more than 1000.
II caused chill of horror every
where. Soldiers are expected to be
killed in action, but to be drowned
like rats In trap In a sinking trans
port is a much sadder fate. A short
time later. however. the news was
received that other survivors had
been landed at another Irish port.
and this buoyed up the hope that
the loss OF life would be compara-
lively small.
President Wilson was in the thea
tire when the news Of the disaster
reached Washington. II was re.
marked as significant that at the
very moment the announcement was
made at the bureau OF public infor-
nation the president was looking at
movie films showing scenes of Am
erican soldiers in France No word
Of the tragedy was allowed to reach
the president. although before he
left It was likely that his party was
the only one that had not received
at least an inkling OF the sad news.
The secret service guard saw to II
that no one was allowed to approach
the president and II was not until
the return to the White House that
he learned OF the loss OF the Tus-
cania.
As the president passed through
the crowd en- route to his waiting
automobile. he was cheered with a
patriotic fervor that seemed even TO
amaze him. The waiting men and
women were cheering their tribute
to the brave men who had lost their
lives in the wintry waters OF the At
lantic ocean.
There was another demonstration
OF similar sort in the national press
club, where Major Frederick Pal
mer, chief censor for General Per-
shing and now in this country ex-
planning the manner in which the
United States have entered the war,
was speaking. Palmer was handed
slip of paper with the story OF the
disaster as he ended his talk. He
read 1t and then said:
Gentlemen this Is bad news; very
bad news" He then read the war
departments first announcement.
But" he resumed, with flashing
eyes, there is regular American
army in France tonight. The deaths
of these boys of ours will be aveng-
ed hundred times over"
These two incidents accurately de-
scribe how the national capital re-
ceived the dread word Nowhere
was there a sign of weakening SOr-
row there was; intense sorrow for
the boys who had lost their lives
and who 90 on the roll OF the ma
tion's heroes. But there was no
where any indication that anyone
was terrorized by this demonstration
Of German power. Instead teeth
were clinched. eyes were bright and
determined and the shoulders even
OF civilians who are too old for war
service we're squared.
II Germany has entertained the
belief that by striking this blow she
will stamp out the war spirit in
America, she has utterly failed, If
the nation acts as Washington is
acting today. The Washington pop
ulace today is representative Of the
entire country, numbering as II does
in its cosmopolitan ranks people
from every section attracted by the
work and doing their bit.
It was in order to allay the ap-