Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-12-08
STOPPING Of WAR
WHEELS BIG TASK
"Armistice Signed" Got to
Last U. S. Troops Just
Before Effective.
BY JUNIUs b. WOOD.

CableEram to The Sunday star ~
Chicago Daily News. Copyright ISiS'
WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY OF
OCCUPATION, December 2.-This Is
an inside story of the moves by hid
den hands behind Americas great war
machine which brought countless HUI
man wheels to a sudden stop. 1t will
now be told for the first time.
The fighting stopped at II o'clock on
the morning of November II. exactly
six hours after the German and allied
representatives had signed the armistice.
When it was signed word was sent
to the headquarters of Marshal Focns
commanding the allies, and. Ike
flash, everybody was aware OF II.
Direct telephone wires connected the
special train with Marshal Fochs
headquarters and also with the Amer.
lean. French, British, Belgian and
other headquarters.
The message which Marshal Foch
prepared for transmission to them
was: The armistice has been signed
and hostilities will cease at IL am.
,, this date, the 11th." That message
was due TO become historic. Copies
We're handed to the officers repre-
senting the different allied headquar-
ters for immediate transmission to
their commanders. At the same time
the wireless was sending 1t out III
French, with the additional sentence:
"All commanders will give orders &C
cordingly." The German high COM
mand wireless was also sending out
q message of similar import
Takes Copy to Pershing.
Col T. Bentley Mott, chief Of tho
American mission with Marshal Fcoh.
received copy for TRANSMISSION 20
Gen. Pershing. By o'clock In the
morning, over the American Army
Pershing's residence, in Chaumont.
and had wired it to Gen. Pershtng's
general headquarters in the CITY.
Gen. Pershing had left that nisnS
the special train in which ne nad
lived for sewn weeks to sleep In
stationary bed. Col. Mott asked Tor
Officer James C. Hughes. an assistant
aid, who vas called. Hughes ran
down the dark, cold corridors in MS
pajamas to the telephone and copied
the important message on pad.
"Here. this has just been received,
he shouted bursting into the bedroom
of Col. Carl Boyd of Adairsviiie, Ca
aid to Gen. Pershine Col boVd steo
ped into Gen. Pershing's room. and
switching on the light. woke him up
and read the message. Then he called
the first and second armies and reao
the order Tell them to get it out to
the troops Immediately" said the gem
eral. THAT will take everything
we've got on the front. Other Amer
lean troops fighting will receive or
ders from the French and British
corps. to which they are attached.
Col. Boyd ran down the hallway to
the telephone, where direct wires con-
nected with each army headquarters
more than 100 miles away. Cut
everything off for this is priority
message" he told the Army hello
girl. Give it to both Army head
quarters" At els in the morning he
had Brig. Gen. Hugh A. Drum. chief
of staff of the first army and read to
him Gen. Pershing's orders. Before he
had finished talking with him the girl
had Brig. Gen. stuart HeintZleman.
chief of staff of the second army. on
the wire awaiting the message.
Army field telephones still avail
able carried the message to the diff
ferent corps and each was ready to
multiply it by the number of times
necessary to transmit it to the va
rious subdivisions of the Army. Like
the great branches of a live oak the
lines were all carrying Marshall
Foch's order. "Hostilities will cease
at II q M