When these terms were received, everyone was gloomy at headquarters.
The President called his Cabinet for a conference. A United War Council
was also called, and after a long discussion, they were forced to admit
that it was not only a probability but a possibility that the enemy
would take New York City, capture the Eastern ports, and Washington,
and then dictate any terms they might desire. To submit to the terms
already offered would mean ruin and disgrace but the question was
what to do. Men high up and Government officials who had relied upon
their judgment before, now realized that one mistake after the other
had placed the country in this terrible position. Colonel Charles
Manson, a descendant of the family of General Lee, arose and asked
the War Council if he might have permission to speak. It was promptly
granted because he was a man highly respected for his good judgment,
and one who had had advocated the building of greater air fleets and
preparedness years before the war started. His speech was as follows:
General Pearson and Sons of Liberty: This country now faces the
gravest situation since the days of Washington and the winter at
Valley Forge. We are not only menaced by England, our old enemy, but
practically by the whole world. France now is our only friend. The
enemy is in control and can attack from every side. It is a time to
think, and think seriously; a time for action rather than words.
We need the man of the hour, and in times past, the United States
has always produced that man. I am a great believer in the Bible. I
have read the predictions made by Colonel Robert Gordon ever since he
was a very young man. Just what is happening now he predicted years
ago. He has made some remarkable inventions. Was born under the sign
which astrologers call the Ascendant Sign of the United States, the
sign Gemini, ruled by Mercury, the Messenger of the Gods. This sign
is symbolized by the ancients as the double-bodied sign. It is a sign
of genius and intellect. Ancient mythology tells us that one of the
twins was a great warrior, and his brother a great inventor and that
he invented all of the war instruments which helped his brother to win
his victories. He was said to be so swift and shrewd that he had wings
on his heels and wings on his shoulders. Could sip the wine from the
cups of the Gods while they were drinking, without getting caught.
This sign has always symbolized the United States and Yankee
ingenuity. The greatest inventions that have ever been were made
by United States inventors. The airplane was invented here, the
submarine, the great guns which have been used in war, the steamboats,
electricity, radio, and other valuable inventions too numerous to
mention. From what I know and have read, I still hope and believe that
the United States has the brains to outwit the entire world. I believe
this because it is the land of liberty, because there never has been a
nation to conquer it. The United States has never been an aggressor,
never entered a war on its own accord. I believe that God is with us
and that this is the country established for God's kingdom.
I have read the Bible and followed Colonel Gordon's writings and
believe with St. Luke, Chap. 7:22, "Then Jesus answered and said unto
them 'Go your way and tell John what things ye have seen and heard,
how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the
deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached,
but what went ye out for to see--a prophet--yea, I say unto you, and
much more than a prophet, for I say unto you, Among those that are
born of woman, there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist,
but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.'"
I say to you, gentlemen, that I believe there is not a greater prophet
than Colonel Gordon. Further, I believe that he is the greatest
inventor that the United States has ever produced, and believe that
he can save the situation or find some solution of the problem. The
Army Officers made a mistake not to listen to Colonel Gordon when he
offered them advice and told them he could complete an invention to
save the country.
I believe the prophecy of Daniel which has often been referred to
by Colonel Gordon, Chap. 7:27, "And kingdom and dominion, and the
greatness of kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the
people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting
kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him." I believe that
refers to the United States. If we can win this war, then as we are
one against the world, it shall be a kingdom of the United World. In
my judgment it would be wise to place Colonel Robert Gordon in supreme
command and follow his instructions to the letter.
After Colonel Manson had ceased talking and sat down, complete silence
reigned for several minutes. The War Council knew that there were only
three more days left until the time of the armistice was up when the
enemy would attack. General Pearson was the first to rise. He said,
"Gentlemen of the Council, I have known Colonel Gordon ever since he
entered the service. I interceded for him and obtained his release from
prison. He has proved to be one of the most valuable men that we have
had in the Aviation Corps. His bravery and genius have surpassed all
others. I am willing to surrender my office to him and if agreeable to
the rest of you I make a motion that he be made Supreme Commander of
the United States Army and we will abide by his decision."
General Pearson was held in great respect by the Army officers, and his
judgment was not questioned. A vote was taken and it was unanimous.
General Pearson arose and said, "Colonel Gordon, by the authority and
power vested in me, I now confer upon you the title of the Supreme
Commander of the Armies of the United States and place upon your
shoulders the greatest burden ever placed on any man. Our country's
life hangs in the balance. The situation is desperate. Something must
be done and done quickly. We must give an answer to the enemy, and when
that answer is given, it either settles our doom forever or if we can
win, means that the Stars and Stripes will ever stand supreme to the
world. Sir, what have you to say?"
Supreme Commander Gordon arose. His face showed new responsibility
which rested upon his shoulders. He said simply, "I thank you for the
honor and confidence, but before completely accepting I want to ask if
I may have the unanimous consent of the entire War Council to carry
out my plans no matter how absurd they may seem to the War Council."
The entire Council arose in a body and voted their unanimous consent.
General Pearson then said, "Supreme Commander Robert Gordon, we await
your orders." He saluted and sat down. Supreme Commander Gordon arose
and said, "Dispatch immediately the following answer to the enemy's
Headquarters."
"'The Government of the United States of America, the land of Liberty,
refuses your terms and will never surrender or accede to any of your
demands. You may strike as soon as you are ready. We have not yet
begun to fight.'"
When he had finished speaking, there was not a whisper. He sat down
and Colonel Walter Kennelworth arose and said: "Gentlemen of the War
Council, you have heard Supreme Commander Gordon's answer to the
enemy. You must know and realize that in hurling defiance like this at
the enemy, there is something which gives him supreme confidence. He
knows exactly what he has and what he is going to do, and you can rely
upon him in this emergency." Colonel Kennelworth saluted his Supreme
Commander Gordon and said, "I await your orders, Sir."
Supreme Commander Gordon said, "I appoint Colonel Walter Kennelworth
as aide-de-camp in carrying out my plans. I appoint Captain Edna
Kennelworth second aide and confer upon her the title of Colonel." He
turned to the Council and there was not a dissenting voice.
When Supreme Commander Gordon had finished his appointments and gave
his instructions to his officers, General Pearson arose and said,
"Supreme Commander Gordon, I do not wish to in any way inquire into
your plans or interfere with any course which you may pursue, you have
my heartiest support, but if you don't mind, I should like to have you
explain to me what the trouble has been in the past, why we have been
out-classed and have lost the war thus far and what is now the remedy
or what you propose to do."
Supreme Commander Gordon replied: "The trouble in the past has been
that the enemy used noiseless airplanes. Our next great handicap was
the fact that they could rise to heights to which we are unable to
attain, giving them the advantage in the fighting. Of course, we have
been hopelessly outnumbered from the start, by that I mean, in the
amount of equipment. Another thing that we need and must have, which
the enemy already has, is an airship that can be anchored and remain
anchored in the air for an indefinite length of time. We need a ship
that can take its power from the air, giving it an unlimited cruising
radius. We need other ships for cruising purposes and scouters that
can take their power from the air, not having to return to the base
at any time for fuel or ammunition, working from a base in the air at
all times. The next and most important thing we need is an invisible
plane. An invisible, noiseless plane will be one of the things to beat
the enemy. When our planes can travel high or low, no longer be seen or
heard, we will be able to obtain information about the enemy's position
and plans and thereby know their weak points, when and where to attack.
"The great mistake that the army officers have made from time to
time was in not listening to the counsel of younger men. By this, I
do not mean myself alone. My authority for this is taken from the
Bible,--Prov. 20:18: 'Every purpose is established by counsel, and with
good advice make war.' Prov. 24:6: 'For the wise counsel thou shalt
make thy war, and in a multitude of counsellors there is safety.' There
have not been enough counsellors and enough changes in plans at the
proper time when the enemy was winning.
"My strength and power is in the Lord and I shall follow the rules laid
down in the Bible in my future campaign. 2 Samuel 22:33: 'God is my
strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.' 1 Chronicles 5:22:
'For there fell down many slain, because the war was of God and they
dwelt in their steads until the captivity.' This great War in the Air
is according to the will of God and to fulfill the Scriptures and to
work out God's plan for an eternal united kingdom of the world. You may
wonder at my confidence and my defiance of the enemy at this time when
it looks as if our chance for victory is absolutely impossible. I refer
you to St. Luke 1:37: 'For with God nothing shall be impossible.' Again
Luke 1:52: 'He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted
them of low degree.' I believe that if it is the will of God for us to
win he will give us the power to bring down the mighty who have tried
to oppress and destroy this nation, the land of liberty.
"Read Acts 17:26: 'And hath made of one blood all nations of men, for
to dwell on all the face of the earth; and hath determined the times
before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation.' All men are
brothers and it is God's will that they should dwell together on the
earth in peace. This great war, the last of all, is brought about to
teach men that they can not defy the laws of God.
"Romans 8:25 and 31: 'For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen,
is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we
hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. What
shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against
us?' I am confident that God is for us, that he established this land
of America never to be destroyed. Then no matter how dark the situation
is now, even if all the nations of the world join against us, if God is
for us they shall not prevail.
"Getting back to what we need to defeat the enemy, man has always found
a way to do things. The genius of America has never been defeated. We
only have to go back over the histories of wars in which America has
engaged to find evidence that in emergency they have always found a
way out, because they were led by the divine power of Almighty God.
In time of war, man has dug tunnels under the earth in order that he
could pass safely, concealing and protecting himself. During the great
World War, Germany was the first to succeed with the submarine, passing
secretly under the water, doing great damage and at the same time,
suffering very little damage to her submarines. While the submarine was
what caused her to lose the war, it came very near enabling her to win
it. Man has dug tunnels thru mountains and under rivers when it was
impossible almost to go over them or get thru any other way. In New
York City, in 1927, one of the greatest engineering feats up to that
time was completed, when a tunnel for vehicular traffic was opened from
New York City under the Hudson River to the State of New Jersey.
"What we now need and need more than anything else is a Tunnel thru the
Air. With such a tunnel and noiseless, invisible planes so that we can
pass thru the air without being interfered with or harmed and without
being seen or heard, our victory is assured. To make a Tunnel thru the
Air is not at all impossible. It is just as easy as to put a tunnel
under the earth or drive a submarine under the water. While the air is
invisible, it is one of the strongest forces that we have. If the water
can be separated or a submarine can push it each way and travel under
it, if dirt can be removed and a man put a tunnel under a river or a
mountain, we can find a way to put a Tunnel thru the Air so others can
not see us, hear or enter unless we so desire.
"One of my first plans will be to put a Tunnel thru the Air. With a
Tunnel thru the Air from New York City to London and Germany, our
airplanes may safely pass thru without being seen or heard and the
enemy will be unable to attack them, placing us in position to leave
the tunnel at any time and return to it for safety.
"We need a Tunnel thru the Air from the Great Lakes to New Orleans and
the Gulf of Mexico so that our planes may pass safely thru this tunnel,
take observations of the enemy's position without being seen or heard,
and when necessary leave this tunnel, attack the enemy, return to the
tunnel again for protection. We can also have a Tunnel thru the Air so
that when the enemy's planes enter this tunnel and do not understand
it, they will be unable to get out of it and we may keep them there in
prison as long as we wish, capture or destroy them.
"I have the plan already worked out for this Tunnel thru the Air. I
expect to accomplish it by the use of certain light rays and light
waves, sending a strong current thru the air on one side and another
current on the other side anywhere from 100 yards to miles wide and
then thru another process that I have in mind, remove the air from
between these lines or currents, making a vacuum or space between the
air which will really be a tunnel. We can drive our planes thru this
tunnel by radio rays, directing them from a great central station which
I expect to build. All the aviators know that often they run into
what they call air-pockets in the air, which means nothing more than
a vacuum made by Nature in some way and that when these air-pockets
are encountered an airship will drop right down until denser layers of
air are reached. If Nature can construct a tunnel thru the air, then
certainly man with the guidance of God's divine power can do it. It may
be hard for you to understand and believe my theories, but they are
founded on faith and the knowledge that with God nothing is impossible.
"I have demonstrated in the past that every law laid down in the Bible
is provable, every prophecy has been fulfilled or will be fulfilled.
I again refer to Roman 1:17: 'For therein is the righteousness of God
revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live
by faith.' At this moment there is nothing for this nation to hang
their hope on but faith in a divine Creator, and if I am right in my
interpretations that the United States was God's kingdom which he
created never to be destroyed and if it is to be the united kingdom of
the world, then we must live by faith. If every other man, woman, and
child in the United States, yea, and the world, turns against me, I
will believe and follow that faith, knowing that no power can harm me
and that no matter how many may be against me, I can win so long as I
believe in the divine Creator.
"Romans 5:3-4: 'And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also:
knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience;
and experience, hope.' These trials and tribulations which we have
gone thru have brought knowledge. We have learned patience and thru
patience, experience. I propose to put that experience and knowledge
that I have gained in the past into execution to preserve and protect
my country which means more than life to me."
When Supreme Commander Gordon had finished talking, there was new life
and new hope in the face of every man in the room. It was plain to see
that they had caught the divine inspiration; that their faith had been
strengthened and that they now believed that God would lead them safely
to victory and preserve the nation which He had created to be a land of
love and liberty.
General Pearson arose and said: "Supreme Commander Gordon, I offer
you my heartfelt thanks and sincere gratitude. You have placed in my
heart a new hope; made me understand our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
better than ever before. I believe I bespeak the sentiments of the
entire Council and that they, too, have supreme confidence in you and
now understand what the great faith that you have had in your Creator
has done for you. Had the world and all of us understood the Bible and
God's plan as you do, this war would never have taken place. I plainly
see now that it is God's intention to teach man thru trials, sorrow and
bitter experiences to reverence and respect the law which he has laid
down for man to follow. Man must learn to love his neighbor as himself
and to do unto others as he would have them do unto him. When that law
is understood and obeyed, then men will no longer want to make war
because war is not based on brotherly love, but on greed, jealousy and
hatred. When we decided to surrender Chicago, I felt that that meant
the end of our glorious country. I could see no hope, no way out, but
you have shown us the way and our combined faith in you, together with
the inspiration from our holy Father, will guide us to victory thru
your leadership. We are with you, in all confidence, to victory."
Supreme Commander Gordon then ordered each officer and commander to
return to his respective post of duty and to await further orders.
He said, "If my plans develop as I think, you will not need to take
further action." He asked for the use of the largest building in New
York, "The Mammouth" and wanted the entire top floor of this 110-story
building at 42nd street and Broadway. His wishes were immediately
granted. Was told that the Government already had taken over control
of all the large buildings in the United States and that he might
use the building as he chose. Supreme Commander Gordon departed from
Washington that night in the old "St. Marie" which he had ordered
brought to Washington to convey him back, taking with him Colonel
Walter Kennelworth. He had instructed Colonel Edna Kennelworth to meet
him at the Mammouth Building in New York. On arrival he proceeded at
once to put the top floor in order for the "Demon of Death" to be moved
in. Colonel Kennelworth and another assistant were sent at once to the
Adirondacks to the secret hiding of "Marie the Angel of Mercy," to test
out this giant Ezekiel airplane, and bring it to New York City. The
machine for distributing the sleeping gas which would reach a radius
of 700 miles, was made in readiness on the top floor of the building.
"Marie the Angel of Mercy" was in perfect working order, and arrived in
New York ship-shape.
The whole United States was waiting in anxiety because it was known
that within a few days the armistice would end and the United States
must either fight or surrender. The people in Washington, Boston,
Philadelphia, and New York had not slept for more than a week.
They knew that an air attack had been threatened and feared the
consequences. Supreme Commander Gordon dispatched the sleeping gas
by "Marie the Angel of Mercy," and it was distributed to the planes
all across the country. Colonel Kennelworth returned at the end of
the second day in "Marie the Angel of Mercy," after distributing the
sleeping gas and giving instructions how to use it. The "Demon of
Death" was tested out and found to be in good working order. For many
months previous to this, all of the large cities had been kept in
darkness because they feared night attacks.