The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-06-29
Secrets Of Signing
Of Armistice Being
Revealed By Govt.
Time YeIlowed Documents Are Dug Out of Archives
United Press Was the News Service That
Startled the World With the First Authentic
Report

kh0 1CL
Plenipotentiaries ready to leave ct
once (to proceed) to place agreed
upon. The German government
would be happy il in the interest
Of humanity the arrival of the
German delegation on the allied
front would bring provisional sus.
pension of arms Marshal
Foch sent in reply at 1:19 "a. mo-
the following:
IF the German plenipotentiarie
desire to meet Marshal Foch to ask
for an armistice, they shall present
themselves to the advanced posts
by the Chimay-Fourmies-La Ca
pelle-Gyise (road)
1.-TWO further German radios
were received, number one, at
o. clock to Marshal Foch:
1.-The German plenipotentiaries
are leaving Spa to-day (Nov 81
and will be here at midday (Nov
y and at o'clock in the after
noon will reach the French ad-
vanced posts
"rhe second one was received at
1880 o'clock this morning from
the supreme commander of the
German army to Marshal Foch:
ITO permit the passage of the
German delegation through the
| two lines, orders have been given
to stop firing on that part Of the
front to-day after $3.50 this af-
ternoon until further orders
"A third radio was sent at o.
man supreme commander to Mar
shall Foch:
ION account of a delay the Ger
man delegation cannot cross the
line Of the advanced posts until
between s and 10 o'clock in the
evening at Haudroy, two kilome-
tiers to the northwest of La Ca
pelle.
EDWARD HOUSE"
The secrecy with which these
negotiations were proceeding was
kept closely, and its results were
the more amazing, for all Paris"
appeared to know OFFICIALLY" that
the negotiations were not only in
progress, but that the armistice
had been. agreed upon.
Perhaps one of the most strik-
ing messages was one revealing
that long before the United Press
carried the report of the armistice
signing, the war department had
been officially advised that the
armistice had been signed. The
message, from Secretary Of State
Lansing to Col House, follows:
Washington, November Z, 1918,
IL a. m.
"15 Warburton Major Barclay
H. Warburton, military attache at
Paris) informs war department
armistice signed. Please confirm
and notify us Of when we may pub
lish arnaistice.
LANSING"
Then followed d sequence OF mes
sages:
1.-THE Special Representative to
the Secretary of State:-
Paris, Nov Z, 1918. 8 p. m.
"56. Your number Is, Nov Z,
IL a. m. Armistice has not yet been
signed. German representatives
will not meet Marshal Foch until
this afternoon at s O'clock. The
agreed upon) must not be pub
lished until it is a fact that signed.
We will notify you promptly.
EDWARD HOUSE"
1.-THE Secretary of State to the
Ambassador in France civilian G.
Sharp:
Washington, November z. 1918,
4 p. m. "619S. United Press re-
ceived telegram to-day before p.
m. announcing armistice had been
signed. Telegram published at
once and greatest excitement and
enthusiasm prevails. This de-
partment and war department
have been informed no founda-
ton for story. Please find out why
censor passed this report as the in
cident is most unfortunate.
LANSING"
The answer to the mystery came
in the cable reproduced above
from Col House to SECRETARY of
State Lansing, timed z p. M, Nov
8, and revealing the Official source
Of Towards information.
Supplementing that revealing
telegram, came another at s p. m.
on the night of November s, which
explained Ambassador Sharp to
Secretary of State Lansing:
"5772 Paris representative
of United Press states he has been
in communication with Mr. How
ard at Brest. who informs him that
Admiral Wilson, having received a
telegram from the naval attache at
the embassy that armistice had
been signed, gave out the news to
the local press at Brest, also to Mr.
Howard; the latter. accompanied
by one of Admiral Wilson's aides
filed the cable to the United States
which was passed by the censor.
SHARP"
The progress of the negotiations
in the shell blasted forest at Com
piegne was brilliantly reported" in
subsequent dispatches. and in at
least one of them there was a
touch of high human interest.
Stripped. Internationally OF their
weapons. fighting for food supplies,
the Germans beat against the in
exora hla feruna laia down hv the