Bemidji Daily Pioneer Newspaper, December 1, 1919, Page 2

*’HYTHI(}AI.'XARMY’ 'ENEMY DECEIVED BY RADIO DS S——— WSS _either side. So the mythical army was fAGE TWO HELPED VICTORY ‘American Subalterns’ Trick Kept ! Five German Divisions on the Qui Vive. iTelephone Squad Also Conducted Mis leading Conversations for German Listeners’ Benefit — Staff Worked Overtime on Game | of Camouflage. With the American Forces in Ger many.—Tricks of the game of war are coming to light from time to time as each side tells its story. One of the most successful of them was practiced by American forces in the Meuse-Ar- gonne battle last fall, when the last great allied offensive was at its helght, from Switzerland to the sea. An imaginary army, conceived by 8 handful of American junior officers. was “thrown into the field” overnight, and for days five crack German divi- sions just east of Verdum, in the Etain region, were kept on their toes, momentarily expecting an attack which never came. | At a dinner table in a Coblenz cafe ‘overlooking the Rhine an American in- telligence officer recently told the story of the creation of the mythical l“x army,” as it was called. - It ap- pears that the Germans were expect- ing an attack in the Etain sector at any time, and the Americans knew it; but at that stage of the game the First American army was devoting its ener- gles to driving the enemy out of the Argonne forest and the hill country on cpeated, in preference to a real diver- ston, requiring many men, to convince the German commander that it would not be wise to weaken the Etaln front for the benefit of the Meuse-Argonne front. Commanded by Captain. Five fresh divisions had been placed by the Germans on the Etain line. These constituted their last and finest reservoir of avaflable divisions. The Americans realized that the minute the Germans decided that this was not a danger point any or all of the five divisions could be withdrawn, re- placed by exhausted and fragmentary divisions coming from the battle fronts, and that the appearance of the fresh troops in the line west of the Meuse would have a tremendous effect on the American offensive. The “X army” was assigned to a front from Bezonvaux to Fresnes. From the morning of Oc¢tober 22 until just before the armistice this army “functioned.” Capt. Charles H.Matz of Hubbard Woods, Ill., was command- er in chlef; Capt. Willlam H. Dear- den of Springfield, Mass., and Wash- ington, D. C., was chief of staff; Lieut. John H. Graham of Lexington, Va. was chief of “troop movements;” Capt. ©. W. Neidert was in charge of G-1, or administration, and Lieut. H. T. Griswold of Old Lynn, Conn., was chief of artillery. The staff of the “X army” were all members of the in- telligence section of the First army, and, of course, before beginning oper- ations, had obtained the consent of their chief, Col. Willey Howell. The wireless and the telephone were freely used to convince the Germans that the Americans were prepared for an attack in the Etain sector. To make sure that the Germans would be able to “break into” the code used, the Americans furnished them with a satisfactory key. L Functioned Until End. One wireless station of the “X army” was established in a clump of woods near Verdun and was called *headquarters of the X army.” This station functioned until the end of the game, all “orders” for the army going out from this place by wireless. Soon after the station began working the Germans located its whereabouts and frequently shelled the woods and vi- cinity, apparently in hope of breaking up the radio of the latest of annoy- antes. The “X army” also had a port- able radio station, which moved about and represented itself at a different station every day or two. The first message from the *“X army” headquarters was a general dispatch to all wireless stations in the army area (none of which actually ex- isted), in the new code of course, di- recting that none of the stations an- swer or make use of their sending in- #truments, for fear of the enemy locat- ing them, but that they be on the alert at fixed hours to receive mes- sages. The effect was to convince the Germans that a large number of wire- less stations had been set up and to advise them of the hours when the en- emy intercepting stations should be on the alert for the American mes- || sages. This was followed by a series of messages designed to indicate that the “X army” was preparing for a full- fledged operation. In order to inform the enemy of the geographical limits -of the sector of the “X army,” many mmessages were directed to imaginary officers at existing towns on the Etain front. Wireless Works Night and Day. Meanwhile the roving wireless sta- tion was working overtime day and night. It began sending out messages in the Fresnes sector and trying to give the impression that it was sev- eral statlons at widely separated lo- «cations. One message in particnlar ‘Yankees who were delighted at the re- T TR { i | i THE BEMIDJI - Ships are the controlling factor in the development of foreign trade. Be- fore the war only 9.7 per cent of our total exports was carried in American bottoms. It is our hope, if our pro- gram is completed, to have sufficlent ships to move 50 per cent of our total commerce in American bottoms, writes Edward E. Hurley, chairman U. S. shipping board, in Pan-Pacific Maga- zine. % We want to put the best American initiative behind the operation-of the fleet ; we want to get rid of red tape and the possibility of stagnation when moving these ships to the ports where they will carry American trade. But.a very large part of the task that con- fronts the nation can be made easy and practicable if such organizations as the National Foreign Trade council will concentrate in a movement to urge American manufacturers to study the export field. We hear a great deal these dnyé, about what is going to happen to American business when Great Britain and the other nations, supposed to have certain advantages over us, get into full swing. We have heard such doleful predictions many times long before the war. i After three months studying the situation in Europe 1 have not observec any outstanding edvantage which they have over us, either from a production point of view, or a labor point of view, or from the character of products manutactured. We needn’t worry much . They will compete falrly. before, the evil of unfair competition. the point where it became top-heavy. wase peculiarly designed to add to the enemy’s suspicion of the approaching trouble—an imperative demand for 20C copies more additional of the Conflans sheet, “plan directeur map.” This could only be interpreted by the Ger- mans, the Americans agreed, as prepa- ration for a coming drive on the Briey iron center. In addition to the wireless the “X army” also had in operation, on the front between Bezonaux and Fresnes, a telephone squad—a careless squad| which set up telephone stations here and there and sent messages and| talked shop and gossiped all night about the arrival of some old friends| from America with such and such an outfit. The “X” army telephone squad took no chances that the Germans mighti not hear the conversations the Amer- fcans desired them to record. - They deltberately grounded their wires, so the enemy could “listen in” and crawled out into No Man's Land in the darkness and hooked one of the system. In the front line of modern warfare the telephone is a most dan- gerous instrument, for both sides de- vised apparatus which within certain limits "could pick up conversations over enemy lines with which it was not even connected. So the Ameri cans felt certain that all their conver- sations were heard by the Germans. Get Results at Once. Two days after the “X army” began its operations the results began to be noticeable, the nervousness on the part of the Germans being exhibited in many ways, the enemy first sending over a large nuinber of airplanes to make reconnc!seances. The Germans also hczan a series of trench raids to cbtain prisoners for the purpose of identifring units of the forces oppo- site them. German prisoners captured by the French told of wild alarms in the night on the part of the German forces, hurried re-enforcement of the main line of resistance, and various other movements which Indicated that the enemy was exerting -extreme watchfulness on account of the activ- ity of the “army” operated by a hand- ful of Americans. When the armistice became effec tive on November 11 the little. Ameri- can “X army” still held its ground in the field near Verdun, and opposite its supposed position five crack Ger- man divisions stood their guard, not even suspecting that they had been tricked by a few Ingenious young sults obtained by their mischievous schemes, which had worked so success- fully in deceiving the wise German veterans of a five years' war. RED CROSS SEAL AMERICAN RED CROSS MERRY CHRISTMAS American wires on a German barbed wire in front of an abandoned trench | I This is true not merely of manufacturing, but with reference }) = et Yo s wbout flank movements from our foreign ccm- They understand now, better than ever Germany's commercial system reachert [ —————— P el PETS BELOVED BY SAINTS Dr. Deuglas Hyde, in Series of Lec- tures, Deals Interestingly With Medieval Irish Lore. Dr. Douglas Hyde recently delivered a series of lectures—the Margaret Stokes lectures—in the Alexandra col- lege, Dublin, dealing with medieval Irish lore. He told anecdotes about the Irish saints and their love of birds and beasts. He traced the love of ani- mals by people in different periods and in different Bountries. Even the Irish pagans had their pet -animals, says Our Dumb Animals. He took the three Irish sants, St. Patrick, St. Brigid and St. Columcille, and spoke of| their affection for their pet animals. St. Patrick’s kindness to the fawn was well authentidRed, knd the fawn returned the love to his mas- ter, St. Brigid had her pet dog, a most faithful animal. - She also lovéd birds, and the birds, especially domestic fowls, loved her in a remarkable man- ner. The crane was St. Columcille’s pet, although his love for dumb animals surpassed that of the other saints. It was recorded in the life of the saint that dumb animals, too, were in love with him, especially birds, and that some of the latter followed him from Ireland to the island of Iona. There was, In proof of the love of animals for the saint, the story of how the horse wept on the bosom of the saint the night before he died. Dr. Hyde mentioned a large number of other saints, Irish and Latin, about whom he told stories, showing their love for animals, making special refer- ence to St. Kevin, St. Comgall, St. Molna, St. Moling, who had made friends of wolves, foxes, partridges and herons. FELL TO ROOSEVELT'S SPEAR Big Devilfish a Victim of the Colonel’s Leve of Sport, Either on Sea or Land. The fame of the late Col. Theodore Roosevelt as a big-game hunter is well known, but he was equally as adept at killing big fish of the sea, according to Russell J. Coles, noted-big:fish killer. Attracted by one of Coles’ articles about killing the devilfish, the colonel appealed to him for instruction In the art. After taking several land lessons, using a rpear with which he saw an African kill a lion, he finally became expert, and Mr. Coles formed a party to hunt the -devilfish off the coast of Florida, in Punta Gorda, March 28, 1817. There the colonel killed his fiest devilfish, hitting the huge creature, which weighed many toms, just two inches from the spot indicated on a drawing by Coles, and ' driving the spear two feet four inches through the heaviest and boniest structure of the fish. The colonel was standing on the cab of a small boat traveling nine miles an hour, and the fish was coming to- ward the boat at the rate of 15 or 18 miles an hour, swimming about four or six feet under water. Had the colonel missed his aim the fish would have been able, with one of its side fins, to upset the boat and drown the fishermen. An hour after his first catch the colonel killed a second devil- fish, which was the second largest devilfish ever killed. Mr. Coles is a sclentist who has hunted devilfish for more than 20 years. DR. J. W. DIEDRICH Offiee—O’Leary-Bow: Phones—Office 37¢-W. ser_ Blag. mf'u-n DAILY PIONEER |WOMEN HELPIN FINLAND POLITICS Country, Where Suffragists Won 13 Years Ago, Quick to Right Self After War. . MANY SCHOOLS FOR GIRLS Women of Finland Fortunate From an Educational Point of View— Work During Labor Troubles Wins Thgm Vote. Washington, D. C.—“It seems only natural that Finland, a land where women have had the vote for 18 years and won it by their participation ir quelling labor troubles like those which now assail the United States of Amer- ica, should be one of the first portions of the dismembered Russian empire to get up a stable constitutional govern- ment,” says a bulletin from the Wash- ington headquarters of the National Geographic society. This new member of the family of free nations is described in a com- munication to the society by Baroness Alletta Korff as follows: “From an educational point of view the women in Finland have been very fortunate, as there are many excellent schools for girls and a number of co- educational schools throughout the country which prepare students for the university examinations. Girls Admitted in 1878. “Girls were admitted to the univer- sity in 1878, and, until the war inter- vened, they not only attended lectures, but took part in all branches of uni- versity life: they participated in all the celebrations and festivities, and were members of the various clubs; and student organizations, in which they were on a footing of perfect equality with the men and frequently were elected to various official posi- tions. After they were graduated from »ne of the several high schools or from the university there were many branches of work open to them. “They became teachers, even in the | state scheol for bo; cashiers or bookkeepers in banks, clerks in state archives and in many branches of the | civie administration. “There are really not enough' edu- cated men to meet the requirements of the country, and consequently the co- | -operation of the women is a matter of vital importance. It not infrequent- ly happened, in normal times, that even married women in comparatively good circumstances, sought employ- ment outside their homes. “Having thus such an excellent | foundation to build upon, it is small wonder that the woman's movement soon found many active .supporters. In 1868 the diet had accorded the mu- nicipal vote to woman taxpayers living in the country, and in 1872 to women living in the towns, all of whom were also given the right to be elected members of certain local self-govern- ing bodies. In 1900 the woman social democrats included the suffrage in their program, but the special activity for the suffrage began only in the year 1904, although in 1897 a petition had been officially presented to the diet at the request of the Finnish Woman's association. “The reason why so little was done in direct furtherance of the cause of woman suffrage between the years 1897 and 1904 is that just at that time Finland was passing through a severe political crisis. Women as Strike Managers. “After the outbreak of the October revolution in Russia (1905) a sympa- thetic strike was declared in Finland, and several of the members of the cen- tral committee elected by a mass meet- ing to manage the details of the strike were women. s “The first action taken by the com- mittee was to close all the liquor shops, saloons and barrooms and to organige a volunteer police force to keep order. After the second day the markets were reopened and the strikers were not allowed to cut off the water supply. In short, the strike was managed in & most opderly and ' systematic way and no outrages of any sort were committed. “During the course of the etrike nu- merons deputations were sent aith pe- titions fo the governor general, and | m each deputation there were women members. Thus, even in moments of grave political danger and at times when the utmost moderation and fore- sight were needed, the Finns were not afraid to trust their women. “The very great interest that the women took in the elections.may be gathered from the fact that in Helsing- fors, the capital, at the ‘time of the second elections (in 1908), there were 19,640 woman voters and 15,516 men voters registered. It is true that the majority of the women voted for men, as there were only 26 women elected in a house of 200, but one woman re- ceived a larger number of votes than was given to any of the men candi- dates of her party.” 1 Subscribe for The Pioneer. DRY CLEANING Clothes Cleaners for Men, Women and Childrea > : MONDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 1, 1919 DR. H. A. NORTHROP OSTBOPATHIO AND SURGEON Tbertson Block Office phone 183 | GRAHAM M. TORRANCE LAWYESR Miles Block Phone 560 LUNDE and DANNENBERG Chiropractors Hours 10 to 12 a.m.;3 to 6, 7 to 8 p.m. Phone 401-W €alls made 1st National Rank Bldg. Bemidji A. Brose Beltrami County —Travelers— will find a warm welcome at TOBACCONIST 400 Minnesota Avenue Th w t Keeps the best stock of e es Tobacco in the Northwest, Minneapolis 3 We do Pipe Re- also Pipes. pairing. Service our watchword DENTAL CORNER DO NOT DELAY YOUR -~ DENTAL WO AT THESE REASONABLE PRICES, NO ONE CAN AFFORD TO NEGLECT THEIR TEETH =1 $5.00 Pure Oxygen Nitrous Oxide We take impression in the morning and have = your set of teeth ready = the same day. B Extracting 50c ALL WORK GUARANTEED e B arr m. BEMIDJI s Open from 8;00a. m. to 8 p. m. -- Suadays, 1001 c a package before the war \c a package during the war C a package NOW THE FLAVOR LASTS SO DOES THE PRICE! e ——— Defective