Evening star., 1925-11-11


! ber of men i'll of ''tlu" would be
! whispered to me by Admiral VIII
! SON, and, in turn. would be as
! secretly conveyed by me to the COM
handing general. The latter would
then proceed with plans for dlsem
barking the troops. supplies and the
sick, and for their forwarding and
care.
Introduction of Howard.
During the early afternoon of Thurs
dav. November Z, an orderly an
nounced that Gen Harries desired to
see me. I am able to fix the time be
cause | remember distinctly that L
was unaware, at the moment OF the
summons. that the general had re-
turned from lunch. 1t was his custom
to go to his apartment, some distance
from headquarters, for the midday
meal l stepped to his office. to be
introduced to MIR. Roy w. Howard,
president of one of the press associa-
tions in the States" AS a newspaper
man / had heard of Mr.. Howard, OF
course. but had never met him The
general continued.
Mr. Howard is sailing for home.
He is anxious to meet Admiral Wilson
before he leaves. Please arrange TO
present him to the admiral.
We started at once for the Navy
flag office" about five city blocks
distant from Army base he quarters.
The Navy occupied q tall building fac
ing the Place President Wilson, a
large public square which had been
renamed in honor of the their Presi-
dent of the United States. The day
was mild, pleasant and sunshlny. The
Navy Band, which was the envy OF
.a' of in connected
with the Army, was stationed on a
bandStand in the center of the square,
giving a concert. A large throng-
soldiers. sailors and French civilians
was listening to the music.
There being no elevator, Mr..
Howard and myself climbed the stair
way to the fifth deck" of the flag
ship" and entered the office of
Ensign Jimmy" Sellards. a temporary
officer, who was Admiral Wilson's per-
sonal aid. confidential secretary and
Interpreter; a polished gentleman. who
was absolute perfection in living up to
the requirements of his various offices.
l introduced the visitor and explained
our mission. Ensign Sellards depart
ed, returning a moment later with the
statement that the admiral would see
us lin just a little while"
We were standing at the open win
dow of Ensign Sellards' office, gazing
down on the ever-movinE throng in
the public square below, conversing
and listening, as best we could, TO the
selection being rendered by the band.
Suddenly, the door between Ensign
Sellards' room and Admiral Wilson's
office was opened. We turned from the
window as the admiral stepped to-
ward us, paper in his hand. Before
l could utter a word, he said:
Hello, Cook how do, Mr.. Howard.
Here's a telegram from Jackson, in
Paris, saying the armistice was sign
ed at IL o'clock this morning. effec-
tive at o'clock this afternoon"
We all were aware that jackson"
was Comdr. Jackson, the naval at
tache at the United States Embassy
in Paris. There was absolute silence
for a second or two. The announce
ment seemed to have paralyZed the
vocal chords. Finally, Howard man
aged to blurt:
Admiral, may I use that?"
Admiral Wilson hesitated, as though
in doubt how to reply. At length he
said. slowly and hesitatingly:
why, / suppose So"
With a hasty III see you later" to
stairway. He must have touched only
about every tenth step. From the win
dow / watched him as he ran across
the Place President Wilson to the
French Post Office, which was also
the telegraph and cable office, located
on a corner diagonaIly opposite the
Navy flag office. 1t seems to me now
that the Place President Wilson was
fully as large as Lafayette Square, in
this city, so that the run in question
could be compared with a dash from
the street car tracks, at n point op-
posite the front Of the White House,
to the building at the northeast cor
ner of Vermont avenue and II street,
across from the Cosmos Club.
Message Sent at Once.
In my judgment, the most remark
able incident of the false armistice"
was the fact that the message filed
by Mr.. Howard was dispatched i'm
There was no demand, so far as 1 am
aware, that it be censored and ap-
proved. No other message, personal
or official, ever was sent from that
Office unless it bore the censor's stamp
of approval / happen to know, for
the reason that I was the custodian
of that all-important stamp-for the
Army.
l stood at my point Of vantage, the
open window, gazing down, while a
warrant or petty officer was sum-
moned and directed to break out the
big flag" which, when broken out, +"
from the admiral's deck"
almost to the sidewalk; / stood there,
and looked and listened, while an an
was written and sent to
the bandstand and read to the popu-
lace I saw from my post a bulletin
as it was placed on display in front
Of the office of La Depeche, French
afternoon newspaper; I followed the
French people with my eyes as they