Evening star., 1925-10-04

entists in London were making ire
quent visits TO the little Office above
his own where Col. Squier had his
headuuarters This two years pre-
ceding the war gave the military
attache the opportunity not only of
meeting scholars but OF forming the
closest associa ton with the leaders of
the British army. When hostilities
broke out there were probably few
military attaches in London, II In
deed there were any. who had so com
pletely won the intimacy Of the men
who were to direct the war. British
off1cialdom gives its confidence care
the Indispensable requirement Is that
man shall be able to hold his
tongue. Col. Squier had already
proved, to the satisfaction of Lord
ability to keep secrets amounted to
little less than genius. From the begin
ming Of the war, therefore, he was
taken practically into camp and given
opportunities and privileges for which
all the other attaches were vainly
clamoring
The proposal of Gen. Won Donop,
that the American Government trans
fer hundreds of thousands Of Spring
field rifles from its own arsenals to
the British army. has already been
described. Not only Won Donop. but
Lord Kitchener himself made this
request to Col. Squier. 1t was. in
deed. one of Kitcheners favorite
plan the diplomatic details involved
apparently did not interest him.
You've got those rifles: we need
them and we must have them''-t his
was the way the matter phra sed
itself in kitcheners mind. Col. Squier
was amazed at the war minister's
knowledge of American armament.
He knew just how many rifles the
American Army had and precisely
how many were in each arsenal At
that time British recruits were drill
of early munitioning an army was a
formidable one.
kitchener's life was burdened by
the demands of foreign military OBJ
lied front in France. Their eager
ness and insistence indeed passed all
reasonable bounds. The extension of
such privileges had been usual in all
- l>A
gan had military experts had such
an opportunity of witnessing their
art. However. the head of the British
army was inf1exible in this hostility
to such excursions. The grim and
i'm pla ca BILE ''orSa niZer of victory"
however. sat unimpressed in his large
room on the second floor of the war
office. silent in face Of these appea ls.
One day Col Squier was summoned
10 his headquarters. He was re-
quAsted 10 come in ful-dress uniform
and to keep his visit a secret from
everybody except his -Amba ssa dor
Col. Squier found Lord Kitchener sit.
ting alone. as usual. in his large
office. and in an extremely genial
mood. Col. Squier's recollection of
Kitchener. indeed. is not the common
one. The War Lord whom he recalls
Is not the grim. unsmiling. monosyl-
Liable and unbending autocrat who has
passed into literature. Instead, his
picture is that Of an extremely genial
and gracious man, with the most con-
f1dential manner and the most friendly
smile, deprecating rather than insist
ent In his conversation-in fact, a
rather slow and hesitant talker, but
open. frank and ingratiating. He was
certainly in this mood on this morn
ing. He was secretive about only one
thing-his wish that not a soul in
London. especially not the military
attaches of other nations. should
know anything about this interview.
II suppose / shall get caught at
1t" he explained. but | have decided
to let YOU go to the front in France
and stay there as long as YOU wish -
The great importance of having
the United States in possession of the
latest information in case it did go to
war made Kitchener willing even to
risk offending other nations.
!, This was the opportunity which
Col. Squier and all the other military
men in the world had been clamoring
for since the outbreak of the war.
The difficulty, AS Lord Kitchener now
| explained, was that of preventing the
attaches Of other nations from learn.
ing about such a visit. OF course
Col. Squier's absence from London
| would be noted Immediately, and the
suspicious of his brother attaches at
once aroused. However, he had hit
upon a plan. That was to have Col.
Squier detached from the American
embassy in London and become, at
least temporarily, military attache to
| the American embassy in Paris. His
absence from London would thus be
| satisfactorily explained. Lord kitch-
| ener asked Col. Sauier to make clear
| the situation to Page and obtain his
| consent.
From the war office the America n
attache went at once to the emba ssy.
''f'n do it, said Page. humping
his desk. and in a brief period the
| matter was arranged. Amba ssa dor
Herr1ck, in France. cordially cooper