UNCLE SAM TAKES HOLD.
MAKES WORLD'S BIGGEST WAR LOAN--SEIZE GERMAN SHIPS--INTRIGUE
EXPOSED--GENERAL PERSHING AND STAFF IN EUROPE--THE NAVY ON DUTY IN NORTH
SEA--FIRST UNITED STATES TROOPS REACH FRANCE--GERMANY'S ATTEMPTS TO SINK
TROOP SHIPS THWARTED BY NAVY'S GUNS.
Scarcely had the ink had time to dry on the Nation's command to begin
war than Congress voted an appropriation of $7,000,000,000 for war
purposes. This, the largest single appropriation ever made by a
government in the world, was passed without a dissenting vote. Still
later, a deficiency bill of $2,827,000,000 for war expenses was passed.
Other legislative measures provided for the increase of the army and
navy and for "selective conscription," although the latter was passed in
the face of considerable opposition on the part of many who believed
that in a democracy armies should be raised by volunteer recruiting.
Many felt that compulsory service was not in accordance with the ideals
of liberty.
The Conscription Act provided for the registration of every male citizen
or resident in the United States between the ages of 21 and 31 years,
and was enacted on May 19, 1917. Registration of these military
available was made on June 5, when 10,000,000 names were entered on the
rolls as subject to draft by the Government. The principle of "selective
conscription" is that the authorities shall have the right to exempt
from military duty among those registered such persons whose employment
in civil life is necessary to the maintenance of the industries and
business of the country, as well as those who, though physically fit,
have others dependent upon them for support.
One of the first acts of the Government after the declaration of war was
the seizure of the German merchant vessels interned in United States
ports. These vessels had a tonnage of upward of 629,000 tons and were
estimated as being worth in the neighborhood of $100,000,000. The
seizure was notable in that it was the largest ever made by a country at
war.
When the Government went to take charge of the vessels it was found that
the German officers had destroyed parts of the machinery in many of them
in an attempt to put them out of commission. The condition of the boats
was such that all of them had to be put in drydock, and it was several
months before some of them could be put in condition for use.
SIXTY RINGLEADERS ARRESTED.
Immediately the ships had been seized an order was issued by Attorney
General Gregory for the arrest of sixty alleged ringleaders in German
plots, conspiracies and machinations throughout the United States. The
Department of Justice, which had long been gathering evidence in
connection with the suspects, had complete reports about their
activities. They were all German citizens, had participated in German
intrigues, and all were regarded as dangerous persons to be at large.
They were all arrested, bail was refused them, and they were locked up
for safekeeping. This was the first step in the general rounding up of
the conspirators throughout the country. The men were placed in three
groups: Those having previously been arrested charged with violation of
American neutrality in furthering German plots of various sorts and who
were at liberty under bond awaiting the action of higher courts; those
who had been indicted by Federal Grand Juries for similar offenses and
were at liberty under bond awaiting the action of the higher courts, and
persons who, although they had never been indicted or convicted, had
long been under surveillance by the Secret Service, or the investigators
of the Department of Justice.
These arrests were the first of alien enemies made in this country in
more than a century, under the direct order of the Attorney General
without reference to the courts or obtaining warrants. Under an act of
Congress passed in 1798 the President is empowered to adopt this course.
The right had not been invoked, however, since the war with Great
Britain in 1812.
ARREST OF GERMAN PLOTTERS.
The arrests were only the beginning of the work of the Secret Service
Department in a complete investigation of the activities of the
thousands of German reservists, stationed in the United States, and
suspected of being connected with plots which daily were cropping out.
These plots were being exposed constantly. Some were abandoned before
being completely worked out, owing to the fact that the Germans
suspected they were being shadowed. It was estimated that there were in
the United States at the time of the discoveries of conspiracies between
15,000 and 18,000 German reservists in the prime of life, whose energies
were undoubtedly being employed in the spreading of the German
propaganda. It was upon this army that the Secret Service men kept a
close watch, and who were generally found to have within their ranks the
men wanted at various times in connection with the advancement of German
plans.
Many of the Germans arrested were quasi-officials of the German
government. Some of them, it is alleged, were the instrumentalities
through which Captain Boy-Ed and Captain von Papen had carried out their
activities in this country against the Allies. A number of those
arrested were properly classed as spies. Camps were established for the
sailors taken from the interned German vessels, and many of them were
sent to Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, where they were held.
The far-reaching influence of the German spy system was at this time
laid before the American public, with all of its startling
ramifications. For months there had been stories of German intrigue and
conspiracies, and the Secret Service had unearthed innumerable plots to
destroy ammunition plants and industrial establishments, which would
have the effect of making it difficult for America to supply ammunition
to the Allies.
The most insidious scheme unearthed by the government was that which had
to do with the attempt of Germany to secure the alliance of Mexico and
Japan to make war on the United States.
Japan, through Mexican mediation, was to be urged to abandon her allies
and join in the attack on the United States.
Mexico, for her reward, was to receive general financial support from
Germany, reconquer Texas, New Mexico and Arizona--lost provinces--and
share in the victorious peace terms Germany contemplated.
MACHINATIONS OF GERMAN MINISTER.
Details were left to German Minister von Eckhardt in Mexico City, who by
instructions signed by German Foreign Minister Zimmerman, at Berlin,
January 19, 1917, was directed to propose the alliance with Mexico, to
General Carranza, and suggest that Mexico seek to bring Japan into the
plot.
These instructions were transmitted to von Eckhardt through Count von
Bernstorff, former German Ambassador.
Germany pictured to Mexico, by broad intimation, England and the entente
allies defeated, Germany and her allies triumphant and in world
domination by the instrument of unrestricted submarine warfare.
A copy of Zimmerman's instructions to von Eckhardt, sent through von
Bernstorff, is in possession of the United States government. It is as
follows:
"Berlin, January 19, 1917.
"On the first of February we intend to begin submarine warfare
unrestricted. In spite of this, it is our intention to endeavor to
keep neutral the United States of America.
"If this attempt is not successful we propose an alliance on the
following basis with Mexico: That we shall make war together and
together make peace. We shall give general financial support, and
it is understood that Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in
New Mexico, Texas and Arizona. The details are left to you for
settlement.
"You are instructed to inform the President of Mexico of the above,
in the greatest confidence, as soon as it is certain that there
will be an outbreak of war with the United States, and suggest that
the President of Mexico, on his own initiative, should communicate
with Japan, suggesting adherence at once to this plan; at the same
time, offer to mediate between Germany and Japan.
"Please call to the attention of the President of Mexico that the
employment of ruthless submarine warfare now promises to compel
England to make peace in a few months.
"ZIMMERMAN."
BETHMANN-HOLLWEG'S FALSE STATEMENT.
This document was in the possession of the government at the very time
Chancellor von Bethmann-Hollweg was declaring that the United States had
placed an interpretation on the submarine declaration "never intended by
Germany," and that Germany had promoted and honored friendly relations
with the United States "as an heirloom from Frederick the Great."
Of itself, if there were no other, it is considered a sufficient answer
to the German Chancellor's plaint that the United States "brusquely"
broke off relations without giving "authentic" reasons for its action.
The document supplies the missing link to many separate chains of
circumstances, which until then had seemed to lead to no definite point.
It shed new light upon the frequently reported but indefinable
movements of the Mexican government to couple its situation with the
friction between the United States and Japan.
It added another chapter to the celebrated report of Jules Cambon,
French Ambassador in Berlin before the war, of Germany's world-wide
plans for stirring strife on every continent where they might aid her in
the struggle for world domination, which she dreamed was close at hand.
It added a climax to the operations of Count von Bernstorff and the
German Embassy in this country, which had been colored with passport
frauds, charges of dynamite plots and intrigue, the full extent of which
never had been published.
And last but not least, it explained in a very large degree the attitude
of the Mexican government toward the United States on many points.
UNCLE SAM NOT BOTHERED.
But the efforts of the German enthusiasts, which carried them beyond the
bounds of reasonable safety in the United States, did not bother Uncle
Sam much in the prosecution of his war plans. Within a short period
after the declaration of war the country had written a chapter in
national achievement unrivalled in the history of the world.
American destroyers were mobilized, outfitted and sent to the North Sea
within a few days after the nation entered the conflict. With them went
their own supply vessels and numerous converted craft adapted to naval
use. Their number and the exact duty they have assumed never have been
revealed, but that they have been recognized as a formidable part of the
grand allied fleet was evidenced by the designation of American Vice
Admiral Sims to command all the forces in the important zone off
Ireland.
The fleet began actual duty in the European waters on May 4, and the
presence of the vessels and the American sailors was the subject of
official correspondence. The British admiralty announced the arrival of
the American destroyers as follows:
"The British Admiralty states that a flotilla of United States
destroyers recently arrived in this country to co-operate with our naval
forces in the prosecution of the war.
"The services which the American vessels are rendering to the allied
cause are of the greatest value and are deeply appreciated."
Vice Admiral Sir David Beatty, commander of the British Grand Fleet,
sent the following message to Admiral Henry T. Mayo, commander of the
United States Atlantic Fleet:
"The Grand Fleet rejoices that the Atlantic Fleet will now share in
preserving the liberties of the world and maintaining the chivalry of
the sea."
Admiral Mayo replied:
"The United States Atlantic Fleet appreciates the message from the
British Fleet and welcomes opportunities for work with the British Fleet
for the freedom of the seas."
GENERAL PERSHING IN ENGLAND.
Less than a month later Major General John J. Pershing, with his staff,
were safely in England ready to take command of the first expeditionary
force that ever set foot on the European shores to make war. General
Pershing's personal staff and the members of the General Staff who went
to perform the preliminary work for the first fighting force, numbered
57 officers and about 50 enlisted men, together with a civilian clerical
force.
The party landed at Liverpool on June 8, after an uneventful trip on the
White Star liner Baltic. The party was received with full military
honors and immediately entrained for London, where it was welcomed by
Lord Derby, the Minister of War; Viscount French, commander of the
British home forces, and a large body of American officials.
In London General Pershing was later received at Buckingham Palace by
King George.
He was presented to the King by Lord Brooke, commander of the Twelfth
Canadian Infantry Brigade. General Pershing was accompanied to the
palace by his personal staff of twelve officers. After the audience the
officers paid a formal call at the United States embassy.
PERSHING RECEIVES ROYAL GREETING.
After the formal reception the King shook hands with General Pershing
and the members of his staff, and expressed pleasure at welcoming the
advance guard of the American army. King George chatted for a few
moments with each member of General Pershing's staff. In addressing
General Pershing the King said:
"It has been the dream of my life to see the two great English-speaking
nations more closely united. My dreams have been realized. It is with
the utmost pleasure that I welcome you, at the head of the American
contingent, to our shores."
Major General Pershing's staff has been characterized as "one of live
wires." Most of the officers are West Pointers, but there are among them
some who rose from the ranks, including Major James G. Harbord, chief of
staff.
General Pershing reached France on June 13, where he was given a
tumultuous welcome. He landed at Boulogne in the morning and was met by
General Pelletier, representing the French government and General
Headquarters of the French army; Commandant Hue, representing the
Minister of War; General Lucas, commanding the northern region; Colonel
Daru, Governor of Lille; the Prefect of the Somme and other officials.
Among the latter were Rene Besnard, Under Secretary of War, representing
the Cabinet; Commandant Thouzellier, representing Marshal Joffre, and
Vice-Admiral Ronarch, representing the navy.
The scene in the harbor as General Pershing set foot on French soil was
one of striking beauty and animation. The day was bright and sunny. The
quays were crowded with townspeople and soldiers from all Entente
armies, with French and British troops predominating.
The shipping was gay with flags and bunting, many merchant craft
hoisting American flags, while along the crowded quays the American
colors were everywhere shown as a token of the French welcome.
PERSHING RECEIVES AN OVATION.
A great wave of enthusiasm came from the crowds as General Pershing
stepped upon the quay and as the band played the "Marseillaise" he and
the members of his staff stood uncovered. M. Besnard, in greeting the
American commander in behalf of the government, said the Americans had
come to France to combat with the Allies for the same cause of right and
civilization. General Pelletier extended a greeting to the Americans in
behalf of the army.
General Dumas, commandant of the region in which Boulogne is located,
said:
"Your coming opens a new era in the history of the world. The United
States of America is now taking its part with the United States of
Europe. Together they are about to found the United States of the World,
which will definitely and finally end the war and give a peace which
will be enduring and suitable for humanity."
General Pershing stood at parade as the various addresses were delivered
and acknowledged each with a salute.
British soldiers and marines lined up along the quays had rendered
military honors as the vessel flying the Stars and Stripes, preceded by
destroyers and accompanied by hydroplanes and dirigible balloons,
steamed up the channel. Military bands played "The Star-Spangled
Banner" and the "Marseillaise" as General Pelletier and his party
boarded the boat to welcome General Pershing.
After the representatives of the French authorities had been presented
to the American officers, the party landed and reviewed the French
territorials. The Americans then entered motor cars for a ride around
the city. All along the route they were followed by crowds of people who
greeted General Pershing with the greatest enthusiasm.
PERSHING IN PARIS.
The General and his staff were taken in a special train to Paris, where
General Pershing was received by Marshal Joffre, Ambassador Sharp and
Paul Painleve, French Minister of War. In the French capital General
Pershing and staff were received by the populace with wild enthusiasm,
and for several days they were feted and entertained.
There were, during the short period of entertainment, several incidents
which will long be noted in history, as when General Pershing visited
the Tomb of Napoleon and when he took from its case the sword of the
world conqueror and kissed it, and again when he placed a wreath on the
grave of Lafayette.
Within a few days General Pershing had established the army headquarters
in the Rue De Constantine and began the work preliminary to the campaign
on the firing line.
Second only to the enthusiastic reception tendered General Pershing and
his staff was that accorded the first United States Medical Unit, which
reached London in June. The vanguard of the American army, composed of
26 surgeons and 60 nurses, in command of Major Harry L. Gilchrist, was
received by King George and Queen Mary, the Prince of Wales and Princess
Mary, at Buckingham Palace.
The reception to General Pershing and the Medical branch was, however,
nothing as compared to the popular demonstration which marked the
arrival of the first of the American armed forces on European shores to
participate in war. The vanguard of the army reached France on June 27.
No official announcement was ever made of the number of men in the first
expeditionary force, but it is an incident of modern history that the
United States made a record for the transportation of troops across the
seas scarcely equalled by that of any other country.
ABSOLUTE SECRECY OBSERVED.
All America knew that troops were being sent to France, but no
information had been given as to the time of departure or as to their
destination. The world was, therefore, fairly electrified when the
announcement was made that in defiance of the German submarines,
thousands of seasoned regulars and marines, trained fighting men, with
the tan of long service on the Mexican border, in Haiti, or Santo
Domingo still on their faces, had arrived in France to fight beside the
French, the British, the Belgians, the Russians, the Portuguese and the
Italian troops on the Western front.
Despite the enormous difficulties of unpreparedness and the submarine
dangers that faced them, the plans of the army and navy were carried
through with clock-like precision.
When the order came to prepare immediately an expeditionary force to go
to France, virtually all of the men who first crossed the seas were on
the Mexican border. General Pershing himself was at his headquarters in
San Antonio. There were no army transports available in the Atlantic.
The vessels that carried the troops were scattered on their usual
routes. Army reserve stores were still depleted from the border
mobilization. Regiments were below war strength. That was the condition
when President Wilson decided that the plea of the French high
commission should be answered and a force of regulars sent at once to
France.
At his word the War Department began to move. General Pershing was
summoned quietly to Washington. His arrival created some speculation in
the press, but at the request of Secretary Baker the newspapers
generally refrained from discussion of this point.
There were a thousand other activities afoot in the department at the
time. All the business of preparing for the military registration of
10,000,000 men, of providing quarters and instructors for nearly 50,000
prospective officers, for finding arms and equipment for millions of
troops yet to be organized, of expanding the regular army to full war
strength, of preparing and recruiting the National Guard for war was at
hand.
PERSHING SETS UP HEADQUARTERS.
General Pershing dropped quietly into the department and set up the
first headquarters of the American expeditionary forces in a little
office, hardly large enough to hold himself and his personal staff.
There, with the aid of the general staff, of Secretary Baker and of the
chiefs of the War Department bureaus, the plans were worked out.
Announcement of the sending of the force under General Pershing was made
May 18. The press gave the news to the country and there were daily
stories.
There came a day when General Pershing no longer was in the department.
Officers of the general staff suddenly were missing from their desks. No
word of this was reported. Then came word from England that Pershing and
his officers were there. All was carried through without publicity.
Other matters relating to the expedition were carried out without a word
of publicity. The regiments that were to go with General Pershing were
all selected before he left and moving toward the seacoast from the
border. Other regiments also were moving north, east and west to the
points where they were to be expanded, and the movements of the troops
who were to be first in France were obscured in all this hurrying of
troop trains over the land.
Great shipments of war supplies began to assemble at the embarkation
ports. Liners suddenly were taken off their regular runs with no
announcement. A great armada was made ready, supplied, equipped as
transports, loaded with men and guns and sent to sea, and all with
virtually no mention from the press.
The navy bore its full share in the achievement. From the time the troop
ships left their docks and headed toward sea, responsibility for the
lives of their thousands of men rested upon the officers and crews of
the fighting ships that moved beside them or swept free the sea lanes
before them. As they pushed on through the days and nights toward the
danger zone, where German submarines lay in wait, every precaution that
trained minds of the navy could devise was taken.
A BRILLIANT CLIMAX.
The brilliant climax to the achievement was made public when it was
announced that not only had the last units of the expeditionary force
been landed on July 3, but that the American navy had driven off two
German submarines, probably sinking one of them, when the transport
ships and convoys had been attacked.
The last units of the American expeditionary force, comprising vessels
loaded with supplies and horses, reached France amid the screeching of
whistles and moaning of sirens. Their arrival, one week after the first
troops landed, was greeted almost as warmly as the arrival of the troops
themselves.
Many of the American soldiers crowded down to the wharf to greet the
last ships of the expedition and the American vessels in the harbor,
which had made up previous contingents of the force, joined in the
welcome. The late arrival of the supply ships was due not only to later
departure from America, but also to the fact that the vessels were
slower than those which had come before. The delay caused little
anxiety, although it worked temporary inconvenience to the troops, who
had been waiting for materials with which to work.
Probably the happiest man in port was Rear Admiral Gleaves, commander of
the convoy. From the bridge of his flagship he watched the successful
conclusion of his plans with characteristic modesty and insisted upon
bestowing the lion's share of credit for the crossing on the navigating
officers of his command.
ADVANCE PLANS BRIEFLY SKETCHED.
Sketching briefly the advance plans whereby all units of the contingent
had to keep a daily rendezvous with accompanying warships, he said,
that, thanks to his navigating officers and despite overcast skies,
which made astronomical observations impossible, each rendezvous had
been minutely and accurately kept by each unit. The orders he issued at
the outset, which comprised scores of details, were observed, the
Admiral declared, with such exactness that the contingent units and
convoying warships invariably met each other within half an hour of the
appointed time.
A big contributing factor in the crossing, according to officers of both
branches of the service, was the hearty co-operation between the army
and navy. From the time of the departure until the landing there was not
the slightest suggestion of friction, and co-ordination played its part
distinctively in the success of the expedition.
The startling fact of the entire journey across the sea was that the
Navy had won its first victory in driving off attacking submarines. The
news of the fight was given out by the Navy Department and the Committee
on Public Information, with the announcement of the final landing of the
troops and the safe arrival of the supply ships.
The announcement, sponsored by Secretary Daniels, of the Navy, shows
beyond the shadow of doubt that the Berlin Admiralty had been "tipped
off" that the American expeditionary force was on its way, and had
carefully planned to send the transports to the bottom of the Atlantic.
Realizing that an attack might be expected in the war zone, and that
every precaution would be taken to ward it off, the Germans moved far
out from land, in the hope of catching the American gunners napping.
They were fooled. Uncle Sam's jackies were at the guns when the fleet of
submarines stuck their periscopes above the waves and trained their
torpedo tubes on the lines of transports.
WAVES COVERED WITH SHELLS.
The torpedo boats and other craft opened up and covered the waves with
shells. The Germans soon lost at least one submarine and, having had
enough of the fight, they disappeared. As the little destroyers dashed
straight at the submarines and shot under water explosives in their wake
as they submerged, the transports dashed through the night at top speed
without having been scratched.
The extreme degree to which the Germans had prepared to destroy the
American force is shown by the second part of the official announcement,
which tells how another section of the transport fleet was waylaid under
cover of darkness, but how the American gunners were too quick for the
Germans.
The text of Secretary Daniels' announcement was:
"It is with the joy of a great relief that I announce to the people of
the United States the safe arrival in France of every fighting man and
every fighting ship. Now that the last vessel has reached port, it is
safe to disclose the dangers that were encountered and to tell the
complete story of peril and courage.
"The transports bearing our troops were twice attacked by German
submarines on the way across. On both occasions the U-boats were beaten
off with every appearance of loss. One was certainly sunk, and there is
reason to believe that the accurate fire of our gunners sent others to
the bottom.
"For purposes of convenience, the expedition was divided into
contingents, each contingent including troopships and a naval escort
designed to keep off such German raiders as might be met.
"An ocean rendezvous had also been arranged with the American destroyers
now operating in European waters in order that the passage of the danger
zone might be attended by every possible protection.
"The first attack took place at 10.30 on the night of June 22. What
gives it peculiar and disturbing significance is that our ships were set
upon at a point well this side of the rendezvous, and in that part of
the Atlantic presumably free from submarines. The attack was made in
force, although the night made impossible any exact count of the U-boats
gathered for what they deemed a slaughter.
HIGH SEAS CONVOY.
"The high seas convoy, circling with their searchlights, answered with
heavy gunfire, and its accuracy stands proved by the fact that the
torpedo discharge became increasingly scattered and inaccurate. It is
not known how many torpedoes were launched, but five were counted as
they sped by bow and stern.
"A second attack was launched a few days later against another
contingent. The point of assault was beyond the rendezvous and our
destroyers were sailing as a screen between the transports and all harm.
The results of the battle were in favor of American gunnery.
"Not alone did the destroyers hold the U-boats at a safe distance, but
their speed also resulted in the sinking of one submarine at least.
Grenades were used in firing, a depth charge explosive timed to go off
at a certain distance under water. In one instance, oil and wreckage
covered the surface of the sea after a shot from a destroyer at a
periscope, and the reports make claim of sinking.
"Protected by our high seas convoy, by our destroyers and by French war
vessels, the contingent proceeded and joined the others in a French
port.
"The whole nation will rejoice that so great a peril is passed for the
vanguard of the men who will fight our battles in France. No more
thrilling Fourth of July celebration could have been arranged than this
glad news that lifts the shadow of dread from the heart of America."
Upon receipt of the announcement, Secretary Baker wrote the following
letter to Secretary Daniels, conveying the army's thanks to the navy:
"Word has just come to the War Department that the last ships conveying
General Pershing's expeditionary force to France arrived safe today. As
you know, the navy assumed the responsibility for the safety of these
ships on the sea and through the danger zone. The ships themselves and
their convoys were in the hands of the navy, and now that they have
arrived, and carried, without the loss of a man, our soldiers who are
the first to represent America in the battle for democracy, I beg leave
to tender to you, to the Admiral and to the navy, the hearty thanks of
the War Department and of the army. This splendid achievement is an
auspicious beginning and it has been characterized throughout by the
most cordial and effective co-operation between the two military
services."