Jasper County Democrat, Volume 4, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 April 1901 — AS A CHECKER-BOARD [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

AS A CHECKER-BOARD

WHOLE WORLD IS PLACED BEFORE THE PRESIDENT. Seated in liis Room at the White House, He Can Bean the Situation and Then Send Orders to the Furthest Corner of the Earth.

Washington correspondence: ~—

HT will interest A m eric a n s to know how President McKinley keeps in touch y with events of im- * port an ce to lii:r country tliroughL out the world. A f wonderful system L of wires and cable roaches out from WSfi the White House By like human nerves over land and undev sea to the farjFsA thest corner of tiie ! earth. It passes * through jungle and mnrali np to

the very firing line in the Philippines, and it stretches through the allied, armies up to tiie walls of Pekin. Jt radiates through Europe to the great American embassies, and it touches -the most obscure consular agency .on the African const. ' The whole world is brought into instant touch with the White House. Ceaselessly, day aud night, messages come pouring in to tell the President what is happening wherever Old Glory flies. .Should n skirmish be fought with the insurgents in I.ttzon, should tariff troubles with Russia arise, should there be muttcriugs of discontent in China — the news is flashed under the ocean and in a moment the President is informed of the facts. But this great network of nerves is employed in two different ways. Not only does it. tell the head of the republic what is going on throughout the earth, but these nerves also carryback the orders that set the forces of the nation to work. From the White House the President issues otders to tho army and the navy in the most distant parts of earth almost as quickly as if ho were personally at hand. He gives instructions in the most minute detail to his diplomatic officers engaged in dealing with foreign powers. The whole world is his checker-board. The office through which all these tilings are done is officially known as the telegraph and cipher bureau, hut it is popularly called the war room. It adjoins the President's private office, and he can step to it at any moment of the day or night., During tiie Spauish war, indeed, lie spent many a night sitting on a big leather couch in the war room, as he waited with Secretary Long or Gen. Corbin for dispatches from the front. Great maps showing the entire world cover the walls of the room. They are dotted with little flags, each indicating a regiment or a ship. Whenever a message is received bearing news of any ehange in the position of vessels or of troops the corresponding flag is moved. Thus at any moment, by looking oil the maps, the President can tell where the American army and navy are scattered. Service Started in 1877. The telegraph office at the White House was organized in 1877, and was planned originally as a means of putting the President in quick communication with the various government departments that are distributed over the city. Early in President Hayes' administration, however, the Pittsburg riots arose, and federal troops were sent to check the mobs. It was necessary to keep in close touch with tiie soldiers, aud arrangements were made with the telegraph companies for private wires that extended from the White House to the scene of the trouble. That was the Iteginuiiig of the present system, and it hits Wen developing ever since. When the Spanish-Anerican war broke out it was foreseen that special facilities would be needed to keep the President informed of military movements. The war room probably did its most brilliant work (luring the hostilities with Spain. The signal corps, which is allied with the telegraph and cipher bureau, had a force of its bravest men with Shatter when he landed near Santiago. They ruptured the cable that links Santiago with the United States by way of Santo Domingo, and they connected it with a flying telegraph wire of their own. As often ns the troops advanced, the daring telegraphers would follow them up with a temporary wire strung on bushes. The courage of (he signal corps men was the admiration of the army. Seated right at the firing line, with temporary outfits on their knees, they kept coolly at work while n deadly hail of lead rained ull around them. It is interesting to note that, while signal corps men are usually classed ns nou-eonihatauts, they lost a larger percentage of men from wounds during the Spauish war than any other branch of the army. It was by their daring, however, that they managed to establish their magnificent telegraph service. Tlirj sent dispatches Horn the field nroiind Man tin go that reached the White House in five minutes after being filed. It was common for the President to receive iu?*suges from liis commanders in fifteen or twenty minutes. Iu this way Mr. McKinley was constantly advised of how the campaign was progressing, and by the aid of tlx* war maps and the moving flags, he had always before him an immense panorama of the Santiago campaign that gave him a more accurate view of the situation than was enjoyed by many of the generals who were personally on the ground. During the troubles in the Philippine* the same system of rapid communication is preserved, hut the transmission of messages is somewhat slower, ns many relays ure necessary iu the long cubic route. King Edward, who, after the injury to his knee, was obliged to stop bicycle riding, has resumed that pastime, aud has taken up fencing as being the liest of antidotes to the increase of sedentary work necessitated by his new state duties. Italy's preseut national debt amounts to $2,572,093.191, with a yearly interest of $115,971,015. Tip yearly revenue of tk* kingdom is entiflrty absorbed by the current expenditure and in furnishing the interest of the debt, without leaving any margin for a sinking fund.