THE CONQUEST OF AMERICA

 A Romance of Disaster and Victory: U. S. A. , 1921 A. D. 

 BASED ON EXTRACTS FROM THE DIARY OF JAMES E. LANGSTON, WAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE "LONDON TIMES"

 BY CLEVELAND MOFFETT

 1916

 AUTHOR OF "THROUGH THE WALL, " "THE BATTLE, " "CAREERS OF DANGER AND DARING, " ETC. , ETC. 

[Illustration: ABOUT NOON ON THE DAY OF CAPITULATION, MAY 25, 1921, ADETACHMENT OF GERMAN SOLDIERS MARCHED QUIETLY UP BROADWAY, TURNED INTOWALL STREET, AND STOPPED OUTSIDE THE BANKING HOUSE OF J. P. MORGAN &COMPANY. ]

_Thus saith the Lord, Behold, a people cometh from the north country; anda great nation shall be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth. They lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; theirvoice roareth like the sea, and they ride upon horses; every one set inarray, as a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Zion_. 

Jeremiah 6: 22, 23. 

_They seemed as men that lifted upAxes upon a thicket of trees. And now all the carved work thereof togetherThey break down with hatchet and hammers. They have set thy sanctuary on fire;They have profaned the dwelling place of thy name even to the ground. They said in their heart, Let us make havoc of them altogether:They have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land_. 

Psalms 74: 5-8. 

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

TO MY FELLOW AMERICANS

 I. I WITNESS THE BLOWING UP OF THE PANAMA CANAL

 II. AMERICAN AEROPLANES AND SUBMARINES BATTLE DESPERATELY AGAINST THE GERMAN FLEET

 III. GERMAN INVADERS DRIVE THE IRON INTO THE SOUL OF UNPREPARED AMERICA

 IV. INVASION OF LONG ISLAND AND THE BATTLE OF BROOKLYN

 V. GENERAL VON HINDENBURG TEACHES NEW YORK CITY A LESSON

 VI. VARIOUS UNPLEASANT HAPPENINGS IN MANHATTAN

 VII. NEW HAVEN IS PUNISHED FOR RIOTING AND INSUBORDINATION

 VIII. I HAVE A FRIENDLY TALK WITH THE GERMAN CROWN PRINCE AND SECURE A SENSATIONAL INTERVIEW

 IX. BOSTON OFFERS DESPERATE AND BLOODY RESISTANCE TO THE INVADERS

 X. LORD KITCHENER VISITS AMERICA AND DISCUSSES OUR MILITARY PROBLEMS

 XI. HEROIC ACT OF BARBARA WEBB SAVES AMERICAN ARMY AT THE BATTLE OF TRENTON

 XII. REAR ADMIRAL THOMAS Q. ALLYN WEIGHS CHANCES OF THE AMERICAN FLEET IN IMPENDING NAVAL BATTLE

 XIII. THE GREAT NAVAL BATTLE OF THE CARIBBEAN SEA

 XIV. PHILADELPHIA'S FIRST CITY TROOPS DIE IN DEFENCE OF THE LIBERTY BELL

 XV. THRILLING INCIDENT AT WANAMAKER'S STORE WHEN GERMANS DISHONOUR AMERICAN FLAG

 XVI. AN AMERICAN GIRL BRINGS NEWS THAT CHANGES THE COURSE OF THE MOUNT VERNON PEACE CONFERENCE

 XVII. THOMAS A. EDISON MAKES A SERIOUS MISTAKE IN ACCEPTING A DINNER INVITATION

XVIII. I WITNESS THE BATTLE OF THE SUSQUEHANNA FROM VINCENT ASTOR'S AEROPLANE

 XIX. GENERAL WOOD SCORES ANOTHER BRILLIANT SUCCESS AGAINST THE CROWN PRINCE

 XX. THIRD BATTLE OF BULL RUN WITH AEROPLANES CARRYING LIQUID CHLORINE

 XXI. THE AWAKENING OF AMERICA

 XXII. ON CHRISTMAS EVE BOSTON THRILLS THE NATION WITH AN ACT OF MAGNIFICENT HEROISM

XXIII. CONFESSIONS OF AN AMERICAN SPY AND BRAVERY OF BUFFALO SCHOOLBOYS

 XXIV. NOVEL ATTACK OF AMERICAN AIRSHIP UPON GERMAN SUPER-DREADNOUGHT

 XXV. DESPERATE EFFORT TO RESCUE THOMAS A. EDISON FROM THE GERMANS

 XXVI. RIOTS IN CHICAGO AND GERMAN PLOT TO RESCUE THE CROWN PRINCE

XXVII. DECISIVE BATTLE BETWEEN GERMAN FLEET AND AMERICAN SEAPLANES CARRYING TORPEDOES

ILLUSTRATIONS

ABOUT NOON ON THE DAY OF CAPITULATION, MAY 25, 1921, A DETACHMENT OFGERMAN SOLDIERS MARCHED UNOBSERVED UP BROADWAY, TURNED INTO WALL STREET, AND STOPPED OUTSIDE THE BANKING HOUSE OP J. P. MORGAN & COMPANY

AS THE GERMAN LANDING OPERATIONS PROCEEDED, THE NEWS OF THE INVASIONSPREAD OVER THE WHOLE REGION WITH THE SPEED OF ELECTRICITY. THE ENEMY WASCOMING! THE ENEMY WAS HERE! WHAT WAS TO BE DONE?

THEN, FACING INEXORABLE NECESSITY, GENERAL WOOD ORDERED HIS ENGINEERS TOBLOW UP THE BRIDGES AND FLOOD THE SUBWAYS THAT LED TO MANHATTAN. IT WASAS IF THE VAST STEEL STRUCTURE OF BROOKLYN BRIDGE HAD BEEN A THING OFLACE. IN SHREDS IT FELL, A TORN, TRAGICALLY WRECKED PIECE OF MAGNIFICENCE

THE PEOPLE KNEW THE ANSWER OF VON HINDENBURG. THEY HAD READ IT, AS HADALL THE WORLD FOR MILES AROUND, IN THE CATACLYSM OF THE PLUNGING TOWERS. NEW YORK MUST SURRENDER OR PERISH!

GERMAN GUNS DESTROY THE HOTEL TAFT

"YOU KNOW, MARK TWAIN WAS A GREAT FRIEND OF MY FATHER'S, " SAID THE CROWNPRINCE. "I REMEMBER HOW MY FATHER LAUGHED, ONE EVENING AT THE PALACE INBERLIN, WHEN MARK TWAIN TOLD US THE STORY OF 'THE JUMPING FROG. '"

AND ON THE MORNING OF JULY 4, TWO OF VON KLUCK'S STAFF OFFICERS, ACCOMPANIED BY A MILITARY ESCORT, MARCHED DOWN STATE STREET TO ARRANGEFOR THE PAYMENT OF AN INDEMNITY PROM THE CITY OF BOSTON OF THREE HUNDREDMILLION DOLLARS

"MY FRIENDS, THEY SAY PATRIOTISM Is DEAD IN THIS LAND. THEY SAY WE AREEATEN UP WITH LOVE OF MONEY, TAINTED WITH A YELLOW STREAK THAT MAKES USAFRAID TO FIGHT. IT'S A LIE! I AM SIXTY YEARS OLD, BUT I'LL FIGHT IN THETRENCHES WITH MY FOUR SONS BESIDE ME, AND YOU MEN WILL DO THE SAME. AM IRIGHT?"

THE CONQUEST OF AMERICA

TO MY FELLOW AMERICANS

The purpose of this story is to give an idea of what might happen toAmerica, being defenceless as at present, if she should be attacked, sayat the close of the great European war, by a mighty and victorious powerlike Germany. It is a plea for military preparedness in the UnitedStates. 

As justifying this plea let us consider briefly and in a fair-mindedspirit the arguments of our pacifist friends who, being sincerely opposedto military preparedness, would bring us to their way of thinking. 

On June 10, 1915, in a statement to the American people, following hisresignation as Secretary of State, William Jennings Bryan said:

Some nation must lead the world out of the black night of war into thelight of that day when "swords shall be beaten into plow-shares. " Why notmake that honour ours? Some day--why not now?--the nations will learnthat enduring peace cannot be built upon fear--that good-will does notgrow upon the stalk of violence. Some day the nations will place theirtrust in love, the weapon for which there is no shield; in love, thatsuffereth long and is kind; in love, that is not easily provoked, thatbeareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth allthings; in love, which, though despised as weakness by the worshippers ofMars, abideth when all else fails. 

These are noble words. They thrill and inspire us as they have thrilledand inspired millions before us, yet how little the world has seen of theactual carrying out of their beautiful message! The average individual inAmerica still clings to whatever he has of material possessions with allthe strength that law and custom give him. He keeps what he has and takeswhat he can honourably get, unconcerned by the fact that millions of hisfellow men are in distress or by the knowledge that many of the rich whomhe envies or honours may have gained their fortunes, privilege or powerby unfair or dishonest means. 

In every land there are similar extremes of poverty and riches, but thesecould not exist in a world governed by the law of love or ready to be sogoverned, since love would destroy the ugly train of hatreds, arrogances, miseries, injustices and crimes that spread before us everywhere in theexisting social order and that only fail to shock us because we areaccustomed to a regime in which self-interest rather than love or justiceis paramount. 

My point is that if individuals are thus universally, or almostuniversally, selfish, nations must also be selfish, since nations areonly aggregations of individuals. If individuals all over the worldto-day place the laws of possession and privilege and power above the lawof love, then nations will inevitably do the same. If there is constantjealousy and rivalry and disagreement among individuals there will surelybe the same among nations, and it is idle for Mr. Bryan to talk aboutputting our trust in love collectively when we do nothing of the sortindividually. Would Mr. Bryan put his trust in love if he felt himselfthe victim of injustice or dishonesty?

Once in a century some Tolstoy tries to practise literally the law oflove and non-resistance with results that are distressing to his familyand friends, and that are of doubtful value to the community. We may besure the nations of the world will never practise this beautiful law oflove until average citizens of the world practise it, and that time hasnot come. 

Of course, Mr. Bryan's peace plan recognises the inevitability ofquarrels or disagreements among nations, but proposes to have thesesettled by arbitration or by the decisions of an international tribunal, which tribunal may be given adequate police power in the form of aninternational army and navy. 

It goes without saying that such a plan of world federation and worldarbitration involves universal disarmament, all armies and all naviesmust be reduced to a merely nominal strength, to a force sufficient forpolice protection, but does any one believe that this plan can really becarried out? Is there the slightest chance that Russia or Germany willdisarm? Is there the slightest chance that England will send her fleet tothe scrap heap and leave her empire defenceless in order to join thisworld federation? Is there the slightest chance that Japan, with herdreams of Asiatic sovereignty, will disarm?

And if the thing were conceivable, what a grim federation this would beof jealousies, grievances, treacheries, hatreds, conflicting patriotismsand ambitions--Russia wanting Constantinople, France Alsace-Lorraine, Germany Calais, Spain Gibraltar, Denmark her ravished provinces, Polandher national integrity and so on. Who would keep order among theinternational delegates? Who would decide when the international judgesdisagreed? Who would force the international policemen to act againsttheir convictions? Could any world tribunal induce the United States tolimit her forces for the prevention of a yellow immigration from Asia?

General Homer Lea in "The Valour of Ignorance" says:

Only when arbitration is able to unravel the tangled skein of crime andhypocrisy among individuals can it be extended to communities andnations, as nations are only man in the aggregate, they are the aggregateof his crimes and deception and depravity, and so long as theseconstitute the basis of individual impulse, so long will they control theacts of nations. 

Dr. Charles W. Eliot, president emeritus of Harvard University andtrustee of the Carnegie Peace Foundation, makes this admission in _TheArmy and Navy Journal:_

I regret to say that international or national disarmament is not takenseriously by the leaders and thinking men of the more important peoples, and I fear that for one reason or another neither the classes nor themasses have much admiration for the idea or would be willing to do theirshare to bring it about. 

Here is the crux of the question, the earth has so much surface andto-day this is divided up in a certain way by international frontiers. Yesterday it was divided up in a different way. To-morrow it will againbe divided up in a new way, unless some world federation steps in andsays: "Stop! There are to be no more wars. The present frontiers of theexisting fifty-three nations are to be considered as righteously andpermanently established. After this no act of violence shall changethem. "

Think what that would mean! It would mean that nations like Russia, GreatBritain and the United States, which happened to possess vast dominionswhen this world federation peace plan was adopted would continue topossess vast dominions, while other nations like Italy, Greece, Turkey, Holland, Sweden, France, Spain (all great empires once), Germany andJapan, whose present share of the earth's surface might be only one-tenthor one-fiftieth or one-five-hundredth as great as Russia's share or GreatBritain's share, would be expected to remain content with that smallportion. 

Impossible! These less fortunate, but not less aspiring nations wouldnever agree to such a policy of national stagnation, to such a stiflingof their legitimate longings for a "greater place in the sun. " They wouldpoint to the pages of history and show how small nations have becomegreat and how empires have fallen. What was the mighty United States ofAmerica but yesterday? A handful of feeble colonies far weaker than theBalkan States to-day. 

"Why should this particular moment be chosen, " they would protest, "torender immovable international frontiers that have always been shifting?Why should the maps of the world be now finally crystallised so as togive England millions of square miles in every quarter of the globe, Canada, Australia, India, Egypt, while we possess so little? Did God makeEngland so much better than he made us? Why should the Russian Empiresweep across two continents while our territory is crowded into a cornerof one? Is Russia so supremely deserving? And why should the UnitedStates possess as much of the earth's surface as Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Austria-Hungary, Denmark, Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, Roumania, Spain, Norway, Sweden and Japan all together and, besides that, claim authority to say, through the Monroe Doctrine, what shall happen orshall not happen in South America, Mexico, the West Indies and thePacific? How did the United States get this authority and this vastterritory? How did Russia get her vast territory? How did England get hervast territory?"

The late Professor J. A. Cramb, an Englishman himself, gives us oneanswer in his powerful and illuminating book, "Germany and England, " andshows us how England, in the view of many, got _her_ possessions:

England! The successful burglar, who, an immense fortune amassed, hasretired from business, and having broken every law, human and divine, violated every instinct of honour and fidelity on every sea and on everycontinent, desires now the protection of the police!... So long asEngland, the great robber-state, retains her booty, the spoils of aworld, what right has she to expect peace from the nations?

In reply to Mr. Bryan's peace exhortations, some of the smaller but moreefficient world powers, certainly Germany and Japan, would recall similarcynical teachings of history and would smilingly answer: "We approve ofyour beautiful international peace plan, of your admirable world policeplan, but before putting it into execution, we prefer to wait a fewhundred years and see if we also, in the ups and downs of nations, cannotwin for ourselves, by conquest or cunning or other means not provided forin the law of love, a great empire covering a vast portion of the earth'ssurface. "

The force and justice of this argument will be appreciated, to use ahomely comparison, by those who have studied the psychology of pokergames and observed the unvarying willingness of heavy winners to end thestruggle after a certain time, while the losers insist upon playinglonger. 

It will be the same in this international struggle for world supremacy, the only nations willing to stop fighting will be the ones that are farahead of the game, like Great Britain, Russia and the United States. 

We may be sure that wars will continue on the earth. War may be abiological necessity in the development of the human race--God'shousecleaning, as Ella Wheeler Wilcox calls it. War may be a great soulstimulant meant to purge mankind of evils greater than itself, evils ofbaseness and world degeneration. We know there are blighted forests thatmust be swept clean by fire. Let us not scoff at such a theory until weunderstand the immeasurable mysteries of life and death. We know that, through the ages, two terrific and devastating racial impulses have madethemselves felt among men and have never been restrained, sex attractionand war. Perhaps they were not meant to be restrained. 

Listen to John Ruskin, apostle of art and spirituality:

All the pure and noble arts of peace are founded on war. No great artever rose on earth but among a nation of soldiers. There is no great artpossible to a nation but that which is based on battle. When I tell youthat war is the foundation of all the arts, I mean also that it is thefoundation of all the high virtues and faculties of men. It was verystrange for me to discover this, and very dreadful, but I saw it to bequite an undeniable fact. The common notion that peace and the virtues ofcivil life flourished together I found to be utterly untenable. We talkof peace and learning, of peace and plenty, of peace and civilisation;but I found that these are not the words that the Muse of History coupledtogether; that on her lips the words were peace and sensuality, peace andselfishness, peace and death. I found in brief that all great nationslearned their truth of word and strength of thought in war; that theywere nourished in war and wasted in peace; taught by war and deceived bypeace; trained by war and betrayed by peace; in a word, that they wereborn in war and expired in peace. 

We know Bernhardi's remorseless views taken from Treitschke and adoptedby the whole German nation:

"War is a fiery crucible, a terrible training school through which theworld has grown better. "

In his impressive work, "The Game of Empires, " Edward S. Van Zile quotesMajor General von Disfurth, a distinguished retired officer of the Germanarmy, who chants so fierce a glorification of war for the German idea, war for German Kultur, war at all costs and with any consequences thatone reads with a shudder of amazement:

Germany stands as the supreme arbiter of her own methods. It is of noconsequence whatever if all the monuments ever created, all the picturesever painted, and all the buildings ever erected by the great architectsof the world be destroyed, if by their destruction we promote Germany'svictory over her enemies. The commonest, ugliest stone that marks theburial place of a German grenadier is a more glorious and venerablemonument than all the cathedrals of Europe put together. They call usbarbarians. What of it? We scorn them and their abuse. For my part, Ihope that in this war we have merited the title of barbarians. Letneutral peoples and our enemies cease their empty chatter, which may wellbe compared to the twitter of birds. Let them cease to talk of thecathedral of Rheims and of all the churches and all the castles in Francewhich have shared its fate. These things do not interest us. Our troopsmust achieve victory. What else matters?

Obviously there are cases where every noble sentiment would impel anation to go to war. A solemn promise broken, a deliberate insultto the flag, an act of intolerable bullying, some wicked purpose ofself-aggrandisement at the expense of weaker nations, anything, in short, that flaunted the national honour or imperilled the national integritywould be a call to war that must be heeded by valiant and high-souledcitizens, in all lands. Nor can we have any surety against such wantoninternational acts, so long as the fate of nations is left in the handsof small autocracies or military and diplomatic cliques empowered to actwithout either the knowledge or approval of the people. Wars will neverbe abolished until the war-making power is taken from the few andjealously guarded by the whole people, and only exercised after publicdiscussion of the matters at issue and a public understanding ofinevitable consequences. At present it is evident that the pride, greed, madness of one irresponsible King, Emperor, Czar, Mikado or President mayplunge the whole world into war-misery that will last for generations. 

There are other cases where war is not only inevitable, but actuallydesirable from a standpoint of world advantage. Imagine a highlycivilised and progressive nation, a strong prosperous nation, wisely andefficiently governed, as may be true, some day, of the United States ofAmerica. Let us suppose this nation to be surrounded by a number of weakand unenlightened states, always quarrelling, badly and corruptlymanaged, like Mexico and some of the Central American republics. Would itnot be better for the world if this strong, enlightened nation tookpossession of its backward neighbours, even by force of arms, and taughtthem how to live and how to make the best of their neglected resourcesand possibilities? Would not these weak nations be more prosperous andhappier after incorporation with the strong nation? Is not Egypt betteroff and happier since the British occupation? Were not the wars thatcreated united Italy and united Germany justified? Does any one regretour civil war? It was necessary, was it not?

Similarly it is better for the world that we fought and conquered theAmerican Indians and took their land to use it, in accordance with ourhigher destiny, for greater and nobler purposes than they could eitherconceive of or execute. It is better for the world that by a revolution(even a disingenuous one) we took Panama from incompetent Colombiansand, by our intelligence, our courage and our vast resources, changed afever-ridden strip of jungle into a waterway that now joins two oceansand will save untold billions for the commerce of the earth. 

Carrying a step farther this idea of world efficiency through war, it isprobable that future generations will be grateful to some South Americannation, perhaps Brazil, or Chile or the Argentine Republic, that shallone day be wise and strong enough to lay the foundations on the field ofbattle (Mr. Bryan may think this could be accomplished by peacefulnegotiations, but he is mistaken) for the United States of South America. 

And why not ultimately the United States of Europe, the United States ofAsia, the United States of Africa, all created by useful and progressivewars? Consider the increased efficiency, prosperity and happiness thatmust come through such unions of small nations now trying separately andineffectively to carry on multiple activities that could be far bettercarried on collectively. Our American Union, born of war, proves this, does it not?

"United we stand, divided we fall, " applies not merely to states, counties and townships, but to nations, to empires, to continents. Continents will be the last to join hands across the seas (having firstwaged vast inter-continental wars) and then, after the rise and fall ofmany sovereignties, there will be established on the earth the last greatgovernment, the United States of the World!

That is the logical limit of human activities. Are we not all citizens ofthe earth, descended from the same parents, born with the same needs andcapacities? Why should there be fifty-three barriers dividing men intofifty-three nations? Why should there be any other patriotism than worldpatriotism? Or any other government than one world government?

When this splendid ultimate consummation has been achieved, after ages ofpainful evolution (we must remember that the human race is still in itsinfancy) our remote descendants, united in language, religion andcustoms, with a great world representative government finally establishedand the law of love prevailing, may begin preparations for a grand worldcelebration of the last war. Say, in the year A. D. 2921!

But not until then!

If this reasoning is sound, if war must be regarded, for centuries tocome, as an inevitable part of human existence, then let us, as loyalAmericans, realise that, hate war as we may, there is only way in whichthe United States can be insured against the horrors of armed invasion, with the shame of disastrous defeat and possible dismemberment, and thatis by developing the strength and valiance to meet all probableassailants on land or sea. 

Whether we like it or not we are a great world power, fated to become fargreater, unless we throw away our advantages; we must either accept theaverage world standards, which call for military preparedness, or imposenew standards upon a world which concedes no rights to nations that havenot the might to guard and enforce those rights. 

Why should we Americans hesitate to pay the trifling cost of insuranceagainst war? Trifling? Yes. The annual cost of providing and maintainingan adequate army and navy would be far less than we spend every year ontobacco and alcohol. Less than fifty cents a month from every citizenwould be sufficient. That amount, wisely expended, would enormouslylessen the probability of war and would allow the United States, if warcame, to face its enemies with absolute serenity. The Germans are willingto pay the cost of preparedness. So are the French, the Italians, theJapanese, the Swiss, the Balkan peoples, the Turks. Do we love ourcountry less than they do? Do we think our institutions, our freedom lessworthy than theirs of being guarded for posterity?

Why should we not adopt a system of military training something like theone that has given such excellent results in Switzerland? Why not ceaseto depend upon our absurd little standing army which, for its strengthand organisation, is frightfully expensive and absolutely inadequate, anddepend instead upon a citizenry trained and accustomed to arms, with apermanent body of competent officers, at least 50, 000, whose lives wouldbe spent in giving one year military training to the young men of thisnation, all of them, say between the ages of eighteen and twenty-three, so that these young men could serve their country efficiently, if theneed arose? Why not accept the fact that it is neither courageous nordemocratic for us to depend upon hired soldiers to defend our country?

Does any one doubt that a year of such military training would be oflasting benefit to the men of America? Would it not school them inmuch-needed habits of discipline and self-control, habits which must belearned sooner or later if a man is to succeed? Would not the open airlife, the physical exercise, the regularity of hours tend to improvetheir health and make them better citizens?

Suppose that once every five years all American men up to fifty wererequired to go into military camp and freshen up on their defence dutiesfor twenty or thirty days. Would that do them any harm? On the contrary, it would do them immense good. 

And even if war never came, is it not evident that America would benefitin numberless ways by such a development of the general manhood spirit?Who can say how much of Germany's greatness in business and commerce, inthe arts and sciences, is due to the fact that _all_ her men, throughmilitary schooling, have learned precious lessons in self-control andobedience?

The pacifists tell us that after the present European war, we shall havenothing to fear for many years from exhausted Europe, but let us not betoo sure of that. History teaches that long and costly wars do notnecessarily exhaust a nation or lessen its readiness to undertake newwars. On the contrary, the habit of fighting leads easily to morefighting. The Napoleonic wars lasted over twenty years. At the close ofour civil war we had great generals and a formidable army of veteransoldiers and would have been willing and able immediately to engage in afresh war against France had she not yielded to our demand and withdrawnMaximilian from Mexico. Bulgaria recently fought two wars within a year, the second leaving her exhausted and prostrate; yet within two years shewas able to enter upon a third war stronger than ever. 

If Germany wins in the present great conflict she may quite conceivablyturn to America for the vast money indemnity that she will be unable toexact from her depleted enemies in Europe; and if Germany loses or halfloses she may decide to retrieve her desperate fortunes in this temptingand undefended field. With her African empire hopelessly lost to her, where more naturally than to facile America will she turn for her covetedplace in the sun?

And if not Germany, it may well be some other great nation that willattack us. Perhaps Great Britain! Especially if our growing merchantmarine threatens her commercial supremacy of the sea, which is her life. Perhaps Japan! whose attack on Germany in 1914 shows plainly that shemerely awaits favourable opportunity to dispose of any of her rivals inthe Orient. Let us bear in mind that, in the opinion of the world'sgreatest authorities, we Americans are to-day totally unprepared todefend ourselves against a first-class foreign power. My story aims toshow this, and high officers in our army and navy, who have assisted mein the preparation of this book and to whom I am grateful, assure me thatI have set forth the main facts touching our military defencelessnesswithout exaggeration. C. M. 

WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY, 1916. 

CHAPTER I

I WITNESS THE BLOWING UP OF THE PANAMA CANAL

In my thirty years' service as war correspondent of the London _Times_ Ihave looked behind the scenes of various world happenings, and have knownthe thrill of personally facing some great historic crises; but there isnothing in my experience so dramatic, so pregnant with humanconsequences, as the catastrophe of April 27, 1921, when the Gatun Locksof the Panama Canal were destroyed by dynamite. 

At that moment I was seated on the shaded, palm-bordered piazza of theGrand Hotel at Colon, discussing with Rear-Admiral Thomas Q. Allyn of theUnited States Navy the increasing chances that America might find herselfplunged into war with Japan. For weeks the clouds had been darkening, andit was now evident that the time had come when the United States musteither abandon the Monroe Doctrine and the open door in China, or fightto maintain these doctrines. 

"Mr. Langston, " the Admiral was saying, "the situation is extremelygrave. Japan intends to carry out her plans of expansion in Mexico andChina, and possibly in the Philippines; there is not a doubt of it. Herfleet is cruising somewhere in the Pacific, --we don't know where, --andour Atlantic fleet passed through the Canal yesterday, as you know, tomake a demonstration of force in the Pacific and to be ready for--forwhatever may come. "

His hands closed nervously, and he studied the horizon with half-shuteyes. 

In the course of our talk Admiral Allyn had admitted that the UnitedStates was woefully unprepared for conflict with a great power, either onsea or land. 

"The blow will be struck suddenly, " he went on, "you may be sure of that. Our military preparations are so utterly inadequate that we may sufferirreparable harm before we can begin to use our vast resources. You knowwhen Prussia struck Austria in 1866 the war was over in three months. When Germany struck France in 1870 the decisive battle, Sedan, was foughtforty-seven days later. When Japan struck Russia, the end was foreseenwithin four or five months. "

"It wasn't so in the great European war, " I remarked. 

"Why not? Because England held the mastery of the sea. But we hold themastery of nothing. Our fleet is barely third among the nations and weare frightfully handicapped by our enormous length of coast line and bythis canal. "

"The Canal gives us a great advantage, doesn't it? I thought it doubledthe efficiency of our fleet?"

"It does nothing of the sort. The Canal may be seized. It may be put outof commission for weeks or months by landslides or earthquakes. A fewhostile ships of the _Queen Elizabeth_ class lying ten miles off shore ateither end, with ranges exactly fixed, or a good shot from an aeroplane, could not only destroy the Canal's insufficient defences, but couldprevent our fleet from coming through, could hold it, useless, in theAtlantic when it might be needed to save California or useless in thePacific when it might be needed to save New York. If it happened when warbegan that one half of our fleet was in the Atlantic and the other halfin the Pacific, then the enemy could keep these two halves separated anddestroy them one by one. "

"I suppose you mean that we need two fleets?"

"Of course we do--a child can see it--if we are to guard our twoseaboards. We must have a fleet in the Atlantic strong enough to resistany probable attack from the East, and another fleet in the Pacificstrong enough to resist any probable attack from the West. 

"But listen to this, think of this, " the veteran warrior leaned towardsme, shaking an eager fore-finger. "At the present moment our entirefleet, if massed off Long Island, would be inferior to a fleet thatGermany could send across the Atlantic against us by many ships, manysubmarines and many aeroplanes. And hopelessly inferior in men andammunition, including torpedoes. "

As I listened I felt myself falling under the spell of the Admiral'seloquence. He was so sure of what he said. These dangers unquestionablyexisted, but--were they about to descend upon America? Must we reallyface the horrors of a war of invasion?

"Your arguments are very convincing, sir, and yet--" I hesitated. 

"Well?"

"You speak as if these things were going to happen _right now, _ but thereare no signs of war, no clouds on the horizon. "

The Admiral waved this aside with an impatient gesture. 

"I tell you the blow will come suddenly. Were there any clouds on theEuropean horizon in July, 1914? Yet a few persons knew, just as I haveknown for months, that war was inevitable. "

"Known?" I repeated. 

Very deliberately the grizzled sea fighter lighted a fresh cigar beforereplying. 

"Mr. Langston, I'll tell you a little story that explains why I am posingas a prophet. You can put it in your memoirs some day--if my prophecycomes true. It's the story of an American naval officer, a younglieutenant, who--well, he went wrong about a year ago. He got into theclutches of a woman spy in the employ of a foreign government. He metthis woman in Marseilles on our last Mediterranean cruise and fell inlove with her--hopelessly. She's one of those devilish sirens that nofull-blooded man can resist and, the extraordinary part of it is, shefell in love with him--genuinely in love. 

"Well--it was a bad business. This officer gave the woman all he had, told her all he knew, and finally he asked her to marry him. Yes. Hedidn't care what she was. He just wanted her. And she was so happy, socrazy about him, that she almost yielded; she was ready to turn over anew leaf, to settle down as his wife, but--"

"But she didn't do it?" I smiled. 

The Admiral shook his head. 

"He was a poor man--just a lieutenant's pay and she couldn't give up hergrand life. But she loved him enough to try to save him, enough to leavehim. She wrote him a wonderful letter, poured her soul out to him, gavehim certain military secrets of the government she was working for--theywould have shot her in a minute, you understand, if they had knownit--and she told him to take this information as a proof of her love anduse it to save the United States. "

I was listening now with absorbed interest. 

"What government was she working for?"

The Admiral paused to relight his cigar. 

"Wait! The next thing was that this lieutenant came to me, as a friend ofhis father and an admiral of the American fleet, and made a clean breastof everything. He made his confession in confidence, but asked me to usethe knowledge as I saw fit without mentioning his name. I did use itand"--the Admiral's frown deepened--"the consequence was no one believedme. They said the warning was too vague. You know the attitude of recentadministrations towards all questions of national defence. It's alwayspolitics before patriotism, always the fear of losing middle westpacifist votes. It's disgusting--horrible!"

"Was the warning really vague?"

"Vague. My God!" The old sea dog bounded from his chair. "I'll tell youhow vague it was. A statement was definitely made that before May 1, 1921, a great foreign power would make war upon the United States andwould begin by destroying the Panama Canal. To-day is April 27, 1921. Idon't say these things are going to happen within three days but, Mr. Langston, as purely as the sun shines on that ocean, we Americans areliving in a fool's paradise. We are drunk with prosperity. We are deafand blind to the truth which is known to other nations, known to ourenemies, known to the ablest officers in our army and navy. 

"The truth is that, as a nation, we have learned nothing from our pastwars because we have never had to fight a first-class power that wasprepared. But the next war, and it is surely coming, will find us held inthe grip of an inexorable law which provides that nations imitating themilitary policy of China must suffer the fate of China. "

The Admiral now explained why he had sent for me. It was to suggest thatI cable the London _Times_, urging my paper to use its influence, throughBritish diplomatic channels, to avert another great war. I pointed outthat the chances of such intervention were slight. Great Britain wasstill smarting under the memory of Americans' alleged indifference toeverything but money in 1918 when the United States stood by, unprotesting, and saw England stripped of her mastery of the sea afterthe loss of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal. 

"There are two sides to that, " frowned the Admiral, "but one thing iscertain--it's England or no one. We have nothing to hope for from Russia;she has what she wants--Constantinople. Nothing to hope for from France;she has her lost provinces back. And as for Germany--Germany is waiting, recuperating, watching her chance for a place in the South American sun. "

"Germany managed well in the Geneva Peace Congress of 1919, " I said. 

The veteran of Manila threw down his cigarette impatiently. 

"Bismarck could have done no better. They bought off Europe, theycrippled England and--they isolated America. "

"By the way, " continued the Admiral, "I must show you some things in myscrap book. You will be astonished. Wait a minute. I'll get it. "

The old fellow hurried off and presently returned with a heavy volumebound in red leather. 

"Take it up to your room to-night and look it over. You will find themost overwhelming mass of testimony to the effect that to-day, in spiteof all that has been said and written and all the money spent, the UnitedStates is totally unprepared to defend its coasts or uphold its nationalhonour. Just open the book anywhere--you'll see. "

I obeyed and came upon this statement by Theodore Roosevelt:

What befell Antwerp and Brussels will surely some day befall New York orSan Francisco, and may happen to many an inland city also, if we do notshake off our supine folly, if we trust for safety to peace treatiesunbacked by force. 

"Pretty strong words for an ex-President of the United States to beusing, " nodded the Admiral. "And true! Try another place. "

I did so and came upon this from the pen of Gerhard vonSchulze-Gaevernitz, professor of political economy at the University ofFreiburg and a member of the Reichstag:

Flattered and deftly lulled to sleep by British influence, publicopinion in the United States will not wake up until the 'yellow NewEngland' of the Orient, nurtured and deflected from Australia by Englandherself, knocks at the gates of the new world. Not a patient and meekChina, but a warlike and conquest-bound Japan will be the aggressor whenthat day comes. Then America will be forced to fight under unfavourableconditions. 

The famous campaigner's eyes flashed towards the Pacific. 

"When that day comes! Ah! Speaking of Japan, " he turned over the pages innervous haste. "Here we are! You can see how much the Japanese love us!Listen! This is an extract from the most popular book in Japan to-day. Itis issued by Japan's powerful and official National Defence Associationwith a view to inflaming the Japanese people against the United Statesand preparing them for a war of invasion against this country. Listen tothis:

"Let America beware! For our cry, 'On to California! On to Hawaii!On to the Philippines!' is becoming only secondary to our imperialanthem!... To arms! We must seize our standards, unfurl them to the windsand advance without the least fear, as America has no army worthy thename, and with the Panama Canal destroyed, its few battleships will be ofno use until too late. 

"I tell you, Mr. Langston, " pursued the Admiral, "we Americans are to-daythe most hated nation on earth. The richest, the most arrogant, the mosthated nation on earth! And helpless! Defenceless! Believe me, that's abad combination. Look at this! Read this! It's a cablegram to the NewYork _Tribune_, published on May 21, 1915, from Miss Constance Drexel, anAmerican delegate to the Woman's Peace Conference at The Hague:

"I have just come out of Germany and perhaps the predominating impressionI bring with me is Germany's hatred of America. Germany feels that warwith America is only a matter of time. Everywhere I went I found the samesentiment, and the furthest distance away I found the war put was tenyears. It was said to me: 'We must settle with England first, but thenwill come America's turn. If we don't make war on you ourselves we willget Japan into a war with you, and then we will supply arms and munitionsto Japan. '"

At this point, I remember, I had turned to order an orange liqueur, whenthe crash came. 

It was terrific. Every window in the hotel was shattered, and some scoresof labourers working near the Gatun Locks were killed instantly. Sixhundred tons of dynamite, secreted in the hold of a German merchantman, had been exploded as the vessel passed through the locks, and tenthousand tons of Portland cement had sunk in the tangled iron wreck, toform a huge blockading mass of solid rock on the floor of the narrowpassage. 

Needless to say, every man on the German ship thus sacrificed died at hispost. 

The Admiral stared in dismay when the news was brought to him. 

"Germany!" he muttered. "And our fleet is in the Pacific!"

"Does it mean war?" I asked. 

"Yes, of course. Unquestionably it means war. We have been misled. Wewere thinking of one enemy, and we have been struck by another. Wethought we could send our fleet through the Canal and get it back easily;but--now we cannot get it back for at least two months!"

CHAPTER II

AMERICAN AEROPLANES AND SUBMARINES BATTLE DESPERATELY AGAINST THE GERMANFLEET

A week later--or, to be exact, on May 4, 1921--I arrived in New York, following instructions from my paper, and found the city in a state ofindescribable confusion and alarm. 

War had been declared by Germany against the United States on the daythat the Canal was wrecked, and German transports, loaded with troops andconvoyed by a fleet of battleships, were known to be on the high seas, headed for American shores. As the Atlantic fleet had been cut off in thePacific by that desperate piece of Panama strategy (the Canal would beimpassable for months), it was evident that those ships could be of noservice for at least eight weeks, the time necessary to make the tripthrough the Straits of Magellan; and meanwhile the Atlantic seaboard fromMaine to Florida was practically unguarded. 

No wonder the newspapers shrieked despairingly and bitterly upbraidedCongress for neglecting to provide the country with adequate navaldefences. 

Theodore Roosevelt came out with a signed statement:

"Four years ago I warned this country that the United States must havetwo great fleets--one for the Atlantic, one for the Pacific. "

Senator Smoot, in a sensational speech, referred to his vain effortsto secure for the country a fleet of fifty sea-going submarines andtwenty-five coast-defence submarines. Now, he declared, the United Stateswould pay for its indifference to danger. 

In the House of Representatives, Gardner and Hobson both declared thatour forts were antiquated, our coast-defence guns outranged, ourartillery ridiculously insufficient, and our supply of ammunition notgreat enough to carry us through a single month of active warfare. 

On the night of my arrival in Manhattan I walked through scenes ofdelirious madness. The town seemed to reel in a sullen drunkenness. Throngs filled the dark streets. The Gay White Way was no longer eitherwhite or gay. The marvellous electrical display of upper Broadway haddisappeared--not even a street light was to be seen. And great hotels, like the Plaza, the Biltmore, and the new Morgan, formerly so bright, were scarcely discernible against the black skies. No one knew where theGerman airships might be. Everybody shouted, but nobody made very muchnoise. The city was hoarse. I remembered just how London acted the nightthe first Zeppelin floated over the town. 

At five o'clock the next morning, Mayor McAneny appointed a Committee ofPublic Safety that went into permanent session in Madison Square Garden, which was thronged day and night, while excited meetings, addressed bymen and women of all political parties, were held continuously in UnionSquare, City Hall Park, Columbus Circle, at the Polo Grounds and invarious theatres and motion-picture houses. 

Such a condition of excitement and terror necessarily led to disorder andon May 11, 1921, General Leonard Wood, in command of the Eastern Army, placed the city under martial law. 

And now on every tongue were frantic questions. When would the Germansland? To-day? To-morrow? Where would they strike first? What were wegoing to do? Every one realised, when it was too late, the hopelessinadequacy of our aeroplane scouting service. To guard our entireAtlantic seaboard we had fifty military aeroplanes where we should havehad a thousand and we were wickedly lacking in pilots. Oh, the shame ofthose days!

In this emergency Rodman Wanamaker put at the disposal of the governmenthis splendid air yacht the _America II_, built on the exact lines of the_America I_, winner of across-the-Atlantic prizes in 1918, but of muchlarger spread and greater engine power. The America II could carry auseful load of five tons and in her scouting work during the nextfortnight she accommodated a dozen passengers, four officers, a crew ofsix, and two newspaper men, Frederick Palmer, representing the AssociatedPress, and myself for the London _Times. _

What a tremendous thing it was, this scouting trip! Day after day, farout over the ocean, searching for German battleships! Our easy jog trotspeed along the sky was sixty miles an hour and, under full enginepressure, the _America II_ could make a hundred and twenty, which waslucky for us as it saved us many a time when the slower German aircraftcame after us, spitting bullets from their machine guns. 

On the morning of May 12, a perfect spring day, circling at a height ofhalf a mile, about fifty miles off the eastern end of Long Island, we hadour first view of the German fleet as it ploughed through smooth seas tothe south of Montauk Point. 

We counted eight battle cruisers, twelve dreadnoughts, tenpre-dreadnoughts, and about sixty destroyers, in addition to transports, food-ships, hospital-ships, repair-ships, colliers, and smaller fightingand scouting vessels, all with their full complement of men andequipment, moving along there below us in the pleasant sunshine. Amongthe troopships I made out the _Kaiserin Auguste Luise_ and the_Deutschland, _ on both of which I had crossed the summer following theGreat Peace. I thought of the jolly old commander of the latter vesseland of the capital times we had had together at the big round table inthe dining-saloon. It seemed impossible that this was war!

I subsequently learned that the original plan worked out by the Germangeneral staff contemplated a landing in the sheltered harbour of MontaukPoint, but the lengthened range (21, 000 yards) of mortars in the Americanforts on Fisher's Island and Plum Island, a dozen miles to the north, nowbrought Montauk Point under fire, so the open shore south of East Hamptonwas substituted as the point of invasion. 

"There's no trouble about landing troops from the open sea in smoothweather like this, " said Palmer, speaking through his head-set. "We didit at Santiago, and the Japs did it at Port Arthur. "

"And the English did it at Ostend, " I agreed. "Hello!"

As I swept the sea to the west with my binoculars I thought I caught thedim shape of a submerged submarine moving slowly through the blackdepths like a hungry shark; but it disappeared almost immediately, and Iwas not sure. As a matter of fact, it was a submarine, one of sixAmerican under-water craft that had been assigned to patrol the southshore of Long Island. 

The United States still had twenty-five submarines in Atlantic waters, inaddition to thirty that were with the absent fleet; but these twenty-fivehad been divided between Boston Harbour, Narragansett Bay, DelawareBay, Chesapeake Bay, and other vulnerable points, so that only six wereleft to defend the approaches to New York City. And, of these six, fivewere twenty-four hours late, owing, I heard later, to inexcusabledelays at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where they had been undergoing repairs. The consequence was that only the K-2 was here to meet the Germaninvasion--one lone submarine against a mighty fleet. 

Still, under favourable conditions, one lone submarine is a force to bereckoned with, as England learned in 1915. 

The K-2 attacked immediately, revealing her periscope for a minute as shetook her observations. Then she launched a torpedo at a big Germansupply-ship not more than a thousand yards away. 

"Good-bye, ship!" said Palmer, and we watched with fascinated interestthe swift white line that marked the course of the torpedo. It struck thevessel squarely amidships, and she sank within five minutes, most of themen aboard being rescued by boats from the fleet. 

It now went ill with the K-2, however; for, having revealed her presence, she was pursued by the whole army of swift destroyers. She dived, andcame up again two miles to the east, bent on sinking a Germandreadnought; but, unfortunately, she rose to the surface almost under thenose of one of the destroyers, which bombarded her with its rapid-fireguns, and then, when she sank once more, dropped on her a small mine thatexploded under water with shattering effect, finishing her. 

As I think it over, I feel sure that if those other five submarines hadbeen ready with the K-2, we might have had another story to tell. Possibly the slowness of the Brooklyn Navy Yard--which is notorious, Iunderstand--may have spoiled the one chance that America had to resistthis invasion. 

The next day the five tardy submarines arrived; but conditions werenow less favourable, since the invaders had had time to prepare theirdefence against this under-water peril. As we flew over East Hampton onthe following afternoon, we were surprised to see five fully inflatedair-ships of the nonrigid Parseval type floating in the blue sky, likegrim sentinels guarding the German fleet. Down through the sun-lit oceanthey could see the shadowy underwater craft lurking in the depths, andthey carried high explosives to destroy them. 

"How about our aeroplanes?" grumbled Palmer. 

"Look!" I answered, pointing toward the Shinnecock Hills, where some tinyspecks appeared like soaring eagles. "They're coming!"

The American aeroplanes, at least, were on time, and as they swept nearerwe counted ten of them, and our spirits rose; for ten swift aeroplanesarmed with explosive bombs can make a lot of trouble for slower andclumsier aircraft. 

But alas for our hopes! The invaders were prepared also, and, before theAmerican fliers had come within striking distance, they found themselvesopposed by a score of military hydroplanes that rose presently, with agreat whirring of propellers, from the decks of the German battle-ships. Had the Americans been able to concentrate here their entire force offifty aeroplanes, the result might have been different; but the fifty hadbeen divided along the Atlantic coast--ten aeroplanes and five submarinesbeing assigned to each harbour that was to be defended. 

Now came the battle. And for hours, until night fell, we watched astrange and terrible conflict between these forces of air and water. Withadmirable skill and daring the American aeronauts manoeuvred forpositions above the Parsevals, whence they could drop bombs; and so swiftand successful were they that two of the enemy's air-ships were destroyedbefore the German aeroplanes really came into the action. After that itwent badly for the American fliers, which were shot down, one by one, until only three of the ten remained. Then these three, seeingdestruction inevitable, signalled for a last united effort, and, alltogether, flew at full speed straight for the great yellow gas-bag of thebiggest Parseval and for certain death. As they tore into the flimsyair-ship there came a blinding flash, an explosion that shook the hills, and that brave deed was done. 

There remained two Parsevals to aid the enemy's fleet in its fightagainst American submarines, and I wish I might describe this fight inmore detail. We saw a German transport torpedoed by the B-1; we sawtwo submarines sunk by rapid-fire guns of the destroyers; we saw abattle-cruiser crippled by the glancing blow of a torpedo; and we saw theK-1 blown to pieces by bombs from the air-ships. Two American submarineswere still fighting, and of these one, after narrowly missing adreadnought, sent a troop-ship to the bottom, and was itself rammed andsunk by a destroyer, the sea being spread with oil. The last submarinetook to flight, it seems, because her supply of torpedoes was exhausted. And this left the invaders free to begin their landing operations. 

During four wonderful days (the Germans were favoured by light northeastbreezes) Palmer and I hovered over these East Hampton shores, watchingthe enemy construct their landing platforms of brick and timbers fromdynamited houses, watching the black transports as they disgorged fromlighters upon the gleaming sand dunes their swarms of soldiers, theirthousands of horses, their artillery, their food supplies. There seemedno limit to what these mighty vessels could carry. 

We agreed that the great 50, 000-ton _Imperator_ alone brought at leastfifteen thousand men with all that they needed. And I counted twentyother huge transports; so my conservative estimate, cabled to the paperby way of Canada, --for the direct cables were cut, --was that in thisinvading expedition Germany had successfully landed on the shores of LongIsland one hundred and fifty thousand fully equipped fighting-men. Itseemed incredible that the great United States, with its vast wealth andresources, could be thus easily invaded; and I recalled with a pang whata miserable showing England had made in 1915 from similar unpreparedness. 

[Illustration: AS THE GERMAN LANDING OPERATIONS PROCEEDED, THE NEWS OFTHE INVASION SPREAD OVER THE WHOLE REGION WITH THE SPEED OF ELECTRICITY. THE ENEMY WAS COMING! THE ENEMY WAS HERE. WHAT WAS TO BE DONE?]

As the German landing operations proceeded, the news of the invasionspread over the whole region with the speed of electricity, and in everytown and village on Long Island angry and excited and terrified crowdscursed and shouted and wept in the streets. 

The enemy was coming!

The enemy was here!

What was to be done?

Should they resist?

And many valorous speeches in the spirit of '76 were made by farmers andclerks and wild-eyed women. What was to be done?

In the peaceful town of East Hampton some sniping was done, and afterwardbitterly repented of, the occasion being the arrival of a company ofUhlans with gleaming helmets, who galloped down the elm-lined main streetwith requisitions for food and supplies. 

Suddenly a shot was fired from Bert Osborne's livery stable, then anotherfrom White's drug store, then several others, and one of the Uhlansreeled in his saddle, slightly wounded. Whereupon, to avenge this attackand teach Long Islanders to respect their masters, the German fleet wasordered to shell the village. 

Half an hour later George Edwards, who was beating up the coast in histrim fishing schooner, after a two weeks' absence in Barnegat Bay (hehad heard nothing about the war with Germany), was astonished to see aGerman soldier in formidable helmet silhouetted against the sky on theeleventh tee of the Easthampton golf course, one of the three that riseabove the sand dunes along the surging ocean, wigwagging signals to thewarships off shore. And, presently, Edwards saw an ominous puff of whitesmoke break out from one of the dreadnoughts and heard the boom of atwelve-inch gun. 

The first shell struck the stone tower of the Episcopal church and hurledfragments of it against the vine-covered cottage next door, which hadbeen the home a hundred and twenty years before of John Howard Payne, theoriginal "home sweet home. "

The second shell struck John Drew's summer home and set it on fire; thethird wrecked the Casino; the fourth destroyed Albert Herter's studio andslightly injured Edward T. Cockcroft and Peter Finley Dunne, who wereplaying tennis on the lawn. That night scarcely a dozen buildings in thisbeautiful old town remained standing. And the dead numbered more thanthree hundred, half of them being women and children. 

CHAPTER III

GERMAN INVADERS DRIVE THE IRON INTO THE SOUL OF UNPREPARED AMERICA

The next week was one of deep humiliation for the American people. Ourgreat fleet and our great Canal, which had cost so many hundreds ofmillions and were supposed to guarantee the safety of our coasts, hadfailed us in this hour of peril. 

Secretary Alger, in the Spanish War, never received half the punishmentthat the press now heaped on the luckless officials of the War and theNavy Departments. 

The New York _Tribune_, in a scathing attack upon the administration, said:

The blow has fallen and the United States is totally unprepared to meetit. Why? Because the Democratic party, during its eight years' tenure ofoffice, has obstinately, stupidly and wickedly refused to do what wasnecessary to make this country safe against invasion by a foreign power. There has been a surfeit of talking, of explaining and of promising, butof definite accomplishment very little, and to-day, in our extreme peril, we find ourselves without an army or a navy that can cope with theinvaders and protect our shores and our homes. 

Richard Harding Davis, in the _Evening Sun_, denounced unsparingly thoseSenators and Congressmen who, in 1916, had voted against nationalpreparedness:

For our present helpless condition and all that results from it, let theresponsibility rest upon these Senators and Congressmen, who, for theirown selfish ends, have betrayed the country. They are as guilty oftreason as was ever Benedict Arnold. Were some of them hanged, the sightof them with their toes dancing on air might inspire other Congressmen toconsider the safety of this country rather than their own re-election. 

The New York _World_ published a memorable letter written by Samuel J. Tilden in December, 1885, to Speaker Carlisle of the Forty-ninth Congresson the subject of national defence and pointed out that Mr. Tilden was aman of far vision, intellectually the foremost democrat of his day. Inthis letter Mr. Tilden said:

The property exposed to destruction in the twelve seaports, Portland, Portsmouth, Boston, Newport, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans, Galveston and San Francisco, cannot beless in value than five thousand millions of dollars.... While we mayafford to be deficient in the means of offence we cannot afford to bedefenceless. The notoriety of the fact that we have neglected theordinary precautions of defence invites want of consideration in ourdiplomacy, injustice, arrogance and insult at the hands of foreignnations. 

To add to the general indignation, it transpired that the Americanreserve fleet, consisting of ten predreadnoughts, was tied up in thedocks of Philadelphia, unable to move for lack of officers and men tohandle them. After frantic orders from Washington and the loss ofprecious days, some two thousand members of the newly organised navalreserve were rushed to Philadelphia; but eight thousand men were neededto move this secondary fleet, and, even if the eight thousand had beenforthcoming, it would have been too late; for by this time a Germandreadnought was guarding the mouth of Delaware Bay, and these inferiorships would never have braved its guns. So here were seventy-five milliondollars' worth of American fighting-ships rendered absolutely useless andcondemned to be idle during the whole war because of bad organisation. 

Meantime, the Germans were marching along the Motor Parkway toward NewYork City with an army of a hundred and fifty thousand, against whichGeneral Wood, by incredible efforts, was able to oppose a badlyorganised, inharmonious force of thirty thousand, including Federals andmilitia that had never once drilled together in large manoeuvres. OfFederal troops there was one regiment of infantry from Governor's Island, and this was short of men. There were two infantry regiments from FortsNiagara and Porter, in New York State. Also a regiment of colored cavalryfrom Fort Ethan Allen, Vermont, a battalion of field artillery from FortMyer, Virginia, a battalion of engineers from Washington, D. C. , abattalion of coast artillery organised as siege artillery from FortDupont, Delaware, a regiment of cavalry from Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, two regiments of infantry from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, one regiment offield artillery from Fort Sheridan, Illinois, one regiment of horseartillery from Fort Riley, Kansas, one regiment of infantry and oneregiment of mountain guns from Fort D. A. Russell, Wyoming. 

I may add that at this time the United States army, in spite of manyefforts to increase its size, numbered fewer than 70, 000 men; and so manyof these were tied up as Coast Artillery or absent in the Philippines, Honolulu, and the Canal Zone, that only about 30, 000 were available asmobile forces for the national defence. 

As these various bodies of troops arrived in New York City and marcheddown Fifth Avenue with bands playing "Dixie" and colours flying, theexcitement of cheering multitudes passed all description, especially whenTheodore Roosevelt, in familiar slouch hat, appeared on a big black horseat the head of a hastily recruited regiment of Rough Riders, many of themveterans who had served under him in the Spanish War. 

Governor Malone reviewed the troops from the steps of the new Court Houseand the crowd went wild when the cadets from West Point marched past, insplendid order. At first I shared the enthusiasm of the moment; butsuddenly I realised how pathetic it all was and Palmer seemed to see thatside of it, too, though naturally he and I avoided all discussion of thefuture. In addition to such portions of the regular army as General Woodcould gather together, his forces were supplemented by infantry andcavalry brigades of militia from New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, these troops being more or lessunprepared for battle, more or less lacking in the accessories ofbattles, notably in field artillery and in artillery equipment of men andhorses. One of the aides on General Wood's staff told me that thecombined American forces went into action with only one hundred and fiftypieces of artillery against four hundred pieces that the Germans brought. 

"And the wicked part of it is, " he added, "that there were two hundredother pieces of artillery we might have used if we had had men and horsesto operate them; but--you can't make an artillery horse overnight. "

"Nor a gun crew, " said I. 

CHAPTER IV

INVASION OF LONG ISLAND AND THE BATTLE OF BROOKLYN

To meet this desperate situation and the enemy's greatly superior forces, General Wood decided not to advance against the Germans, but to intrenchhis army across the western end of Long Island, with his left flankresting on Fort Totten, near Bayside, and his nine-mile front extendingthrough Creedmore, Rosedale, and Valley Stream, where his right flankwould be guarded from sea attack by the big guns of Fort Hancock on SandyHook, which would hold the German fleet at a distance. 

Any military strategist will agree that this was the only course for theAmerican commander to pursue under the circumstances; but unfortunatelypopular clamour will often have its way in republics, and in this case aviolent three days' gale--which arrived providentially, according to someof the newspapers--gave an appearance of reason to the general demand. 

This gale interfered seriously with the German landing operations, --infact, it wrecked one of their supply-ships, --and, in consequence, suchstrong political pressure was brought to bear upon the President thatorders came from Washington to General Wood that he advance his armyagainst the invaders and drive them into the sea. The General made a fewremarks not for publication, and obeyed. As he told me afterward, it isdoubtful whether the result would have been different in any event. 

In throwing forward his forces, General Wood used the three lines ofrailroad that cross Long Island from west to east; and on May 17 hisbattleline reached from Patchogue through Holtsville to Port Jefferson. Meantime, the Germans had advanced to a line that extended from EastMoriches to Manorville; and on May 18 the first clash came at daybreak ina fierce cavalry engagement fought at Yaphank, in which the enemy weredriven back in confusion. It was first blood for the Americans. 

This initial success, however, was soon changed to disaster. On May 19the invaders advanced again, with strengthened lines, under the supportof the big guns of their fleet, which stood offshore and, guided byaeroplane observers, rained explosive shells upon General Wood's rightflank with such accuracy that the Americans were forced to withdraw. Whereupon the Germans, using the famous hook formation that served themso well in their drive across northern France in the summer of 1914, pressed forward relentlessly, the fleet supporting them in a deadlyflanking attack upon the American right wing. 

On May 20 von Hindenburg established his headquarters at Forest Hills, where, less than a year before, his gallant countryman, the greatFraitzheim, had made an unsuccessful effort to wrest the Davis cup fromthe American champion and ex-champion, Murray and McLoughlin. 

But that was a year ago!

In the morning General Wood's forces continued to retreat, fighting withdogged courage in a costly rear-guard action, and destroying railroadsand bridges as they went. The carnage wrought by the German six- andeleven-inch explosive shells with delayed-action fuses was frightfulbeyond anything I have ever known. Ten feet into the ground theseprojectiles would bury themselves before exploding, and then--well, noarmy could stand against them. 

On May 22 General Wood was driven back to his original line of defencesfrom Fort Totten to Valley Stream, where he now prepared to make a laststand to save Brooklyn, which stretched behind him with its peacefulspires and its miles of comfortable homes. Here the Americans were safefrom the hideous pounding of the German fleet, and, although their lossesin five days amounted to more than six thousand men, these had beenreplaced by reinforcements of militia from the West and South. There wasstill hope, especially as the Germans, once they advanced beyond Westburyand its famous polo fields, would come within range of the heavy mortarsof Fort Totten. And Fort Hamilton, which carried thirteen miles. 

That night the German commander, General von Hindenburg, under a flag oftruce, called upon the Americans to surrender in order to save theBorough of Brooklyn from destruction. 

General Wood refused this demand; and on May 23, at dawn, under cover ofhis heavy siege-guns, von Hindenburg threw forward his veterans interrific massed attack, striking simultaneously at three points withthree army divisions--one in a drive to the right toward Fort Totten, onein a drive to the left toward Fort Hamilton, and one in a drive straightahead against General Wood's centre and the heart of Brooklyn. 

All day the battle lasted--the battle of Brooklyn--with house-to-housefighting and repeated bayonet charges. And at night the invaders, outnumbering the American troops five to one, were everywhere victorious. The defender's line broke first at Valley Stream, where the Germans, ledby the famous Black Hussars, flung themselves furiously with cold steelupon the militiamen and put them to flight. By sundown the Uhlans weregalloping, unopposed, along the broad sweep of the Eastern Parkway andparallel streets towards Prospect Park, where the high land offered anadmirable site for the German artillery, since it commanded Fort Hamiltonfrom the rear and the entire spread of Brooklyn and Manhattan. 

It was now that Field Marshal von Hindenburg and his staff, speedingalong the Parkway in dark grey military automobiles, witnessed a famousact of youthful heroism. As they swung across the Plaza to turn intoFlatbush Avenue von Hindenburg ordered his chauffeur to slow up so thathe might view the Memorial Arch and the MacMonnies statues of our CivilWar heroes, and at this moment a sharp burst of rifle fire sounded acrossProspect Park. 

"What is that?" asked the commander, then he ordered a staff officer toinvestigate. 

It appears that on this fateful morning five thousand American HighSchool lads, from fifteen to eighteen years of age, members of theAthletic League of New York Public Schools, who had been trained in theseschools to shoot accurately, had answered the call for volunteers andrallied to the defence of their city. By trolley, subway and ferry theycame from all parts of Brooklyn, Manhattan, Harlem, Staten Island and theBronx, eager to show what their months of work with subtarget gunmachines, practice rods and gallery shooting, also their annual match onthe Peekskill Rifle Range, would now avail against the enemy. But whenthey assembled on the Prospect Parade Ground, ready to do or die, theyfound that the entire supply of rifles for their use was one hundred andtwenty-five! Seventy-five Krags, thirty Springfields and one hundred andtwenty Winchesters, 22-calibre muskets--toys fit for shooting squirrels, and only a small supply of cartridges. The rifles available were issuedto such of the boys as had won their badges of sharpshooter and marksman, two boys being assigned to each gun, so that if one was shot the othercould go on fighting. 

"It was pitiful, " said General George W. Wingate, President of theLeague, who was directing their movements, "to see the grief of thosebrave boys as they heard the German guns approaching and realised thatthey had nothing to fight with. Five thousand trained riflemen and norifles!"

Nearer and nearer came the flanking force of the invading host andpresently it reached the outskirts of this beautiful park, which withhill and lake and greensward covers five hundred acres in the heart ofBrooklyn. A few boys were deployed as skirmishers along the eastern edgeof the Park, but the mass occupied hastily dug trenches near the monumentto the Maryland troops on Lookout Hill and the brass tablet thatcommemorate the battle of Long Island. At these historic points for halfan hour they made a stand against a Bavarian regiment that advancedslowly under cover of artillery fire, not realising that they weresweeping to death a crowd of almost unarmed schoolboys. 

Even so the Americans did deadly execution until their ammunition waspractically exhausted. Then, seeing the situation hopeless, the headcoaches, Emanuel Haug, John A. C. Collins, Donald D. Smith and PaulB. Mann, called for volunteers to hold the monument with the few remainingcartridges, while the rest of the boys retreated. Hundreds clamoured forthis desperate honour, and finally the coaches selected seventy of thosewho had qualified as sharpshooters to remain and face almost certaindeath, among these being: Jack Condon of the Morris High School, J. Vernet (Manual Training), Lynn Briggs (Erasmus), Isaac Smith (Curtis), Charles Mason (Commercial), C. Anthony (Bryant), J. Rosenfeld(Stuyvesant), V. Doran (Flushing), M. Marnash (Eastern District), F. Scanlon (Bushwick), Winthrop F. Foskett (De Witt Clinton), and RichardHumphries (Jamaica). 

Such was the situation when Field Marshal von Hindenburg dashed up in hismotor car. Seventy young American patriots on top of Lookout Hill, withtheir last rounds of toy ammunition, were holding back a German regimentwhile their comrades fled for their lives. And surely they would havebeen a martyred seventy, since the Bavarians were about to charge in fullforce, had not von Hindenburg taken in the situation at a glance andshouted:

"Halt! It is not fitting that a German regiment shall use its strengthagainst a handful of boys. Let them guard their monument! March on!"

Meantime, to the east and north of the city the battle raged and terrorspread among the populace. All eyes were fixed on New York as a haven ofrefuge and, by the bridge, ferry and tunnel, hundreds of thousands madetheir escape from Brooklyn. 

The three great bridges stretching their giant black arms across theriver were literally packed with people--fathers, mothers, children, allon foot, for the trolleys were hopelessly blocked. A man told meafterwards that it took him seven hours to cross with his wife and theirtwo little girls. 

Other swarms hovered about the tunnel entrances and stormed theferry-boats at their slips. Every raft in the harbour carried its load. The Pennsylvania and Erie ferries from the other side of Manhattan, theStaten Island boats, the Coney Island and other excursion steamers, struggled through the press of sea traffic and I heard that three ofthese vessels sank of their own weight. Here and there, hardlydiscernible among the larger craft, were the small boats, life-boats, canoes, anything and everything that would float, each bearing its littlegroup to a precarious safety on Manhattan Island. 

Meantime, Fort Totten and Fort Hamilton had been taken from the rear byoverwhelming forces, and their mortars had been used to silence the gunsof Fort Schuyler and Fort Wadsworth. In this emergency, seeing thesituation hopeless, General Wood withdrew his forces in good order undercover of a rear-guard action between the Uhlans and the United Statescolored cavalry, and, hurrying before him the crowds of fleeingcivilians, marched his troops in three divisions across the BrooklynBridge, leaving Brooklyn in flames behind him. Then facing inexorablenecessity, he ordered his engineers to blow up these three beautifulspans that had cost hundreds of millions, and to flood the subwaysbetween Brooklyn and Manhattan. 

Seen through the darkness at the moment of its ruin the vast steelstructure of the Brooklyn Bridge, with its dim arches and filaments, waslike a thing of exquisite lace. In shreds it fell, a tangled, twisted, tragically wrecked piece of magnificence. 

CHAPTER V

GENERAL VON HINDENBURG TEACHES NEW YORK CITY A LESSON

On May 24, 1921, the situation of New York City was seen to be desperate, and most of the newspapers, even those that had clamoured loudest forresistance and boasted of American valour and resourcefulness, nowadmitted that the metropolis must submit to a German occupation. 

Even the women among the public officials and political leaders wereinclined to a policy of nonresistance. General Wood was urged tosurrender the city and avoid the horrors of bombardment; but thecommander replied that his first duty was to defend the territory of theUnited States, and that every day he could keep the enemy isolated onLong Island was a day gained for the permanent defences that werefrantically organising all over the country. 

It was vital, too, that the immense stores of gold and specie in thevaults of the Federal Reserve and other great New York banks should besafely transported to Chicago. 

All day and all night, automobile trucks, operated under orders fromWilliam G. McAdoo, Governor of the Federal Reserve Bank, loaded withmillions and millions of gold, passed unprotected and almost unheededthrough the crowded section between Wall Street and the Grand CentralStation. The people stared at them dumbly. They knew what was going on. They knew they could have a fortune by reaching out their hands. But atthis moment, with their eternities in their eyes, they had no thought ofgold. Hour after hour the work went on. Finally, subway trains and streetcars were pressed into service as treasure-carriers. 

By night $800, 000, 000 had started West and the next morning Chicago wasthe financial capital of America. 

At midnight General Wood gave final orders for resistance to the last gunand the last man; and, when early the next morning the German generalagain sent officers with a flag of truce demanding the surrender ofManhattan Island, Wood's reply was a firm refusal. He tried, however, togain time in negotiations; and a few hours later I accompanied adelegation of American staff officers with counter-proposals across theEast River in a launch. I can see von Hindenburg now, in his high bootsand military coat, as he received the American officers at the foot ofthe shattered Brooklyn Bridge. A square massive head with close-croppedwhite hair, brushed straight back from a broad forehead. And sadsearching eyes--wonderful eyes. 

"Then you refuse to surrender? You think you can fight?" the FieldMarshal demanded. 

At which the ranking American officer, stung by his arrogance, declaredthat they certainly did think they could fight, and would prove it. 

"Ah! So!" said von Hindenburg, and he glanced at a gun crew who wereloading a half-ton projectile into an 11. 1-inch siege-gun that stood onthe pavement. "Which is the Woolworth Building?" he asked, pointingacross the river. 

"The tallest one, Excellency--the one with the Gothic lines and gildedcornices, " replied one of his officers. 

"Ah, yes, of course. I recognise it from the pictures. It's beautiful. Gentlemen, "--he addressed the American officers, --"I am offeringtwenty-dollar gold pieces to this gun crew if they bring downthat tower with a single shot. Now, then, careful!... 

"Ready!"

We covered our ears as the shot crashed forth, and a moment later themost costly and graceful tower in the world seemed to stagger on itsbase. Then, as the thousand-pound shell, striking at the twenty-seventhstory, exploded deep inside, clouds of yellow smoke poured out throughthe crumbling walls, and the huge length of twenty-four stories above thejagged wound swayed slowly toward the east, and fell as one piece, flinging its thousands of tons of stone and steel straight across thewidth of Broadway, and down upon the grimy old Post Office Buildingopposite. 

_"Sehr gut!"_ nodded von Hindenburg. "It's amusing to see them fall. Suppose we try another? What's that one to the left?"

"The Singer Building, Excellency, " answered the officer. 

"Good! Are you ready?"

Then the tragedy was repeated, and six hundred more were added to thedeath toll, as the great tower crumbled to earth. 

"Now, gentlemen, "--von Hindenburg turned again to the American officerswith a tiger gleam in his eyes, --"you see what we have done withtwo shots to two of your tallest and finest buildings. At this timeto-morrow, with God's help, we shall have a dozen guns along this bank ofthe river, ready for whatever may be necessary. And two of our_Parsevals_, each carrying a ton of dynamite, will float over New YorkCity. I give you until twelve o'clock to-morrow to decide whether youwill resist or capitulate. At twelve o'clock we begin firing. "

Our instructions were to return at once in the launch by the shortestroute to the Battery, where automobiles were waiting to take us toGeneral Wood's headquarters in the Metropolitan Tower. I can close myeyes to-day and see once more those pictures of terror and despair thatwere spread before us as we whirled through the crowded streets behindthe crashing hoofs of a cavalry escort. The people knew who we were, where we had been, and they feared what our message might be. 

Broadway, of course, was impassable where the mass of red brick from theSinger Building filled the great canyon as if a glacier had spread overthe region, or as if the lava from a man-made Aetna had choked this greatthoroughfare. 

Through the side streets we snatched hasty impressions of unforgetablescenes. Into the densely populated regions around Grand and HoustonStreets the evicted people of Brooklyn had poured. And into the homes ofthese miserably poor people, where you can walk for blocks withouthearing a word in the English tongue, Brooklyn's derelicts had beenabsorbed by tens of thousands. 

Here came men and women from all parts of Manhattan, the rich in theirautomobiles, the poor on foot, bearing bundles of food and eager to helpin the work of humanity. And some, alas, were busy with the sinisterbusiness of looting. 

Above Fourteenth Street we had glimpses of similar scenes and I learnedlater that almost every family in Manhattan received some Brooklynhomeless ones into their care. New York--for once--was hospitable. 

In Madison Square the people waited in silence as we approached the greatwhite tower from which the Commander of the Army of the East, unmindfulof the fate of the Woolworth and the Singer buildings, watched forfurther moves from the fortified shores of Brooklyn. Not a shout greetedour arrival at the marble entrance facing the square, not even thatmurmur of expectancy which sweeps over a tense gathering. The people knewthe answer of von Hindenburg. They had read it, as had all the world formiles around, in the cataclysm of the plunging towers. 

New York must surrender or perish!

Scarcely three blocks away, the Committee of Public Safety, numbering onehundred, sat in agitated council at the Madison Square Garden, whileenormous crowds, shouting and murmuring, surged outside, where fivehundred armed policemen tried vainly to quell the spirit of riot that wasin the air. Far into the night the discussion lasted, while overhead inthe purple-black sky floated the two _Parsevals_, ominous visitors, theirsearch-lights playing over the helpless city that was to feel their wrathon the morrow unless it yielded. 

Meantime, on the square platform within the great Moorish building, ahundred leading citizens of Manhattan, including the ablest and therichest and a few of the most radical, spoke their minds, while thousandsof men and women, packed in the galleries and the aisles, listenedheart-sick for some gleam of comfort. 

And there was none. 

Among the Committee of Public Safety I recognised J. P. Morgan, Jacob H. Sehiff, John D. Rockefeller, Charles F. Murphy, Andrew Carnegie, VincentAstor, Cardinal Farley, Colonel Jacob Ruppert, Nicholas Murray Butler, S. Stanwood Menken, Paul M. Warburg, John Finley, Mrs. O. H. P. Belmont, James E. Gaffney, Ida Tarbell, Norman Hapgood, William Randolph Hearst, Senator Whitman, Bernard Ridder, Frank A. Munsey, Henry Morgenthau, ElihuRoot, Henry L. Stimson, Franklin Q. Brown, John Mitchell, John Wanamaker, Dr. Parkhurst, Thomas A. Edison, Colonel George Harvey, Douglas Robinson, John Hays Hammond, Theodore Shonts, William Dean Howells, Alan R. Hawley, Samuel Gompers, August Belmont, Dr. Anna Howard Shaw, the Rev. PercyStickney Grant, Judge E. H. Gary, Emerson McMillin, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and ex-Mayor Mitchel. 

Former President Wilson motored over from Princeton, accompanied byProfessor McClellan, and was greeted with cheers. Ex-President Taft wasspeaking at the time, advocating a dignified appeal to the Hague Tribunalfor an adjudication of the matter according to international law. Nearlyall of the speakers favoured non-resistance, so far as New York City wasconcerned. With scarcely a dissenting voice, the great financial andbusiness interests represented here demanded that New York Citycapitulate immediately. 

Whereupon Theodore Roosevelt, who had just entered the Garden with hisuniform still smeared with Long Island mud, sprang to his feet and criedout that he would rather see Manhattan Island sunk in the Bay thandisgraced by so cowardly a surrender. There was still hope, he declared. The East River was impassable for the enemy. All shipping had beenwithdrawn from Brooklyn shores, and the German fleet dared not enter theAmbrose Channel and the lower bay so long as the Sandy Hook guns heldout. 

"We are a great nation, " Roosevelt shouted, "full of courage andresourcefulness. Let us stand together against these invaders, as ourforefathers stood at Lexington and Bunker Hill!"

During the cheers that followed this harangue, my attention was drawn toan agitated group on the platform, the central figure being BernardRidder, recognised leader of the large German-American population of NewYork City that had remained staunchly loyal in the crisis. Presently aclamour from the crowd outside, sharper and fiercer than any that hadpreceded it, announced some new and unexpected danger close at hand. 

White-faced, Mr. Ridder stepped to the edge of the platform and liftedhis hand impressively. 

"Let me speak, " he said. "I must speak in justice to myself and to half amillion German-Americans of this city, who are placed in a terribleposition by news that I have just received. I wish to say that we areAmericans first, not Germans! We are loyal to the city, loyal to thiscountry, and whatever happens here tonight--"

At this moment a tumult of shouts was heard at the Madison Avenueentrance, and above it a shrill purring sound that seemed to strikeconsternation into an army officer who sat beside me. 

"My God!" he cried. "The machine-guns! The Germans are in the streets!"

CHAPTER VI

VARIOUS UNPLEASANT HAPPENINGS IN MANHATTAN

I shall never forget the horror of that hoarse cry:

"The Germans are in the streets!"

What followed was still more terrifying. Somewhere at the back of theGarden, a piercing whistle cut the air--evidently a signal--and suddenlywe found ourselves facing a ghastly tragedy, and were made to realise theresistless superiority of a small body of disciplined troops over adisorganised multitude. 

"_Fertig! Los! Hup!_" shouted a loud voice (it was a man with amegaphone) in the first gallery opposite the platform. Every face in thattremendous throng turned at once in the direction of the stranger'svoice. And before the immense audience knew what was happening, fivehundred German soldiers, armed with pistols and repeating rifles, hadsprung to life, alert and formidable, at vantage-points all over theGarden. Two hundred, with weapons ready, guarded the platform and theCommittee of Public Safety. And, in little groups of threes and fives, back to back, around the iron columns that rose through the galleries, stood three hundred more with flashing barrels levelled at the crowds. 

I counted fifteen of these dominating groups of soldiers in the northernhalf of the lower gallery, and it was the same in the southern half andthe same on both sides of the upper gallery, which made sixty armedgroups in sixty strategic positions. There was nothing for the crowd todo but yield. 

"Pass out, everybody!" screamed the megaphone man. "We fire at the firstdisorder. "

"Out, everybody!" roared the soldiers. "We fire at the first disorder. "

As if to emphasise this, an automatic pistol crackled at the far end ofthe Garden, and frantic crowds pushed for the doors in abject terror. There was no thought of resistance. 

"Use all the exits, " yelled the megaphone man; and the order was passedon by the soldiers from group to group. And presently there rolled outinto the streets and avenues through the thirty great doors and down thesix outside stairways that zigzag across the building such streams ofwhite-faced, staggering, fainting humanity as never had been seen onManhattan Island. 

I was driven out with the others (except the Committee of Public Safety), and was happy to find myself with a whole skin in Twenty-sixth Streetopposite the Manhattan Club. As I passed a group of German soldiers nearthe door, I observed that they wore grey uniforms. I wondered at thisuntil I saw overcoats at their feet, and realised that they had enteredthe Garden like spies with the audience of citizens, their uniforms andweapons being concealed under ordinary outer garments, which they hadthrown off at the word of command. 

We stumbled into the street, and were driven roughly by other Germansoldiers toward the open space of Madison Square. We fled over red andslippery pavements, strewn with the bodies of dead and wounded policemenand civilians--the hideous harvest of the machine-guns. At the corner ofMadison Avenue and Twenty-fifth Street I saw an immense coal-carryingmotor-truck with plates of iron covering its four sides, and throughloopholes in the plates I saw murderous muzzles protruding. 

It appears that shortly after midnight, at the height of the debate, fourof these armoured cars came lumbering toward the Garden from west andeast, north and south; and, as they neared the four corners of theimmense yellow building, without warning they opened fire upon thepolice, which meant inevitably upon the crowd also. In each truck were adozen soldiers and six machine-guns, each one capable of firing sixhundred shots a minute. There was no chance for resistance, and within aquarter of an hour the streets surrounding the Garden were a shambles. OnMadison Avenue, just in front of the main entrance, I saw bodies lyingthree deep, many of them hideously mutilated by the explosive effects ofthese bullets at short range. As I stepped across the curb in front ofthe S. P. C. A. Building, I cried out in horror; for there on the sidewalklay a young mother--But why describe the horror of that scene?

With difficulty I succeeded in hiring a taxicab and set out to findGeneral Wood or some officer of his staff from whom I might get anunderstanding of these tragic events. Who were those German soldiers atthe Garden? Where did they come from? Were they German-Americans?

It was four o'clock in the morning before I located General Wood at theplaza of the Queensborough Bridge, where he was overseeing the placing ofsome artillery pieces. He was too busy to talk to me, but from one of hisaides I learned that the soldiers at the Madison Square Garden were notGerman-Americans and were not von Hindenburg's men, but were part of thatinvisible army of German spies that invariably precedes the invadingforces of the Kaiser. Arriving a few hundred at a time for a period ofmore than three years, 50, 000 of these German spies, fully armed andequipped, now held New York at their mercy. More than that, they had intheir actual physical possession the men who owned half the wealth of thenation. That New York would capitulate was a foregone conclusion. 

After cabling this news, I went back to my hotel, the old Brevoort, for a snatch of sleep; and at half-past eight I was out in the streetsagain. The first thing that caught my eye was a black-letteredproclamation--posted by German spies, no doubt--over Henri's barber shop, and signed by General von Hindenburg, announcing the capitulation of NewYork City. The inhabitants were informed that they had nothing to fear. Their lives and property would be protected, and they would find theGermans just and generous in all their dealings. Food and supplies wouldbe paid for at the market price, and citizens would be recompensed forall services rendered. The activities of New York would go on as usual, and there would be no immediate occupation of Manhattan Island by Germantroops. All orders from the conquering army in Brooklyn must beimplicitly obeyed, under penalty of bombardment. 

I could scarcely believe my eyes. New York City had capitulated! I askeda man beside me--an agitated citizen in an orange tie--whether this couldbe true. He said it was--all the morning papers confirmed it. The immensepressure from Wall Street upon Washington, owing to the hold-up ofmultimillionaires, had resulted in orders from the President that thecity surrender and that General Wood's forces withdraw to New Jersey. 

"What about John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie and J. P. Morgan andthe other hostages?" I asked. 

"The _Sun_ says they have been taken over to Brooklyn where the Germanarmy is, and they've got to raise a billion dollars in gold. "

"A billion dollars in gold!"

"Sure; as an indemnity for New York City. You'll notice we could havebought a few defences for that billion, " sniffed the angry citizen. 

Things moved rapidly after this. All the shipping in waters about theisland metropolis, including ferry-boats, launches, pilot-boats, everything that floated, was delivered over to the Germans. The SandyHook defences were delivered over, and the rivers and bays were clearedof mines. All motor-cars, supplies of gasolene, firearms, and ammunitionin New York City were seized and removed to Brooklyn. The telephoneservice was taken over by the Germans and operated by them, chiefly formilitary purposes. The mail service ceased. The newspapers were orderednot to appear--with the exception of the _Staats-Zeitung_, which becamethe official organ of the invaders and proceeded to publish editions inEnglish as well as German. 

"What will happen if we go ahead and get out the paper in spite of yourorder?" inquired the city editor of the _Evening Journal_ when a youthfulPrussian officer informed him that the paper must not appear. 

"Oh, you will be shot and William Randolph Hearst will be shot, " said theofficer pleasantly. 

About noon on the day of capitulation, May 25, 1921, a company of Germansoldiers with two machine guns, two ammunition carts and a line of motortrucks landed at the Battery and marched quietly up Broadway, then turnedinto Wall Street and stopped outside the banking house of J. P. Morgan &Co. A captain of hussars in brilliant uniform and wearing an eyeglasswent inside with eight of his men and explained politely to the managerthat the Germans had arranged with J. P. Morgan personally that they wereto receive five million dollars a day in gold on account of the indemnityand, as four days' payment, that is twenty million dollars, were now due, the captain would be obliged if the manager would let him have twentymillion dollars in gold immediately. Also a match for his cigarette. 

The manager, greatly disturbed, assured the captain that there was not asmuch money as that in the bank, all the gold in New York having been sentout of the city. 

"Ah!" said the officer with a smile. "That will simply put you to thetrouble of having it sent back again. You see, we hold the men who ownthis gold. Besides, I think you can, with an effort, get together thistrifling amount. "

The manager vowed it was utterly impossible, whereupon the captainmotioned to one of his men, who, it turned out, had been for years atrusted employee of J. P. Morgan & Co. And had made himself familiar withevery detail of Wall Street affairs. He knew where a reserve store ofgold was hidden and the consequence was that half an hour later theGerman soldiers marched back to the Battery, their motor trucks groaningunder the weight of twenty million dollars in double eagles and bullion. 

"You see, we need some small change to buy eggs and chickens andvegetables with, " laughed the officer. "We are very particular to pay foreverything we take. "

An hour later the first show of resistance to German authority came whena delegation of staff officers from General von Hindenburg visited thecity hall to instruct Mayor McAneny as to the efficient running of thevarious municipal departments. I had the details of this conference fromthe mayor's private secretary. The officers announced that there would beno interference with the ordinary life of the city so long as the resultswere satisfactory. Business must go on as usual. Theatres and places ofamusement were to remain open. The city must be gay, just as Berlin wasgay in 1915. 

On the other hand any disorder or failure to provide for German needs inthe matter of food and supplies would be severely dealt with. Everymorning there must be delivered at the foot of Fulton Street, Brooklyn, definite quantities of meat, poultry, eggs, butter, vegetables, flour, milk, sugar, fruits, beer, coffee, tea, besides a long and detailed listof army supplies. 

"Suppose we cannot get these things?" protested the mayor. "Suppose thetrain service to New York is cut off by General Wood's army?"

"Hah!" snorted a red-faced colonel of artillery. "There are two and ahalf million Americans on Manhattan Island--and we'll see that they staythere--who will starve within one week if General Wood cuts off the trainservice. I don't think he will cut it off, Mr. McAneny. "

"Besides, my dear sir, " drawled a slender English-looking officer, wearing the iron cross, "if there should be any interference with ourfood supply, remember that we can destroy your gas and electric lightingplants, we can cripple your transportation system and possibly cut offyour water supply with a few well directed shots. Don't forget that, Mr. McAneny. "

The trouble began as these German officers walked down Broadway with asmall escort of soldiers. Whenever they passed a policeman they requiredhim to salute, in accordance with published orders, but a big Irishmanwas defiant and the officers stopped to teach him manners. At which acrowd gathered that blocked Broadway and the officers were insulted andjostled and one of them lost his helmet. There was no serious disorder, but the Germans made it a matter of principle and an hour later the_Staats Zeitung_ came out with a special edition announcing that, inasmuch as disrespect had been shown to five German officers by aBroadway crowd, it now became necessary to give the city an object lessonthat would, it was hoped, prevent such a regrettable occurrence in thefuture. That evening five six-inch shells would be fired by German siegeguns in Brooklyn at five indicated open spaces in Manhattan, these beingchosen to avoid losses of life and property. The first shell would befired at seven o'clock and would strike in Battery Park; the second at7. 05 and would strike in Union Square; the third at 7. 10 and would strikein Madison Square; the fourth at 7. 15 and would strike in StuyvesantSquare; the fifth at 7. 20 and would strike in Central Park just north ofthe Plaza. 

This announcement was carried out to the letter, the five shellsexploding at the exact points and moments indicated, and the peoplerealised with what horrible precision the German artillery-men heldManhattan island at their mercy. 

The newspapers also received their object lesson through the action ofthe _Evening Telegram_ in bringing out an extra announcing thebombardment. My own desk being in the foreign editor's room, I witnessedthis grim occurrence. At half-past five a boyish-looking lieutenantsauntered in and asked for the managing editor, who was sitting with hisfeet on a desk. 

"Good-evening, " said the German. "You have disobeyed orders in gettingout this edition. I am sorry. "

The editor stared at him, not understanding. "Well, what's the answer?"

The officer's eyes were sympathetic and his tone friendly. He glanced athis wrist watch. "The answer is that I give you twenty minutes totelephone your family, then I'm going to take you up on the roof and haveyou shot. I am sorry. "

Twenty minutes later they stood up this incredulous editor behind theilluminated owls that blinked down solemnly upon the turmoil of HeraldSquare and shot him to death as arranged. 

CHAPTER VII

NEW HAVEN IS PUNISHED FOR RIOTING AND INSUBORDINATION

Meantime the United States from coast to coast was seething with rageand humiliation. This incredible, impossible thing had happened. NewYork City was held by the enemy, and its greatest citizens, whose nameswere supposed to shake the world--Rockefeller, Morgan, Carnegie, Vanderbilt, --were helpless prisoners. General Wood's defeated army hadbeen driven back into New Jersey, and was waiting there for vonHindenburg's next move, praying for more artillery, more ammunition, moreofficers, and more soldiers. Let this nation be threatened, Secretary ofState Bryan had said, and between sunrise and sunset a million men wouldspring to arms. Well, this was the time for them to spring; but wherewere the arms? Nowhere! It would take a year to manufacture what wasneeded! A year to make officers! A year to make soldiers! And the enemywas here with mailed fist thundering at the gates!

The question now heard in all the clubs and newspaper offices, and indiplomatic circles at Washington, was, which way would von Hindenburgstrike when he left New York? Would it be toward Boston or towardPhiladelphia? And why did he delay his blow, now that the metropolis, after a week's painful instruction, was resigning itself to a Germanisedexistence, with German officials collecting the New York custom houserevenues and a German flag flying from the statue of Liberty? What wasvon Hindenburg waiting for?

On the 3d of June these questions were dramatically answered by thearrival of another invading expedition, which brought a second force ofone hundred and fifty thousand German soldiers. What cheering there wasfrom Brooklyn shores as these transports and convoys, black with men, steamed slowly into the ravished upper bay, their bands crashing out"Deutschland Über Alles" and their proud eagles floating from all themast-heads!

"This makes three hundred thousand first-class fighting-men, " scowledFrederick Palmer as we watched the pageant. "What is Leonard Wood goingto do about it?"

"I know what von Hindenburg is going to do, " said I, taking the role ofprophet. "Divide his forces and start two drives--one through New Englandto Boston, and one to Washington. "

As a matter of fact, this is exactly what the German general did do--andhe lost no time about it. On June 5, von Hindenburg, with an army of125, 000, began his march toward Trenton, and General von Kluck, who hadarrived with the second expedition, started for Boston with an equalforce. This left 50, 000 German troops in Brooklyn to control New YorkCity and to form a permanent military base on Long Island. 

General Wood's position was terribly difficult. His army, encamped halfway between Trenton and Westfield, had been increased to 75, 000 men; but50, 000 of these from the militia were sadly lacking in arms andorganisation, and 5, 000 were raw recruits whose first army work had beendone within the month. He had 20, 000 regulars, not half of whom had everseen active warfare. And against these von Hindenburg was advancing with125, 000 veterans who had campaigned together in France and who wereequipped with the best fighting outfit in the world!

It would have been madness for the American commander to divide hisoutclassed forces; and yet, if he did not divide them, von Kluck's armywould sweep over New England without resistance. In this cruel dilemma, General Wood decided--with the approval of the President--to make a standagainst von Hindenburg and save Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, if he could, and to leave New England to its fate. 

At this critical moment I was instructed by my paper to accompany araiding expedition sent by General von Hindenburg into northern NewJersey, with the object of capturing the Picatinny arsenal near Dover;and this occupied me for several days, during which General von Kluck'sarmy, unresisted, had marched into Connecticut up to a line reaching frombeyond Bridgeport to Danbury to Washington, and had occupied NewRochelle, Greenwich, Stamford, South Norwalk, and Bridgeport. The Germansadvanced about fifteen miles a day, living off the country, and carefullyrepairing any injuries to the railways, so that men and supplies fromtheir Long Island base could quickly follow them. 

On June 10, when I rejoined General von Kluck's staff (to which I hadbeen assigned), I found that he was accompanied by the Crown Prince andthe venerable Count Zeppelin, both of whom seemed more interested in thisNew England occupation than in the activities of von Hindenburg's army. They realised, it appears, the great importance of controlling theindustrial resources, the factories and machine-shops of Connecticut andMassachusetts. It was this interest, I may add, that led to the firstbloodshed on Connecticut soil. 

Thus far not a shot had been fired by the invaders, who had been receivedeverywhere by sullen but submissive crowds. Only a small part of thepopulation had fled to the north and east, and the activities of occupiedtowns and cities went on very much as usual under German orders andGerman organisation. The horrible fate of Brooklyn, the wreck of theWoolworth and Singer buildings were known everywhere; and if New YorkCity, the great metropolis, had been forced to meek surrender by theinvaders, what hope was there for Stamford and Bridgeport and SouthNorwalk?

[Illustration: THEN, FACING INEXORABLE NECESSITY, GENERAL WOOD ORDEREDHIS ENGINEERS TO BLOW UP THE BRIDGES AND FLOOD THE SUBWAYS THAT LED TOMANHATTAN. IT WAS AS IF THE VAST STEEL STRUCTURE OF BROOKLYN BRIDGE HADBEEN A THING OF LACE. IN SHREDS IT FELL, A TORN, TRAGICALLY WRECKED PIECEOF MAGNIFICENCE. ]

But in Hartford a different spirit was stirring. By their admirable spyservice, their motorcycle service, and their aeroplane service, theGerman staff were informed of defiant Hartford crowds gathering inBushnell Park; of the Putnam Phalanx parading in continental uniforms, and of the Governor's First Company Foot Guards marching past themonument where the Charter Oak had stood facing the South CongregationalChurch; and of patriotic speeches from beside the statue of Nathan Haleon Main Street. 

Also in New Haven, city of elms and of Yale College, the Second Companyof Governor's Foot Guards and the valiant New Haven Grays, followed bycheering crowds, had marched down Chapel and Meadow streets to the SecondRegiment Armory, home of joyous Junior promenades; and here vehementorators had recalled how their ancestors, the minute-men of 1776, hadrepelled the British there to the west of the city, where Columbus andCongress and Davenport avenues meet at the Defenders' Monument. Whyshould not this bravery and devotion be repeated now in 1921 against theGermans? Why not?

The answer was spoken clearly in a widely published appeal to the peopleof New England, made by the Governor of Connecticut and supported bySimeon E. Baldwin, ex-Governor of the State, and Arthur T. Hadley, president of Yale, in which the utter folly and hopelessness ofresistance without army or militia was convincingly set forth. ProfessorTaft declared it the duty of every loyal citizen to avoid namelesshorrors of bloodshed and destruction of property by refraining from anyopposition to an overwhelmingly superior force. 

We entered New Haven on June 12, and for forty-eight hours there was nodisorder. German siege guns were placed on the sheer precipice of EastRock, ranged alongside the grey shaft of the Soldiers' Monument, dominating the city; machine-guns were set up at the four corners of theGreen, at points surrounding the college buildings, and at otherstrategic points. Students were not allowed to leave the college groundswithout military permission. 

To further insure the good behaviour of the city, twenty hostages weretaken, including ex-President William H. Taft, President Arthur T. Hadleyof Yale University, Thomas G. Bennett, ex-president of the WinchesterRepeating Arms Company, Major Frank J. Rice, ex-Governor Simeon E. Baldwin, Edward Malley, General E. E. Bradley, Walter Camp, and threemembers of the graduating class of Yale University, including thecaptains of the baseball and football teams. These were held as prisonerswithin the grey granite walls and towers of Edgerton, the residence ofFrederick F. Brewster. As staff headquarters, General von Kluck and theCrown Prince occupied the palatial white marble home of Louis Stoddard, the famous polo-player. 

The trouble began on June 14, when the invaders tried to set goingthe manufacturing activities of New Haven, shut down during the pastweek--especially he Winchester Repeating Arms Company, mploying abouteleven thousand men, and the Sargent Hardware Manufacturing Company, employing eight thousand. Large numbers of these employees had fled fromNew Haven in spite of offers of increased wages, so that the Germans hadbeen obliged to bring on men from New York to fill their places. This ledto rioting and scenes of violence, with a certain amount of looting, invarious parts of the city; and toward evening German troops fired uponthe crowds, killing and wounding about two hundred. 

In punishment of this insubordination, General von Kluck ordered the gunson East Rock to destroy the Hotel Taft and the new Post Office Building, and this was done as the sun was setting. He also ordered that two of thehostages, chosen by lot, should be led out before Vanderbilt Hall, at thecorner of College and Chapel streets, the next day at noon, and shot. 

However, this grim fate was averted through the intercession of anAmerican woman, a white-haired lady whose husband, a Northern general, had fought with Count Zeppelin in the American Civil War, and who atmidnight went to the Whitney mansion, where the Count and his staff werequartered, and begged on her knees for mercy. And, for the sake of oldtimes and old friendship, Count Zeppelin had this penalty remitted. 

CHAPTER VIII

I HAVE A FRIENDLY TALK WITH THE GERMAN CROWN PRINCE AND SECURE ASENSATIONAL INTERVIEW

After the pacification of New Haven and the re-establishment of itsindustries, our division of the German army, numbering about fivethousand men, swung to the north, through Wallingford, Meriden, andMiddletown, and marched toward the capital of the State. 

I shall always remember the morning of June 17, 1921, when, at therequest of the Crown Prince, I rode at his side for an hour before weentered Hartford. I was amazed at the extent of the Prince's informationand at his keen desire for new knowledge. He asked about the number ofmen employed in the Hartford rubber works, in Colt's armory, in the Pratt& Whitney machine-shops, and spoke of plans for increasing the efficiencyof these concerns. He knew all about the high educational standards ofthe Hartford High School. He had heard of the Hotel Heublein, and of thesteel tower built by its proprietor on the highest point of TalcottMountain--had already arranged to have this tower used for wirelesscommunication between Hartford and the German fleet. He knew exactly howmany Germans, Italians, and Swedes there were in Hartford, exactly howmany spans there were in the new three-million-dollar bridge across theConnecticut. He looked forward with pleasure to occupying as his Hartfordheadquarters the former home on Farmington Avenue of Mark Twain, whoseworks he had enjoyed for years. 

"You know Mark Twain was a great friend of my father's, " said the CrownPrince. "I remember how my father laughed, one evening at the palace inBerlin, when Mark Twain told us the story of 'The Jumping Frog ofCalaveras County. ' It's rather a pity that afterward Mark--but never mindthat. "

"Your Imperial Highness has a wonderful memory for details, " I remarked. 

"That is nothing, " he smiled. "It's our business to know these things;that is why we are here. We must know more about New England than the NewEnglanders themselves. For example, ask me something. "

"Does your Imperial Highness--" I began. But he stopped me with a jollylaugh. I can still see the eager, boyish face under its flashing helmet, and the slim, erect figure in its blue-and-silver uniform. 

"Never mind the Imperial Highness, " he said. "Just ask somequestions--any question about Hartford. "

"The insurance companies?" I suggested. 

"Ah! Of course I know that. We considered the insurance companies infixing the indemnity. Hartford is the richest city in America inproportion to her population. Let's see. Of her life insurance companies, the Aetna has assets of about a hundred and twenty million dollars; theTravellers' about a hundred million; the Connecticut Mutual about seventymillion; the Phoenix Mutual about forty million--besides half a dozensmall-fry fire insurance companies. We're letting them off easily withtwenty million dollars indemnity. Don't you think so, Mr. Langston?"

This informal talk continued for some time, and I found the Princepossessed of equally accurate and detailed information regarding otherNew England cities. It was positively uncanny. He inquired about theBancroft Japanese collection in Worcester, Massachusetts, and wanted toknow the number of women students at Wellesley College. He asked if I hadseen the portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds at the Athenaeum in Providence. He had full details about the United States Armory at Springfield, and heasked many questions about the Yale-Harvard boat races at New London, most of which I was, fortunately, able to answer. 

Frederick William was curious to know what had given Newport its greatpopularity as a summer resort, and asked me to compare the famouscottages of the Vanderbilts, the Belmonts, the Astors, along the cliffs, with well-known country houses in England. He knew that Siasconset onNantucket Island was pronounced "Sconset, " and he had read reports onmarine biology from Woods Hole. He even knew the number of watches madeat Waltham every year, and the number of shoes made at Lynn. 

I was emboldened by the Crown Prince's good humour and friendly manner toask the favour of an interview for publication in the London _Times_, and, to my great satisfaction, this was granted the next day when we weresettled in our Hartford quarters, with the result that I gained highcommendation; in fact my interview not only made a sensation in England, but was cabled back to the United States and reprinted all over America. Needless to say, it caused bitter resentment in both countries againstFrederick William. 

"The responsibility for the present war between Germany and the UnitedStates must be borne by England, " he said in this memorable utterance. "It was the spirit of hatred against Germany spread through the world byEngland and especially spread through America that made the United Statesunwilling to deal with the Imperial government in a fair and friendlyway, touching our trade and colonising aspirations in South America andMexico. 

"We Germans regard this as a most astonishing and deplorable thing, thatthe American people have been turned against us by Britishmisrepresentations. Why should the United States trust England? What hasEngland ever done for the United States? Who furnished the South witharms and ammunition and with blockade runners during the Civil War?England! Who placed outrageous restrictions upon American commerce duringthe great European war and, in direct violation of International law, prohibited America from sending foodstuffs and cotton to Germany?England!

"What harm has Germany ever done to the United States? Turn over thepages of history. Remember brave General Steuben, a veteran of Frederickthe Great, drilling with Washington's soldiers at Valley Forge. Rememberthe German General De Kalb who fell pierced by red-coat balls andbayonets at the battle of Camden. Remember General Herckheimer with hisband of German farmers who fought and died for American independence atthe battle of Oriskany. 

"Then go to Greenwood cemetery and look at the graves of German soldiers, rows and rows of them, who gave their lives loyally for the Union atAntietam, at Bull Run and at Gettysburg. 

"The United States is a great nation with vast resources, " he went on, "but these have been largely wasted, owing to the inefficiency andcorruption inevitable in all democracies. "

"Your Imperial Highness does not think much of American efficiency?"

The prince threw back his head with a snort of contemptuous amusement. 

"Ha! What can one expect from a government like yours? A government ofincompetents, politicians, office seekers. "

"I beg your pardon, " I protested. 

"I do not mean to offend you, " he laughed, "but hasn't the whole worldknown for years that America was utterly defenceless? Haven't youAmericans known it since 1914? Haven't you read it in all yournewspapers? Hasn't it been shouted at you from the housetops by all yourleading men?

"And yet your senators, your congressmen, your presidents and theircabinet officers did nothing about it, or very little. Is that what youcall efficiency? America remained lacking in all that makes for militarypreparedness, did she not? And she tried to be a world power and defendthe Monroe doctrine! She told Germany in 1915 what Germany might do withher submarines and what she might not do. Ha! We were at a disadvantagethen, but we remembered! You, with your third-rate navy and yourtenth-rate army, told us what we might do! Well, you see where yourefficiency has brought you. "

I sat silent until this storm should pass, and was just making bold tospeak when the prince continued:

"Do you know where America made her great mistake? Oh, what a chance youhad and missed it! Why did you not declare war on Germany after ourinvasion of Belgium? Or after the sinking of the _Lusitania?_ Or afterthe sinking of the _Arabic?_ You had your justification and, with yourmoney and resources, you could have changed the course of the great war. That is what we feared in Berlin. We were powerless to hurt you then andwe knew you would have time to get ready. Yes, if America had gone intothe war in 1915, she would be the greatest power on earth to-day insteadof being a conquered province. "

These words hurt. 

"America is a long way from being a conquered province, " I retorted. 

He shook his head good-naturedly, whereupon I resolved to control mytemper. It would be folly to offend the prince and thus lose my chance tosecure an interview of international importance, which this proved to be. 

"We hold New York already, " he continued. "Within three weeks we shallhold New England. Within three months we shall hold your entire Atlanticseaboard. "

"We may win back our lost territory, " said I. 

"Never. We are conquerors. We will stay here exactly as the Manchuconquerors stayed in China. Exactly as the Seljuk conquerors stayed inAsia Minor. Your military strength is broken. Your fleet will bedestroyed when it reaches the Caribbean. How can you drive us out?"

"Our population is over a hundred million. "

"China's population is over three hundred million and a handful ofJapanese rule her. Remember, America is not like Russia with her heartdeep inland. The military heart of America lies within a radius of 180miles from New York City and we hold it, or soon will. In that smallstrip, reaching from Boston to Delaware Bay, are situated nine-tenths ofthe war munition factories of the United States, the Springfield Armory, the Watervliet Arsenal, the Picatinny Arsenal, the Frankfort Arsenal, theDupont powder works, the Bethlehem steel works, and all these willshortly be in our hands. How can you take them from us? How can you getalong without them?"

"We can build other munition factories in the West. "

"That will take a year or more, in which time we shall have fortified thewhole Appalachian Mountain system from Florida to the St. Lawrence, sothat no army can ever break through. Do you see?"

The prince paused with a masterful smile and played with a large signetring on his third finger. 

"Surely Your Imperial Highness does not think that Germany can conquerthe whole of America?"

"Of course not, at least not for many years. We are content with yourAtlantic seaboard, the garden spot of the earth in climate and resources. We shall hold this region and develop it along broad lines of Germanefficiency and German _kultur. _ What wonderful improvements we will make!How we will use the opportunities you have wasted!

"Ha! Let me give you one instance among many of your incredibleinefficiency. Those disappearing carriages of your coast defence guns! Isuppose they were the pet hobby of some politician with an interest intheir manufacture, but Gott in Himmel! what foolishness! The gunsthemselves are good enough, but the carriages allow them an elevationof only ten percent against a thirty percent elevation that is possiblefor guns of equal calibre on our battleships, which means that ourtwelve-inch guns outrange yours by a couple of miles simply because wecan fire them at a higher angle. "

"You mean that one of your super-dreadnoughts--"

"Exactly. One of our super-dreadnoughts can lie off Rockaway Beachand drop shells from her twelve-inch guns into Union Square, and thetwelve-inch guns of your harbour forts, handicapped by their stupidcarriages, could never touch her. "

The conversation now turned to other subjects and presently the princewas led by enthusiasm or arrogance to make a series of statements thatgave extraordinary importance to my interview, since they enraged thewhole Anglo-Saxon world, particularly our Western and Middle Westernstates. Fortunately I submitted my manuscript to Frederick William beforecabling the interview to London, so there was no danger of hisrepudiating my words. 

With brutal frankness this future ruler of a nation maintained thatagainst German arms America must now go down to defeat just as Englandwent down to partial defeat in 1917 and for the same unchangeable reasonthat the fittest among nations inevitably survive. 

"Ask your readers in the London Times, Mr. Langston, why it was that inthe fall of 1915 Germany had been able to put into the field nine millionfully equipped, highly efficient soldiers, whereas England, with nearlythe same population, counting her white colonies, had been able to sendout only two and a half million, a third of these being physicallydefective? Why was that?

"Was it lack of guns and ammunition? Lack of officers and training?Partly so, but something else was lacking, I mean patriotism among theEnglish masses that would give them the desire to fight for England, alsoa high standard of physical excellence that would make them able to fighteffectively and to endure the hardships of the trenches. 

"Now why should there be more patriotism in Germany than in England? Whyshould the masses of Germany excel the masses of England in physicalvigour?

"I will tell you why, and the answer applies in some degree to America;it is because the German system of government is better calculated tocreate patriotism and physical vigour, just as it is better calculated tocreate an efficient war machine. In Germany we have concentration ofpower, a benevolent paternalism that knows the needs of the people andsupplies them whether the people wish it or not. For example, in Germanywe have to a great extent abolished poverty and such degrading slumconditions as prevail in English and American cities. We know that slumslead to drink, vice and physical unfitness. We know that we must kill theslums or see the slums kill efficiency and kill patriotism. 

"In Germany we hold the capitalist class within strict bounds. We allowno such heaping up of huge fortunes as are common in America through theexploitation of the weak by the strong. We Germans protect the weak andmake them stronger, but you English and Americans make them weaker byoppressing them. You make slaves of children in a thousand factories, crushing out their strength and their hope, so that a few more of you canbecome millionaires. Do you think those children, grown to manhood, willfight for you very loyally or very effectively when you call on them torally to the flag? What does such a flag mean to them?"

"What does the American flag mean to thousands of American steel workersforced to toil at the furnaces twelve hours a day for two dollars? Twelvehours a day and often seven days a week lest they starve! Why shouldthese men fight for a flag that has waved, unashamed, over their miseryand over the unearned and undeserved fortunes of their task masters, Andrew Carnegie and J. P. Morgan? Why should the down-trodden miners inColorado fight to perpetuate a John D. Rockefeller system of government?"

"What does Your Imperial Highness mean by a John D. Rockefeller system ofgovernment?"

"I mean the English and American system of individualism gone mad--everyman for himself and the devil take the hindermost. The result is atrampling on the many by the few, a totally unfair division of theproducts of toil and such wicked extremes of poverty and riches as arefamiliar in London and New York but are unknown in Germany. 

"In Germany the masses are well housed and well nourished. In all ourcities cheap and wholesome pleasures abound, music, beer gardens, greatparks with playgrounds and dancing pavilions. It is literally true thatwork at fair wages with reasonable hours is provided for every Germancitizen who is able to work. And those unable to work are taken careof, --pensions for the aged, homes for the disabled, state assistance forpoor mothers. There are no paupers, no factory slaves in Germany. Thecentral government sees to this, not only as a matter of humanity, but asgood policy. We know that every German citizen will fight for the Germanflag because he is proud of it and has personal reason to be grateful toit, since it represents fair play, large opportunity, a satisfactory lifefor him and his children. "

The prince maintained that here were new elements in the problem ofGermany's conquest of America. Not only were the invaders more valiantwarriors possessed of a better fighting machine, but they came with amoral and spiritual superiority that must make strong appeal to Americansthemselves. 

"After yielding to us by force of arms, " he went on, "your people willcome to welcome us when they see how much better off, how much happierthey will be under our higher civilisation. Mr. Langston, we understandyour nation better than it understands itself. I assure you, Americansare sick of their selfish materialism, they are ashamed of the degradingmoney worship that has stifled their national spirit. "

Here I challenged him angrily. 

"Do you mean to say that we have no national spirit in America?"

"Not as Germans understand it. You live for material things, forpleasures, for business. You are a race of money schemers, moneygrovellers, lacking in high ideals and genuine spiritual life withoutwhich patriotism is an empty word. Who ever heard of an American workingfor his country unless he was paid for it?

"Think what America did in the great war! Why was your president sowrought up in 1915 when he assailed Germany with fine phrases? Was itbecause we had violated Belgium? No! When that happened he had nothing tosay, although the United States, equally with England, was a signatory ofthe Hague Conference that guaranteed Belgium's integrity. Why did notyour president protest then? Why did he not use his fine phrases then?Because the United States had suffered no material injury throughBelgium's misfortune. On the contrary, the United States was sure to gainmuch of the trade that Belgium lost. And that was what he cared about, commercial advantage. You were quick enough to protect your trade andyour money interests. You were ready enough to do anything for gold, ready enough, by the sale of war munitions, to bring death and miseryupon half of Europe so long as you got gold from the other half. Highideals! National spirit! There they are!"

CHAPTER IX

BOSTON OFFERS DESPERATE AND BLOODY RESISTANCE TO THE INVADERS

Our wing of the advancing German army remained in Hartford for four days, at the end of which all signs of disorder had ceased; in fact, there waslittle disorder at any time. The lesson of New Haven's resistance hadbeen taken to heart, and there was the discouraging knowledge that a rowof German six-inch siege-guns were trained on the city from the heightsof Elizabeth Park, their black muzzles commanding the grey towers andgolden dome of State House, the J. Pierpont Morgan Memorial, the gleamingwhite new City Hall, the belching chimneys of the Underwood typewriterworks, and the brown pile of Trinity College. 

There was the further restraining fact that leading citizens of Hartfordwere held as hostages, their lives in peril, in James J. Goodwin'spalatial home, among these being ex-Governor Morgan G. Buckley, MayorJoseph H. Lawler, Bishop Chauncey B. Brewster, Dr. Flavel S. Luther, Bishop John J. Nilan, Mrs. Richard M. Bissell, Mrs. Thomas N. Hepburn, the Rev. Rockwell Harmon Potter, Charles Hopkins Clark, Rolland F. Andrews, the Rev. Francis Goodwin, Thomas J. Spellacy, and SolSontheimer. 

So the invaders' march through New England continued. It is a pitifulstory. What could Connecticut and Massachusetts do? With all their wealthand intelligence, with all their mechanical ingenuity, with all theirpride and patriotism, what could they do, totally unprepared, morehelpless than Belgium, against the most efficient army in Europe?

Three times, between Hartford and Springfield, unorganised bands ofAmericans, armed with shotguns and rifles, lay in ambush for theadvancing enemy and fired upon them. These men declared that they woulddie before they would stand by tamely and see the homes and fields of NewEngland despoiled by the invader. Whereupon the Germans announced, bymeans of proclamations showered upon towns and villages from theiradvance-guard of aeroplanes, that for every German soldier thus killed byAmericans in ambush a neighbouring town or village would be burned byfire bombs dropped from the sky. And they carried out this threat to theletter, so that for every act of resistance by the fathers and brothersand sons of New England there resulted only greater suffering anddistress for the women and the children. 

The average man, especially one with a wife and children, is easily cowedwhen he has no hope; and presently all resistance ceased. What feebleopposition there was in the first week dwindled to almost nothing in thesecond week and to less than nothing in the third week. Stamford paid twomillion dollars in gold, Bridgeport five million, New Haven five million, Hartford twenty million, Fall River three million, Springfield fivemillion, Worcester two million, Providence ten million, Newport fiftymillion. The smaller cities got off with half a million each, and some ofthe towns paid as little as one hundred thousand dollars. But everycommunity paid something, and the total amount taken from New England, including a hundred million from New Hampshire, a hundred million fromVermont, and a hundred million from Maine, was eight hundred milliondollars, about a third of which was in gold. 

With a battle-front fifty or seventy-five miles long, von Kluck's forcesstrolled across this fertile and populous region, living off the land, leaving small holding forces with artillery at every important point, afew hundred or a few thousand, while the main army swept relentlessly andresistlessly on. It was a delightful four weeks' picnic for von Kluck andhis men; and at the end of four weeks everything in New England hadfallen before them up to the city of Boston, which had been left for thelast. _And the total German losses in killed and wounded were less thantwenty!_

On July 2, General von Kluck's army, sweeping forward unopposed, reachedthe western and southwestern suburbs of Boston, passing through Newtonand Brookline, and making a detour to avoid ruining the beautiful golflinks where Ouimet won his famous victory over Ray and Vardon. Thissportsmanlike consideration was due to the fact that several of theGerman officers and the Crown Prince himself were enthusiastic golfers. 

Meantime there was panic in the city. For days huge crowds had swarmedthrough Boston's great railway stations, fleeing to Maine and Canada; andacross the Charles River bridge there had passed an endless stream ofautomobiles bearing away rich families with their jewels and theirsilver. Among them were automobile trucks from the banks, laden with tonsof gold. No boats left the harbour through fear of a grim Germanbattleship that lay outside, plainly visible from the millionaire homesof Nahant and Manchester. 

Even now there was talk of resistance, and German Taubes looked down upona mass meeting of ten thousand frantic citizens gathered in MechanicsHall on Huntington Avenue; but prudent counsels prevailed. How couldBoston resist without soldiers or ammunition or field artillery? Brooklynhad resisted, and now lay in ruins. New Haven had tried to resist, andwhat had come of it?

At three o'clock on this day of sorrow, with banners flying and bandsplaying, the German forces--horse, foot, and artillery--entered theMassachusetts capital in two great columns, the one marching down BeaconStreet, past the homes of Oliver Wendell Holmes and Julia Ward Howe, theother advancing along Commonwealth Avenue, past the white-columnedHarvard Club, past the statues of Alexander Hamilton and William LloydGarrison, on under the shade of four rows of elms that give this noblethoroughfare a resemblance to the Avenue de la Grande Armée in Paris. 

It was a perfect summer's day. The sun flashed from the golden dome ofthe State House on the hill over Boston Common, and from the great whiteCustom House tower that rose impressively in the distance above the greenof the Public Gardens. Boston looked on, dumb with shame and stifledrage, as the invaders took possession of the city and ran up their flags, red, white, and black, above the Old South Meeting House on WashingtonStreet, where Benjamin Franklin was baptised, and above the sacred, nowdishonoured, shaft of the Bunker Hill Monument. 

Hostages were taken, as usual, these including Major Henry L. Higginson, President A. Lawrence Lowell of Harvard University, Major James M. Curley, Edward A. Filene, Margaret Deland, William A. Paine, EllerySedgwick, Mrs. John L. Gardner, Charles W. Eliot, Louis D. Brandeis, Bishop William Lawrence, Amy Lowell, T. Jefferson Coolidge, Thomas W. Lawson, Guy Murchie, and Cardinal O'Connell. 

A proclamation was made in the _Transcript_ (now forced to be theofficial German organ and the only newspaper that was allowed to appearin Boston) that these prominent persons would be held personallyresponsible for any public disorder or for any failure of the city tofurnish the army of occupation with all necessary food and supplies. 

On the night of occupation there were scenes of violence, with riotingand looting in various parts of Boston, notably in Washington Street andTremont Street, where shops were wrecked by mobs from the South End, several thousand of the unruly foreign element, crazed with drink andcarrying knives. Against this drunken rabble the American police, sullenand disorganised, could do nothing or would do nothing; and the situationwas becoming desperate, when German troops advanced along WashingtonStreet, firing into the crowd and driving back the looters, who surgedthrough Winter Street, a frantic, terrified mass, and scattered overBoston Common. 

Here, in front of the Park Street Church, another huge mob of citizenshad gathered--five thousand wildly patriotic Irishmen. Armed with clubs, rifles, and pistols, and madly waving the Stars and Stripes, they cursed, cheered, and yelled out insults to the Germans. Suddenly a company ofGerman soldiers with machine-guns appeared on the high ground in front ofthe State House. Three times a Prussian officer, standing near the St. Gaudens Shaw Memorial, shouted orders to the crowd to disperse; but theIrishmen only jeered at him. 

"They want it; let them have it, " said the Prussian. "Fire!"

And three hundred fell before the blast of rifles and machine-guns. 

At which the mob of Irish patriots went entirely mad, and, with yells ofhatred and defiance, swarmed straight up the hill at the battery that wasslaughtering them, shouting: "To hell with 'em!" "Come on, boys!"charging so fiercely and valiantly, that the Germans were swept fromtheir position, and for a short time a victorious American mob held theapproaches to the State House. 

Alas, it was for only a short time! The enemy quickly brought forwardreinforcements in overwhelming strength, and an hour later there wereonly dead, wounded and prisoners to tell of this loyal but hopelesseffort. 

In other parts of the city during this night of terror there were similarscenes of bloodshed, the Germans inflicting terrible punishment upon thepeople, innocent and guilty suffering alike for every act of disobedienceor resistance. There were a few cases of sniping from houses; and forthese a score of men, seized indiscriminately in the crowds, were hangedfrom windows of the offending or suspected buildings. As a further lessonto the city, two of the hostages, chosen by lot, were led out into thePublic Gardens the next morning at sunrise and shot near the statue ofEdward Everett Hale. 

Machine-guns were now placed on the high ground before the Soldiers'Monument and at other strategic points, and ten thousand soldiers wereencamped on Boston Common, the main part of the army being withdrawn, after this overwhelming show of force, to Franklin Park on the outskirts, where heavy siege-guns were set up. 

The _Transcript_ appeared that day with a black-lettered proclamation, signed by General von Kluck, to the effect that at the next disorder fivehostages would be shot, and six beautiful buildings--the State House, theCustom House, the Boston Public Library, the Opera House, the BostonArt Museum, and the main building of the Massachusetts School ofTechnology--would be wrecked by shells. This reduced the city to absolutesubmission. 

Mrs. John L. Gardner's fine Italian palace in the Fenway, with its wealthof art treasures, was turned into a staff headquarters and occupied bythe Crown Prince, General von Kluck, and Count Zeppelin. The main body ofofficers established themselves in the best hotels and clubs, the CopleyPlaza, the Touraine, the Parker House, the Somerset, the St. Botolph, theCity Club, the Algonquin, the Harvard Club, paying liberally for thefinest suites and the best food by the simple method of signing checks tobe redeemed later by the city of Boston. 

Non-commissioned officers made themselves comfortable in smaller hotelsand in private houses and boarding-houses to which they were assigned. Apopular eating-place was Thompson's Spa, where a crush of brass-buttonedGerman soldiers lunched every day, perched on high stools along thecounters, and trying to ogle the pretty waitresses, who did not hidetheir aversion. 

It is worthy of note that the Tavern Club was burned by its own membersto save from desecration a spot hallowed by memories of Oliver WendellHolmes, James Russell Lowell, Charles Eliot Norton, and George WilliamCurtis. 

I must mention another instance of the old-time indomitable New Englandspirit that came to my knowledge during these sad days. The Germanslevied upon the city of Boston an indemnity of three hundred milliondollars, this to be paid at the rate of three million dollars a day; andon the morning of July 4, two of von Kluck's staff officers, accompaniedby a military escort, marched down State Street into the now desertedregion of banks and vaults and trust companies, to arrange for theregular payment of this sum. Entering the silent halls of a great bankinghouse, they came to a rear office with the door locked. A summons to openbeing unanswered, they broke down this door; whereupon a shot, fired fromwithin, killed the first soldier who crossed the threshold. A Germanvolley followed, and, when the smoke cleared away, there sat a prominentBoston financier, his father's Civil War musket clutched in his hands andthe look of a hero in his dying eyes. All alone, this uncompromisingfigure of a man had waited there in his private office ready to defy thewhole German army and die for his rights and his convictions. 

CHAPTER X

LORD KITCHENER VISITS AMERICA AND DISCUSSES OUR MILITARY PROBLEMS

I was standing with Count Zeppelin in the doorway of Mrs. John L. Gardner's Fenway palace when the news of the great sea horror reachedBoston. The German submarine U-68, scouting off the coast of Maine, had sunk the American liner _Manhattan_, the largest passenger vesselin the world, as she raced toward Bar Harbor with her shipload ofnon-combatants. Eighteen hundred and sixty-three men, women, and childrenwent down with the ship. No warning had been given. No chance had beenoffered for women or children or neutral passengers to escape. Thedisaster duplicated the wrecking of the _Lusitania_ in 1915, but itexceeded it in loss of human life. The American captain and all his menshared the fate of the passengers intrusted to their care. 

In Boston the effect on the German officers and men was unbelievable. Tremont and Boylston and Washington streets, echoing with cheers of theexulting conquerors, resembled the night of a Harvard-Yale football gamewhen Brickley used to play for Cambridge University. The citizens of thebig town, their senses deadened by their own disaster, received the news, and the ghastly celebration that followed it, without any real interest. The fact that an ex-Mayor of Boston and the son of the present Governorwere among those that perished failed to rouse them. Boston, mentally aswell as physically, was in the grip of the enemy. 

That this was just the effect the Germans planned to produce is shown byGeneral von Kluck's own words. In an interview that he gave me for theLondon _Times_, after the occupation of Boston on July 2, 1921, Generalvon Kluck said:

"The way to end a war quickly is to make the burden of it oppressive uponthe people. It was on this principle that General Sherman acted in hismarch from Atlanta to the sea. It was on this principle that GeneralGrant acted in his march from Washington to Richmond. Grant said he wouldfight it out on those lines if it took all summer--meaning lines ofrelentless oppression. In modern war a weak enemy like Belgium or likeNew England, which is far weaker than Belgium was in 1914, must becrushed immediately. Think of the bloodshed that would have stained thesoil of Connecticut and Massachusetts if we had not spread terror beforeus. As it is, New England has suffered very little from the Germanoccupation, and in a very short time everything will be going on asusual. "

The veteran warrior paused, and added with a laugh: "Better than usual. "

As a matter of fact, within a week Boston had resumed its ordinary lifeand activities. Business was good, factories were busy, and the theatreswere crowded nightly, especially Keith's, where the latest militaryphoto-play by Thomas Dixon and Charles T. Dazey--with Mary Pickford asthe heroine and Charley Chaplin as the comedy relief--was enjoyedimmensely by German officers. 

As to the commerce of Boston Harbor, it was speedily re-established, withships of all nations going and coming, undisturbed by the fact that itwas now the German flag on German warships that they saluted. 

I received instructions from my paper about this time to leave NewEngland and join General Wood's forces, which had crossed the Delawareinto Pennsylvania, where they were battling desperately with vonHindenburg's much stronger army. On the day following my arrival at theAmerican headquarters, I learned that Lord Kitchener had come over fromEngland to follow the fighting as an eye-witness; and I was fortunateenough to obtain an interview with his lordship, who remembered me inconnection with his Egyptian campaigns. 

"The United States is where England would have been in 1914 without herfleet, " said Lord Kitchener. 

"Where is that?"

"If England had been invaded by a German army in 1914, " replied the greatorganiser gravely, "she would have been wiped off the map. It wasEngland's fleet that saved her. And, even so, we had a hard time of it. Everything was lacking--officers, men, uniforms, ammunition, guns, horses, saddles, horse blankets, everything except our fleet. "

A sudden light burned in Lord Kitchener's strange eyes, and he addedearnestly: "There is something more than that. In 1914 Germany waswonderfully prepared in material things, but her greatest advantage overall other nations, except Japan, lay in her dogged devotion to her ownideals. She may have been wrong, as we think, but she believed inherself. There was nothing like it in England, and there is nothing likeit in America. The German masses, to the last man, woman, and child, wereinspired to give all that they had, their lives included, for the Empire. In England there was more selfishness and self-indulgence. We had labourtroubles, strike troubles, drink troubles; and finally, as you know, in1916 we were forced to adopt conscription. It will be the same story herein America. "

"Don't you think that America will ultimately win?"

Lord Kitchener hesitated. 

"I don't know. Germany holds New York and Boston and is marching onPhiladelphia. Think what that means! New York is the business capital ofthe nation. It is hard to conceive of the United States without NewYork. "

"The Americans will get New York back, won't they?"

"How? When? It is true you have a population of eighty millions west ofthe Allegheny Mountains, and somehow, some day, their American spirit andtheir American genius ought to conquer; but it's going to be a job. Patriotism is not enough. Money is not enough. Potential resources arenot enough. It is a question of doing the essential thing before it istoo late. We found that out in England in 1916. If America could haveused her potential resources when the Germans landed on Long Island, shewould have driven her enemies into the sea within a week; but the thingwas not possible. You might as well expect a gold mine in Alaska to stopa Wall Street panic. "

I found that Lord Kitchener had very definite ideas touching great socialchanges that must come in America following this long and exhausting war, assuming that we finally came out of it victorious. 

"America will be a different land after this war, " he said. "You willhave to reckon as never before with the lowly but enlightened millionswho have done the actual fighting. The United States of the future mustbe regarded as a vast-co-operative estate to be managed for the benefitof all who dwell in it, not for the benefit of a privileged few. AndAmerica may well follow the example of Germany, as England has since theend of the great war in 1919, in using the full power of state to lessenher present iniquitous extremes of poverty and wealth, which weakenpatriotism, and in compelling a division of the products of toil that isreally fair. 

"I warn you that America will escape the gravest labour trouble with thepossibility of actual revolution only by admitting, as England hasadmitted, that from now on labour has the whip hand over capital and mustbe placated by immense concessions. You must either establish statecontrol in many industries that are now privately owned and managed andestablish state ownership in all public utilities or you must expect tosee your whole system of government swing definitely toward a socialisticregime. The day of the multi-millionaire is over. "

I found another distinguished Englishman at General Wood's headquarters, Lord Northcliffe, owner of the London _Times_, and I had the unusualexperience of interviewing my own employer for his own newspaper. Asusual, Lord Northcliffe took sharp issue with Lord Kitchener on severalpoints. His hatred of the Germans was so intense that he could see nogood in them. 

"The idea that Germany will be able to carry this invasion of America toa successful conclusion is preposterous, " he declared. "Prussiansupermen! What are they? Look at their square heads with no backs to themand their outstanding ears! Gluttons of food! Guzzlers of drink! A raceof bullies who treat their women like squaws and drudges and then cringeto every policeman and strutting officer who makes them goose-step beforehim. Bismarck called them a nation of house-servants, and knew thatin racial aptitude they are and always will be hopelessly inferior toAnglo-Saxons. 

"Conquer America? They can no more do it than they could conquer England. They can make you suffer, yes, as they made us suffer; they can fill youwith rage and shame to find yourselves utterly unprepared in this hour ofperil, eaten up with commercialism and pacifism just as we were. Butconquer this great nation with its infinite resources and its splendidracial inheritance--never!

"The Germans despise America just as they despised England. John Bull wasan effete old plutocrat whose sons and daughters were given up to sportand amusement. The Kaiser, in his famous Aix-la-Chapelle order, referredscornfully to our 'contemptible little army. ' He was right, it was acontemptible little army, but by the end of 1917 we had five millionfully equipped men in the field and in the summer of 1918 the Kaiser sawhis broken armies flung back to the Rhine by these same contemptibleEnglishmen and their brave allies. There will be the same marvellouschange here when the tortured American giant stirs from his sleep ofindifference and selfishness. Then the Prussian superman will learnanother lesson!"

CHAPTER XI

HEROIC ACT OF BARBARA WEBB SAVES AMERICAN ARMY AT THE BATTLE OF TRENTON

Coming now to the campaign in New Jersey, let me recall that on theevening of June 18, American scouting aeroplanes, under SquadronCommander Harry Payne Whitney, reported that a strong force of Germans, cavalry, infantry, and artillery, had occupied the heights aboveBordentown, New Jersey, and were actively proceeding to build pontoonsacross the Delaware. It seemed clear that von Hindenburg was preparing tocross the river at the very point where Washington made his historiccrossing in 1776; and General Wood proceeded to attack the enemy'sposition with his artillery, being assisted by four light-draughtgunboats from the Philadelphia navy-yard, which lay in the deepenedchannel at the head of tide-water and dropped shells inside the enemy'slines. The Germans replied vigorously, and a smart engagement at longrange ensued, lasting until darkness fell. We fully expected that thenext day would see a fierce battle fought here for the command of theriver. No one dreamed that this was a trap set by von Hindenburg. 

As a matter of fact, the crossing movement from above Bordentown was afeint in which not more than 8, 000 Germans were engaged, their main armybeing gathered twenty miles to the north, near Lambertville, for the realcrossing. And only the prompt heroic action of three young Americans, twoboys and a girl, saved our forces from immediate disaster. 

The heroine of this adventure was Barbara Webb, a beautiful girl ofsixteen, who, with her brother Dominick and their widowed mother, livedin a lonely farm-house on Goat Hill, back of Lambertville. They had a boyfriend, Marshall Frissell, in Brownsburg, Pennsylvania, on the other sideof the river, and Marshall and Dominick had learned to wigwag signals, inboy-scout fashion, back and forth across the Delaware. 

It seems that, on this memorable night, the brother and sister discovereda great force of Germans building pontoons about a mile below the wreckedLambertville bridge. Whereupon Dominick Webb, knowing that all telegraphand telephone wires were cut, leaped upon a horse and set out to carrythe news to General Wood. But he was shot through the thigh by a Prussiansentry, and, hours later, fainting from loss of blood, he returned to thefarm-house and told his sister that he had failed in his effort. 

Then Barbara, as day was breaking, climbed to the crest of Goat Hill, andbegan to signal desperately toward Brownsburg, in the hope that MarshallFrissell might see and understand. For an hour she waved, but all invain. Marshall was asleep. Still she waved; and finally, by a miracle offaith, the boy was roused from his slumbers, drawn to his window as thesun arose, and, looking out, saw Barbara's familiar flag wigwaggingfrantically on the heights of Lambertville three miles away. Then heanswered, and Barbara cried out in her joy. 

Just then a German rifle spoke from the riverbank below, a thousand yardsaway, where the enemy were watching, and a bullet pierced the Stars andStripes as the flag fluttered over that slim girlish figure silhouettedagainst the glory of the eastern sky. Then another bullet came, andanother. The enemy had seen Barbara's manoeuvre. She was betraying animportant military secret, and she must die. 

Wait! With a hostile army below her, not a mile distant, this fearlessAmerican girl went on wigwagging her message--letter by letter, slowly, painstakingly, for she was imperfect in the code. As she swept the flagfrom side to side, signalling, a rain of bullets sang past her. Some cuther dress and some snipped her flowing hair; and finally one shatteredthe flag-staff in her hands. Whereupon, like Barbara Frietchie of old, this fine young Barbara caught up the banner she loved, and went onwaving the news that might save her country, while a hundred Germansoldiers fired at her. 

And presently a wonderful thing happened. The power of her devotiontouched the hearts of these rough men, --for they were bravethemselves, --and, lowering their guns, with one accord, they cheered thislittle grey-eyed, dimpled farmer's girl with her hair blowing in thebreeze, until the Jersey hills rang. 

And now the lad in Brownsburg rose to the situation. There were Germanson the opposite bank, a great host of them, making ready to cross theDelaware. General Wood must know this at once--he must come at once. Theysay that freckle-faced Marshall Frissell, fifteen years old, on a madmotorcycle, covered the twenty miles to Ft. Hill, Pa. , where General Woodhad his headquarters, in fifteen minutes, and that by seven o'clock trooptrains and artillery trains were moving toward the north, winding alongthe Delaware like enormous snakes, as Leonard Wood, answering thechildren's call, hastened to the rescue. 

I dwell upon these minor happenings because they came to my knowledge, and because the main events of the four days' battle of Trenton arefamiliar to all. In spite of the overwhelming superiority of the Germansin men and artillery, the American army, spread along a twelve-mile fronton the hills opposite Lambertville, made good use of their defensiveposition, and for three days held back the enemy from crossing the river. In fact, it was only on the evening of the third day, June 21, that vonHindenburg's engineers succeeded in completing their pontoon line to thePennsylvania shore. Again and again the floating bridge was destroyed bya concentrated shell fire from American batteries on the ridge a mile anda half back from the river. 

American aeroplanes contributed effectively to this work of resistance bydropping explosive bombs upon the pontoons; but, unfortunately, Germanaeroplanes outnumbered the defenders at least four to one, and soonachieved a mastery of the sky. 

A brilliant air victory was gained by Jess Willard, volunteer pilot of aswift and powerful Burgess machine, over three Taubes, the latterattacking fiercely while the champion prize-fighter circled higher andhigher, manoeuvring for a position of advantage. I shall never forget thethrill I felt when Willard swooped down suddenly from a height of eightthousand feet, and, by a dangerous turn, brought his machine directlyover the nearest German flier, at the same time dropping a fire bomb thatdestroyed this aeroplane and hurled the wreck of it straight down uponthe two Taubes underneath, striking one and capsizing the other with therush of air. So the great Jess, by his daring strategy, hurled three ofthe enemy down to destruction, and escaped safely from the swarm ofpursuers. 

On the fourth day, the Germans--thanks to an advantage of three to one inartillery pieces--succeeded in crossing the Delaware; and after that theissue of the battle was never in doubt, the American forces beingoutnumbered and outclassed. Two-thirds of General Wood's army were eithermilitia, insufficiently equipped and half trained, or raw recruits. Therewere fifteen thousand of the latter who had volunteered within afortnight, loyal patriots ready to die for their country, but without theslightest ability to render efficient military service. These volunteersincluded clerks, business men, professional men from the cities of NewJersey and Pennsylvania, thousands of workmen from great factories likethe Roebling wire works, thousands of villagers and farmers, all blazingwith zeal, but none of them able to handle a high-power Springfield rifleor operate a range-finder or make the adjustments for the time-fuse of ashell. 

[Illustration: THE PEOPLE KNEW THE ANSWER OF VON HINDENBURG. THEY HADREAD IT, AS HAD ALL THE WORLD FOR MILES AROUND, IN THE CATACLYSM OF THEPLUNGING TOWERS. NEW YORK MUST SURRENDER OR PERISH!]

"They shot away tons of ammunition without hitting anything, " said one ofthe American officers to me. "They didn't know how to use wind-gauges orelevation-sights. They couldn't even pull a trigger properly. "

And yet, the Germans suffered heavily in that desperate battle of thefourth day--partly because they attacked again and again in closeformation and were mowed down by American machine-guns; partly becauseGeneral Wood had fortified his position with miles of wire entanglementsthrough which high-voltage electric currents were sent from thepower-house of the Newtown and Trenton trolley systems in Newtown, Pennsylvania; and, finally, because the American commander, in an addressto his troops, read at sunset on the eve of battle, had called upon themin inspiring words to fight for their wives and children, for theintegrity of the nation, for the glory of the old flag. 

And they fought until they died. When the battle was over, the Americanshad lost 15, 000 out of 70, 000, while the Germans lost 12, 000 out of125, 000. Von Hindenburg himself admitted that he had never seen such mad, hopeless, magnificent courage. 

Again General Wood faced defeat and the necessity of falling back to astronger position. For weeks thousands of labourers had been diggingtrenches north of Philadelphia; and now the American army, beaten butdefiant, retreated rapidly and in some disorder through Jenkintown andBristol to this new line of intrenchments that spread in fan shape fromthe Schuylkill to the Delaware. 

It was of the most desperate importance now that word be sent toHarrisburg and to the mobilisation camp at Gettysburg and to otherrecruiting points in the West and South, demanding that all possiblereinforcements be rushed to Philadelphia. As communication by telegraphand telephone was cut off, General Wood despatched Colonel Horace M. Reading and Captain William E. Pedrick, officers of the National Guard, in a swift automobile, with instructions that these calls for help beflashed _without fail_ from the wireless station in the lofty graniteshaft of the Trenton monument that commemorates Washington's victory overthe Hessians. 

Unfortunately, owing to bad roads and wrecked bridges, these officerssuffered great delay, and only reached the Trenton monument as the Germanhost, with rolling drums, was marching into the New Jersey capital alongPennington Avenue, the triumphant way that Washington had followed afterhis great victory. 

As the invaders reached the little park where the monument stands, theysaw that a wireless station was in operation there, and demanded itssurrender. 

Colonel Reading, wishing to gain time (for every minute counted), openeda glass door and stepped out on the little balcony at the top of themonument one hundred and fifty feet above the ground. He tried to speak, but a German officer cut him short. He must surrender instantly or theywould fire. 

"Fire and be damned!" shouted the Colonel, and turned to the white-facedwireless operator inside. "Have you got Harrisburg yet?" he asked. "ForGod's sake, hustle!"

"Just got 'em, " answered the operator. "I need five minutes to get thismessage through. "

Five minutes! The German officer below, red with anger, was calling outsharp orders. A six-inch gun was set up under the Carolina poplars not ahundred yards from the monument. 

"We'll show them!" roared the Prussian, as the gun crew drove home ahundred-pound shell. "Ready!"

"Is that message gone?" gasped Reading. 

"Half of it. I need two minutes. "

Two minutes! The officer was aiming the big gun at the base of themonument, and was just giving the word to fire when the heavy bronze doorswung open, and between the two bronze soldiers appeared Elias A. Smith, a white-haired veteran, over ninety years old, with a bronze medal on hisbreast and the Stars and Stripes wound around his waist. 

"I fought in the Civil War!" he cried, in a shrill voice. "Here's mymedal. Here's my flag. I've been the guardian of the monument for sixteenyears. George Washington's up there on top, and if you're going to shoothim, you can shoot me, too. "

The Germans were so surprised by this venerable apparition that theystood like stones. 

"Hi! Yi!" shouted Colonel Reading. "It's gone!"

"Hurrah!" echoed the old man. "I was with Grant at Appomattox when Leesurrendered. Why don't you fire?"

Then they did fire, and the proud shaft bearing the statue of GeorgeWashington crumbled to earth; and in the ruin of it four brave Americansperished. 

CHAPTER XII

REAR-ADMIRAL THOMAS Q. ALLYN WEIGHS CHANCES OF THE AMERICAN FLEET INIMPENDING NAVAL BATTLE

While the main German army pressed on in pursuit of General Wood'sfleeing forces, a body of ten thousand of the invaders was left behind atvarious points in northern New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania to pacifythis region and organise its industries and activities. The Picatinnyarsenal was now running night and day, under the direction of a force ofchemists brought from Germany, turning out shells and cartridges for theinvading army. The great Roebling plant in Trenton was commandeered forthe production of field telephone and telegraph wire, and the Mercerautomobile factory for military motor-trucks and ambulances. 

I was astonished at the rapidity with which German engineers repairedbridges and railroads that had been wrecked by the retreating Americans, and was assured that the invaders had brought with them from their owncountry a full supply of steel spans, beams, girders, trusses, and otherparts necessary for such repairs, down to the individual bolts and pinsfor each separate construction. It was an amazing illustration of theirpreparedness, and of their detailed knowledge of conditions in America. 

Trains were soon running regularly between Jersey City and Trenton, theiroperations being put in the hands of two Pennsylvania Railroad officials, J. B. Fisher, superintendent of the New York division, and Victor Wierman, superintendent of the Trenton division--these two, with their operatingstaffs, being held personally responsible, under pain of death, for thesafe and prompt arrival of troops and supplies. 

For the pacification of Trenton the Germans left a force of threethousand men with artillery encamped in the State Fair grounds near thecapital, and it was announced in the Trenton _Times_ (made the officialGerman organ) that at the first disorder shells would be fired at thewhite marble City Hall, at the State House, with its precious collectionof flags and banners from the Civil and Revolutionary wars, at the BroadStreet National Bank, and at the Public Service building, which standswhere the Hessians surrendered in 1776. 

Among hostages taken here by the Germans were R. V. Kuser, head of theTrenton Brewing Company; General Wilbur F. Sadler, president of the BroadStreet Trust Company; Colonel E. C. Stahl, a Civil War veteran and thefather of Rose Stahl; also the Roman Catholic Bishop James F. McFaul andthe Episcopal Bishop Paul Matthews. 

Many Trenton women, including Mrs. Karl G. Roebling, Mrs. Oliphant, wifeof the General, Miss Mabel Hayter, and Mrs. Charles Howell Cook, weredevoted in nursing the wounded who were brought by thousands to thehistoric churches of Trenton, used as hospitals, and to the vast SecondRegiment armory. 

Several American nurses came into possession of diaries found on woundedGerman soldiers, and some of these recorded excesses similar to thosecommitted in Belgium in 1914. 

"On the main street of the town of Dover, New Jersey, " wrote PrivateKarmenz, 178th Saxon Regiment, "I saw about fifty citizens shot forhaving fired from ambush on our soldiers. "

"Glorious victories in Pennsylvania, " rejoiced Lieutenant A. Aberlein ofthe Eighth Bavarian Army Corps. "Our men of softer spirit give thewounded a bullet of deliverance; the others hack and stab as they may. "

The tribute levied upon Trenton was four million dollars in gold, recently realised by the State Treasurer from an issue of State bonds tosupply State deficiencies. 

German officers made themselves comfortable in the Trenton Club, theLotus Club, the Carteret Club, and the Elk Home; also in the WindsorHouse, the Trenton House, and the Sterling House. Printed schedules ofrates for food and rooms were posted up, and the proprietors werenotified that they would be punished if they refused to give service atthese rates, just as the German soldiers would be punished if they triedto evade payment. 

Officers of the German headquarters staff occupied Karl G. Roebling'sshow place, with its fine stables, lawns, and greenhouses. 

A few days after the battle of Trenton, I received a cable to the effectthat the American fleet had nearly completed its voyage around SouthAmerica and had been sighted off Cape St. Roque, the northeastern cornerof Brazil, headed toward the Caribbean Sea. It was known that the Germanfleet had been cruising in these waters for weeks, awaiting the enemy'sarrival, and cutting off their colliers and supply ships from all portsin Europe and America; and it was now evident that a great naval battlemust occur in the near future. 

I took steamer at once for Kingston, Jamaica; and on the evening of myarrival, July 10, I called on my friend, Rear-Admiral Thomas Q. Allyn ofthe United States Navy (now retired), whom I had not seen since ourdramatic meeting at Colon when the Panama Canal was wrecked by theGermans. I had many questions to ask the Admiral, and we talked untilafter midnight. 

"I am horribly anxious, Mr. Langston, " said the veteran of Manila. "Weare facing a great crisis. Our ships are going into battle, and within afew hours we shall know whether the civilian policy at Washington thathas controlled our naval development--the policy that forced me to resignrather than assume the responsibility for consequences--we shall knowwhether that policy was wise or foolish. "

"I did not suspect that you resigned for that reason, " said I. 

His face darkened. 

"Yes. There had been tension for months. The whole service wasdemoralised. Discipline and efficiency were destroyed. As far back as1914, I testified before the House Committee on Naval Affairs that itwould take five years to make our fleet ready to fight the fleet of anyfirst-class naval power, and to get our personnel into proper condition. I said that we were not able to defend the Monroe Doctrine in theAtlantic, or to force the Open Door of trade in the Pacific. I might aswell have spoken to the winds, and when the order came last April, against the best naval advice, to take our fleet into the Pacific, Ihanded in my resignation. "

"You must be glad you did, in view of what happened. "

"Yes; but--I am thinking of my country. I am thinking of thoseunfortunate ships that have come around South America without sufficientcoal or provisions. "

I asked Admiral Allyn how the American fleet compared with the Germans innumber of ships. He shook his head. 

"We are far behind them. Nine years ago, in 1912, we stood next to GreatBritain in naval strength; but since then we have steadily fallen back. Germany has a dozen super-dreadnoughts, ships of over 30, 000 tons, whilewe have six. Germany has twenty dreadnoughts of from 20, 000 to 30, 000tons to our ten. She has four battle-cruisers, while we have none. Shehas a hundred destroyers to our twenty-five. "

"I understand that these figures refer to the fleets that are actuallygoing into battle?"

"Yes. Germany's entire naval strength is a third more than that. I haveaccurate information. You see, our fleet is outclassed. "

"But it will fight?"

"Of course our fleet will fight; but--we can't get to our base atGuantánamo--the German fleet blocks the way. For years we have beggedthat Guantánamo be fortified; but our request was always refused. "

"Why?"

"Ah, why? Why, in 1915, were we refused eighteen thousand men on theactive list that were absolutely necessary to man our ships? Why have wepractically no naval reserves? Why, in 1916, were the President'sreasonable demands for naval preparedness refused by Congress? I willtell you why! Because politics has been considered more than efficiencyin the handling of our navy. Vital needs have been neglected, so that ashow of economy could be made to the people and get their votes. Economy!Good heavens! you see where it has brought us!"

On the morning of July 11, as I was breakfasting in the hotel withAdmiral Allyn, there was great excitement outside, and, going to thepiazza, we saw a large airship approaching rapidly from the northwest atthe height of about a mile. It was one of the non-rigid Parseval type, evidently a German. 

"A scout from the enemy's fleet, " said Admiral Allyn. 

"That means they are not far away?"

"Yes. They came through the Windward Passage three weeks ago, and havebeen lying off Guantánamo ever since. We ought to have wireless reportsof them soon. "

As a matter of fact, before noon the wireless station at Santiago de Cubaflashed the news that coasting steamers had reported German battleshipssteaming slowly to the south, and a few hours later other wirelessreports informed us that the American fleet had been sighted off thesouthern coast of Haiti. 

The Admiral nodded grimly. 

"The hour has struck. The German and American fleets will meet in thesewaters somewhere between Guantánamo and Jamaica. "

CHAPTER XIII

THE GREAT NAVAL BATTLE OF THE CARIBBEAN SEA

In a flash my newspaper sense made me realise that this was anextraordinary opportunity. The greatest naval battle in history was aboutto be fought so near us that we might almost hear the big guns booming. It would be worth thousands of pounds to the London _Times_ to have aneye-witness account of this battle, and I resolved to turn the island ofJamaica upside down in search of an aeroplane that would take me out tosea. 

The fates were certainly kind to me--or rather the British Consulwas efficient; and before night I had secured the use of a powerfulBurgess-Dunne aeroboat, the property of Vincent Astor; also Mr. Astor'sskilful services as pilot, which he generously offered through hisinterest in naval affairs and because of his desire to give the worldthis first account of a sea battle observed from the sky. 

We started the next morning, an hour after sunrise, flying to the northstraight across the island of Jamaica, and then out over the open sea. Ishall never forget the beauty of the scene that we looked down upon--thetropical flowers and verdure of the rugged island, and the calmly smilingpurple waters surrounding it. We flew swiftly through the delicious airat a height of half a mile, and in two hours we had covered a third ofthe distance to Guantánamo and were out of sight of land. 

At ten o'clock we turned to the right and steered for a column of smokethat had appeared on the far horizon; and at half-past ten we werecircling over the American fleet as it steamed ahead slowly with firesunder all boilers and everything ready for full speed at an instant'snotice. 

As we approached the huge super-dreadnought _Pennsylvania_, flag-ship ofthe American squadron, Mr. Astor unfurled the Stars and Stripes, and wecould hear the crews cheering as they waved back their greetings. 

I should explain that we were able to converse easily, above the roar ofour propellers, by talking into telephone head-pieces. 

"Look!" cried Astor. "Our ships are beginning a manoeuvre. "

The _Pennsylvania_, with red-and-white flags on her foremast, wassignalling to the fleet: "Prepare to engage the enemy. " We watchedeagerly as the great ships, stretching away for miles, turned slightly tostarboard and, with quickened engines, advanced in one long line ofbattle. 

At half-past eleven another smoke column appeared on our port bow, andwithin half an hour we could make out enemy vessels on either hand. 

"They're coming on in two divisions, miles apart, " said Astor, studyingthe two smoke columns with his glasses. "We're headed right betweenthem. "

We flew ahead rapidly, and presently could clearly discern that thevessels to starboard were large battleships and those to port weredestroyers. 

At one o'clock the two fleets were about nineteen thousand yards apartand were jockeying for positions. Suddenly four vessels detachedthemselves from the German battleship line and steamed at high speedacross the head of the American column. 

"What's that? What are they doing?" asked Astor. 

"Trying to cap our line and torpedo it. Admiral Togo did the same thingagainst the Russians in the Yellow Sea. Admiral Fletcher is swinging hisline to port to block that move. "

"How do they know which way to manoeuvre? I don't see any signals. "

"It's done by radio from ship to ship. Look! They are forcing us to headmore to port. That gives them the advantage of sunlight. Ah!"

I pointed to the German line, where several puffs of smoke showed thatthey had begun firing. Ten seconds later great geyser splashes rose fromthe sea five hundred yards beyond the _Pennsylvania, _ and then we heardthe dull booming of the discharge. The battle had begun. I glanced at mywatch. It was half-past one. 

_Boom! Boom! Boom!_ spoke the big German guns eight miles away; but wealways saw the splashes before we heard the sounds. Sometimes we couldsee the twelve-inch shells curving through the air--big, black, clumsyfellows. 

Awe-struck, from our aeroplane, Astor and I looked down upon the Americandreadnoughts as they answered the enemy in kind, a whole line thunderingforth salvos that made the big guns flame out like monster torches, dullred in rolling white clouds of smokeless powder. We could see the tensefaces of those brave men in the fire-control tops. 

"See that!" I cried, as a shell struck so close to the _Arizona_, secondin line, that the "spotting" officers on the fire-control platform highon her foremast were drenched with salt water. 

I can give here only the main features of this great battle of theCaribbean, which lasted five hours and a quarter and covered a water areaabout thirty miles long and twenty miles wide. My plan of it, drawn withred and black lines to represent movements of rival fleets, is a tangleof loops and curves. 

"Do you think there is any chance that it will be a drawn game?" saidAstor, pale with excitement. 

"No, " I answered. "A battle like this is never a drawn game. It's alwaysa fight to a finish. "

Our aeroboat behaved splendidly, in spite of a freshening trade-windbreeze, and we circled lower for a better view of the battle which nowgrew in fierceness as the fleets came to closer quarters. At one time wedropped to within two thousand feet of the sea before Astor rememberedthat our American flag made a tempting target for the German guns andsteered to a higher level. 

"They don't seem to fire at us, do they? I suppose they think we aren'tworth bothering with, " he laughed. 

As a matter of fact, not a single shot was fired at us during the entireengagement. 

I must say a word here regarding an adroit German manoeuvre early in thebattle by which the invaders turned an apparent inferiority in submarinesinto a distinct advantage. The American fleet had thirty submarines(these had been towed painfully around South America) while the Germanshad only five, but these five were large and speedy, built to travel withthe fleet under their own power and not fall behind. The thirty Americansubmarines, on the other hand, could not make over twelve knots an hour. Consequently, when the German line suddenly quickened its pace totwenty-five knots, Admiral Fletcher had to choose between abandoning hisunderwater craft and allowing his fleet to be capped by the enemy; thatis, exposed to a raking fire with great danger from torpedoes. He decidedto abandon his submarines (all but one that had the necessary speed) andthus he lost whatever assistance these vessels might have rendered, andwas obliged to fight with a single submarine against five, instead ofwith thirty against five. 

When I explained this manoeuvre to Mr. Astor he asked the naturalquestion why Admiral Fletcher had not foreseen this unfortunate issue andleft his burdensome submarines at Panama. I pointed out that these thirtyvessels had cost half a million dollars apiece and it was the admiral'sduty to take care of them. It naturally was not his fault if Congress hadfailed to give him submarines that were large enough and swift enough forefficient fighting with the fleet. 

Meantime the battle was booming on in two widely separated areas, thebattleships in one, the destroyers in the other. 

Mr. Astor had held the wheel for five hours and, at my suggestion, heretired to the comfortable little cabin and lay down for fifteen minutes, leaving the aeroboat to soar in great slow circles under its admirableautomatic controls over the main battle area. When he returned he broughthot coffee in a silver thermos bottle and some sandwiches, and we atethese with keen relish, in spite of the battle beneath us. 

The dreadnoughts had now closed in to eight thousand yards and the battlewas at the height of its fury, making a continuous roar, and forming fivemiles of flaming tongues in a double line, darting out their messages ofhate and death. 

As the afternoon wore on the wind strengthened from the northeast and Irealised the disadvantage of the American ships indicated by AdmiralAllyn, namely, that, being light of coal, they rode high in the sea androlled heavily. Unfortunately, the Germans had thirty battleships toseventeen and this disparity was presently increased when the flotilla ofGerman destroyers, about eighty, after vanquishing their opponents, swarmed against the hardpressed American line, attacking from the portquarter under the lead of the four battle-cruisers so that the valiantseventeen were practically surrounded. 

In this storm of shells every ship was struck again and again and thehuge Pennsylvania, at the head of the column, seemed to be the target ofthe whole German column. About three o'clock, as the flagship rolled farover to port and exposed her starboard side, a twelve-inch shell caughther below the armoured belt and smashed through into the engine-room, where it exploded with terrific violence. The flagship immediately fellbehind, helpless, and Admiral Fletcher, badly wounded and realising thathis vessel was doomed, signalled to Admiral Mayo, on the _Arizona_, second in line, to assume command of the fleet. 

"Look!" cried Astor, suddenly, pointing to two black spots in the seaabout a thousand yards away. 

"Periscopes, " said I. 

At the same moment we saw two white trails swiftly moving along thesurface and converging on the _Pennsylvania_ with deadly precision. 

"Torpedoes! They're going to finish her!" murmured Astor, his handsclenched tight, his eyes sick with pain. 

There was a smothered explosion, then a thick column of water shot highinto the air, and a moment later there came another explosion as thesecond torpedo found its target. 

And now the great super-dreadnought _Pennsylvania_ was sinking into theCaribbean with Admiral Fletcher aboard and seventeen hundred men. Shelisted more and more, and, suddenly, sinking lower at the bows, shesubmerged her great shoulders in the ocean and rolled her vast bulkslowly to starboard until her dark keel line rose above the surface witha green Niagara pouring over it. 

For a long time the _Pennsylvania_ lay awash while the battle thunderedabout her and scores of blue-jackets clambered over her rails from herperpendicular decks and clung to her slippery sides. We could hear themsinging "Nancy Lee" as the waves broke over them. 

"Are we afraid to die?" shouted one of the men, and I thrilled at theanswering chorus of voices, "No!"

Just before the final plunge we turned away. It was too horrible, andAstor swung the aeroplane in a great curve so that we might not see thelast agonies of those brave men. When we looked back the flagship haddisappeared. 

As we circled again over the spot where the _Pennsylvania_ went down wewere able to make out a few men clinging to fragments of wreckage andcalling for help. 

"Do you see them? Do you hear them?" cried Astor, his face like chalk. "We must save one of them. She'll carry three if we throw over some ofour oil. "

This explains why we did not see the end of the battle of the Caribbeanand the complete destruction of the American fleet. We threw overboard ahundred pounds of oil and started back to Kingston with a crippled engineand a half-drowned lieutenant of the _Pennsylvania_ stretched on thecabin floor. How we saved him is a miracle. One of our wings buckled whenwe struck the water and I got a nasty clip from the propeller as Idragged the man aboard; but, somehow, we did the thing and got home hourslater with one of the few survivors of Admiral Fletcher's ill-fatedexpedition. 

I have no idea how I wrote my story that night; my head was throbbingwith pain and I was so weak I could scarcely hold my pencil, but somehow, I cabled two columns to the London _Times_, and it went around the worldas the first description of a naval battle seen from an aeroplane. I didnot know until afterwards how much the Germans suffered. They really lostabout half their battleships, but the Americans lost everything. 

CHAPTER XIV

PHILADELPHIA'S FIRST CITY TROOPS DIE IN DEFENCE OF THE LIBERTY BELL

I come now to the point in my narrative where I ceased to be merely areporter of stirring events, and began to play a small part that Fate hadreserved for me in this great international drama. Thank God, I was ableto be of service to stricken America, my own country that I have loved somuch, although, as correspondent of the London _Times_, it has been mylot to spend years in foreign lands. 

Obeying instructions from my paper, I hastened back to the United States, where important events were pending. Von Hindenburg, after his Trentonvictory, had strangely delayed his advance against Philadelphia--we wereto learn the reason for this shortly--but, as we passed through Savannah, we had news that the invading army was moving southward against GeneralWood's reconstructed line of defence that spread from Bristol on theDelaware to Jenkintown to a point three miles below Norristown on theSchuylkill. 

The next morning we reached Richmond and here, I should explain, I saidgood-bye to the rescued lieutenant, an attractive young fellow, RandolphRyerson, whose home was in Richmond, and whose sister, Miss Mary Ryerson, a strikingly beautiful girl, had met us at Charleston the night before inresponse to a telegram that her brother was coming and was ill. Shenursed him through the night in an uncomfortable stateroom and came to mein the morning greatly disturbed about his condition. The young man had ahigh fever, she said, and had raved for hours calling out a name, arather peculiar name--Widding--Widding--Lemuel A. Widding--over and overagain in his delirium. 

I tried to reassure her and said laughingly that, as long as it was not awoman's name he was raving about, there was no ground for anxiety. Shegave me her address in Richmond and thanked me very sweetly for what Ihad done. I must admit that for days I was haunted by that girl's faceand by the glorious beauty of her eyes. 

When we reached Washington we found that city in a panic over news ofanother American defeat. Philadelphia had fallen and all communicationswere cut off. Furthermore, a third force of Germans had landed inChesapeake Bay, which meant that the national capital was threatened bytwo German armies. We now understood von Hindenburg's deliberation. 

In this emergency, Marshall Reid, brother-in-law of Lieutenant Dustin, the crack aviator of the navy, who had been aboard the _Pennsylvania_, volunteered to carry messages from the President to Philadelphia and tobring back news. Reid himself was one of the best amateur flying men inthe country and he did me the honour to choose me as his companion. 

We started late in the afternoon of August 17 in Mr. Reid's swift Burgessmachine and made the distance in two hours. I shall never forget ourfeelings as we circled over the City of Brotherly Love and looked downupon wrecks of railroad bridges that lay across the Schuylkill. Shotswere fired at us from the aerodrome of the League Island Navy Yard; so weflew on, searching for a safer landing place. 

We tried to make the roof landing on the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, butthe wind was too high and we finally chanced it among the maples ofRittenhouse Square, after narrowly missing the sharp steeple of St. Mark's Church. Here, with a few bruises, we came to earth just in frontof the Rittenhouse Club and were assisted by Dr. J. William White, whorushed out and did what he could to help us. 

Five hours later, Reid started back to Washington with details ofreverses sent by military and city authorities that decided theadministration to move the seat of government to Chicago without delay. He also carried from me (I remained in Philadelphia) a hastily writtendespatch to be transmitted from Washington via Kingston to the London_Times_, in which I summed up the situation on the basis of facts givenme by my friend, Richard J. Beamish, owner of the Philadelphia _Press_, my conclusion being that the American cause was lost. And I includedother valuable information gleaned from reporter friends of mine on the_North American_ and the _Bulletin_. I even ventured a prophecy that theUnited States would sue for peace within ten days. 

"What were General Wood's losses in the battle of Philadelphia?" I askedBeamish. 

"Terribly heavy--nearly half of his army in killed, wounded andprisoners. What could we do? Von Hindenburg outnumbered us from two toone and we were short of ammunition, artillery, horses, aeroplanes, everything. "

"Who blew up those railroad bridges and cut the wires?"

"German spies--there are a lot of them here. They sank a barge loadedwith bricks in the Schuylkill just above its joining with the Delawareand blocked the channel so that ten battleships in the naval basin atLeague Island couldn't get out. "

"What became of the battleships?"

"Commandant Price opened their valves and sank them in the basin. "

"And the American army, where is it now?" I asked. 

"They've retreated south of the Brandywine--what's left of them. Our newline is entrenching from Chester to Upland to Westchester with our rightflank on the Delaware; but what's the use?"

So crushing was the supremacy of the invaders that there was no furtherthought of resistance in Philadelphia. The German army was encamped inFairmount Park and it was known that, at the first sign of revolt, Germansiege-guns on the historic heights of Wissahickon and Chestnut Hill woulddestroy the City Hall with its great tower bearing the statue of WilliamPenn and the massive grey pile of Drexel and Company's banking house atthe corner of Fifth and Chestnut streets. Von Hindenburg had announcedthis, also that he did not consider it necessary to take hostages. 

There was one act of resistance, however, when the enemy enteredPhiladelphia that must live among deeds of desperate heroism. 

As the German hosts marched down Chestnut Street they came toIndependence Hall and here, blocking the way on their sorrel horses withtwo white mounted trumpeters, was the First City Troop, sixty-five menunder Captain J. Franklin McFadden, in their black coats and whitedoeskin riding-breeches, in the black helmets with raccoon skin plumes, in their odd-shaped riding boots high over the knee, all as inRevolutionary days--here they were drawn up before the statue of GeorgeWashington and the home of the Liberty Bell, resolved to die here, fighting as well as they could for these things that were sacred. Andthey did die, most of them, or fell wounded before a single one of theenemy set foot inside of Independence Hall. 

Here is the list of heroes who offered their lives for the cause ofliberty:

Captain J. Franklin McFadden, First Lieutenant George C. Thayer, SecondLieutenant John Conyngham Stevens, First Sergeant Thomas Cadwalader, Second Sergeant (Quartermaster) Benjamin West Frazier, Third SergeantGeorge Joyce Sewell, William B. Churchman, Richard M. Philler, F. WilsonPrichett, Clarence H. Clark, Joseph W. Lewis, Edward D. Page, RichardTilghman, Edward D. Toland, Jr. , McCall Keating, Robert P. Frazier, Alexander Cadwalader, Morris W. Stroud, George Brooke, 3d, CharlesPoultney Davis, Saunders L. Meade, Cooper Howell, C. W. Henry, EdmundThayer, Harry C. Yarrow, Jr. , Alexander C. Yarnall, Louis Rodman Page, Jr. , George Gordon Meade, Pierson Pierce, Andrew Porter, Richard H. R. Toland, John B. Thayer, West Frazier, John Frazer, P. P. Chrystie, Albert L. Smith, William W. Bodine, Henry D. Beylard, Effingham BuckleyMorris, Austin G. Maury, John P. Hollingsworth, Rulon Miller, Harold M. Willcox, Charles Wharton, Howard York, Robert Gilpin Irvin, J. KeatingWillcox, William Watkins, Jr. , Harry Ingersoll, Russell Thayer, FitzEugene Dixon, Percy C. Madeira, Jr. , Marmaduke Tilden, Jr. , H. HarrisonSmith, C. Howard Clark, Jr. , Richard McCall Elliot, Jr. , George HarrisonFrazier, Jr. , Oliver Eton Cromwell, Richard Harte, D. Reeves Henry, HenryH. Houston, Charles J. Ingersoll. 

It grieved me when I visited the quaint little house on Arch Street withits gabled window and wooden blinds, where Betsey Ross made the firstflag of the United States of America, to find a German banner in place ofthe accustomed thirteen white stars on their square of blue. And again, when I stood beside Benjamin Franklin's grave in Christ Church Cemetery, I was shocked to see a German flag marking this honoured resting-place. "Benjamin and Deborah, 1790, " was the deeply graven words and, besidethem under a kindly elm, the battered headstone of their littlefour-year-old son, "Francis F. --A delight to all who knew him. " Then aGerman flag!

I began to wonder why we had not learned a lesson from England'slamentable showing in 1915. What good did all our wealth do us now? Itwould be taken from us--had not the Germans already levied an indemnityof four hundred millions upon Philadelphia? And seized the Baldwinlocomotive works, the greatest in the world, employing 16, 000 men? Andthe Cramp shipbuilding yards? And the terminus at Point Breeze down theriver of the great Standard Oil Company's pipe line with enormous oilsupplies?

Philadelphians realised all this when it was too late. They knewthat ten thousand American soldiers, killed in battle, were lying infresh-made graves. They knew that the Philadelphia Hospital and theUniversity of Pennsylvania Hospital and the commercial museum buildingsnearby that had been changed into hospitals could scarcely provide bedsand nurses for wounded American soldiers. And yet, "What can we do?" saidMayor George H. Earle, Jr. , to me. "New York City resisted, and you knowwhat happened. Boston rioted, and she had her lesson. No! Philadelphiawill not resist. Besides, read this. "

He showed me a message just arrived from Washington saying that theUnited States was about to sue for peace. 

The next day we had news that a truce had been declared and immediatelynegotiations began between Chicago and Berlin, regarding a peaceconference, it being finally decided that this should take place at Mt. Vernon, in the historic home of George Washington, sessions to beginearly in September, in order to allow time for the arrival of delegatesfrom Germany. 

CHAPTER XV

THRILLING INCIDENT AT WANAMAKER'S STORE WHEN GERMANS DISHONOUR AMERICANFLAG

During these peace preliminaries Philadelphia accepted her fate withcheerful philosophy. In 1777 she had entertained British conquerors, nowshe entertained the Germans. An up-to-date _meschianza_ was organised, asin Revolutionary days, at the magnificent estate "Druim Moir" of SamuelF. Houston in Chestnut Hill, with all the old features reproduced, thepageant, the tournament of Knights Templars and the games, Germanofficers competing in the latter. 

In polo an American team composed of William H. T. Huhn, Victor C. Mather, Alexander Brown and Mitchell Rosengarten played against a crackteam of German cavalry officers and beat them easily. 

In lawn tennis the American champion, Richard Norris Williams, beatLieutenant Froitzheim, a famous German player and a friend of the CrownPrince, in straight sets, the lieutenant being penalised for footfaulting by the referee, Eddie von Friesen, a wearer of the iron cross, although his mother was a Philadelphia woman. 

Thirty thousand German soldiers crowded Shibe Park daily to watch theseries of exhibition contests between the Athletics and the CincinnatiReds, both teams being among the first civilians captured on the victors'entrance into Philadelphia. The Reds, composed almost entirely ofGermans, owned by Garry Hermann and managed by Herzog, were of course thefavourites over the Irish-American cohorts of Cornelius McGillicuddy; butthe Athletics won the series in a deciding game that will never beforgotten. The dramatic moment came in the ninth inning, with the basesfull, when the famous Frenchman, Napoleon Lajoie, pinch-hitting forBaker, advanced to the plate and knocked the ball far over Von Kolnitz'shead for a home run and the game. 

Another interesting affair was a dinner given to German officers byeditors of the _Saturday Evening Post_, on the tenth floor of the CurtisBuilding, the menu comprising characteristic Philadelphia dishes, such aspepper pot soup with a dash of sherry, and scrapple with fishhouse punch. Various writers were present, and there were dramatic meetings betweenAmerican war correspondents and Prussian generals who had put them injail in the 1915 campaign. I noticed a certain coldness on the part ofRichard Harding Davis toward a young Bavarian lieutenant who, in NorthernFrance, had conceived the amiable purpose of running Mr. Davis throughthe ribs with a bayonet; but Irvin S. Cobb was more forgiving and drankclover club cocktails to the health of a burly colonel who had orderedhim shot as a spy and graciously explained the proper way of eatingcatfish and waffles. 

The Crown Prince was greatly interested when informed by Owen Wister thatthese excellent dishes were of German origin, having been brought toAmerica by the Hessians in Revolutionary days and preserved by theirdescendants, such families as the Fows and the Faunces, who stilloccupied a part of Northeastern Philadelphia known as Fishtown. HisImperial Highness also had an animated discussion with Joseph A. Steinmetz, President of the Aero Club of Pennsylvania, as to theeffectiveness of the Steinmetz pendant hook bomb Zeppelin destroyer. 

The German officers enjoyed these days immensely and made themselves athome in the principal hotels, paying scrupulously for theiraccommodations. General von Hindenburg stopped at the Ritz-Carlton, Admiral von Tirpitz at the Bellevue-Stratford and others at the Waltonand the Adelphia. Several Prussian generals established themselves at theContinental Hotel because of their interest in the fact that Edward VIIof England stopped there when he was Prince of Wales, and they drew lotsfor the privilege of sleeping in the historic bed that had been occupiedby an English sovereign. 

The Crown Prince himself was domiciled with his staff in E. T. Stotesbury's fine mansion on Walnut Street. Every day he lunched at theRacquet Club, now occupied by German officers, and played court tenniswith Dr. Alvin C. Kraenzlein, the famous University of Pennsylvaniaathlete, whom he had met in Berlin when Kraenzlein was coaching theGerman Olympic team for the 1916 contests that were postponed, owing tothe war, until 1920. He also had a game with Jay Gould, champion of theworld, and being hopelessly outclassed, declared laughingly (the CrownPrince loves American slang) that this young millionaire was "someplayer. "

A few days after the _meschiama_ fętes, his Imperial Highness gave adinner and reception to some of the leading men in Philadelphia and, despite prejudice, was voted a remarkable figure like his father, combining versatile knowledge with personal charm. He talked politicswith Boies Penrose, and reform with Rudolph Blankenburg. He wasinterested in A. J. Drexel Biddle's impartial enthusiasm for Bibleclasses and boxing matches. He questioned Dr. D. J. McCarthy, famousneurologist of the University of Pennsylvania, about mental diseasescaused by war. He laughed heartily on hearing a limerick by OliverHerford beginning: "There was a young prince Hohenzollern, " which wassaid to have delighted the British ambassador. Finally, he listened whileNed Atherton and Morris L. Parrish explained the fascination of _sniff_, a gambling game played with dominoes much in vogue at the Racquet Club. His Imperial Highness said he preferred the German game of _skat_, playedwith cards, and James P. McNichol, the Republican boss, made a note ofthis fact. 

As I passed through a gallery containing the magnificent Stotesburycollection of paintings I heard a resounding voice saying with a harshGerman accent: "Ach! I told you! Your form of government is a failure. People need a benevolent paternalism. There is no chance for militaryefficiency under a republic. "

Turning, I recognised the stocky form of Commandant Price of the LeagueIsland navy yard, who was listening to a tirade from Admiral von Tirpitz. The latter, it seems, was marvelling that the United States navalauthorities had lacked the intelligence to cut a 1, 700-yard canal fromthe naval basin to the Delaware which would have made it impossible forthe Germans to tie up the American reserve fleet by blocking theSchuylkill. This canal would also have furnished an ideal fresh-waterdry-dock. 

Commandant Price had informed the admiral that this very plan, with anestimated cost of only three million dollars, had been repeatedly broughtbefore Congress, but always unsuccessfully. In other words, it was nofault of the navy if these battleships were rendered useless. Whereuponvon Tirpitz had burst forth with his attack upon representativegovernment. 

I was told that the Crown Prince had intended to invite to this gatheringsome of the prominent women of Philadelphia, particularly one famousbeauty, whom he desired to meet, but he was dissuaded from this purposeby a tactful hint that the ladies would not accept his invitation. Themen might go, for reasons of expediency, but American women had no placeat the feast of an invader. 

It happened, however, a few days later, that the Imperial wish wasgratified, the occasion being an auction for the benefit of theAmerican Red Cross Fund held one afternoon in the gold ballroom of theRitz-Carlton Hotel. Tea was served with music by the Philadelphiaorchestra under Leopold Stokowski and the tickets were five dollars. 

In a great crush (the gallery was reserved for German officers, includingthe Crown Prince) the most distinguished society women in Philadelphiastepped forth smilingly as manikins and displayed on their fair personsthe hats, gowns, furs, laces or jewels that they had contributed to thesale. E. T. Stotesbury proved a very efficient auctioneer and largeprices were realised. 

Mrs. G. G. Meade Large sold baskets of roses at twenty dollars each. Mrs. W. J. Clothier sold three hats for fifty dollars each. Mrs. Walter S. Thomson, said to be pro-German, sold a ball-gown for three hundreddollars. Mrs. E. T. Stotesbury sold one of her diamond tiaras for twentythousand dollars. Mrs. Edward Crozer, Mrs. Horatio Gates Lloyd and Mrs. Norman MacLeod sold gowns for three hundred dollars each. Mrs. Harry WainHarrison and Mrs. Robert von Moschzisker sold pieces of lace for ahundred dollars each. 

Mrs. A. J. Antelo Devereux, in smart riding costume, sold her finehunter, led in amid great applause, for two thousand dollars. Mrs. GeorgeQ. Horwitz and Mrs. Robert L. Montgomery sold sets of furs for a thousanddollars each. Mrs. Barclay H. Warburton sold her imported touring-car forfive thousand dollars. Mrs. Joseph E. Widener sold a set of fourbracelets, one of diamonds, one of rubies, one of sapphires, one ofemeralds, for fifteen thousand dollars. 

The sensation of the afternoon came at the close when Admiral von Tirpitzbought a coat of Russian sables offered by Mrs. John R. Fell for tenthousand dollars, this being followed by a purchase of the Crown Prince, who gave thirty thousand dollars for a rope of pearls belonging to Mrs. J. Kearsley Mitchell. 

All of this was briefly recorded in the Philadelphia _Press_, which hadbeen made the official German organ with daily editions in German andEnglish. The Crown Prince himself selected this paper, I was told, onlearning that the author of one of his favourite stories, "The Lady orthe Tiger, " by Frank R. Stockton, was once a reporter on the _Press_. 

A few days later at the Wanamaker store on Chestnut Street the CrownPrince figured in an incident that became the subject of internationalcomment and that throws a strange light upon the German character. 

It appears that the Crown Prince had become interested in an announcementof the Wanamaker store that half of its profits for one week, amountingto many thousands of dollars, would go to the relief of American soldierswounded in battle. His Imperial Highness expressed a desire to visit theWanamaker establishment, and arrived one afternoon at the hour of awidely advertised organ concert that had drawn great crowds. A specialfeature was to be the Lohengrin wedding march, during the playing ofwhich seven prominent society women, acting on a charitable impulse, hadconsented to appear arrayed as bridesmaids and one of them as a bride. 

The Crown Prince and his staff, in brilliant uniforms, entered the vastrotunda packed with men and women, just as this interesting ceremony wasbeginning and took places reserved for them as conquerors, near the greatbronze eagle on its granite pedestal that faces the spot where William H. Taft dedicated the building in December, 1911. 

A hush fell over the assembly as Dr. Irvin J. Morgan at his gilded heightstruck the inspiring chords, and a moment later the wedding processionentered, led by two white-clad pages, and moved slowly across the whitegallery, Mrs. Angier B. Duke (dressed as the bride), Mrs. Victor C. Mather, Mrs. A. J. Drexel Biddle, Jr. , Mrs. Gurnee Munn, Mrs. Oliver E. Cromwell, Miss Eleanor B. Hopkins and Mrs. George Wharton Pepper, Jr. , atall and willowy auburn beauty and a bride herself only a few monthsbefore, while Wagner's immortal tones pealed through the marble arches. 

As the music ceased one of the German officers, in accordance with aprearranged plan, nodded to his aides, who stepped forward and spread aGerman flag over the American eagle. At the same moment the officer wavedhis hand towards the organ loft, as a signal for Dr. Morgan to obey hisinstructions and play "The Watch on the Rhine. "

The crowd knew what was coming and waited in sickening silence, thengasped in amazement and joy as the organ gloriously sounded forth, "MyCountry, 'Tis of Thee. "

"Stop!" shouted the Prussian, purple with rage. "Stop!"

But Irvin Morgan played on like a good American, thrilling the greataudience with the treasured message:

"Sweet land of Liberty, Of Thee I sing. "

At this moment a little fellow seven years old, from Caniden, N. J. , inboy-scout uniform, did a thing that will live in American history. He hadbeen taught to rise when he heard that music and sing the dear words thathis mother had taught him, and he could not understand why all theseAmericans were silent. Why didn't they sing? He looked about himanxiously. He had seen those Prussian officers spread the German flagover the American eagle, and it suddenly flashed into his mind that itwas his business to do something. He must tear down that hateful flag. Hemust do it if he died and, springing forward before any one could divinehis purpose, he dragged the German banner to the floor and, standing onit, waved a little American flag drawn from his pocket. 

"Land where my fathers died, Land of the Pilgrims' pride!"

He shrilled out, singing all alone while the proud organ thundered forthits accompaniment. 

As a match starts the powder train so this boyish act fired the wholegathering of dumb patriots and straightway, Germans or no Germans, tenthousand American voices took up the words while the youthful leader, with eyes flashing, held up the Stars and Stripes there by the eagle. 

A German officer, furious at this defiance, sprang toward the boy withlifted sword and would have struck him down had not his Imperial masterintervened and with his own weapon caught the descending blow. 

"Shame! Coward!" cried the Crown Prince. "We do not fight with children. "

And the end of it was that no one was punished, although concerts wereforbidden after this in the Wanamaker store. 

I have related this incident not only for its own sake, but because ofits bearing on subsequent events. 

"I'm going to write a story about that boy", I said to W. Barran Lewis, who stood near me. "Do you know his name?"

"Yes, " said the editor. "He is Lemuel A. Widding, Jr. Makes a good story, doesn't it?"

Lemuel A. Widding! Where had I heard that name? Suddenly Iremembered--Kingston, Jamaica, and Lieutenant Ryerson and the lovely girlwho had told me about her brother's ravings. That was the name he hadcalled out again and again in his delirium. Lemuel A. Widding!

In spite of my interest in this puzzling circumstance I was unable toinvestigate it, owing to the fact that I was hurried off to Mount Vernonfor the Peace Conference, but I wired Miss Ryerson in Richmond of mydiscovery and gave her the boy's address in Camden, N. J. Then I thoughtno more about the matter, being absorbed in my duties. 

CHAPTER XVI

AN AMERICAN GIRL BRINGS NEWS THAT CHANGES THE COURSE OF THE MOUNT VERNONPEACE CONFERENCE

The sessions of the Mount Vernon Peace Congress were held in a large roomof the historic mansion that was George Washington's business office. TheUnited States was represented by General Leonard Wood, William H. Taftand Elihu Root; Germany by General von Hindenburg, General von Kluck andCount von Bernstoff. 

Although I was not personally present at these discussions I am able, thanks to the standing of the London _Times_, to set forth the mainpoints on the highest authority. 

In the very first session the peace commissioners came straight to themain question. 

"I am instructed by the President of the United States, " began GeneralWood, "to ask your Excellency if the German Imperial Government willagree to withdraw their armies from America in consideration of receivinga money indemnity?"

"No, sir, " replied General von Hindenburg. "That is quite out of thequestion. "

[Illustration: GERMAN GUNS DESTROY THE HOTEL TAFT. ]

"A large indemnity? I am empowered to offer three thousand milliondollars, which is three times as much, your Excellency will remember, asthe Imperial German Government accepted for withdrawing from France in1870. "

"Yes, and we always regretted it, " snapped von Hindenburg. "We shouldhave kept that territory, or part of it. We are going to keep thisterritory. That was our original intention in coming here. We need thisAtlantic seaboard for the extension of the German idea, for the spread ofGerman civilisation, for our inevitable expansion as the great worldpower. "

"Suppose we agreed to pay four billion dollars?" suggested the Americancommander. 

Von Hindenburg shook his head and then in his rough, positive way: "No, General. What we have taken by our victorious arms we shall hold for ourchildren and our grandchildren. I am instructed to say, however, that theImperial German Government will make one important concession to theUnited States. We will withdraw our troops from the mouths of theMississippi which we now hold, as you know; we will withdraw fromGalveston, New Orleans, Pensacola, Tampa, Key West; in short, from allports in the Gulf of Mexico and in Florida. If you will allow me, gentlemen, I will show you on this map what we propose to surrender toyou and what we propose to keep. "

The venerable Field Marshal unrolled upon the broad surface of GeorgeWashington's desk a beautifully shaded relief map of the United States, and General Wood, ex-President Taft and Elihu Root bent over it withtense faces and studied a heavy black line that indicated the proposedboundary between the United States and the territory claimed by theinvaders. This latter included all of New England, about one-third of NewYork and Pennsylvania (the southeastern portions), all of New Jersey andDelaware, nearly all of Virginia and North Carolina and all of SouthCarolina and Georgia. 

"You observe, gentlemen, " said von Hindenburg, "that our Americanprovince is to bear the name New Germany. It is bounded on the north byCanada, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Florida, andon the west by Alabama and the Allegheny Mountains. It is a strip ofland; roughly speaking, a thousand miles long and two hundred mileswide. "

"About the area of the German Empire, " said ex-President Taft. 

"Possibly, but not one-tenth of the entire territory of the UnitedStates, leaving out Alaska. We feel that as conquerors we are askinglittle enough. " He eyed the Americans keenly. 

"You are asking us to give up New York, Philadelphia and Washington andall of New England, " said Elihu Root very quietly. "Does your Excellencyrealise what that means to us? New England is the cradle of ourliberties. New York is the heart of the nation. Washington is ourcapital. "

"Washington _was_ your capital, " broke in General von Kluck, with alaugh. 

"I can assure your Excellency, " said General Wood, keeping his composurewith an effort, "that the American people will never consent to such asacrifice of territory. You may drive us back to the deserts of Arizona, you may drive us back to the Rocky Mountains, but we will fight on. "

Von Hindenburg's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Ah, so!" he smiled grimly. "Do you know what will happen if you refuse our terms? In the next fewmonths we shall land expeditions from Germany with a million moresoldiers. That will give us a million and a half men on American soil. Weshall then invade the Mississippi Valley from New Orleans, and our nextoffer of terms will be made to you from St. Louis or Chicago, _and itwill be a very different offer_. "

"If your Excellency will allow me, " said Elihu Root in a conciliatorytone, "may I ask if the Imperial German Government does not recognisethat there will be great difficulties in the way of permanently holding astrip of land along our Atlantic seaboard?"

"What difficulties? England holds Canada, doesn't she? Spain held Mexico, did she not?"

"But the Mexicans were willing to be held. Your Excellency must realisethat in New England, in New York, in New Jersey, you would be dealingwith irreconcilable hatred. "

"Nothing is irreconcilable. Look at Belgium. They hated us in 1915, didthey not? But sixty-five percent of them accepted German citizenship whenwe offered it to them after the peace in 1919, and they have been awell-behaved German province ever since. "

"You mean to say that New England would ever become a German province?"protested William H. Taft. "Do you think that New York and Virginia willever take the oath of allegiance to the German Emperor?"

"Of course they will, just as most of the Spaniards you conquered in thePhilippine Islands took the oath of allegiance to America. They sworethey would not but they did. Men follow the laws of necessity. Half ofyour population are of foreign descent. Millions of them are of Germandescent. These people crowded over here from Europe because they werestarving and you have kept them starving. They will come to us because wetreat them better; we give them higher wages, cleaner homes, morehappiness. They _have_ come to us already; the figures prove it. Not tenpercent of the people of New York and New England have moved away sincethe German occupation, although they were free to go. Why is that?Because they like our form of government, they see that it insures tothem and their children the benefits of a higher civilisation. "

My informant assured me that at this point ex-President Taft, in spite ofhis even temper, almost exploded with indignation, while General Woodrose abruptly from his seat. 

For a time it looked as if this first Peace Conference session wouldbreak up in a storm of angry recrimination; but Elihu Root, by tactfulappeals, finally smoothed things over and an adjournment was taken forforty-eight hours, during which it was agreed that both sides, bytelegraph and cable, should lay the situation before their respectivegovernments in Chicago and Berlin. 

I remained at Mount Vernon for two weeks while the truce lasted. Everyday the peace commissioners met for hours of argument and pleading, butthe deadlock of conflicting purposes was not broken. Both sides kept intouch with their governments and both made concessions. America raisedher indemnity offer to five billion dollars, to six billion dollars, toseven billion dollars, but declared she would never surrender one foot ofthe Atlantic seaboard. Germany lessened her demands for territory, butrefused to withdraw from New York, New England and Philadelphia. 

For some days this deadlock continued, then America began to weaken. Shefelt herself overpowered. The consequences of continuing the war were toofrightful to contemplate and, on September 8, I cabled my paper that theUnited States would probably cede to Germany within twenty-four hours thewhole of New England and a part of New York State, including New YorkCity and Long Island. This was the general opinion when, suddenly, out ofa clear sky came a dramatic happening destined to change the course ofevents and draw me personally into a whirlpool of exciting adventures. 

It was about three o'clock in the afternoon of September 9, a blazing hotday, and I was seated on the lawn under one of the fine magnolia-treespresented years before by Prince Henry of Prussia, wondering how muchlonger I must swelter here before getting off my despatch to the _Times_, when I heard the panting of a swiftly approaching automobile whichpresently drew up outside the grounds. A moment later a colouredchauffeur approached and asked if I was Mr. James Langston. I told him Iwas, and he said a lady in the car wanted to speak to me. 

"A lady?" I asked in surprise. "Did she give her name?"

The chauffeur broke into a beaming smile. "She didn't give no name, boss, but she sure is a ve'hy handsome lady, an' she's powh'ful anxious to seeyou. "

I lost no time in answering this mysterious summons, and a little laterfound myself in the presence of a young woman whom I recognised, when shedrew aside her veil, as Miss Mary Ryerson, sister of Lieutenant RandolphRyerson. With her in the car were her brother and a tall, gaunt man withdeep-set eyes. They were all travel-stained, and the car showed thebattering of Virginia mountain roads. 

"Oh, Mr. Langston, " cried the girl eagerly, "we have such wonderful news!The conference isn't over? They haven't yielded to Germany?"

"No, " said I. "Not yet. "

"They mustn't yield. We have news that changes everything. Oh, it's sosplendid! America is going to win. "

Her lovely face was glowing with enthusiasm, but I shook my head. 

"America's fleet is destroyed. Her army is beaten. How can she win?"

Miss Ryerson turned to her brother and to the other man. "Go with Mr. Langston. Tell him everything. Explain everything. He will take you toGeneral Wood. " She fixed her radiant eyes on me. "You will help us? I cancount on you? Remember, it's for America!"

"I'll do my best, " I promised, yielding to the spell of her charm andspirit. "May I ask--" I glanced at the tall man who was getting out ofthe car. 

"Ah! Now you will believe. You will see how God is guiding us. This isthe father of the brave little boy in Wanamaker's store. He has seenThomas A. Edison, and Mr. Edison says his plan to destroy the Germanfleet is absolutely sound. Mr. Langston, Mr. Lemuel A. Widding. Nowhurry!"

CHAPTER XVII

THOMAS A. EDISON MAKES A SERIOUS MISTAKE IN ACCEPTING A DINNER INVITATION

As General Wood left the peace conference (in reply to our urgentsummons) and walked slowly across the Mount Vernon lawn to join us in thesummer house, he looked haggard and dejected. 

"What is it?" he asked. 

"Good news, General, " I whispered, but he shook his head wearily. 

"No, it's all over. They have worn us down. Our fleet is destroyed, ourarmy is beaten. We are on the point of ceding New England and New York toGermany. There is nothing else to do. "

"Wait! We have information that may change everything. Let me introduceLieutenant Ryerson and Mr. Widding--General Wood. " They bowed politely. "Mr. Widding has just seen Thomas A. Edison. "

That was a name to conjure with, and the General's face brightened. 

"I'm listening, " he said. 

We settled back in our chairs and Lemuel A. Widding, with awkwardmovements, drew from his pockets some papers which he offered to theAmerican commander. 

"These speak for themselves, General, " he began. "Here is a briefdescription of my invention for destroying the German fleet. Here areblueprints that make it clearer. Here is the written endorsement ofThomas A. Edison. "

For a long time General Wood studied these papers with close attention, then he sat silent, looking out over the broad Potomac, his noble facestern with care. I saw that his hair had whitened noticeably in the lasttwo months. 

"If this is true, it's more important than you realise. It's so importantthat--" He searched us with his kind but keen grey eyes. 

"Thomas A. Edison says it's true, " put in Widding. "That ought to be goodenough evidence. "

"And Lieutenant Ryerson tells me that Admiral Fletcher spoke favourablyof the matter, " I added. 

"He did, General, " declared the lieutenant. "It was on the _Pennsylvania_a few hours before we went into battle. The admiral had been looking overMr. Widding's specifications the night before and he said--I remember hiswords: 'This is a great idea. If we had it in operation now we coulddestroy the German fleet. '"

At this moment there came a fateful interruption in the form of an urgentcall for General Wood from the conference hall and he asked us to excusehim until the next day when he would take the matter up seriously. 

We returned at once to Washington and I spent that evening at the CosmosClub listening to a lecture by my oceanographical friend, Dr. Austin H. Clark, on deep-sea lilies that eat meat. At about nine o'clock I wascalled to the telephone, and presently recognised the agitated voice ofMiss Ryerson, who said that an extraordinary thing had happened andbegged me to come to her at once. She was stopping at the Shoreham, justacross the street, and five minutes later we were talking earnestly inthe spacious blue-and-white salon with its flowers and restful lights. Needless to say, I preferred a talk with this beautiful girl to the mostlearned discussion of deep-sea lilies. 

Her message was brief but important. She had just been telephoning in adrug-store on Pennsylvania Avenue when she was surprised to hear the nameof Thomas A. Edison mentioned several times by a man in the next boothwho was speaking in German. Miss Ryerson understood German and, listeningattentively, she made out enough to be sure that an enemy's plot was onfoot to lay hold of the great inventor, to abduct him forcibly, so thathe could no longer help the work of American defence. 

Greatly alarmed she had called me up and now urged me to warn themilitary authorities, without wasting a moment, so that they would takesteps to protect Mr. Edison. 

In this emergency I decided to appeal to General E. M. Weaver, Chief ofCoast Artillery, whom I knew from having played golf with him at ChevyChase, and, after telephoning, I hurried to his house in a taxicab. Thegeneral looked grave when I repeated Miss Ryerson's story, and said thatthis accorded with other reports of German underground activities thathad come to his knowledge. Of course, a guard must be furnished for Mr. Edison, who was in Baltimore at the time, working out plans for thescientific defences of Washington in the physical laboratories of theJohns Hopkins University. 

"I must talk with Edison, " said the General. "Suppose you go to Baltimorein the morning, Mr. Langston, with a note from me. It's only forty-fiveminutes and--tell Mr. Edison that I will be greatly relieved if he willreturn to Washington with you. "

I had interviewed Thomas A. Edison on several occasions and gained hisconfidence, so that he received me cordially the next morning inBaltimore and, in deference to General Weaver's desire, agreed to rundown to Washington that afternoon, although he laughed at the idea of anydanger. 

As we rode on the train the inventor talked freely of plans for defendingthe national capital against General von Mackensen's army which, havingoccupied Richmond, was moving up slowly through Virginia. It is a matterof familiar history now that these plans provided for the use of liquidchlorine against the invaders, this dangerous substance to be droppedupon the advancing army from a fleet of powerful aeroplanes. Mr. Edisonseemed hopeful of the outcome. 

He questioned me about Lemuel A. Widding and was interested to learn thatWidding was employed at the works of the Victor Talking Machine (Edison'sown invention) in Camden, N. J. His eyes brightened when I told him ofyoung Lemuel's thrilling act at Wanamaker's Philadelphia store which, asI now explained, led to the meeting of the two inventors through theefforts of Miss Ryerson. 

"There's something queer about this, " mused the famous electrician. "Widding tells me he submitted his idea to the Navy Department over ayear ago. Think of that! An idea bigger than the submarine!"

"Is it possible?"

"No doubt of it. Widding's invention will change the condition of navalwarfare--it's bound to. I wouldn't give five cents for the German fleetwhen we get this thing working. All we need is time. 

"Mr. Langston, there are some big surprises ahead for the American peopleand for the Germans, " continued the inventor. "They say America is ashelpless as Belgium or China. I say nonsense. It's true that we have lostour fleet and some of our big cities and that the Germans have threearmies on our soil, but the fine old qualities of American grit andAmerican resourcefulness are still here and we'll use 'em. If we can'twin battles in the old way, we'll find new ways. 

"Listen to this, my friend. Have you heard of the Committee ofTwenty-one? No? Very few have. It's a body of rich and patrioticAmericans, big business men, who made up their minds, back in July, thatthe government wasn't up to the job of saving this nation. So theydecided to save it themselves by business methods, efficiency methods. There's a lot of nonsense talked about German efficiency. We'll show thema few things about American efficiency. What made the United States thegreatest and richest country in the world? Was it German efficiency? Whatgave the Standard Oil Company its world supremacy? Was it Germanefficiency? It was the American brains of John D. Rockefeller, wasn'tit?"

"Is Mr. Rockefeller one of the Committee of Twenty-one?"

"Of course, he is, and so are Andrew Carnegie, James J. Hill, J. P. Morgan, John Wanamaker, John H. Fahey, James B. Duke, Henry B. Joy, Daniel B. Guggenheim, John D. Ryan, J. B. Widener, Emerson McMillin, Philip D. Armour, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Elihu Root, George W. Perkins, Asa G. Candler and two or three others, including myself. 

"The Germans are getting over the idea that America is as helpless asBelgium or China. Von Mackensen is going slow, holding back his armybecause he doesn't know what we have up our sleeve at the Potomac. Asa matter of fact, we have mighty little except this liquid chlorineand--well, we're having trouble with the steel containers and with thereleasing device. "

"You mean the device that drops the containers from the aeroplanes?"

"That's it. We need time to perfect the thing. We've spread fake reportsabout wonderful electric mines that will blow up a brigade, and thathelped some, and we delayed von Mackensen for two weeks south ofFredericksburg by spreading lines of striped cheese-cloth, miles of it, along a rugged valley. His aeroplane scouts couldn't make out what thatcheese-cloth was for; they thought it might be some new kind ofelectrocution storage battery, so the whole army waited. "

As we talked, the train stopped at Hyattsville, a few miles out ofWashington, and a well-set-up officer in uniform came aboard andapproached us with a pleasant smile. 

"Mr. Edison? I am Captain Campbell of General Wood's staff, " he said. "General Wood is outside in his automobile and asks you to join him. TheGeneral thought it would be pleasanter to motor down to Mount Vernon. "

"That's very kind, " said Edison, rising. 

"And, Mr. Langston, " continued Captain Campbell, addressing me, "GeneralWood presents his compliments and hopes you will dine with Mr. Edison andhimself at seven this evening. "

"With pleasure. " I bowed and watched them as, they left the train andentered a military-looking automobile that stood near the track withcurtains drawn. A moment later they rolled away and I settled back in myseat, reflecting complacently on the high confidence that had been shownin my discretion. 

Two hours later I reached Mount Vernon and was surprised, as I left thetrain, to find General Wood himself waiting on the platform. 

"You got back quickly, General, " I said. 

He gave me a sharp glance. "Back from where?"

"Why, from where you met our train. "

"Your train? What train? I came here to meet Mr. Edison. "

"But you did meet him--two hours ago--in your automobile--atHyattsville. "

The general stared in amazement. "I don't know what you are talkingabout. I haven't left Mount Vernon. I haven't seen Mr. Edison. What hashappened? Tell me!"

"Wait!" I said, as the truth began to break on me. "Is there a CaptainCampbell on your staff?"

He shook his head. "No. "

"Then--then--" I was trying to piece together the evidence. 

"Well? Go on!" he urged impatiently, whereupon I related the events ofthe morning. 

"Good Lord!" he cried. "It's an abduction--unquestionably. This CaptainCampbell was a German spy. You say the automobile curtains were drawn?That made it dark inside, and no doubt the pretended General Wood woremotor goggles. Before Edison discovered the trick they were off at fullspeed and he was overpowered on the back seat. Think of that! Thomas A. Edison abducted by the Germans!"

"Why would they do such a thing?"

"Why? Don't you see? That invention of Widding's will destroy the Germanfleet. It's a matter of life and death to them and Edison knows all aboutit--all the details--Widding told him. "

"Yes, " said I. "My friend Miss Ryerson brought Widding to Mr. Edison afew days ago, but--how could the Germans have known that?"

The general's face darkened. "How do they know all sorts of things?Somebody tells them. Somebody told them this. "

"But Widding himself knows all about his own invention. It won't do theGermans any good to abduct Edison unless--"

Our eyes met in sudden alarm. 

"By George, you're right!" exclaimed Wood. 

"Where is Widding? Is he stopping at your hotel?"

"Yes. We're all there, Miss Ryerson and her brother and Widding and I. "

"Call up the hotel--quick. We must know about this. "

A minute later I had Miss Ryerson on the 'phone and as soon as I heardher voice I knew that something was wrong. 

"What does she say?" asked the general anxiously, as I hung up thereceiver. 

"She is very much distressed. She says Widding and her brotherdisappeared from the hotel last night and no one has any idea where theyare. "

Here were startling happenings and the developments were even morestartling, but, before following these threads of mystery (days passedand they were still unravelled) I must set forth events that immediatelysucceeded the rupture of peace negotiations. I have reason to know thatthe Committee of Twenty-one brought pressure upon our peacecommissioners, through Washington and the public press, with the resultthat their attitude stiffened towards the enemy and presently becamealmost defiant, so that on October 2, 1921, all efforts towards peacewere abandoned. And on October 3 it was officially announced that theUnited States and Germany were again at war. 

CHAPTER XVIII

I WITNESS THE BATTLE OF THE SUSQUEHANNA FROM VINCENT ASTOR'S AEROPLANE

During the next week, in the performance of my newspaper duties, Ivisited Washington and Baltimore, both of these cities being now inimminent danger of attack, the latter from von Hindenburg's army south ofPhiladelphia, the former from the newly landed German expedition that wasencamped on the shores of Chesapeake Bay near Norfolk, Virginia, whichwas already occupied by the enemy. 

I found a striking contrast between the psychology of Washington and thatof Baltimore. The national capital, abandoned by its government, awaitedin dull despair the arrival of the conquerors with no thought ofresistance, but Baltimore was girding up her loins to fight. Washington, burned by the British in 1812, had learned her lesson, but Baltimore hadnever known the ravages of an invader. Proudest of southern cities, shenow made ready to stand against the Germans. Let New York and Boston andPhiladelphia surrender, if they pleased, Baltimore would not surrender. 

On the night of my arrival in the Monumental City, September 15, I foundbonfires blazing and crowds thronging the streets. There was to be agreat mass meeting at the Fifth Regiment Armoury, and I shall neverforget the scene as I stood on Hoffman Street with my friend F. R. Kent, Editor of the Baltimore _Sun_, and watched the multitude press within thefortress-like walls. This huge grey building had seen excitement before, as when Wilson and Bryan triumphed here at the Democratic convention of1912, but nothing like this. 

As far as I could see down Bolton Street and Hoffman Street were densecrowds cheering frantically as troops of the Maryland National Guardmarched past with crashing bands, the famous "Fighting Fourth" (how thecrowd cheered them!), the "Dandy Fifth, " Baltimore's particular pride, then the First Regiment, then the First Separate Company, colouredinfantry and finally the crack cavalry "Troop A" on their black horses, led by Captain John C. Cockey, of whom it was said that he could make hisbig hunter, Belvedere, climb the side of a house. 

The immense auditorium, gay with flags and national emblems, was packedto its capacity of 20, 000, and I felt a real thrill when, after a prayerby Cardinal Gibbons, a thousand school girls, four abreast and all inwhite, the little ones first, moved slowly up the three aisles to seatsin front, singing "Onward Christian Soldiers, " with the Fifth Regimentband leading them. 

Gathered on the platform were the foremost citizens of Baltimore, theablest men in Maryland, including Mayor J. H. Preston, Douglas Thomas, Frank A. Furst, U. S. Senator John Walter Smith, Hon. J. CharlesLinthicum, ex-Gov. Edwin Warfield, Col. Ral Parr, John W. Frick, John M. Dennis, Douglas H. Gordon, John E. Hurst, Franklin P. Cator, Capt. I. E. Emerson, Hon. Wm. Carter Page, Hon. Charles T. Crane, George C. Jenkins, C. Wilbur Miller, Howell B. Griswold, Jr. , George May, Edwin J. Farber, Maurice H. Grape, Col. Washington Bowie, Jr. , and Robert Garrett. 

Announcement was made by General Alexander Brown that fifty thousandvolunteers from Baltimore and the vicinity had already joined the coloursand were in mobilisation camps at Halethrope and Pimlico and at the GlenBurnie rifle range. Also that the Bessemer Steel Company of Baltimore, the Maryland Steel Company, the great cotton mills and canneries, wereworking night and day, turning out shrapnel, shell casings, uniforms, belts, bandages and other munitions of war, all to be furnished without acent of profit. Furthermore, the banks and trust companies of Baltimorehad raised fifty million dollars for immediate needs of the defence withmore to come. 

"That's the kind of indemnity Baltimore offers to the Germans, " criedGeneral Brown. 

Speeches attacking the plan of campaign and the competency of militaryleaders were made by Charles J. Bonaparte, Leigh Bonsal and Henry W. Williams, but their words availed nothing against the prevailing wildenthusiasm. 

"Baltimore has never been taken by an enemy, " shouted ex-GovernorGoldsborough, "and she will not be taken now. Our army is massed andentrenched along the south bank of the Susquehanna and, mark my words, the Germans will never pass that line. "

As these patriotic words rang out the thousand white-clad singers roseand lifted their voices in "The Star Spangled Banner, " dearest ofpatriotic hymns in Baltimore because it was a Baltimore man, FrancisScott Key, who wrote it. 

While the great meeting was still in session, a large German airshipappeared over Baltimore's lower basin and, circling slowly at the heightof half a mile, proceeded to carry out its mission of frightfulnessagainst the helpless city. More than fifty bombs were dropped that nightwith terrific explosions. The noble shaft of the Washington Monument wasshattered. The City Hall was destroyed, also the Custom House, theRichmond Market, the Walters Art Gallery, one of the buildings of theJohns Hopkins Hospital, with a score of killed and wounded, and thecathedral with fifty killed and wounded. 

The whole country was stirred to its depths by this outrage. Angryorators appeared at every street corner, and volunteers stormed theenlisting offices. Within twenty-four hours the business men of Baltimoreraised another hundred millions for the city's defence. Baltimore, neverconquered yet, was going to fight harder than ever. 

The great question now was how soon the Germans would begin their drive. We knew that the Virginia expedition under General von Mackensen hadadvanced up the peninsula and had taken Richmond, but every day ouraeroplane scouts reported General von Hindenburg's forces as stillstationary south of Philadelphia. Their strategy seemed to be one ofwaiting until the two armies could strike simultaneously againstWashington from the southeast and against Baltimore from the northeast. On the ninth of October this moment seemed to have arrived, and welearned that von Hindenburg, with a hundred thousand men, was advancingtowards the Susquehanna in a line that would take him straight to theMaryland metropolis. A two days' march beyond the river would give theenemy sight of the towers of Baltimore, and how the city had theslightest chance of successful resistance was more than I couldunderstand. 

I come now to the battle of the Susquehanna, which my lucky star allowedme to witness in spite of positive orders that war correspondents shouldnot approach the American lines. This happened through the friendship ofVincent Astor, who once more volunteered his machine and his own servicesin the scouting aeroplane corps. I may add that Mr. Astor had offered hisentire fortune, if needed, to equip the nation with the mightiest airforce in the world; and that already four thousand craft of various typeswere in process of construction. With some difficulty, Mr. Astor obtainedpermission that I accompany him on the express condition that I publishno word touching military operations until after the battle. 

On the morning of October 10th we made our first flight, rising from theaerodrome in Druid Hill Park and speeding to the northeast, skirting theshores of Chesapeake Bay. Within half an hour the broad Susquehanna, withits wrecked bridges, lay before us and to the left, on the heights ofPort Deposit, we made out the American artillery positions with the mainarmy encamped below. Along the southern bank of the river we sawthousands of American soldiers deepening and widening trenches that hadbeen shallowed out by a score of trench digging machines, huge locomotiveploughs that lumbered along, leaving yellow ditches behind them. Therewere miles of these ditches cutting through farms and woods, pastwindmills and red barns and rolling wheat fields, stretching away to thenorthwest, parallel to the river. 

"They've done a lot of work here, " said I, impressed by the extent ofthese operations. 

Astor answered with a smile that puzzled me. "They have done more thanyou dream of, more than any one dreams of, " he said. 

"You don't imagine these trenches are going to stop the Germans, do you?"

He nodded slowly. "Perhaps. "

"But we had trenches like these at Trenton and you know what happened, " Iobjected. 

"I know, but--" again that mysterious smile, "those Trenton trenches werenot exactly like these trenches. Hello! They're signalling to us. Theywant to know who we are. "

In reply to orders wig-wagged up to us from headquarters in a whitefarmhouse, we flung forth our identification streamers, blue, white andred arranged in code to form an aerial passport, and received a wave ofapproval in reply. 

As we swung to the northwest, moving parallel to the river and about fourmiles back of it, I studied with my binoculars the trenches thatstretched along beneath us in straight lines and zigzags as far as theeye could see. I was familiar with such constructions, having studiedthem on various fields; here was the firing trench, here the sheltertrench and there the communicating galleries that joined them, but whatwere those groups of men working so busily farther down the line? Andthose other groups swarming at many points in the wide area? They werenot digging or bracing side-wall timbers. What were they doing?

I had the wheel at this moment and, in my curiosity, I turned the machineto the east, forgetting Mr. Astor's admonition that we were not allowedto pass the rear line of trenches. 

"Hold on! This is forbidden!" he cried. "We'll get in trouble. "

Before I could act upon his warning, there came a puff of white smokefrom one of the batteries and a moment later a shell, bursting about twohundred yards in front of us, made its message clear. 

We turned at once and, after some further manoeuvring, sailed back toBaltimore. 

We dined together that night and I tried to get from Mr. Astor a key tothe mystery that evidently lay behind this situation at the Susquehanna. At first he was unwilling to speak, but, finally, in view of ourfriendship and his confidence in my discretion, he gave me a forecast ofevents to come. 

"You mustn't breathe this to a soul, " he said, "and, of course, youmustn't write a word of it, but the fact is, dear boy, the wonderful factis we're going to win the battle of the Susquehanna. "

I shook my head. "I'd give all I've got in the world to have that true, Mr. Astor, but von Hindenburg is marching against us with 150, 000 men, first-class fighting men. "

"I know, and we have only 60, 000 men, most of them raw recruits. Just thesame, von Hindenburg hasn't a chance on earth. " He paused and addedquickly: "Except one. "

"One?"

"If the enemy suspected the trap we have set for them, they could avoidit, but they won't suspect it. It's absolutely new. "

"How about their aeroplane scouts? Won't they see the trap?"

"They can't see it, at least not enough to understand it. General Woodturned us back this afternoon as a precaution, but it wasn't necessary. You might have circled over those trenches for hours and I don't believeyou would have known what's going on there. Besides, the work will befinished and everything hidden in a couple of days. "

I spurred my imagination, searching for agencies of destruction, andmentioned hidden mines, powerful electric currents, deadly gases, butAstor shook his head. 

"It's worse than that, much worse. And it isn't one of those fantasticthings from Mars that H. G. Wells would put in a novel. This will work. It's a practical, businesslike way of destroying an army. "

"What? An entire army?"

"Yes. There's an area on this side of the Susquehanna about five milessquare that is ready for the Germans--plenty of room for a hundredthousand of them--and, believe me, not one man in ten will get out ofthat area alive. "

I stared incredulously as my friend went on with increasing positiveness:"I know what I'm saying. I'll tell you how I know it in a minute. Thisthing has never been done before in the whole history of war and it willnever be done again, but it's going to be done now. "

"Why will it never be done again?"

"Because the conditions will never be right again. Armies will besuspicious after one has been wiped out, but the first time it'spossible. "

"How can you be sure von Hindenburg's army will cross the Susquehanna atthe exact place where you want it to cross?"

"They will cross at the clearly indicated place for crossing, won't they?That's where we have set our trap, five miles wide, on the direct linebetween Philadelphia and Baltimore. They can't cross lower down becausethe river swells into Chesapeake Bay, and if they cross higher up theysimply go out of their way. Why should they? They're not afraid to meetLeonard Wood's little army, are they? They'll come straight across theriver and then--good-night. "

This was as near as I could get to an understanding of the mystery. Astorwould tell me no more, although he knew I would die rather than betraythe secret. 

"You might talk in your sleep, " he laughed. "I wish I didn't know thething myself. It's like going around with a million dollars in yourpocket. " Then he added earnestly: "There are a lot of American cranks andmembers of Bryan's peace party who wouldn't stand for this if they knewit. "

"You mean they would tell the Germans?"

"They would tell everybody. They'd call it barbarous, wicked. Perhaps itis, but--we're fighting for our lives, aren't we? For our country?"

"Sure we are, " I agreed. 

Later on Mr. Astor told me how he had come into possession of thisextraordinary military knowledge. He was one of the Committee ofTwenty-one. 

The next day we flew out again to the battle front, taking care not toadvance over the proscribed area, and we scanned the northern banks ofthe Susquehanna for signs of the enemy, but saw none. On the second daywe had the same experience, but on the third day, towards evening, threeTaubes approached swiftly at a great height and hovered over our lines, taking observations, and an hour later we made out a body of Germancavalry on the distant hills. 

"An advance guard of Saxons and Westphalians, " said I, studying theirflashing helmets. "There will be something doing to-morrow. "

There was. The battle of the Susquehanna began at daybreak, October 14th, 1921, with an artillery duel which grew in violence as the batteries oneither side of the river found the ranges. Aeroplanes skirmished forpositions over the opposing armies and dropped revealing smoke columns asguides to the gunners. Hour after hour the Germans poured a terrific fireof shells and shrapnel upon the American trenches and I wondered if theywould not destroy or disarrange our trap, but Astor said they would not. 

Our inadequate artillery replied as vigorously as possible and wassupported by the old U. S. Battleship _Montgomery_, manned by theBaltimore naval brigade under Commander Ralph Robinson, which lay twomiles down the river and dropped twelve-inch shells within the enemy'slines. Valuable service was also rendered by heavy mobile field artilleryimprovised by placing heavy coast defence mortars on strongly reinforcedrailroad trucks. None of this, however, prevented the Germans fromforcing through their work of pontoon building, which had been started inthe night. Five lines of pontoons were thrown across the Susquehanna intwo days, and very early on the morning of October 14th, the crossing oftroops began. 

All day from our aeroplane, circling at a height of a mile or rising totwo miles in case of danger, we looked down on fierce fighting in thetrenches and saw the Germans drive steadily forward, sweeping ahead inclose formation, mindless of heavy losses and victorious by reason ofoverwhelming numbers. 

By four o'clock in the afternoon they had dislodged the Americans fromtheir first lines of entrenchment and forced them to retreat in goodorder to reserve lines five miles back of the river. Between these frontlines and the reserve lines there was a stretch of rolling farm landlined and zigzagged with three-foot ditches used for shelter by ourtroops as they fell back. 

By six o'clock that evening the German army had occupied this entire areaand by half-past seven, in the glory of a gorgeous crimson sunset, we sawthe invaders capture our last lines of trenches and drive back theAmericans in full retreat, leaving the ground strewn with their own deadand wounded. 

"Now you'll see something, " cried Astor with tightening lips as hescanned the battlefield. "It may come at any moment. We've got them wherewe want them. Thousands and thousands of them! Their whole army!"

He pointed to the pontoon bridges where the last companies of the Germanhost were crossing. On the heights beyond, their artillery fire wasslackening; and on our side the American fire had ceased. Night wasfalling and the Germans were evidently planning to encamp where theywere. 

"There are a few thousand over there with the artillery who haven'tcrossed yet, " said I. "The Crown Prince must be there with his generals. "

My friend nodded grimly. "We'll attend to them later. Ah! Now look! It'scoming!"

I turned and saw a thick wall of grey and black smoke rolling in densebillows over a section of the rear trenches, and out of this leapedtongues of blue fire and red fire. And farther down the lines I sawsimilar sections of smoke and flame with open spaces between, but thesespaces closed up swiftly until presently the fire wall was continuousover the whole extent of the rear trenches. 

We could see German soldiers by hundreds rushing back from this peril;but, as they ran, fires started at dozens of points before them in thenetwork of ditches and, spreading with incredible rapidity, formedflaming barriers that shut off the ways of escape. Within a few minutesthe whole area beneath us, miles in length and width, that had beenoccupied by the victorious German army, was like a great gridiron of fireor like a city with streets and avenues and broad diagonals of fire. Allthe trenches and ditches suddenly belched forth waves of black smoke withblue and red flames darting through them, and fiercest of all burned thefire walls close to the river bank. 

"Good God!" I cried, astounded at this vast conflagration. "What is itthat's burning?"

"Oil, " said Astor. "The whole supply from the Standard Oil pipe linesdiverted here, millions and millions of gallons. It's driven by big pumpsthrough mains and pipes and reservoirs, buried deep. It's spurting from ahundred outlets. Nothing can put it out. Look! The river is on fire!"

I did look, but I will not tell what I saw nor describe the horrors ofthe ensuing hour. By nine o'clock it was all over. The last word infrightfulness had been spoken and the despoilers of Belgium were thevictims. 

I learned later that the pipes which carried these floods of oil carriedalso considerable quantities of arseniuretted hydrogen. The blue flamesthat Mr. Astor and I noticed came from the fierce burning of thisarseniuretted hydrogen as it hissed from oil vents in the trenches underthe drive of powerful pumps. 

Thousands of those that escaped from the fire area and tried to crossback on the pontoons were caught and destroyed, a-midstream, by firefloods that roared down the oil-spread Susquehanna. And about 7, 000 thatescaped at the sides were made prisoners. 

It was announced in subsequent estimates and not denied by the Germansthat 113, 000 of the invaders lost their lives here. To all intents andpurposes von Hindenburg's army had ceased to exist. 

CHAPTER XIX

GENERAL WOOD SCORES ANOTHER BRILLIANT SUCCESS AGAINST THE CROWN PRINCE

On the evening of October 14, 1921, Field Marshal von Kluck awaited finalnews of the battle of the Susquehanna while enjoying an excellent mealwith his staff in the carved and gilded dining-room of the old S. B. Chittenden mansion on Brooklyn Heights, headquarters of the army ofoccupation. All the earlier despatches through the afternoon had beenfavourable and, as the company finished their _Kartoffelsuppe_, von Kluckhad risen, amidst _hochs_ of applause, and read a telegram from hisImperial master, the Crown Prince, who, with Field Marshal vonHindenburg, was directing the battle from Perryville on the Northernbank, announcing that the German army had crossed the river and drivenback Leonard Wood's forces for five miles and occupied a vast network ofAmerican trenches. 

The officers lingered over their _preisselbeeren compote_ and_kaffeekuchen_ and, presently, the commander rose again, holding atelegram just delivered by a red-faced lieutenant whose cheek was slashedwith scars. 

"Comrades, the great moment has come--I feel it. Our victory at theSusquehanna means the end of American resistance, the capture ofBaltimore, Washington and the whole Atlantic seaboard. Let us drink tothe Fatherland and our place in the sun. "

Up on their feet came the fire-eating company, with lifted glasses andthe gleam of conquerors in their eyes. 

"_Hoch! Hoch!_" they cried and waited, fiercely joyful, while von Kluckopened the despatch. His shaggy brows contracted ominously as he scannedtwo yellow sheets crowded with closely written German script. 

"_Gott in Himmel!_" he shouted, and threw the telegram on the table. 

The blow had fallen, the incredible truth was there before them. Not onlyhad the redoubtable von Hindenburg, idol of a nation, hero of countlessRussian victories, suffered crushing defeat, but his proud battalions hadbeen almost annihilated. In the whole history of warfare there had neverbeen so complete a disaster to so powerful an army. 

"Burned to death! Our brave soldiers! Was there ever so barbarous acrime?" raved the Field Marshal. "But the American people will pay forthis, yes, ten times over. We still have two armies on their soil and afleet ready to transport from Germany another army of half a million. Wehold their greatest cities, their leading citizens at our mercy, and theyshall have none. Burned in oil! _Mein Gott!_ We will show them. "

"Excellency, " questioned the others anxiously, "what of his ImperialHighness the Crown Prince?"

"Safe, thank God, and von Hindenburg is safe. They did not cross thecursed river. They stayed on the Northern bank with the artillery andthree thousand men. "

I learned later that these three thousand of the German rear guard, together with seven thousand that escaped from the fire zone and weremade prisoners, were all that remained alive of the 120, 000 Germans thathad crossed the Susquehanna that fatal morning with flying eagles. 

Orders were immediately given by von Kluck that retaliatory steps betaken to strike terror into the hearts of the American people, and thewires throughout New England were kept humming that night withinstructions to the commanding officers of German forces of occupation inBoston, Hartford, New Haven, Portland, Springfield, Worcester, Newport, Fall River, Stamford; also in Newark, Jersey City, Trenton andPhiladelphia, calling upon them to issue proclamations that, inpunishment of an act of barbarous massacre committed by General Wood andthe American army, it was hereby ordered that one-half of the hostagespreviously taken by the Germans in each of these cities (the same to bechosen by lot) should be led forth at noon on October 15th and publiclyexecuted. 

At half-past eleven, October 15th, on the Yale University campus, therewas a scene of excitement beyond words, although dumb in its tragicexpression, when William Howard Taft, who was one of the hostages drawnfor execution, finished his farewell address to the students. 

"I call on you, my dear friends, " he cried with an inspired light in hiseyes, "to follow the example of our glorious ancestors, to put asideselfishness and all base motives and rise to your supreme duty asAmerican citizens. Defend this dear land! Save this nation! And, if it benecessary to die, let us die gladly for our country and our children, asthose great patriots who fought under Washington and Lincoln were glad todie for us. "

With a noble gesture he turned to the guard of waiting German soldiers. He was ready. 

Deeply moved, but helpless, the great audience of students and professorswaited in a silence of rage and shame. They would fain have hurledthemselves, unarmed, upon the gleaming line of soldiers that walled thequadrangle, but what would that have availed?

A Prussian colonel of infantry, with many decorations on his breast, stepped to the edge of the platform, glanced at his wrist-watch and saidin a high-pitched voice: "Gentlemen of the University, I trust you havecarefully read the proclamation of Field Marshal von Kluck. Be sure thatany disorder during the execution of hostages that is now to take placewill bring swift and terrible punishment upon the city and citizens ofNew Haven. Gentlemen, I salute you. "

He turned to the guard of soldiers. "_Gehen!_"

"_Fertig! Hup!_" cried a stocky little Bavarian sergeant, and the grimprocession started. 

At the four corners of the public green were companies of German soldierswith machine-guns trained upon dense crowds of citizens who had gatheredfor this gruesome ceremony, high-spirited New Englanders whose faith andcourage were now to be crushed out of them, according to von Kluck, bythis stern example. 

Down Chapel Street with muffled drums came the unflinching group ofAmerican patriots, marching between double lines of cavalry and led by amilitary band. At Osborn Hall they turned to the right and moved slowlyalong College Street to the Battell Chapel, where they turned again andadvanced diagonally across the green, the band playing Beethoven'sfuneral march. 

In the centre of the dense throng, at a point between Trinity Church andthe old Centre Church, a firing squad of bearded Westphalians was makingready for the last swift act of vengeance, when, suddenly, in thedirection of Elm Street near the Graduates' Club, there came a tumult ofshouts and voices with a violent pushing and struggling in the crowd. Amessenger on a motorcycle was trying to force his way to the commandingofficer. 

"Stop! Stop!" he shouted. "I've got a telegram for the general. Let methrough! I _will_ get through!"

And at last, torn and breathless, the lad did get through and deliveredhis message. It was a telegram from Field Marshal von Kluck, which read:

"Have just received a despatch from General Leonard Wood, stating thathis Imperial Highness the Crown Prince and Field Marshal von Hindenburg, with their military staffs, have been made prisoners by an American armynorth of the Susquehanna, and giving warning that if retaliatory measuresare taken against American citizens, his Imperial Highness will, withintwenty-four hours, be stood up before the statue of his Imperial ancestorFrederick the Great, in the War College at Washington, and shot to deathby a firing squad from the Pennsylvania National Guard. In consequence ofthis I hereby countermand all previous orders for the execution ofAmerican hostages. (Signed) VON KLUCK. "

Like lightning this wonderful news spread through the crowd, and in thedelirious joy that followed there was much disorder which the Germansscarcely tried to suppress. They were stunned by the catastrophe. TheCrown Prince a prisoner! Von Hindenburg a prisoner! By what miracle ofstrategy had General Wood achieved this brilliant coup?

Here were the facts, as I subsequently learned. So confident of completesuccess was the American commander, that by twelve o'clock on the day ofbattle he had diverted half of his forces, about 30, 000 men, in a rapidmovement to the north, his purpose being to cross the Susquehanna higherup and envelop the rear guard of the enemy, with their artillery andcommanding generals, in an overwhelming night attack. Hour after hourthrough the night of October 14th a flotilla of ferry-boats, cargo-boats, tugs, lighters, river craft of all sorts, assembled days before, hadferried the American army across the Susquehanna as George Washingtonferried his army across the Delaware a hundred and fifty years before. 

All night the Americans pressed forward in a forced march, and bydaybreak the Crown Prince and his 3, 000 men were caught beyond hope ofrescue, hemmed in between the Susquehanna River and the projecting armsof Chesapeake Bay. The surprise was complete, the disaster irretrievable, and at seven o'clock on the morning of October 15th the heir to theGerman throne and six of his generals, including Field Marshal vonHindenburg, surrendered to the Americans the last of their forces withall their flags and artillery and an immense quantity of supplies andammunition. 

By General Wood's orders the mass of German prisoners were moved toconcentration camps at Gettysburg, but the Crown Prince was taken toWashington, where he and his staff were confined with suitable honours inthe Hotel Bellevue, taken over by the government for this purpose. Here, during the subsequent fortnight, I had the honour of seeing theillustrious prisoner on several occasions. It seems that he remembered mepleasantly from the New England campaign and was glad to call upon myknowledge of American men and affairs for his own information. 

[Illustration: "YOU KNOW, MARK TWAIN WAS A GREAT FRIEND OF MY FATHER'S, "SAID THE CROWN PRINCE, "I REMEMBER HOW MY FATHER LAUGHED, ONE EVENING ATTHE PALACE IN BERLIN, WHEN MARK TWAIN TOLD US THE STORY OF 'THE JUMPINGFROG. '"]

As to von Hindenburg's defeat (leaving aside the question of militaryethics which he denounced scathingly) the Crown Prince said this had beenaccomplished by a mere accident that could never occur again and thatcould not interfere with Germany's ultimate conquest of America. 

"This will be a short-lived triumph, " declared His Imperial Highness, when he received me in his quarters at the Bellevue, "and the Americanpeople will pay dearly for it. The world stands aghast at the horror ofthis barbarous act. "

"America is fighting for her existence, " said I. 

"Let her fight with the methods of civilised warfare. Germany would scornto gain an advantage at the expense of her national honour. "

"If Your Imperial Highness will allow me to speak of Belgium in 1914--" Ibegan, but he cut me short with an impatient gesture. 

"Our course in Belgium was justified by special reasons--that is the calmverdict of history. "

I refrained from arguing this point and was patient while the princeturned the conversation on his favourite theme, the inferiority of ademocratic to an autocratic form of government. 

"I have been studying the lives of your presidents, " he said, "and--really, how can one expect them to get good results with notraining for their work and only a few years in office? Take men likeJohnson, Tyler, Polk, Hayes, Buchanan, Pierce, Filmore, Harrison, McKinley. Mediocre figures, are they not? What do they stand for?"

"What does the average king or emperor stand for?" I ventured, whereuponHis Imperial Highness pointed proudly to the line of Hohenzollern rulers, and I had to admit that these were exceptional men. 

"The big men of America go into commercial and industrial pursuits ratherthan into politics, " I explained. 

"Exactly, " agreed the prince, "and the republic loses their services. "

"No, the republic benefits by the general prosperity which they buildup, " I insisted. 

With this the Imperial prisoner discussed the American Committee ofTwenty-one and I was astonished to find what full knowledge he hadtouching their individual lives and achievements. He even knew thedetails of Asa G. Candler's soda water activities. And he told me severalamusing stories of Edison's boyhood. 

"By the way, " he said abruptly, "I suppose you know that Thomas A. Edisonis a prisoner in our hands?"

"So we concluded, " said I. "Also Lemuel A. Widding. "

"Also Lemuel A. Widding, " the prince admitted. "You know why we took themprisoners? It was on account of Widding's invention. He thinks he hasfound a way to destroy our fleet and we do not want our fleet destroyed. "

"Naturally not. "

"You had a talk with Edison on the train last week. He knows all thedetails of Widding's invention?"

"Yes. "

"And he believes it will do what the inventor claims? He believes it willdestroy our fleet? Did he tell you that?"

"He certainly did. He said he wouldn't give five cents for the Germanfleet after Widding's plan is put into operation. "

"Ah!" reflected the Crown Prince. 

"Would Your Imperial Highness allow me to ask a question?" I ventured. 

His eyes met mine frankly. "Why, yes--certainly. "

"I have no authority to ask this, but I suppose there might be anexchange of prisoners. Edison and Widding are important to Americaand--". 

"You mean they might be exchanged for me?" his face grew stern. "I wouldnot hear of it. Those two Americans alone have the secret of this Widdinginvention, I am sure of that, and it is better for the Fatherland to getalong without a Crown Prince than without a fleet. No. We shall keep Mr. Edison and Mr. Widding prisoners. "

He said this with all the dignity of his Hohenzollern ancestry; then herose to end the interview. 

CHAPTER XX

THIRD BATTLE OF BULL RUN WITH AEROPLANES CARRYING LIQUID CHLORINE

I now come to those memorable weeks of November, 1921, which rank amongthe most important in American history. There was first the battle thathad been preparing south of the Potomac between von Mackensen's advancingbattalions and General Wood's valiant little army. This might be calledthe third battle of Bull Run, since it was fought near Manassas whereBeauregard and Lee won their famous victories. 

Although General Wood's forces numbered only 60, 000 men, more than halfof them militia, and although they were matched against an army of150, 000 Germans, the American commander had two points of advantage, histen miles of entrenchments stretching from Remington to Warrenton alongthe steep slopes of the Blue Ridge mountains, and his untried butformidable preparations for dropping liquid chlorine from a fleet ofaeroplanes upon an attacking army. 

In order to reach Washington the Germans must traverse the neck of landthat lies between the mountains and the Potomac's broad arms. Here cloudsof greenish death from heaven might or might not overwhelm them. That wasthe question to be settled. It was a new experiment in warfare. 

I should explain that during previous months, thanks to the efficiency ofthe Committee of Twenty-one, great quantities of liquid chlorine had beenmanufactured at Niagara Falls, where the Niagara Alkali Company, theNational Electrolytic Company, the Oldburg Electro-Chemical Company, theCastner Electrolytic Alkali Company, the Hooker Electro-Chemical Companyand several others, working night and day and using 60, 000 horsepowerfrom the Niagara power plants and immense quantities of salt from thesalt-beds in Western New York, had been able to produce 30, 000 tons ofliquid chlorine. And the Lackawanna Steel Company at Buffalo, in itsimmense tube plant, finished in 1920, had turned out half a million thinsteel containers, torpedo-shaped, each holding 150 pounds of the deadlyliquid. This was done under the supervision of a committee of leadingchemists, including: Milton C. Whitaker, Arthur D. Little, Dr. L. H. Baekeland, Charles F. McKenna, John E. Temple and Dr. Henry Washington. 

And a fleet of military aeroplanes had been made ready at the immenseWright and Curtiss factories on Grand Island in the Niagara River and atthe Packard, Sturtevant, Thomas and Gallaudet factories, where a force of20, 000 men had been working night and day for weeks under governmentsupervision. There were a hundred huge tractors with double fuselage anda wing spread of 200 feet, driven by four 500 horse-power motors. Eachone of these, besides its crew, could carry three tons of chlorine fromGrand Island to Washington (their normal rate of flying was 120 miles anhour) in three hours against a moderate wind. 

I visited aviation centers where these machines were delivered for tests, and found the places swarming with armies of men training and inspectingand testing the aeroplanes. 

Among aviators busy at this work were: Charles F. Willard, J. A. D. McCurdy, Walter R. Brookins, Frank T. Coffyn, Harry N. Atwood, OscarAllen Brindley, Leonard Warren Bonney, Charles C. Witmer, Harold H. Brown, John D. Cooper, Harold Kantner, Clifford L. Webster, John H. Worden, Anthony Jannus, Roy Knabenshue, Earl S. Dougherty, J. L. Callan, T. T. Maroney, R. E. McMillen, Beckwith Havens, DeLloyd Thompson, SidneyF. Beckwith, George A. Gray, Victor Carlstrom, Chauncey M. Vought, W. C. Robinson, Charles F. Niles, Frank H. Burnside, Theodore C. Macaulay, ArtSmith, Howard M. Rinehart, Albert Sigmund Heinrich, P. C. Millman, RobertFowler. 

In the balloon training camps, I noticed some old-time balloonists, including: J. C. McCoy, A. Leo Stevens, Frank P. Lahm, Thomas S. Baldwin, A. Holland Forbes, Charles J. Glidden, Charles Walsh, Carl G. Fisher, Wm. F. Whitehouse, George B. Harrison, Jay B. Benton, J. Walter Flagg, JohnWatts, Roy F. Donaldson, Ralph H. Upson, R. A. D. Preston and WarrenRasor. 

Five days before the battle the hundred great carriers began deliveringtheir deadly loads on the heights of Arlington, south of the Potomac, each aeroplane making three trips from Niagara Falls every twenty-fourhours, which meant that on the morning of November 5, 1921, when theGerman legions came within range of Leonard Wood's field artillery, therewere 5, 000 tons of liquid chlorine ready to be hurled down from theaerial fleet. And it was estimated that the carriers would continue todeliver a thousand tons a day from Grand Island as long as the deadlystuff was needed. 

The actual work of dropping these chlorine bombs upon the enemy wasentrusted to another fleet of smaller aeroplanes gathered from all partsof the country, most of them belonging to members of the Aero Club ofAmerica who not only gave their machines but, in many cases, offeredtheir services as pilots or gunners for the impending air battle. 

"What is the prospect?" I asked Henry Woodhouse, chief organiser of theseaeroplane forces, on the day before the fight. 

He was white and worn after days of overwork, but he spoke hopefully. 

"We have chlorine enough, " he said, "but we need more attackingaeroplanes. We've only about forty squadrons with twelve aeroplanes to asquadron and most of our pilots have never worked in big air manoeuvres. It's a great pity. Ah, look there! If they were all like Bolling'ssquadron!"

He pointed toward the heights back of Remington where a dozen birdmachines were sweeping through the sky in graceful evolutions. 

"What Bolling is that?"

"Raynal C. --the chap that organised the first aviation section of the NewYork National Guard. Ah! See those boys turn! That's Boiling at the headof the 'V, ' with James E. Miller, George von Utassy, Fairman Dick, JeromeKingsbury, William Boulding, 3rd, and Lorbert Carolin. They've gotSturtevant steel battle planes--given by Mrs. Bliss--yes, Mrs. William H. Bliss. She's one of the patron saints of the Aero Club. "

We strolled among the hangars and Mr. Woodhouse presented me to severalaeroplane squadron commanders, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Robert Bacon, Godfrey Lowell Cabot, Russell A. Alger, Robert Glendinning, GeorgeBrokaw, Clarke Thomson, Cortlandt F. Bishop; also to Rear Admiral RobertE. Peary, Archer M. Huntington, J. Stuart Blackton, and Albert B. Lambert, who had just come in from a scouting and map-making flight overthe German lines. These gentlemen agreed that America's chances the nextday would be excellent if we only had more attacking aeroplanes, abouttwice as many, so that we could overwhelm the enemy with a rain ofchlorine shells. 

"I believe three hundred more aeroplanes would give us the victory, "declared Alan R. Hawley, ex-president of the Aero Club. 

"Think of it, " mourned August Belmont. "We could have had a thousandaeroplanes so easily--two thousand for the price of one battleship. Andnow--to-morrow--three hundred aeroplanes might save this nation. "

Cornelius Vanderbilt nodded gloomily. "The lack of three hundredaeroplanes may cost us the Atlantic seaboard. These aeroplanes would beworth a million dollars apiece to us and we can't get 'em. "

"The fifty aeroplanes of the Post Office are mighty useful, " observedEx-Postmaster-General Frank H. Hitchcock to Postmaster-General Burleson. 

"It isn't the fault of you gentlemen, " said Emerson McMillin, "if we didnot have five thousand aeroplanes in use for mail carrying, and coastguard and life-saving services. "

This remark was appreciated by some of the men in the group, includingAlexander Graham Bell, Admiral Peary, Henry A. Wise Wood, HenryWoodhouse, Albert B. Lambert, and Byron R. Newton, head of the CoastGuard and Life Saving Service. For years they had all made supreme butunavailing efforts to make Congress realize the value of an aeroplanereserve which could be employed every day for peaceful purposes and wouldbe available in case of need. 

"Five thousand aeroplanes could have been put in use for carrying mailand express matter and in the Coast Guard, " said Mr. McMillin, "and withthem we could have been in the position of the porcupine, which goesabout its peaceful pursuits, harms no one, but is ever ready to defenditself. Had we had them in use, this war would probably never have takenplace. "

A little later, as we were supping in a farmhouse, there came a greatshouting outside and, rushing to doors and windows, we witnessed amiracle, if ever there was one. There, spread across the heavens fromwest and south, sweeping toward us, in proud alignment, squadron bysquadron--there was the answer to our prayers, a great body of aeroplaneswaving the stars and stripes in the glory of the setting sun. 

"Who are they? Where do they come from?" we marvelled, and, presently, asthe sky strangers came to earth like weary birds, a great cry arose:"Santos Dumont! Santos Dumont!"

It was indeed the great Santos, the famous Brazilian sportsman, andpresident of the Aeronautical Federation of the Western Hemisphere, whohad come thus opportunely to cast his fortunes with tortured America andfight for the maintenance of the Monroe Doctrine. With him came thePeruvian aviator, Bielovucci, first to fly across the Alps (1914), andSeńor Anassagasti, president of the Aero Club Argentino, and also fourhundred aeroplanes with picked crews from all parts of South America. 

There was great rejoicing that evening at General Wood's headquartersover this splendid support given to America by her sister republics. 

"It looks now as if we have a chance, " said Brigadier General Robert K. Evans. "The Germans will attack at daybreak and--by the way, what's thematter with our wireless reports?" He peered out into the night which washeavily overcast--not a star in sight. He was looking toward the radiostation a mile back on the crest of a hill where the lone pine tree stoodthat supported the transmission wires. 

"Looks like rain, " decided the general. "Hello! What's that?"

Plainly through purplish black clouds we caught the shrill buzz ofswift-moving aeroplanes. 

"Good lord!" cried Roy D. Chapin, chief inspector of aircraft. "TheGermans! I know their engine sounds. Searchlights! Quick!"

Alas! Our searchlights proved useless against the thick haze that had nowspread about us; they only revealed distant dim shapes that shot throughthe darkness and were gone. 

"We must go after those fellows, " muttered General Evans, and he detailedWilliam Thaw, Norman Prince and Elliot Cowdin, veterans of many skybattles in France and Belgium, to go aloft and challenge the intruders. 

This incident kept the camp in an uproar half the night. It turned outthat the strange aeroplanes had indeed been sent out by the Germans, butfor hours we did not discover what their mission was. They dropped nobombs, they made no effort to attack us, but simply circled around andaround through the impenetrable night, accomplishing nothing, so far aswe could see, except that they were incredibly clever in avoiding thepursuit of our airmen. 

"They are flying at great speed, " calculated A. F. Zahm, the aerodynamicexpert of the Smithsonian Institution, "but I don't see what theirpurpose is. "

"I've got it, " suddenly exclaimed John Hays Hammond, Jr. "They've sprunga new trick. Their machines carry powerful radio apparatus and they'recutting off our wireless. "

"By wave interference?" asked Dr. Zahm. 

"Of course. It's perfectly simple. I've done it at Gloucester. " He turnedto General Evans. "Now, sir, you see why we've had no wireless reportsfrom our captive balloon. "

This mention of the captive balloon brought to mind the peril of PayneWhitney, who was on lookout duty in the balloon near the German lines, and who might now be cut off by enemy aircraft, since he could not usehis wireless to call for help. I can only state briefly that this dangerwas averted and Whitney's life saved by the courage and prompt action ofRobert J. Collier and Larry Waterbury, who flew through the night to therescue of their friend with a supporting air squadron and arrived just intime to fight off a band of German raiders. 

I deeply regret that I must record these thrilling happenings in suchbald and inadequate words and especially that my pen is quite unequal todescribing that strangest of battles which I witnessed the next day fromthe heights back of Remington. Never was there a more thrilling sightthan the advance of this splendid body of American and South Americanaeroplanes, flying by squadrons in long V's like flocks of huge birds, with a terrifying snarling of propellers. To right and left theymanoeuvred, following wireless orders from headquarters that wereexecuted by the various squadron commanders whose aeroplanes would breakout bunting from time to time for particular signals. 

So overwhelming was the force of American flyers, all armed with machineguns, that the Germans scarcely disputed the mastery of the air, andabout seventy of their old-fashioned eagle type biplanes were soondestroyed. Our total losses here were only eleven machines, but thesecarried precious lives, some of our bravest and most skilful amateurairmen, Norman Cabot, Charles Jerome Edwards, Harold F. McCormick, JamesA. Blair, Jr. , B. B. Lewis, Percy Pyne, 2nd, Eliot Cross, Roy D. Chapin, Logan A. Vilas and Bartlett Arkell. 

I turned to my friend Hart O. Berg, the European aeroplane expert, andremarked that we seemed to be winning, but he said little, simply frownedthrough his binoculars. 

"Don't you think so?" I persisted. 

"Wait!" he answered. "There's something queer about this. Why should theGermans have such an inferior aircraft force? Where are all theirwonderful Fokker machines?"

"You mean--"

"I mean that this battle isn't over yet. Ah! Look! We're getting our workin with that chlorine. "

It was indeed true. With the control of the skies assured us, our fleetof liquid gas carriers had now gone into action and at many points we sawthe heavy poison clouds spreading over the enemy hosts like a yellowgreen sea. The battle of chlorine had begun. The war of chemistry wasraining down out of the skies. It is certain that nothing like this hadever been seen before. There had been chlorine fighting in the trenchesout of squirt gun apparatus--plenty of that in 1915, with a few scorekilled or injured, but here it came down by tons over a whole army, thisdevilish stuff one breath of which deep into the lungs smote a man downas if dead. 

The havoc thus wrought in the German ranks was terrific; especially asGeneral Wood took advantage of the enemy's distress to sweep their lineswith fierce artillery fire from his batteries on the heights. 

"We've got them going, " said I. 

Berg shook his head. 

"Not yet. "

If General Wood had been able to hurl his army forward in a desperatecharge at this moment of German demoralisation it is possible we mighthave gained a victory, but the risks were too heavy. The American forceswere greatly outnumbered and to send them into those chlorine-swept areaswas to bring the enemy's fate upon them. Wood must hold his men upon theheights until our artillery and poison gas attack had practically won theday. Then a final charge might clinch matters--that was the plan, but itworked out differently, for, after their first demoralisation, the enemylearned to avoid the descending danger by running from it. They couldavoid the slowly spreading chlorine clouds by seeking higher ground and, presently, they regained a great measure of their confidence and courageand swept forward in furious fresh attacks. 

Even so the Americans fought for hours with every advantage and ourartillery did frightful execution. At three o'clock I sent off a cableto the _Times_ that General Wood's prospects were excellent, but athalf-past four our supply of liquid chlorine was exhausted and news camefrom Niagara Falls that a German spy on Grand Island had blown up thegreat chlorine supply tank containing 20, 000 tons. And the Niagarapower-plants had been wrecked by dynamite. 

Still the Americans fought on gallantly, desperately, knowing thateverything was at stake, and our aeroplanes, with their batteries ofmachine guns, gave effective assistance. Superiority in numbers, however, soon made itself felt and at five o'clock the Germans, relieved from thechlorine menace, advanced their heavy artillery and began a terrificbombardment of our trenches. 

"Hello!" exclaimed Berg suddenly. "What's that coming?"

He pointed to the northeast, where we made out a group of swiftlyapproaching aeroplanes, flying in irregular order. We watched them alightsafely near General Wood's headquarters, all but one marked "Women of1915, " which was hit by an anti-aircraft gun, as it came to earth, andsettled down with a broken wing and some injuries to the pilot, MissEthel Barrymore, and the observer, Mrs. Charles S. Whitman, wife ofSenator Whitman. 

This was but one demonstration of the heroism of our women. Thousands hadvolunteered their services as soon as the war broke out and many, findingthat public sentiment was against having women in the ranks, learned tofly and to operate radio apparatus and were admitted in these branches ofthe service. Among the women who volunteered were hundreds of members ofthe Women's Section of the Movement for National Preparedness, includingmembers of the Council of Women, Daughters of American Revolution, Ladiesof the G. A. R. (National and Empire State), United Daughters of theConfederacy, Association Opposed to Woman's Suffrage, Civic FederationWoman's Department, Society United States Daughters of 1812, Woman'sRivers and Harbors Congress, Congress of Mothers, Daughters ofCincinnati, Daughters of the Union, Daughters of the Revolution, andNational Special Aid Society. 

These organisations of American women not only supplied a number ofskilled aeroplane pilots, but they were of material help in strengtheningthe fighting forces, as well as in general relief work. 

As the shadows of night approached we were startled by the sudden sweepacross the sky of a broad yellow searchlight beam, lifted and loweredrepeatedly, while a shower of Roman candles added vehemence to thesignal. 

"Something has happened. They've brought important news, " cried myfriend, whereupon we hurried to headquarters and identified most of themachines as separate units in Rear Admiral Peary's aero-radio system ofcoast defence, while two of them, piloted by Ralph Pulitzer (wounded) andW. K. Vanderbilt, belonged to Emerson McMillin's reefing-wings scoutingsquadron. 

We listened eagerly to the reports of pilots and gunners from thesemachines, Marion McMillin, W. Redmond Cross, Harry Payne Whitney(wounded), William Ziegler, Jr. , Alexander Blair Thaw, W. AverillHarriman, Edwin Gould, Jr. (wounded), and learned that a powerful fleetof enemy aircraft, at least 500, had been sighted over Chesapeake Bay andwere flying swiftly to the support of the Germans. These aeroplanes hadstarted from a base near Atlantic City and would arrive within half anhour. 

A council of war was held immediately and, acting on the advice ofaeroplane experts, General Wood ordered the withdrawal of our land andair forces. It would be madness to attempt further resistance. Our armywas hopelessly outnumbered, our chlorine supply was gone, our air fleet, after flying all day, was running short of gasoline and its weary pilotswere in no condition to withstand the attack of a fresh German fleet. Atall costs we must save our aeroplanes, for without them the littleremnant of our army would be blind. 

This was the beginning of the end. We had done our best and failed. Atsix o'clock orders were given that the whole American army preparefor a night retreat into the remote fastnesses of the Blue RidgeMountains. We had made our last stand east of the Alleghenies and fellback heavy-hearted, leaving the invaders in full possession of ourAtlantic seaboard. 

CHAPTER XXI

THE AWAKENING OF AMERICA

There followed dark days for America. Washington was taken by the enemy, but not until our important prisoners, the Crown Prince and vonHindenburg, had been hurried to Chicago. Baltimore was taken. Everythingfrom Maine to Florida and all the Gulf ports were taken. 

Add to this a widespread spirit of disorder and disunion, strikes andrioting in many cities, dynamite outrages, violent addresses ofdemagogues and labour leaders, pleas for peace at any price by misguidedfanatics who were ready to reap the whirlwind they had sown. These weredays when men of brain and courage, patriots of the nation with thespirit of '76 in them, almost despaired of the future. 

Through all this storm and darkness, amid dissension and violence, oneman stood firm for the right, one wise big-souled man, the President ofthe United States. In a clamour of tongues he heard the still small voicewithin and laboured prodigiously to build up unity and save the nation. Like Lincoln, he was loved and honoured even by his enemies. 

It was my privilege to hear the great speech which the President of theUnited States delivered in Chicago, November 29, 1921, a date whichTheodore Roosevelt has called the most memorable in American history. Theimmense auditorium on the lake front, where once were the MichiganCentral tracks, was packed to suffocation. It is estimated that 40, 000men and women, representing every state and organisation in the Union, heard this impassioned appeal for the nation, that will live in Americanhistory along with Lincoln's Gettysburg address. 

The President spoke first and did not remain to hear the other orators, as he was leaving for Milwaukee, where he hoped to relieve a dangerous, almost a revolutionary situation. He had been urged not to set foot inthis breeding place of sedition, but he replied that the citizens ofMilwaukee were his fellow countrymen, his brothers. They were dear tohim. They needed him. And he would not fail them. 

In spite of this stirring cry from the heart, the audience seemed butmildly affected and allowed the President to depart with only perfunctoryapplause. There was no sign of success for his plea that the nation rouseitself from its lethargy and send its sons unselfishly in voluntaryenlistment to drive the enemy from our shores. And there were resentfulmurmurs when the President warned his hearers that compulsory militaryservice might be inevitable. 

"Why shall the poor give their lives to save the rich?" answered CharlesEdward Russell, speaking for the socialists. "What have the rich everdone for the poor except to exploit them and oppress them? Why should theproletariat worry about the frontiers between nations? It's only aquestion which tyrant has his heel on our necks. No! The labouring men ofAmerica ask you to settle for them and for their children the frontiersbetween poverty and riches. That's what they're ready to fight for, afair division of the products of toil, and, by God, they're going to haveit!"

One feature of the evening was a stirring address by the beautifulCountess of Warwick, prominent in the feminist movement, who had comeover from England to speak for the Women's World Peace Federation. 

"Women of America, " said the Countess, "I appeal to you to save thisnation from further horrors of bloodshed. Rise up in the might of yourlove and your womanhood and end this wholesale murder. Remember the greatwar in Europe! What did it accomplish? Nothing except to fill millions ofgraves with brave sons and beloved husbands. Nothing except to darkenmillions of homes with sorrow. Nothing except to spread ruin anddesolation everywhere. Are you going to allow this ghastly business to berepeated here?

"Women of America, I bring you greetings from the women of England, thewomen of France, the women of Germany, who have joined this greatpacifist movement and whose voices sounding by millions can no longer bestifled. Let the men hear and heed our cry. We say to them: 'Stop! Ourrights on this earth equal yours. We gave you birth, we fed you at thebreast, we guarded your tender years, and we notify you now that youshall no longer kill and maim our husbands, our sons, our fathers, ourbrothers, our lovers. It is in the power of women to drive war's hellfrom the earth and, whatever the cost, we are going to do it. '"

"No! No!" came a tumult of cries from all parts of the hall. 

"We believe in fighting to the last for our national existence, "cried Mrs. John A. Logan, waving her hand, whereupon hundreds ofwomen patriots, Daughters of the American Revolution, suffrage andanti-suffrage leaders, members of the Navy League, Red Cross workers, sprang to their feet and screamed their enthusiasm for righteous war. 

Among these I recognised Mrs. John A. Logan, Miss Mabel Boardman, Mrs. Lindon Bates, Mrs. Mary S. Lockwood, Mrs. Seymour L. Cromwell, Miss AliceHill Chittenden, Mrs. Oliver Herford, Mrs. Hobart Chatfield-Taylor, Mrs. John Temple Graves, Mrs. Edwin Gould, Mrs. George Dewey, Mrs. WilliamCumming Story, Mrs. George Harvey, Mrs. Thomas A. Edison, Mrs. William C. Potter, Miss Marie Van Vorst, Mrs. Arthur M. Dodge, Mrs. George J. Gould, Mrs. T. J. Oakley Rhinelander, Mrs. W. K. Vanderbilt, Mrs. John JacobAstor, Mrs. Peter Cooper Hewitt, Mrs. M. Orme Wilson, Mrs. Simon Baruch, Mrs. Oliver Herford, Mrs. Wm. Reynolds Brown, and Mrs. Douglas Robinson. 

When this storm had subsided, Henry Ford rose to renew the pacifistattack. 

"It shocks and grieves me, " he began, "to find American women openlyadvocating the killing of human beings. "

"Where would your business be, " yelled a voice in the gallery, "if GeorgeWashington hadn't fought the War of the Revolution?"

This sally called forth such frantic cheers that Mr. Ford was unable tomake himself heard and sat down in confusion. 

Other speakers were Jane Addams, Hudson Maxim, Bernard Ridder and WilliamJennings Bryan. The audience sat listless as the old arguments andrecriminations, the old facts and fallacies, were laid before them. Likethe nation, they seemed plunged in a stupor of indifference. They wereasleep. 

Then suddenly fell the bomb from heaven. It was during the mild applausefollowing Mr. Bryan's pacifist appeal, that I had a premonition of somemomentous happening. I was in the press gallery quite near to TheodoreRoosevelt, the next speaker, who was seated at the end of the platform, busy with his notes, when a messenger came out from behind the stage andhanded the Colonel a telegram. As he read it I saw a startling change. Roosevelt put aside his notes and a strange tense look came into his eyesand, presently, when he rose to speak, I saw that his usually ruddy facewas ashen grey. 

As Roosevelt rose, another messenger thrust a wet, ink-stained newspaperinto his hand. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, " he began, and in his first words there was asense of impending danger, "for reasons of the utmost importance I shallnot deliver the speech that I have prepared. I have a brief message, avery grave message, that will reach your hearts more surely than anywords of mine. The deliberations of this great gathering have been takenout of our hands. We have nothing more to discuss, for Almighty God hasspoken!

"My friends, the great man who was with us but now, the President of theUnited States, has been assassinated. "

No words can describe the scene that followed. A moment of smitingsilence, then madness, hysteria, women fainting, men clamouring andcursing, and finally a vast upsurging of quickened souls, as the organpealed forth: "My Country, 'Tis of Thee, " and forty thousand Americansrose and sang their hearts out. 

Then, in a silence of death, Roosevelt spoke again:

"Listen to the last words of the President of the United States: '_TheUnion! The Flag!_' That is what he lived for and died for, that is whathe loved. '_The Union! The Flag!_'

"My friends, they say patriotism is dead in this land. They say we areeaten up with love of money, tainted with a yellow streak that makes usafraid to fight. It's a lie! I am ready to give every dollar I have inthe world to help save this nation and it's the same with you men. Am Iright?"

A roar of shouts and hysterical yells shook the building. 

"I am sixty years old, but I'll fight in the trenches with my four sonsbeside me and you men will do the same. Am I right?"

Again came a roar that could be heard across Chicago. 

"We all make mistakes. I do nothing but make mistakes, but I'm sorry. I have said hard things about public men, especially aboutGerman-Americans, but I'm sorry. "

With a noble gesture he turned to Bernard Ridder, who sprang to meet him, his eyes blazing with loyalty. 

"There are no German-Americans!" shouted Ridder. "We're all Americans!Americans!"

He clasped Roosevelt's hand while the audience shouted its delight. 

Quick on his feet came Charles Edward Russell, fired with the sameresistless patriotism. 

"There are no more socialists!" he cried. "No more proletariat! We're allAmericans! We'll all fight for the Union and the old flag! _You too!_"

He turned to William Jennings Bryan, who rose slowly and withoutstretched hands faced his adversaries. 

"I, too, have made mistakes and I am sorry. I, too, feel the grandeur ofthose noble words spoken by that great patriot who has sent us his lastmessage. I, too, will stand by the flag in this time of peril and willspare neither my life nor my fortune so long as the invader's foot restson the soil of free America. "

"Americans!" shouted Roosevelt, the sweat streaming from his face. "Look!" He caught Bryan by one arm and Russell by the other. "See how westand together. All the rest is forgotten. Americans! Brothers! On yourfeet everybody! Yell it out to the whole land, to the whole world, America is awake! Thank God, America is awake!"

CHAPTER XXII

ON CHRISTMAS EVE BOSTON THEILLS THE NATION WITH AN ACT OF MAGNIFICENTHEROISM

Now all over America came a marvellous spiritual awakening. The sacrificeof the President's noble life, and his wife's thrilling effort to shieldher husband, was not in vain. Once more the world knew the resistlesspower of a martyr's death. Women and men alike were stirred to warlikezeal and a joy in national sacrifice and service. The enlistment officerswere swamped with a crush of young and old, eager to join the colours;and within three days following the President's assassination a millionsoldiers were added to the army of defence and a million more were turnedaway. It was no longer a question how to raise a great American army, buthow to train and equip it, and how to provide it with officers. 

Most admirable was the behaviour of the great body of German-Americans;in fact it was a German-American branch of the American Defence Society, financed in America, that started the beautiful custom, which becameuniversal, of wearing patriotic buttons bearing the sacred words: _"TheUnion! The Flag!"_

"It was one thing, " wrote Bernard Ridder in the Chicago _Staats-Zeitung_, "for German-Americans to side with Germany in the great European war(1914-1919) when only our sympathies were involved. It is quite adifferent thing for us now in a war that involves our homes and ourproperty, all that we have in the world. When Germany attacks America, she attacks German-Americans, she attacks us in our material interests, in our fondest associations; and we will resist her just as in 1776 theAmerican colonists, who were really English, resisted England, the mothercountry, when she attacked them in the same way. "

I was impressed by the truth of this statement during a visit that Imade to Milwaukee, where I found greatly improved conditions. In fact, German-Americans themselves were bringing to light the activities ofGerman spies and vigorously opposing German propaganda. 

In Allentown, Pennsylvania, which has a large German population, I heardof a German-American mother named Roth, who was so zealous in her loyaltyto the United States that she rose at five o'clock on the day followingthe President's assassination and enlisted her three sons before theywere out of bed. 

In Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Cleveland and other cities womenvolunteered by thousands as postmen, street-car conductors, elevatoroperators and for service in factories and business houses, so as torelease the men for military service. Chicago newspapers printed picturesof Mrs. Harold F. McCormick, Mrs. J. Ogden Armour, Mrs. J. ClarenceWebster and other prominent society women in blue caps and improviseduniforms, ringing up fares on the Wabash Avenue cars for the sake of theexample they would set to others. 

In San Francisco, Denver, Portland, Oregon, Omaha, and Salt Lake City ahundred thousand women, at gatherings of women's clubs and organisations, formally joined the Women's National War Economy League and pledgedthemselves as follows:

"We, the undersigned American women, in this time of national need andperil, do hereby promise:

"(1) To buy no jewelry or useless ornaments for one year and tocontribute the amount thus saved (from an average estimated allowance) tothe Women's National War Fund. 

"(2) To buy only two hats a year, the value of said hats not to exceedten dollars, and to contribute the amount thus saved (from an averageestimated allowance) to the Women's National War Fund. 

"(3) To buy only two dresses a year, the value of said dresses not toexceed sixty dollars, and to contribute the amount thus saved (from anaverage estimated allowance) to the Women's National War Fund. 

"(4) To forego all entertaining at restaurants, all formal dinner andluncheon parties and to contribute the amount thus saved (from an averageestimated allowance) to the Women's National War Fund. 

"(5) To abstain from cocktails, highballs and all expensive wines, alsofrom cigarettes, to influence husbands, fathers, brothers, sons and menfriends to do the same, and to contribute the amount thus saved to theWomen's National War Fund. 

"(6) To keep this pledge until the invader has been driven from the soilof free America. "

I may mention that Mrs. Harriot Stanton Blatch, in urging her sisterwomen at various mass meetings to sign this pledge, made the impressiveestimate that, by practising these economies during a two years' war, ahundred thousand well-to-do American women might save a _thousand milliondollars_. 

Other American women, under the leadership of Mrs. Mary Logan Tucker, daughter of General John A. Logan, prepared themselves for active fieldservice at women's military camps, in several states, where they wereinstructed in bandage making, first-aid service, signalling and the useof small arms. 

As weeks passed the national spirit grew stronger, stimulated by rousingspeeches of Roosevelt, Russell and Bryan and fanned into full flame byBoston's immortal achievement on December 24, 1921. On that day, byauthorisation of General von Beseler, commanding the German force ofoccupation, a great crowd had gathered on Boston Common for a Christmastree celebration with a distribution of food and toys for the poor of thecity. In the Public Gardens near the statue of George Washington, BillySunday was making an address when suddenly, on the stroke of five, thebell in the old Park Street church and then the bells in all the churchesof Boston began to toll. 

It was a signal for an uprising of the people and was answered in a waythat will fill a proud page of American history so long as human courageand love of liberty are honoured upon earth. In an instant everytelephone wire in the city went dead, leaving the Germans cut off fromcommunication among themselves. All traffic and business ceased as if bymagic, all customary activities were put aside and, with the firstclangour of the bells, the whole population poured into the streets andsurged towards Boston Common by converging avenues, singing as they went. 

Already a hundred thousand citizens were packed within this greatenclosure, and guarding them were three thousand German, foot soldiersand a thousand horsemen in formidable groups, with rifles and machineguns ready--before the State House, before the Soldiers' Monument, alongTremont Street and Boylston Street and at other strategic points. Neverin the history of the world had an unarmed, untrained mob prevailed oversuch a body of disciplined troops. The very thought was madness. Andyet--

Hark! That roar of voices in the Public Gardens! What is it? A bandplaying in the distance? Who ordered a band to play? German officersshout harsh commands. "Back!" "Stand back!" "Stop this pushing of thecrowd!" "_Mein Gott!_ Those women and children will be trampled by thehorses!"

Alas, that is true! Once more the cause of American liberty requires thatBoston Common be hallowed by American blood. The people of this NewEngland city are tired of German rule. They want their city forthemselves and are going to take it. Guns or not, soldiers or not, theyare going to take their city. 

Listen! They are coming! Six hundred thousand strong in dense masses thatchoke every thoroughfare from wall to wall the citizens of Boston, womenand children with the men, are coming! And singing!

 "Hurrah! Hurrah! We sound the jubilee! Hurrah! Hurrah! The flag that set us free. "

They are practically unarmed, although some of the men carry shot-guns, pistols, rifles, clubs, stones; but they know these will avail littleagainst murderous machine guns. They know they must find strength intheir weakness and overwhelm the enemy by the sheer weight of theirbodies. They must stun the invaders by their willingness to die. That isthe only real power of this Boston host, their sublime willingness todie. 

It is estimated that five thousand of them did die, and ten thousand werewounded, in the first half hour after the German machine guns openedfire. And still the Americans came on in a shouting, surging multitude, asolid sea of bodies with endless rivers of bodies pouring in behind them. It is not so easy to kill forty acres of human bodies, even with machineguns!

Endlessly the Americans came on, hundreds falling, thousands replacingthem, until presently the Germans ceased firing, either in horror at thisincredible sacrifice of life or because their ammunition was exhausted. What chance was there for German ammunition carts to force their waythrough that struggling human wall? What chance for the fifteen hundredGerman reserves in Franklin Park to bring relief to their comrades?

At eight o'clock that night Boston began her real Christmas evecelebration. Over the land, over the world the joyful tidings wereflashed. Boston had heard the call of the martyred President and answeredit. The capital of Massachusetts was free. The Stars and Stripes wereonce more waving over the Bunker Hill Monument. Four thousand Germansoldiers were prisoners in Mechanics Hall on Commonwealth Avenue. _Thecitizens of Boston had taken them prisoners with their bare hands!_

This news made an enormous sensation not only in America but throughoutEurope, where Boston's heroism and scorn of death aroused unmeasuredadmiration and led military experts in France and England to make newprophecies regarding the outcome of the German-American war. 

"All things are possible, " declared a writer in the Paris _Temps_, "for anation fired with a supreme spiritual zeal like that of the JapaneseSamurai. It is simply a question how widely this sacred fire has spreadamong the American people. "

CHAPTER XXIII

CONFESSIONS OF AN AMERICAN SPY AND BRAVERY OF BUFFALO SCHOOLBOYS

On December 26th I received a cable from the London _Times_ instructingme to try for another interview with the Crown Prince and to question himon the effect that this Boston victory might have upon the Germancampaign in America. Would there be retaliatory measures? Would Germanwarships bombard Boston from the sea?

I journeyed at once to Chicago and made my appeal to Brigadier GeneralGeorge T. Langhorne, who had been military attache at Berlin in 1915 andwas now in charge of the Imperial prisoner. The Crown Prince and hisstaff occupied the seventh floor of the Hotel Blackstone. 

"I'm sorry, " said General Langhorne, after he had presented my request. "The Crown Prince has no statement to make at present. But there isanother German prisoner who wishes to speak to you. I suppose it's allright as you have General Wood's permission. He says he has met youbefore--Colonel von Dusenberg. "

"Colonel von Dusenberg?"

"He is on the Crown Prince's staff. In here. " I opened a heavy door andfound myself in a large dimly lighted room. 

"Mr. Langston!"

The voice was familiar and, turning, I stared in amazement; for there, dressed as an officer of the Prussian guard, stood the man I had rescuedin the Caribbean Sea, the brother of the girl I had seen in Washington, Lieutenant Randolph Ryerson of the United States navy. He had let hismoustache grow, but I recognised him at once. 

"You?" I stood looking at him and saw that his face was deathly white. 

"Yes. I--I'm in trouble and--I have things to tell you, " he stammered. "Sit down. "

I sat down and lighted a cigarette. I kept thinking how much he lookedlike his sister. 

"Ryerson, what the devil are you doing in that Prussian uniform?"

He turned away miserably, then he forced himself to face me. 

"I'll get the worst over first. I don't care what happens to meand--anyway I--I'm a spy. "

"A spy?"

He nodded. "In the service of the Germans. It was through me they knewabout Widding's invention to destroy their fleet. It was through me thatEdison and Widding were abducted. I meant to disappear--that's why Ijoined von Hindenburg's army, but--we were captured and--here I am. "He looked at me helplessly as I blew out a cloud of smoke. 

"How is this possible? How did it happen? How, Ryerson?" I gasped inamazement. 

He shook his head. "What's the use? It was money and--there's a woman init. "

"Go on. "

"That's all. I fell for one of their damnable schemes to get information. It was three years ago on the Mediterranean cruise of our Atlanticsquadron. I met this woman in Marseilles. "

"Well?"

"She called herself the Countess de Matignon, and--I was a younglieutenant and--I couldn't resist her. Nobody could. She wanted money andI gave her all I had; then I gambled to get more. She wanted informationabout the American fleet, about our guns and coast defences; unimportantthings at first, but pretty soon they were important and--I was crazyabout her and--swamped with debts and--I yielded. Within six months sheowned me. I was a German spy, mighty well paid, too. God!"

I stared at him in dismay. I could not speak. 

"Well, after the war broke out between Germany and America last April, this woman came to New York and got her clutches on me deeper than ever. I gave her some naval secrets, and six weeks ago I told her all I knewabout Widding's invention. You see what kind of a dog I am, " he concludedbitterly. 

"Ryerson, why have you told me this?" I asked searchingly. 

"Why?" He flashed a straightforward look out of his handsome eyes. "Because I'm sick of the whole rotten game. I've played my cards andlost. I'm sure to be found out--some navy man will recognise me, in spiteof this moustache, and--you know what will happen then. I'll be glad ofit, but--before I quit the game I want to do one decent thing. I'm goingto tell you where they've taken Edison. "

"You know where Edison is?"

"Yes. Don't speak so loud. "

Ryerson leaned closer and whispered: "He's in Richmond, Virginia. "

Silently I studied this unhappy man, wondering if he was telling thetruth. He must have felt my doubts. 

"Langston, you don't believe me! Why should I lie to you? I tell you Iwant to make amends. These German officers trust me. I know their plansand--Oh, my God, aren't you going to believe me?"

"Go on, " I said, impressed by the genuineness of his despair. "What plansdo you know?"

"I know the Germans are disturbed by this patriotic spirit in America. They're afraid of it. They don't know where hell may break loosenext--after Boston. They're going to leave Boston alone, everything alonefor the present--until they get their new army. "

"New army?"

"Yes--from Germany. They have sent for half a million more men. They'llhave 'em here in a month and--that's why I want to do something--beforeit's too late. "

As I watched him I began to believe in his sincerity. Handsome fellow! Ican see him now with his flushed cheeks and pleading eyes. A spy! Itwould break his sister's heart. 

"What can you do?" I asked sceptically. 

He looked about him cautiously and lowered his voice. 

"I can get Edison away from the Germans, and Edison can destroy theirfleet. "

"Perhaps, " said I. 

"He says he can. "

"I know, but--you say Edison is in Richmond. "

"We can rescue him. If you'll only help me, Langston, we can rescueEdison. I'll go to Richmond with papers to the commanding German generalthat will get me anything. "

"Papers as a German spy?"

"Well--yes. "

"You can't get to Richmond. You're a prisoner yourself. "

"That's where you're going to help me. You must do it--for thecountry--for my sister. "

[Illustration: AND ON THE MORNING OF JULY 4, TWO OF VON KLUCK'S STAFFOFFICERS, ACCOMPANIED BY A MILITARY ESCORT, MARCHED DOWN STATE STREET TOARRANGE FOR THE PAYMENT OF AN INDEMNITY FROM THE CITY OF BOSTON OF THREEHUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS. ]

"Does your sister know--what you are?"

He looked away, and I saw his lips tighten and his hands clench. 

"No!"

"Do you want me to tell her?"

He thought a moment. 

"What's the use of hiding it? She's bound to know some day, and--she'llbe glad I've had this little flicker of--decency. Besides, she may havean idea. Mary's got a good head on her. Poor kid!"

I told Ryerson that I would think the matter over and find some way tocommunicate with him later. Then I left him. 

I telegraphed at once to Miss Ryerson, who hurried to Chicago, arrivingthe next morning, and we spent most of that day together, discussing thehard problem before us. The girl was wonderfully brave when I told herthe truth about her brother. She said there were circumstances in hisearly life that lessened the heinousness of his wrong doing. And sherejoiced that he was going to make amends. She knew he was absolutelysincere. 

I suggested that we go to General Wood, who was friendly to both of us, and tell him the whole truth, but Miss Ryerson would not hear to this. She would not place Randolph's life in jeopardy by revealing the factthat he had been a German spy. Her brother must make good before he couldhope to be trusted or forgiven. 

"But he's a prisoner; he can do nothing unless he has his liberty, " Iobjected. 

"We will get him his liberty; we _must_ get it, but not that way. "

"Then how?"

For a long time we studied this question in all its phases. How couldLieutenant Ryerson gain his liberty? How could he get a chance to makeamends for his treachery? And, finally, seeing no other way, we fell backupon the desperate expedient of an exchange. I would obtain permissionfor Miss Ryerson to visit her brother, and they would change clothes, sheremaining as a prisoner in his place while he went forth to undo ifpossible the harm that he had done. 

The details of this plan we arranged immediately. I saw Ryerson the nextday, and when I told him what his sister was resolved to do in the hopeof saving his honour, he cried like a child and I felt more than everconvinced of his honest repentance. 

We decided upon December 28th for the attempt, and two days before thisRandolph found a plausible excuse for cutting off his moustache. He toldGeneral Langhorne that he had become a convert to the American fashion ofa clean shaven face. 

As to the escape itself, I need only say that on December 28th, in thelate afternoon, I escorted Miss Ryerson, carefully veiled, to the HotelBlackstone; and an hour later I left the hotel with a person in women'sgarments, also carefully veiled. And that night Randolph Ryerson and Istarted for Richmond. I may add that I should never have found thecourage to leave that lovely girl in such perilous surroundings had shenot literally commanded me to go. 

"We may be saving the nation, " she begged. "Go! Go! And--I'll be thinkingof you--praying for you--for you both. "

My heart leaped before the wonder of her eyes as she looked at me andrepeated these last words: _"For you both!"_

We left the express at Pittsburg, intending to proceed by automobileacross Pennsylvania, then by night through the mountains of West Virginiaand Virginia; for, of course, we had to use the utmost caution to avoidthe sentries of both armies which were spread over this region. 

In Pittsburg we lunched at the Hotel Duquesne, after which Ryerson leftme for a few hours, saying that he wished to look over the ground andalso to procure the services of a high-powered touring car. 

"Don't take any chances, " I said anxiously. 

"I'll be careful. I'll be back inside of two hours, " he promised. 

But two hours, four hours, six hours passed and he did not come. I dinedalone, sick at heart, wondering if I had made a ghastly mistake. 

It was nearly ten o'clock that night when Ryerson came back after sevenhours' absence. We went to our room immediately, and he told me what hadhappened, the gist of it being that he had discovered important news thatmight change our plans. 

"These people trust me absolutely, " he said. "They tell me everything. "

"You mean--German spies?"

"Yes. Pittsburg is full of 'em. They're plotting to wreck the big steelplants and factories here that are making war munitions. I'll know moreabout that later, but the immediate thing is Niagara Falls. "

Then Ryerson gave me my first hint of a brilliant coup that had beenpreparing for months by the Committee of Twenty-one and the American highcommand, its purpose being to strike a deadly and spectacular blow at theGerman fleet. 

"This is the closest kind of a secret, it's the great American hope; butthe Germans know all about it, " he declared. 

"Go on. "

"It's a big air-ship, the America, a super-Zeppelin, six hundred feetlong, with apparatus for steering small submarines by radio control--nomen aboard. Understand?"

"You mean no men aboard the submarine?"

"Of course. There will be a whole crew on the air-ship. Nicola Tesla andJohn Hays Hammond, Jr. , worked out the idea, and Edison was to give thelast touches; but as Edison is a German prisoner, they can't wait forhim. They are going to try the thing on New Year's night against theGerman dreadnought _Wilhelm II_ in Boston Harbour. "

"Blow up the _Wilhelm II_?"

"Yes, but the Germans are warned in advance. You can't beat theirunderground information bureau. They're going to strike first. "

"Where is this air-ship?"

"On Grand Island, in the Niagara River, all inflated, ready to sail, butshe never will sail unless we get busy. After tomorrow night there won'tbe any _America_. "

In the face of this critical situation, I saw that we must postpone ourtrip to Richmond and, having obtained from Ryerson full details of theGerman plot to destroy the _America_, I took the first train for NiagaraFalls--after arranging with my friend to rejoin him in Pittsburg a fewdays later--and was able to give warning to Colonel Charles D. Kilbourneof Fort Niagara in time to avert this catastrophe. 

The Germans knew that Grand Island was guarded by United States troopsand that the river surrounding it was patrolled by sentry launches; butthe island was large, sixteen miles long and seven miles wide, and undercover of darkness it was a simple matter for swimmers to pass unobservedfrom shore to shore. 

On the night of December 30th, 1921, in spite of the cold, five hundredGerman spies had volunteered to risk their lives in this adventure. Theywere to swim silently from the American and Canadian shores, each manpushing before him a powerful fire bomb protected in a water-proof case;then, having reached the island, these five hundred were to advancestealthily upon the hangar where the great air-ship, fully inflated, wasstraining at her moorings. When the rush came, at a pre-arranged signal, many would be killed by American soldiers surrounding the building, butsome would get through and accomplish their mission. One successful firebomb would do the work. 

Against this danger Colonel Kilbourne provided in a simple way. Insteadof sending more troops to guard the island, which might have arousedGerman suspicions, he arranged to have two hundred boys, members of theAthletic League of the Buffalo Public Schools, go to Grand Islandapparently for skating and coasting parties. It was brisk vacationweather and no one thought it strange that the little ferry boat fromBuffalo carried bands of lively youngsters across the river for theseseasonable pleasures. It was not observed that the boat also carriedrifles and ammunition which the boys had learned to use, in months ofdrill and strenuous target practice, with the skill of regulars. 

There followed busy hours on Grand Island as we made ready for thecrisis. About midnight, five hundred Germans, true to their vow, landedat various points, and crept forward through the darkness, carrying theirbombs. As they reached a circle a thousand yards from the huge hangarshed they passed unwittingly two hundred youthful riflemen who had dugthemselves in under snow and branches and were waiting, thrilling for theword that would show what American boys can do for their country. Twohundred American boys on the thousand yard circle! A hundred Americansoldiers with rifles and machine guns at the hangar! And the Germansbetween!

We had learned from Ryerson that the enemy would make their rush at twoo'clock in the morning, the signal being a siren shriek from the Canadianshore, so at a quarter before two, knowing that the Germans were surelyin the trap, Colonel Kilbourne gave the word, and, suddenly, a dozensearch-lights swept the darkness with pitiless glare. American riflesspoke from behind log shelters, Maxims rattled their deadly blast, andthe Germans, caught between two fires, fled in confusion, dropping theirbombs. As they approached the thousand-yard line they found new enemiesblocking their way, keen-eyed youths whose bullets went true to the mark. And the end of it was, leaving aside dead and wounded, that _two hundredBuffalo schoolboys made prisoners of the three hundred and fifty Germanveterans!_

And the great seven-million dollar air-ship _America_, with all her radiomysteries, was left unharmed, ready to sail forth the next night, NewYear's Eve, and make her attack upon the superdreadnought Wilhelm II, onJanuary 1, 1922. I prayed that this would be a happier year for theUnited States than 1921 had been. 

CHAPTER XXIV

NOVEL ATTACK OF AMERICAN AIRSHIP UPON GERMAN SUPER-DREADNOUGHT

I come now to the period of my great adventures beginning on New Year'sDay, 1922, when I sailed from Buffalo aboard the airship _America_ on herexpedition against the German fleet. For the first time in my modestcareer I found myself a figure of nation-wide interest, not through anyparticular merit or bravery of my own, but by reason of a series offortunate accidents. I may say that I became a hero in spite of myself. 

In recognition of the service I had rendered in helping to save the greatairship from German spies, I had been granted permission, at GeneralWood's recommendation, to sail as a passenger aboard this dreadnought ofthe skies and to personally witness her novel attack with torpedoeslowered from the airship and steered from the height of a mile or two byradio control. Never before had a newspaper correspondent received such aprivilege and I was greatly elated, not realising what extraordinaryperils I was to face in this discharge of my duty. 

I was furthermore privileged to be present at a meeting of the Committeeof Twenty-one held on the morning of January 1st, 1922, at the HotelLenox in Buffalo. Various details of our airship expedition werediscussed and there was revealed to me an important change in the_America's_ strategy which I will come to presently. 

Surveying the general military situation, John Wanamaker read reportsshowing extraordinary progress in military preparedness all over thecountry, especially in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, where thewomen, recently victorious in their suffrage fight, were able to maketheir patriotic zeal felt in aggressive legislation. Strange to say, American wives and mothers were the leaders in urging compulsory physicaland military training, a year of it, on the Swiss plan, for all Americanyoung men of twenty and a month of it every five years afterwards for allmen up to fifty. 

The Committee were in the midst of a discussion of Charles M. Schwab'splan providing that American soldiers carry armour, a helmet, breastplateand abdominal covering of light but highly tempered steel, when therecame a dramatic interruption. A guard at the door of the Council Roomentered to say that Mr. Henry A. Wise Wood, President of the Aero Club ofAmerica, was outside with an urgent communication for the Committee. Mr. Wise Wood was at once received and informed us that he had journeyed fromPittsburg bearing news that might have an important bearing upon theairship expedition. 

"As you know, gentlemen, " he said, "we have a wireless station in thetower of our new Aero Club building in Pittsburg. Yesterday afternoon atthree o'clock the operator received a message addressed to me. It wasvery faint, almost a whisper through the air, but he filially got it downand he is positive it is correct. This message, gentlemen, is from ThomasA. Edison. "

"Edison!" exclaimed Andrew Carnegie, "but he is a prisoner of theGermans. "

"Undoubtedly, " agreed Mr. Wise Wood, "but it has occurred to me that theGermans may have allowed Mr. Edison to fit up a laboratory for hisexperiments. They would treat such a man with every consideration. "

"They would not allow him to communicate with his friends, " objectedCornelius Vanderbilt. 

"He may not have asked permission, " laughed George W. Perkins. "He mayhave rigged up some secret contrivance for sending wireless messages. "

"Why don't you read what he says?" put in J. P. Morgan. 

Mr. Wise Wood drew a folded yellow paper from his pocket and continued:"This message is unquestionably from Mr. Edison, in spite of the factthat it is signed _Thaled_. You will agree with me, gentlemen, thatThaled is a code word formed by putting together the first two letters ofthe three names, Thomas Alva Edison. "

"Very clever!" nodded Asa G. Candler. 

"I don't see that, " frowned John D. Rockefeller. "If Mr. Edison wished tosend Mr. Wise Wood a message why should he use a misleading signature?"

"It's perfectly clear, " explained James J. Hill. "Mr. Edison hasdisguised his signature sufficiently to throw off the track any Germanwireless operator who might catch the message, while leaving itunderstandable to us. "

"Read the message, " repeated J. P. Morgan. Whereupon Mr. Wise Wood openedthe yellow sheet and read:

"Strongly disapprove attack against German fleet by airship _America_. Satisfied method radio control not sufficiently perfected and effortdoomed to failure. Have worked out sure and simple way to destroy fleet. Details shortly or deliver personally. THALED". 

This message provoked fresh discussion and there were some, includingElihu Root, who thought that Mr. Edison had never sent this message. Itwas a shrewd trick of the Germans to prevent the _America_ from sailing. If Mr. Edison could tell us so much why did he not tell us more? Why didhe not say where he was a prisoner? And explain on what he rested hishopes of communicating with us in person. 

"Gentlemen, " concluded Mr. Root, "we know that Germany is actuallyembarking a new army of half a million men to continue her invasion ofAmerica. Already she holds our Atlantic seaboard, our proudest cities, and within a fortnight she will strike again. I say we must strike first. We have a chance in Boston Harbour and we must take it. This single coupmay decide the war by showing the invader that at last we are ready. Gentlemen, I move that the airship _America_ sail to-night for BostonHarbour, as arranged. "

I longed to step forward to tell what I knew about Edison, how he was aprisoner in Richmond, Virginia, and how an effort was actually on foot torescue him, but I had promised Miss Ryerson not to betray her brother'sshame and was forced to hold my tongue. Besides, I could not be surewhether this wireless message did or did not come from Edison. 

The Committee finally decided that the _America_ should sail thatevening, but should change her point of attack so as to take the enemyunprepared, if possible; in other words, we were to strike not at theGerman warships in Boston Harbour, but at the great super-dreadnought_Bismarck_, flagship of the hostile fleet, which was lying in the upperbay off New York City. 

I pass over the incidents of our flight to Manhattan and come to thehistoric aerial struggle over New York harbour in which I nearly lost mylife. The _America_ was convoyed by a fleet of a hundred swift andpowerful battle aeroplanes and we felt sure that these would be more thanable to cope with any aeroplane force that the Germans could send againstus. And to avoid danger from anti-aircraft guns we made a wide detour tothe south, crossing New Jersey on about the line of Asbury Park and thensailing to the north above the open sea, so that we approached New Yorkharbour from the Atlantic side. At this time (it was a little aftermidnight) we were sailing at a height of two miles with our aeroplanesten miles behind us so that their roaring propellers might not betray usand, for a time, as we drifted silently off Rockaway Beach it seemed thatwe would be successful in our purpose to strike without warning. 

There, just outside the Narrows, lay the _Bismarck_, blazing with thelights of some New Year's festivity and resounding with music. I remembera shrinking of unprofessional regret at the thought of suddenlydestroying so fair and happy a thing. 

I was presently drawn from these meditations by quick movements of theairship crew and a shrill voice of command. 

"Ready to lower! Let her go!" shouted Captain Nicola Tesla, who hadvolunteered for this service. 

"Bzzz!" sang the deck winches as they swiftly unrolled twin lengths ofpiano wire that supported a pendant torpedo with its radio appliances andits red, white and green control lights shining far below us in the void. 

"Easy! Throw on your winch brakes, " ordered Tesla, studying his dials fordepth. 

A strong southeast wind set the wires twisting dangerously, but, byskillful manoeuvring, we launched the first torpedo safely from theheight of half a mile and, with a thrill of joy, I followed her lights(masked from the enemy) as they moved swiftly over the bay straighttowards the flagship. The torpedo was running under perfect wirelesscontrol. Tesla smiled at his keyboard. 

Alas! Our joy was soon changed to disappointment. Our first torpedomissed the Bismarck by a few yards, went astern of her because at thelast moment she got her engines going and moved ahead. Somehow theGermans had received warning of their danger. 

Our second torpedo wandered vainly over the ocean because we could notfollow her guide lights, the enemy blinding us with the concentratedglare of about twenty of their million-candle power searchlights. 

And our third torpedo was cut off from radio control because we suddenlyfound ourselves surrounded y the two fleets of battling aeroplanes, caught between two fires, ours and the enemy's, and were obliged to runfor our lives with an electric generator shattered by shrapnel. I was sobusy caring for two of our crew who were wounded that I had no time toobserve this thrilling battle in the air. 

It was over quickly, I remember, and our American aeroplanes, vastlysuperior to the opposing fleet, had gained a decisive victory, so that wewere just beginning to breathe freely when an extraordinary thinghappened, a rare act of heroism, though I say it for the Germans. 

There came a signal, the dropping of a fire bomb with many colours, andinstantly the remnant of the enemy's air strength, four biplanes and alittle yellow-striped monoplane, started at us, in a last desperateeffort, with all the speed of their engines. Our aerial fleet saw themanouver and swept towards the biplanes, intercepting them, one by one, and tearing them to pieces with sweeping volleys of our machine guns, butthe little monoplane, swifter than the rest, dodged and circled andfinally found an opening towards the airship and came through it at twomiles a minute, straight for us and for death, throwing fire bombs andyelling for the Kaiser. 

"Save yourselves!" shouted Tesla as the enemy craft ripped into our greatyellow gas bag. 

Bombs were exploding all about us and in an instant the _America_ was inflames. We knew that our effort had failed. 

As the stricken airship, burning fiercely, sank rapidly through thenight, I realised that I must fight for my life in the ice cold waters ofthe bay. I hate cold water and, being but an indifferent swimmer, Ihesitated whether to throw off my coat and shoes, and, having finallydecided, I had only time to rid myself of one shoe and my coat when I sawthe surging swells directly beneath me and leapt overside just in time toescape the crash of blazing wreckage. 

Dazed by the blow of a heavy spar and the shock of immersion, I remembernothing more until I found myself on dry land, hours later, with kindfriends ministering to me. It seems that a party of motor boat rescuersfrom Brooklyn worked over me for hours before I returned to consciousnessand I lay for days afterward in a state of languid-weakness, indifferentto everything. 

CHAPTER XXV

DESPERATE EFFORT TO RESCUE THOMAS A. EDISON FROM THE GERMANS

I wish I might detail my experiences during the next fortnight, how I wasguarded from the Germans (they had put a price on my head) by kindfriends in Brooklyn, notably Mrs. Anne P. L. Field, the Sing-Sing angel, who contrived my escape through the German lines of occupation with thehelp of a swift motor boat and two of her convict protégés. 

We landed in Newark one dark night after taking desperate chances on thebay and running a gauntlet of German sentries who fired at us repeatedly. Then, thanks to my old friend, Francis J. Swayze of the United StatesSupreme Court, I was passed along across northern New Jersey, throughDover, where "Pop" Losee, the eloquent ice man evangelist, saved me fromPrussians guarding the Picatinny arsenal, then through Allentown, Pa. , where Editor Roth swore to a suspicious German colonel that I was one ofhis reporters, and, finally, by way of Harrisburg to Pittsburg, where atlast I was safe. 

To my delight I found Randolph Ryerson anxiously awaiting my arrival andeager to proceed with our plan to rescue Edison. We set forth forRichmond the next day, January 16th, 1922, in a racing automobile andproceeded with the utmost caution, crossing the mountains of WestVirginia and Virginia by night to avoid the sentries of both armies. Twice, being challenged, we drove on unheeding at furious speed andescaped in the darkness, although shots were fired after us. 

As morning broke on January 20th we had our first view of theseven-hilled city on the James, with its green islands and its tumblingmuddy waters. We knew that Richmond was held by the Germans, and as weapproached their lines I realised the difficulty of my position, for Iwas now obliged to trust Ryerson absolutely and let him make use of hiscredentials from the Crown Prince which presented him as an American spyin the German service. He introduced me as his friend and a person to beabsolutely trusted, which practically made me out a spy also. It wasevident that, unless we succeeded in our mission, I had compromisedmyself gravely. Ryerson was reassuring, however, and declared thateverything would be all right. 

We took a fine suite at the Hotel Jefferson, where we found Germanofficers in brilliant uniforms strolling about the great rotunda orrefreshing themselves with pipes and beer in the palm room nearthe whitemarble statue of Thomas Jefferson. 

"If you'll excuse me now for a few hours, " said Ryerson, who seemedrather nervous, "I will get the information we need from some of thesefellows. Let us meet here at dinner. "

During the afternoon I drove about this peaceful old city with itsgardens and charming homes and was allowed to approach the threateningsiege guns which the Germans had set up on the broad esplanade ofMonument Avenue between the equestrian statue of Robert E. Lee and thetall white shaft that bears the heroic figure of Jefferson Davis. Theseguns were trained upon the gothic tower of the city hall and upon thecherished grey pile of the Capitol, with its massive columns and itsshaded park where grey squirrels play about the famous statue of GeorgeWashington. 

My driver told me thrilling stories of the fighting here when FieldMarshal von Mackensen marched his army into Richmond. Alas for this proudSouthern city! What could she hope to do against 150, 000 Germansoldiers? For the sake of her women and children she decided to donothing officially, but the Richmond "Blues" had their own ideas and acrowd of Irish patriots from Murphy's Hotel had theirs, and when theGerman army, with bands playing and eagles flying, came tramping downBroad Street, they were halted presently by four companies of eighty meneach in blue uniforms and white plumed hats drawn up in front of thestatues of Stonewall Jackson and Henry Clay ready to die here on thispleasant autumn morning rather than have this most sacred spot in theSouth desecrated by an invader. And die here they did or fell wounded, the whole body of Richmond "Blues, " under Colonel W. J. Kemp, while theirband played "Dixie" and the old Confederate flags waved over them. 

As for the Irishmen, it seems that they marched in a wild and cursing mobto the churchyard of old St. John's where Patrick Henry hurled his famousdefiance at the British and in the same spirit--"Give me liberty or giveme death"--they fought until they could fight no longer. 

As we drove through East Franklin Street I was startled to see a Germanflag flying over the honoured home of Robert E. Lee and a German sentryon guard before the door. I was told that prominent citizens of Richmondwere held here as hostages, among these being Governor Richard EvelynByrd, John K. Branch, Oliver J. Sands, William H. White, Bishop R. A. Gibson, Bishop O'Connell, Samuel Cohen and Mayor Jacob Umlauf who, inspite of his German descent, had proved himself a loyal American. 

I finished the afternoon at a Red Cross bazaar held in the largeauditorium on Gary Street under the patronage of Mrs. Norman B. Randolph, Mrs. B. B. Valentine, Miss Jane Rutherford and other prominent Richmondladies. I made several purchases, including a cane made from a plank ofLibby prison and a stone paper weight from Edgar Allan Poe's boyhood homeon Fifth Street. 

Leaving the bazaar, I turned aimlessly into a quiet shaded avenue and waswondering what progress Ryerson might be making with his investigations, when I suddenly saw the man himself on the other side of the way, talkingearnestly with a young woman of striking beauty and of foreignappearance. She might have been a Russian or an Austrian. 

There was something in this unexpected meeting that filled me with avague alarm. Who was this woman? Why was Ryerson spending time with herthat was needed for our urgent business? I felt indignant at this lack ofseriousness on his part and, unobserved, I followed the couple as theyclimbed a hill leading to a little park overlooking the river, where theyseated themselves on a bench and continued their conversation. 

Presently I passed so close to them that Ryerson could not fail to see meand, pausing at a short distance, I looked back at him. He immediatelyexcused himself to his fair companion and joined me. He was evidentlyannoyed. 

"Wait here, " he whispered. "I'll be back. "

With that he rejoined the lady and immediately escorted her down thehill. It was fully an hour before he returned and I saw he had regainedhis composure. 

"I suppose you are wondering who that lady was?" he began lightly. 

"Well, yes, just a little. Is she the woman you told me about--thecountess?"

"No, no! But she's a very remarkable person, " he explained. "She is knownin every capital of Europe. They say the German government pays her fiftythousand dollars a year. "

"She's quite a beauty, " said I. 

He looked at me sharply. "I suppose she is, but that's not the point. She's at the head of the German secret service work in America. She knowsall about Edison. "

"Oh!"

"She has told me where he is. That's why we came up here. Do you see thatbuilding?"

I followed his gesture across the valley and on a hill opposite saw amassive brick structure with many small windows, and around it a highwhite painted wall. 

"Well?"

"That's the state penitentiary. Edison is there in the cell that was onceoccupied by Aaron Burr--you remember--when he was tried for treason?"

All this was said in so straightforward a manner that I felt ashamed ofmy doubts and congratulated my friend warmly on his zeal and success. 

"Just the same, you didn't like it when you saw me with that woman--didyou?" he laughed. 

I acknowledged my uneasiness and, as we walked back to the hotel, spokeearnestly with Ryerson about the grave responsibility that rested uponus, upon me equally with him. I begged him to justify his sister's faithand love and to rise now with all his might to this supreme duty andopportunity. 

He seemed moved by my words and assured me that he would do the rightthing, but when I pressed him to outline our immediate course of action, he became evasive and irritable and declared that he was tired and neededa night's rest before going into these details. 

As I left him at the door of his bedroom I noticed a bulky and stronglycorded package on the table and asked what it was, whereupon, in a flashof anger, he burst into a tirade of reproach, saying that I did not trusthim and was prying into his personal affairs, all of which increased mysuspicions. 

"I must insist on knowing what is in that package, " I said quietly. "Youneedn't tell me now, because you're not yourself, but in the morning wewill take up this whole affair. Goodnight. "

"Goodnight, " he answered sullenly. 

Here was a bad situation, and for hours I did not sleep, asking myself ifI had made a ghastly mistake in trusting Ryerson. Was his sister'ssacrifice to be in vain? Was the man a traitor still, in spite ofeverything?

Towards three o'clock I fell into fear-haunted dreams, but was presentlyawakened by a quick knocking at my door and, opening, I came face to facewith my companion, who stood there fully dressed. 

"For God's sake let me come in. " He looked about the room nervously. "Have you anything to drink?"

I produced a flask of Scotch whiskey and he filled half a glass andgulped it down. Then he drew a massive iron key from his pocket and threwit on the bed. 

"Whatever happens, keep that. Don't let me have it. "

I picked up the key and looked at it curiously. It was about four incheslong and very heavy. 

"Why don't you want me to let you have it?"

"Because it unlocks a door that would lead me to--hell, " he criedfiercely. Then he reached for the flask. 

"No, no! You've had enough, " I said, and drew the bottle out of hisreach. "Randolph, you know I'm your friend, don't you? Look at me! Nowwhat's the matter? What door are you talking about?"

"The door to a wing of the prison where Edison is. "

"You said he was in Aaron Burr's cell. "

"He's been moved to another part of the building. That woman arrangedit. "

"Why?"

He looked at me in a silence of shame, then he forced himself to speak. 

"So I could carry out my orders"

"Orders? Not--not German orders?"

He nodded stolidly. 

"I'm under her orders--it's the same thing. I can't help it. I can'tstand against her. "

"Then she _is_ the countess?"

He bowed his head slowly. 

"Yes. I meant to play fair. I would have played fair, but--theGermans put this woman on our trail when we left Chicago--theymistrusted something and--" with a gesture of despair, "she found mein Pittsburg--she--she's got me. I don't care for anything in the worldbut that woman. "

"Randolph!"

"It's true. I don't want to live--without her. You needn't cock up youreyes like that. I'd go back to her now--yes, by God, I'd do this thingnow, if I could. "

He had worked himself into a frenzy of rage and pain, and I sat stilluntil he grew calm again. 

"What thing? What is it she wants you to do?"

"Get rid of you to begin with, " he snapped out. "It's easy enough. We goto the prison--this key lets us in. I leave you in the cell with Edisonand--you saw that package in my room? It's a bomb. I explode it under thecell and--there you are!"

"You promised to do this?"

"Yes! I'm to get five thousand dollars. "

"But you didn't do it, you stopped in time, " I said soothingly. "You'vetold me the truth now and--we'll see what we can do about it. "

He scowled at me. 

"You're crazy. We can't do anything about it. The Germans are in controlof Richmond. They're watching this hotel. "

Ryerson glanced at his watch. 

"Half-past three. I have four hours to live. "

"What!"

"They'll come for me at seven o'clock when they find I haven't carriedout my orders, and I'll be taken to the prison yard and--shot or--hanged. It's the best thing that can happen to me, but--I'm sorry for you. "

"See here, Ryerson, " I broke in. "If you're such a rotten coward and liarand sneak as you say you are, what are you doing here? Why didn't you goahead with your bomb business?"

He sat rocking back and forth on the side of the bed, with his head bentforward, his eyes closed and his lips moving in a sort of thick mumbling. 

"I've tried to, but--it's my sister. God! She won't leave me alone. Shesaid she'd be praying for me and--all night I've seen her face. I've seenher when we were kids together, playing around in the old home--withMother there and--oh, Christ!"

I pass over a desperate hour that followed. Ryerson tried to kill himselfand, when I took the weapon from him, he begged me to put an end to hissufferings. Never until now had I realised how hard is the way of thetransgressor. 

I have often wondered how this terrible night would have ended had notProvidence suddenly intervened. The city hall clock had just tolled fivewhen there came a volley of shots from the direction of Monument Avenue. 

"What's that?" cried my poor friend, his haggard face lighting. 

We rushed to the window, where the pink and purple lights of dawn werespreading over the spires and gardens of the sleeping city. 

The shots grew in volume and presently we heard the dull boom of a siegegun, then another and another. 

"It's a battle! They're bombarding the city. Look!" He pointed towardsCapitol Square. "They've struck the tower of the city hall. And overthere! The gas works!" He swept his arm towards an angry red glow thatshowed where another shell had found its target. 

I shall not attempt to describe the burning of Richmond (for the thirdtime in its history) on this fateful day, January 20th, 1922, nor todetail the horrors that attended the destruction of the enemy's force ofoccupation. Historians are agreed that the Germans must be held blamelessfor firing on the city, since they naturally supposed this daybreakattack upon their own lines to be an effort of the American army andretaliated, as best they could, with their heavy guns. 

It was days before the whole truth was known, although I cabled theLondon _Times_ that night, explaining that the American army had nothingto do with this attack, which was the work of an unorganised andirresponsible band of ten or twelve thousand mountaineers gathered fromthe wilds of Virginia, North Carolina and Kentucky and Tennessee. They were moon-shiners, feudists, hilly-billies, small farmers andbasket-makers, men of lean and saturnine appearance, some of them horsethieves, pirates of the forest who cared little for the laws of God orman and fought as naturally as they breathed. 

These men came without flags, without officers, without uniforms. Theycrawled on their bellies and carried logs as shields. They knew and carednothing for military tactics and their strategy was that of the wildIndian. They fought to kill and they took no prisoners. It seems that aVirginia mountain girl had been wronged by a German officer and that wasenough. 

For weeks the mountaineers had been advancing stealthily through thewilderness, pushing on by night, hiding in the hills and forests by day;and they had come the last fifty miles on foot, leaving their horses backin the hills. They were armed with Winchester rifles, with old-timesquirrel rifles, with muzzle loaders having long octagonal barrels andfired by cups. Some carried shot guns and cartridges stuffed withbuckshot and some poured in buckshot by the handful. They had noartillery and they needed none. 

The skill in marksmanship of these men is beyond belief, there is nothinglike it in the world. With a rifle they will shoot off a turkey's head ata hundred yards (this is a common amusement) and as boys, when they goafter squirrels, they are taught to hit the animals' noses only so as notto spoil the skins. It was such natural fighters as these that GeorgeWashington led against the French and the Indians, when he saved thewreck of Braddock's army. 

The Germans were beaten before they began to fight. They were surroundedon two sides before they had the least idea that an enemy was near. Theirsentries were shot down before they could give the alarm and the firstwarning of danger to the sleeping Teutons was the furious rush of tenthousand wild men who came on and came on and came on, never askingquarter and never giving it. 

When the Germans tried to charge, the mountaineers threw themselves flaton the ground and fought with the craft of Indians, dodging from tree totree, from rock to rock, but always advancing. When the Germans sent uptwo of their scouting aeroplanes to report the number of the enemy'sforces, the enemy picked off the German pilots before the machines wereover the tree tops. Here was a mixture of native savagery and efficiency, plus the lynching spirit, plus the pre-revolutionary American spirit andagainst which, with unequal numbers and complete surprise, nomathematically trained European force had the slightest chance. 

The attack began at five o'clock and at eight everything was over; theGermans had been driven into the slough of Chickahominy swamp to thenortheast of Richmond (where McClellan lost an army) and slaughtered hereto the last man; whereupon the mountaineers, having done what they cameto do, started back to their mountains. 

Meantime Richmond was burning, and my poor friend Ryerson and I werefacing new dangers. 

"Come on!" he cried with new hope in his eyes. "We've got a chance, halfa chance. "

Our one thought now was to reach the prison before it was too late, andwe ran as fast as we could through streets that were filled withterrified and scantily clad citizens who were as ignorant as we were ofwhat was really happening. A German guard at the prison gates recognisedRyerson, and we passed inside just as a shell struck one of the tobaccofactories along the river below us with a violent explosion. A momentlater another shell struck the railway station and set fire to it. 

Screams of terror arose from all parts of the prison, many of the inmatesbeing negroes, and in the general confusion, we were able to reach theunused wing where Edison was confined. 

"Give me that big key--quick, " whispered Ryerson. "Wait here. "

I obeyed and a few minutes later he beckoned to me excitedly from apassageway that led into a central court yard, and I saw a white-facedfigure bundled in a long coat hurrying after him. It was Thomas A. Edison. 

Just then there came a rush of footsteps behind us with German shouts andcurses. 

"They're after us, " panted Randolph. "I've got two guns and I'll hold 'emwhile you two make a break for it. Take this key. It opens a red door atthe end of this passage after you turn to the right. Run and--tell mysister I--made good--at the last. "

I clasped his hand with a hurried "God bless you" and darted ahead. Itwas our only chance and, even as we turned the corner of the passage, Ryerson began to fire at our pursuers. I heard afterwards that he woundedfive and killed two of them. I don't know whether that was the count, butI know he held them until we made our escape out into the blazing city. And I know he gave his life there with a fierce joy, realising that theend of it, at least, was brave and useful. 

CHAPTER XXVI

RIOTS IN CHICAGO AND GERMAN PLOT TO RESCUE THE CROWN PRINCE

The first weeks of January, 1922, brought increasing difficulties andperplexities for the German forces of occupation in America. Withcomparative ease the enemy had conquered our Atlantic seaboard, but nowthey faced the harder problem of holding it against a large andintelligent and totally unreconciled population. What was to be done withten million people who, having been deprived of their arms, their citiesand their liberties, had kept their hatred?

The Germans had suffered heavy losses. The disaster to von Hindenburg'sarmy in the battle of the Susquehanna had cost them over a hundredthousand men. The revolt of Boston, the massacre of Richmond, hadweakened the Teuton prestige and had set American patriotism boiling, seething, from Maine to Texas, from Long Island to the Golden Gate. Therewere rumours of strange plots and counter-plots, also of a new great armyof invasion that was about to set sail from Kiel. Evidently the Germansmust have more men if they were to ride safely on this furious Americanavalanche that they had set in motion, if they were to tame the fieryAmerican volcano that was smouldering beneath them. 

In this connection I must speak of the famous woman's plot that resultedin the death of several hundred German officers and soldiers and thatwould have caused the death of thousands but for unforeseen developments. This plot was originated by women leaders of the militant suffrage partyin New York and Pennsylvania (the faction led by Mrs. O. H. P. Belmontnot approving) and soon grew to nation-wide importance with an enrolledbody of twenty thousand militant young women, each one of whom waspledged to accomplish the destruction of one of the enemy on a, certainSaturday night between the hours of sunset and sunrise. 

By a miracle these women kept their vow of secrecy until the fatalevening, but at eight o'clock the plot was revealed to Germans inPhiladelphia through the confession of a young Quakeress who, afterplaying her part for weeks, had fallen genuinely in love with a Prussianlieutenant and simply could not bring herself to kill him when the timecame. 

I come now to a sensational happening that I witnessed in Chicago, towhich city I had journeyed after the Richmond affair for very personalreasons. If this were a romance and not a plain recital of facts I shoulddwell upon my meeting with Mary Ryerson and our mutual joy in eachfinding that the other had escaped unharmed from the perils of our recentadventures. 

Miss Ryerson, it appeared, after the discovery of her daring disguise hadbeen released on parole by order of General Langthorne, who believed herstory that she had taken this desperate chance as the only means ofsaving Thomas A. Edison. Mary had heard the story of her brother's heroicdeath and to still her grief, had thrown herself into work for the RedCross fund under Miss Boardman and Mrs. C. C. Rumsey. She had hit upon acharming way of raising money by having little girls dressed in whitewith American flags for sashes, lead white lambs through the streets, thelambs bearing Red Cross contribution boxes on their backs. By this meansthousands of dollars had been secured. 

On the evening following my arrival in Chicago, I had arranged to takeMiss Ryerson to a great recruiting rally in the huge lake-frontauditorium building, but when I called at her boarding-house on WabashAvenue, I found her much disturbed over a strange warning that she hadjust received. 

"Something terrible is going to happen tonight, " she said. "There will beriots all over Chicago. "

I asked how she knew this and she explained that a deaf and dumb mannamed Stephen, who took care of the furnace, a man in whose ratherpathetic case she had interested herself, had told her. It seems he alsotook care of the furnace in a neighbouring house which was occupied by aqueer German club, really a gathering place of German spies. 

"He overheard things there and told me, " she said seriously, whereupon Iburst out laughing. 

"What? A deaf and dumb man?"

"You know what I mean. He reads the lips and I know the sign language. "

The main point was that this furnace man had begged Miss Ryerson not toleave her boardinghouse until he returned. He had gone back to the Germanclub, where he hoped to get definite information of an impendingcatastrophe. 

"It's some big coup they are planning for tonight, " she said. "We mustwait here. "

So we waited and presently, along Wabash Avenue, with crashing bands anda roar of angry voices, came an anti-militarist socialist parade withfloats and banners presenting fire-brand sentiments that called forthjeers and hisses from crowds along the sidewalks or again enthusiasticcheers from other crowds of contrary mind. 

"You see, there's going to be trouble, " trembled the girl, clutching myarm. "Read that!"

A huge float was rolling past bearing this pledge in great red letters:

"I refuse to kill your father. I refuse to slay your mother's son. Irefuse to plunge a bayonet into the breast of your sweetheart's brother. I refuse to assassinate you and then hide my stained fists in the foldsof any flag. I refuse to be flattered into hell's nightmare by a class ofwell-fed snobs, crooks and cowards who despise our class socially, robour class economically and betray our class politically. "

At this the hostile crowds roared their approval and disapproval. Also atanother float that paraded these words:

"What is war? For working-class wives--heartache. For working-classmothers--loneliness. For working-class children--orphanage. Forpeace--defeat. For death--a harvest. For nations--debts. Forbankers--bonds, interest. For preachers on both sides--ferocious prayersfor victory. For big manufacturers--business profits. For 'Thou ShaltNot Kill'--boisterous laughter. For Christ--contempt. "

I saw that my companion was deeply moved. 

"It's all true, what they say, isn't it?" she murmured. 

"Yes, it's true, but--we can't change the world, we can't give up ourcountry, our independence. Hello!"

A white-faced man had rushed into the parlour, gesticulating violentlyand making distressing guttural sounds. It was Stephen. 

Uncomprehending, I watched his swift signs. 

"What is it? What is he trying to say?"

"Wait!"

Her hands flew in eager questions and the man answered her. 

"Oh!" she cried. "The riots are a blind to draw away the police and thetroops. They're marching against the Blackstone Hotel now--a thousandGerman spies--with rifles. "

The Blackstone Hotel! I realised in a moment what that meant. The GermanCrown Prince was still a prisoner at the Blackstone, in charge of GeneralLanghorne. It was a serious handicap to the enemy that we held in ourpower the heir to the German throne. They dared not resort to reprisalsagainst America lest Frederick William suffer. 

"They mean to rescue the Crown Prince?"

"Yes. "

I rushed to the telephone to call up police headquarters, but the wireswere dead--German spies had seen to that. 

"Come!" I said, seizing her arm. "We must hustle over to the auditorium. "

Fortunately the great recruiting hall was only a few blocks distant andas we hurried there Miss Ryerson explained that the furnace man, Stephen, before coming to us, had run to McCormick College, the Chicago home fordeaf students, and given the alarm. 

"What good will that do?"

"What good! These McCormick boys have military drill. They are splendidshots. Stephen says fifty of them will hold the Germans until our troopsget there. "

"I hope so. "

I need not detail our experiences in the enormous and rather disorderlycrowd that packed the auditorium building except to say that ten minuteslater we left there followed by eighty members of the Camp Fire Club(they had organised this appeal for recruits), formidable hunters of biggame who came on the run carrying the high power rifles that they hadused against elephants and tigers in India and against moose andgrizzlies in this country. Among them were Ernest Thompson Seton, DanBeard, Edward Seymour, Belmore Brown, Edward H. Litchfield and his son, Herbert. 

Under the command of their president, George D. Pratt, these splendidshots proceeded with all speed to the Blackstone Hotel, where they founda company of deaf riflemen, under the command of J. Frederick Meagher, about seventy in all, guarding the doors and windows. Not a moment toosoon did they arrive for, as they entered the hotel, hoarse cries wereheard outside and presently a bomb exploded at the main entrance, shattering the heavy doors and killing nine of the defenders, includingMelvin Davidson, Jack Seipp and John Clarke, the Blackfoot Indian, famousfor his wood carvings and his unerring marksmanship. 

Meantime messengers had been sent in all directions, through the riotingcity, calling for troops and police and in twenty minutes, with thearrival of strong reinforcements, the danger passed. 

But those twenty minutes! Again and again the Germans came forward infurious assaults with rifles and machine guns. The Crown Prince must berescued. At any cost he must be rescued. 

No! The Crown Prince was not rescued. The defenders of the HotelBlackstone had their way, a hundred and fifty against a thousand, butthey paid the price. Before help came forty members of the Camp Fire Cluband fifty of those brave deaf American students gave up their lives, asis recorded on a bronze tablet in the hotel corridor that bears witnessto their heroism. 

I must now make my last contribution to this chapter of our history, which has to do with motives that presently influenced the Crown Princetowards a startling decision. I came into possession of this knowledge asa consequence of the part I played in rescuing Thomas A. Edison after hisabduction by the Germans. 

One of the first questions Mr. Edison asked me as we escaped in a swiftautomobile from the burning and shell-wrecked Virginia capital, had adirect bearing on the ending of the war. 

"Mr. Langston, " he asked, "did the Committee of Twenty-one receive mywireless about the airship expedition?"

"Yes, sir, they got it, " I replied, and then explained the line ofreasoning that had led the Committee to, disregard Mr. Edison's warning. 

[Illustration: "MY FRIENDS, THEY SAY PATRIOTISM IS DEAD IN THIS LAND. THEY SAY WE ARE EATEN UP WITH LOVE OF HONEY, TAINTED WITH A YELLOW STREAKTHAT MAKES US AFRAID TO FIGHT. IT'S A LIE! I AM SIXTY YEARS OLD, BUT I'LLFIGHT IN THE TRENCHES WITH MY FOUR SONS BESIDE ME. AND YOU MEN WILL DOTHE SAME. AM I RIGHT?"]

He listened, frowning. 

"Huh! That sounds like Elihu Root. "

"It was, " I admitted. 

For hours as we rushed along, my distinguished companion sat silent and Idid not venture to break in upon his meditations, although there werequestions that I longed to ask him. I wondered if it was Widding's suddendeath in the Richmond prison that had saddened him. 

It was not until late that afternoon, when we were far back in the BlueRidge Mountains, that Mr. Edison's face cleared and he spoke with somefreedom of his plans for helping the military situation. 

"There's one thing that troubles me, " he reflected as we finished anexcellent meal at the Allegheny Hotel in Staunton, Virginia. "I wonderif--let's see! You have met the Crown Prince, you interviewed him, didn'tyou?"

"Twice, " said I. 

"Is he intelligent--_really _intelligent? A big open-minded man or--is heonly a prince?"

"He's more than a prince, " I said, "he's brilliant, but--I don't know howopen-minded he is. "

Edison drummed nervously on the table. 

"If we were only dealing with a Bismarck or a von Moltke! Anyhow, unlesshe's absolutely narrow and obstinate--"

"Oh, no. "

"Good! Where are the Committee of Twenty-one? In Chicago?"

"Yes. "

"And the Crown Prince too?"

"Yes. "

"We'll be there to-morrow and--listen! We can destroy the German fleet. Widding's invention will do it. Poor Widding! It broke his heart to seeAmerica conquered when he knew that he could save the nation if somebodywould only listen to him. But nobody would. " Edison's deep eyes burnedwith anger. "Thank God, I listened. "

It seemed like presumption to question Mr. Edison's statement, yet Iventured to remind him that several distinguished scientists had declaredthat the airship _America_ could not fail to destroy the German fleet. 

"Pooh!" he answered. "I said the _America_ expedition would fail. Theradio-control of torpedoes is uncertain at the best because ofdifficulties in following the guide lights. They may be miles away, shutoff by fog or waves; but this thing of Widding's is sure. "

"Has it been tried?"

"Heavens! No! If it had been tried the whole world would be using it. After we destroy the German fleet the whole world will use it. "

"Is it some new principle? Some unknown agency?"

He shook his head. "There's nothing new about it. It's just a sure way tomake an ordinary Whitehead torpedo hit a battleship. "

Although I was consumed with curiosity I did not press for details atthis time and my companion presently relapsed into one of his longsilences. 

We reached Chicago the next afternoon and, as the great inventor left meto lay his plans before the Committee of Twenty-one, he thanked meearnestly for what I had done and asked if he could serve me in any way. 

"I suppose you know what I would like?" I laughed. 

He smiled encouragingly. 

"Still game? Well, Mr. Langston, if the Committee approves my plan, and Ithink they will, you can get ready for another big experience. Take acomfortable room at the University Club and wait. "

CHAPTER XXVII

DECISIVE BATTLE BETWEEN GERMAN FLEET AND AMERICAN SEAPLANES CARRYINGTORPEDOES

I did as he bade me and was rewarded a week later for my faith andpatience. I subsequently learned that this week (the time of my wonderfulexperience with Mary Ryerson) was spent by the Committee of Twenty-one inexplaining to the Crown Prince exactly what the Widding-Edison inventionwas. Models and blue prints were shown and American and German expertswere called in to explain and discuss all debatable points. And theconclusion, established beyond reasonable doubt, was that German warshipscould not hope to defend themselves against the Widding-Edison method oftorpedo attack. This was admitted by Field Marshal von Hindenburg and byProfessor Hugo Münsterberg, who were allowed to bring scientists of theirown choosing for an absolutely impartial opinion. Unless terms were madethe German fleet faced almost certain destruction. 

The Crown Prince was torn by the hazards of this emergency. He could notdisregard such a weight of evidence. He knew that, without the support ofher fleet, Germany must abandon her whole campaign in the United Statesand withdraw her forces from the soil of America. This meant failure andhumiliation, perhaps revolution at home. The fate of the Hohenzollerndynasty might hang upon his decision. 

"Gentlemen, " he concluded haughtily, "I refuse to yield. If I cable theImperial Government in Berlin it will be a strong expression of my wishthat our new army of invasion, under convoy of the German fleet, sailfrom Kiel, as arranged, and join in the invasion of America at theearliest possible moment. "

And so it befell. On January 24th a first section of the new Germanexpedition, numbering 150, 000 men, sailed for America. On January 29thour advance fleet of swift scouting aeroplanes, equipped with wirelessand provisioned for a three days' cruise, flew forth from Grand Island inthe Niagara River, and, following the St. Lawrence, swept out over theAtlantic in search of the advancing Teutons. 

Two days later wireless messages received in Buffalo informed us thatGerman transports, with accompanying battleships, had been located offthe banks of Newfoundland and on February 1st our main fleet ofaeroboats, a hundred huge seaplanes, equipped with Widding-Edisontorpedoes, sailed away over Lake Erie in line of battle, flying towardsthe northeast at the height of half a mile, ready for the struggle thatwas to settle the fate of the United States. The prayers of a hundredmillion Americans went with them. 

And now Mr. Edison kept his promise generously by securing for me theprivilege of accompanying him in a great 900-horse-power seaplane fromwhich, with General Wood, he proposed to witness our attack upon theenemy. 

"We may have another passenger, " said the General mysteriously as westamped about in our heavy coats on the departure field, for it was acold morning. 

"All aboard, " called out the pilot presently from his glass-shelteredseat and I had just taken my place in the right hand cabin when the soundof several swiftly arriving motors drew my attention and, looking out, Iwas surprised to see the Crown Prince alighting from a yellow car aboutwhich stood a formal military escort. General Wood stepped forwardquickly to receive His Imperial Highness, who was clad in aviatorcostume. 

"Our fourth passenger!" whispered Edison. 

"You don't mean that the Crown Prince is going with us?"

The inventor nodded. 

I learned afterwards that only at the eleventh hour did the imperialprisoner decide to accept General Wood's invitation to join thismemorable expedition. 

"I have come, General, " said the Prince, saluting gravely, "because Ifeel that my presence here with you may enable me to serve my country. "

"I am convinced Your Imperial Highness has decided wisely, " answered thecommander-in-chief, returning the salute. 

An hour later, at the head of one of the aerial squadrons that stretchedbehind us in a great V, we were flying over snow-covered fields at eightymiles an hour, headed for the Atlantic and the German fleet. Ourseaplanes, the most powerful yet built of the Curtiss-Wright 1922 model, carried eight men, including three that I have not mentioned, a wirelessoperator, an assistant pilot and a general utility man who also served ascook. Two cabins offered surprisingly comfortable accommodations, considering the limited space, and we ate our first meal with keenrelish. 

"We have provisions for how many days?" asked the Crown Prince. 

"For six days, " said General Wood. 

"But, surely not oil for six days!"

"We have oil for only forty-eight hours of continuous flying, but YourImperial Highness must understand that our seaplanes float perfectly onthe ocean, so we can wait for the German fleet as long as is necessaryand then rise again. "

The Prince frowned at this and twisted his sandy moustache into sharperupright points. 

"When do you expect to sight the German fleet?"

"About noon the day after to-morrow. We shall go out to sea sometime inthe night and most of to-morrow we will spend in ocean manoeuvres. YourImperial Highness will be interested. "

In spite of roaring propellers and my cramped bunk I slept excellentlythat night and did not waken until a sudden stopping of the two enginesand a new motion of the seaplane brought me to consciousness. The day wasbreaking over a waste of white-capped ocean and we learned that CommodoreTower, who was in command of our main air squadron, fearing a storm, hadordered manoeuvres to begin at once so as to anticipate the gale. We wereplaning down in great circles, preparing to rest on the water, and, as Ilooked to right and left, I saw the sea strangely covered with the greatwinged creatures of our fleet, mottle-coloured, that rose and fell as thegreen waves tossed them. 

I should explain that these seaplanes were constructed like catamaranswith twin bodies, enabling them to ride on any sea, and between thesebodies the torpedoes were swung, one for each seaplane, with a simplelowering and releasing device that could be made to function by the touchof a lever. The torpedo could be fired from the seaplane either as itrested on the water or as it skimmed over the water, say at a height often feet, and the released projectile darted straight ahead in the lineof the seaplane's flight. 

With great interest we watched the manoeuvres which consisted chiefly inthe practice of signals, in rising from the ocean and alighting again andin flying in various formations. 

"From how great a distance do you propose to fire your torpedoes?" theCrown Prince asked Mr. Edison, speaking through a head-piece to overcomethe noise. 

"We'll run our seaplanes pretty close up, " answered the inventor, "so asto take no chance of missing. I guess we'll begin discharging torpedoesat about 1, 200 yards. "

"But your seaplanes will be shot to pieces by the fire of ourbattleships. "

"Some will be, but not many. Our attack will be too swift and sudden. It's hard to hit an aeroplane going a mile in a minute and, before yourgunners can get the ranges, the thing will be over. "

"Besides, " put in General Wood, "every man in our fleet is an Americanwho has volunteered for duty involving extreme risk. Every man will givehis life gladly. "

About ten o'clock in the morning on February 3rd our front line flyers, miles ahead of us, wirelessed back word that they had sighted the Germanfleet, and, a few minutes later, we saw smoke columns rising on the fareastern horizon. I shall never forget the air of quiet authority withwhich General Wood addressed his prisoner at this critical moment. 

"I must inform Your Imperial Highness that I have sent a wireless messageto the admiral of the German fleet informing him of your presence here asa voluntary passenger. This seaplane is identified by its signal flagsand by the fact that it carries no torpedo. We shall do everything toprotect Your Imperial Highness from danger. "

"I thank you, sir, " the prince answered stiffly. 

General Wood withdrew to his place in the observation chamber beside Mr. Edison. 

Swiftly we flew nearer to the enemy's battleships, which were advancingin two columns, led by two super-dreadnoughts, the _Kaiser Friedrich_ andthe _Moltke_, with the admiral's flag at her forepeak and flanked bylines of destroyers that belched black smoke from their squat funnels. With our binoculars we saw that there was much confusion on the Germandecks as they hastily cleared for action. Our attack had evidently takenthem completely by surprise and they had no flyers ready to dispute ourmastery of the air. 

Presently General Wood re-entered the cabin. 

"I have a wireless from Commodore Tower saying that everything is ready. Before it is too late I appeal to Your Imperial Highness to prevent thedestruction of these splendid ships and a horrible loss of life. WillYour Highness say the word?"

"No!" answered the Crown Prince harshly. 

General Wood turned to the cabin window and nodded to the assistantpilot, who dropped overboard a signal smoke ball that left behind, as itfell, a greenish spiral trail. Straightway, the Commodore's seaplane, amile distant, broke out a line of flags whereupon six flyers from sixdifferent points leaped ahead like sky hounds on the scent, shootingforward and downward towards their mighty prey. The remainder of the skyfleet circled away at safe distances of three, four or five miles, waiting the result of this first blow, confident that the _Moltke_ wasdoomed. 

Doomed she was. In vain the great battleship turned her guns, big andlittle, against these snarling, swooping creatures of the air that cameat her like darting vultures all at once from many sides, but swerved atthe twelve hundred yard line and took her broadside on with theirtorpedoes, fired them and were gone. 

Six white paths streaked the ocean beneath us marking the course of sixtorpedoes and three of them found their target. Three of them missed, butthat was because the gunners were excited. There is no more excuse for atorpedo missing a dreadnought at a thousand yards than there is for apistol missing a barn door at twenty feet!

The _Moltke_ began to sink almost immediately. Through our glasses wewatched her putting off life boats and we saw that scarcely half of themhad been launched when she lurched violently to starboard and went downby the head. Her boats, led by one flying the admiral's flag, made forthe sister dreadnought, but had not covered a hundred yards whenCommodore Tower signalled again and six other seaplanes darted intoaction and, by the same swift manosuvres, sank the _Kaiser Friedrich_. 

In this action we lost two seaplanes. 

Now General Wood, white-faced, re-entered the cabin. 

"Has Your Imperial Highness anything to say?" asked the Americancommander. 

Silent and rigid sat the heir to the German throne, his hands clenched, his nostrils dilating, his lips hard shut. 

"If not, " continued General Wood, "I shall, with great regret, signalCommodore Tower to sink that transport, which means, I fear, the loss ofmany thousands of German lives. " He pointed to an immense dark greyvessel of about the tonnage of the _Vaterland_. 

The Crown Prince neither answered nor stirred and again the AmericanCommander nodded to the assistant pilot. Once more the smoke ball fell, the signal of attack was given and a third group of seaplanes spedforward on their deadly mission. The men aboard this enormous transportequalled in numbers the entire male population of fighting age in a citylike New Haven and of these not twenty were saved. And we lost two moreseaplanes. 

We had now used eighteen of our hundred available torpedoes and had sunkthree ships of the enemy. 

At this moment the sun's glory burst through a rift in the dull sky, whereupon our fleet, welcoming the omen, threw forth the stars andstripes from every flyer and sailed nearer the stricken fleet hungry forfurther victories. I counted twenty transports and half a dozenbattleships. Proudly we circled over them, knowing that our power ofdestruction meant safety and honour for America. 

In the observation chamber General Wood watched, frowning while thewireless crackled out another message from Commodore Tower. Where shouldwe strike next?

In the cabin sat the Crown Prince, his face like marble and the anguishof death in his heart. 

Suddenly, a little thing happened that turned Frederick William towards adecision which practically ended the war. The little thing was a burst ofmusic from the _Koenig Albert_, steaming at the head of the nearerbattleship column two miles distant. On she came, shouldering great wavesfrom her bows while hundreds of blue-jackets lined her rails as if tosalute or defy the tragic fate hanging over them. 

As General Wood appeared once more before his tortured prisoner, therefloated over the sea the strains of "Die Wacht Am Rhein, " whereupon up onhis feet came the Crown Prince and, head bared, stood listening to thisgreat hymn of the Fatherland, while tears streamed down his face. 

"I yield, " he said in broken tones. "I cannot stand out any longer. Iwill do as you wish, sir. "

"My terms are unconditional surrender, " said the American commander, "tobe followed by a truce for peace negotiations. Does Your ImperialHighness agree to unconditional surrender?"

"Those are harsh terms. In our talk at Chicago Your Excellency only askedthat I prevent this expedition from sailing. I am ready to order theexpedition back to Germany. "

General Wood shook his head. 

"Conditions are different now. Your Imperial Highness refused my Chicagosuggestion and chose the issue of battle which has turned in our favour. To the victors belong the spoils. These battleships are our prizes ofwar. These German soldiers in the troopships are our prisoners. "

"Impossible!" protested the Prince. "Do you think five hundred men inaeroplanes can make prisoners of a hundred and fifty thousand inbattleships?"

"I do, sir, " declared General Wood with grim finality. "There's aperfectly safe prison--down below. " He glanced into the green abyss abovewhich we were soaring. "I must ask Your Imperial Highness to decidequickly. The Commodore is waiting. "

Every schoolboy knows what happened then, how the Prince, in this crisis, turned from grief to defiance, how he dared General Wood to do his worst, how the American commander sank the _Koenig Albert_ and two moretransports in the next half hour with a loss of five seaplanes, and how, finally, Frederick William, seeing that the entire German expeditionwould be annihilated, surrendered absolutely and ran up the stars andstripes above German dreadnoughts, transports and destroyers. For thefirst time in history an insignificant air force had conquered a greatfleet. The Widding-Edison invention had made good. 

 * * * * *

I need not dwell upon details of the German-American Peace Conferencewhich occupied the month of February, 1922. These are matters of familiarrecord. The country went from one surprise to another as Germany yieldedpoint after point of her original demands. Under no circumstances wouldshe withdraw her armies from the soil of America unless she received ahuge indemnity, but at the end of a week she agreed to withdraw withoutany indemnity. Firmly she insisted that the United States must abrogatethe Monroe Doctrine, but she presently waived this demand and agreed thatthe Monroe Doctrine might stand. Above all she stood out for theneutralisation of the Panama Canal. Here she would not yield, but at theclose of the conference she did yield and on February 22nd, 1922, Germanysigned the treaty of Pittsburg which gave her only one advantage, namely, the repossession of her captured fleet. 

It was not until a fortnight later, after the invading transports hadsailed for home and the last German soldier had left America, that weunderstood why the enemy had dealt with us so graciously. On March 4th, 1922, the news burst upon the world that France and Russia, smartingunder the inconclusive results of the Great War, had struck again at theCentral Empires, and we saw that Germany had abandoned her invasion ofAmerica not because of our air victory, but because she found herselfinvolved in another European war. She was glad to leave the United Stateson any terms. 

A few weeks later in Washington (now happily restored as the nationalcapital) I was privileged to hear General Wood's great speech before ajoint committee of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Thediscussion was on national preparedness and I thrilled as the generalrose to answer various Western statesmen who opposed a defence plancalling for large appropriations on the ground that, in the present warwith Germany and in her previous wars, America had always managed to getthrough creditably without a great military establishment and alwayswould. 

"Gentlemen, " replied General Wood, "let us be honest with ourselves inregard to these American wars that we speak of so complacently, thesewars that are presented in our school books as great and glorious. Howgreat were they? How glorious were they? Let us have the truth. 

"Take our War of the Revolution. Does any one seriously maintain thatthis was a great war? It was not a war at all. It was a series ofskirmishes. It was the blunder of a stupid English king, who never hadthe support of the English people. Our revolutionary armies decreasedeach year and, but for the interposition of the French, our cause, in allprobability, would have been lost. 

"And the war of 1812? Was that great and glorious? Why did we win?Because we were isolated by the Atlantic Ocean (which in these days ofsteam no longer isolates us) and because England was occupied in a deathstruggle with Napoleon. 

"In our Civil War both North and South were totally unprepared. If eitherside at the start had had an efficient army of 100, 000 men that sidewould have won overwhelmingly in the first six months. 

"Our war with Spain in 1898 was a joke, a pitiful exhibition ofincompetency and unreadiness in every department. We only won becauseSpain was more unprepared than we were. And as to our great navalvictory, the truth is that the Spanish fleet destroyed itself. 

"Gentlemen, we have never had a real war in America. This invasion byGermany was the beginning of a real war, but that has now beenmarvellously averted. Through extraordinary good fortune we have beendelivered from this peril, just as, by extraordinary good fortune, wegained some successes over the Germans, like the battle of theSusquehanna and our recent seaplane victory, successes that were largelyaccidental and could never be repeated. 

"I assure you, gentlemen, it is madness for us to count upon continueddeliverance from the war peril because in the past we have been lucky, because in the past wide seas have guarded us, because in the past ourenemies have quarrelled among themselves, or because Americanresourcefulness and ingenuity have been equal to sudden emergencies. Topermanently base our hopes of national safety and integrity upon suchgrounds is to choose the course adopted by China and to invite for ourdescendants the humiliating fate that finally overwhelmed China, whichnation has now had a practical suzerainty forced upon her by a muchsmaller power. 

"There is only one way for America to be safe from invasion and that isfor America to be ready for it. We are not ready today, we never havebeen ready, yet war may smite us at any time with all its hideousslaughter and devastation. Our vast possessions constitute the richest, the most tempting prize on earth, and no words can measure the envy andhatred that less rich and less favoured nations feel against us. "

"Gentlemen, our duty is plain and urgent. We must be prepared againstaggression. We must save from danger this land that we love, this greatnation built by our fathers. We must have, what we now notoriously lack, a sufficient army, a satisfactory system of military training, battleships, aeroplanes, submarines, munition plants, all that isnecessary to uphold the national honour so that when an unscrupulousenemy strikes at us and our children he will find us ready. If we arestrong we shall, in all probability, avoid war, since the choice betweenwar and arbitration will then be ours. "

Scenes of wild enthusiasm followed this appeal of the veteran commander, not only at the Capitol, but all over the land when his words were madepublic. At last America had learned her bitter lesson touching the follyof unpreparedness, the iron had entered her soul and now, in 1922, thepeople's representatives were quick to perform a sacred duty that hadbeen vainly urged upon them in 1916. Almost unanimously (even SenatorsWilliam Jennings Bryan and Henry Ford refused to vote againstpreparedness) both houses of Congress declared for the fullest measure ofnational defence. It was voted that we have a strong and fully mannednavy with 48 dreadnoughts and battle cruisers in proportion. It was votedthat we have scout destroyers and sea-going submarines in numberssufficient to balance the capital fleet. It was voted that we have anaerial fleet second to none in the world. It was voted that we have astanding army of 200, 000 men with 45, 000 officers, backed by a nationalforce of citizens trained in arms under a universal and obligatoryone-year military system. It was voted, finally, that we have adequatemunition plants in various parts of the country, all under governmentcontrol and partly subsidised under conditions assuring ample munitionsat any time, but absolutely preventing private monopolies or excessiveprofits in the munition manufacturing business. 

This was declared to be--and God grant it prove to be--America'sinsurance against future wars of invasion, against alien arrogance andinjustice, against a foreign flag over this land. 

FINIS