fields, there remained at least one
possibility of clearing the sultry atmosphere: a battle. But how dared
we continue the fight before our armies were absolutely prepared to
begin the attack, how dared we attempt what would no doubt prove the
decisive battle before we were certain of success? The battle of Hilgard
furnished an eloquent reply. The War Department said no, it said no with
a heavy heart; weeks must pass, weeks must be borne and overcome, before
we could assume the offensive once more.

The Japanese terms of peace were therefore declined. At the seat of war
skirmishes continued to take place, the soldiers freezing in their thin
coats, while restless activity was shown in all the encampments.

* * * * *

Extras were being sold on the streets of Washington, telling of a naval
engagement off the Argentine coast. They were eagerly bought and read,
but no one believed the news, for we had lost hope and faith. Excited
crowds had collected in front of the Army and Navy building in the hope
of obtaining more detailed news; but no one could give any information.
An automobile suddenly drew up in front of the south side of the long
building, before the entrance to the offices of the Committee on Foreign
Affairs.

The Secretary of State, who had not been able to get the President by
'phone at the White House but learned that he was somewhere in the naval
barracks, had decided to look him up. Scarcely had he entered his car,
before he was surrounded by hundreds of people clamoring for
verification of the news from Buenos Ayres. He declared again and again
that he knew nothing more than what he had just read in the extras, but
no one believed him. Several policemen cleared the way in front of the
puffing machine, which at last managed to get clear of the crowd, but a
few blocks further on the chauffeur was again compelled to stop.

An immense mob was pouring out of a side street, where they had just
smashed the windows of the offices of a socialist newspaper, which had
supplemented the Argentine dispatch with spiteful comments under the
headlines: "Another Patriotic Swindle."

The Secretary of State told the chauffeur to take a different route to
the naval barracks, and this order saved his life, for as he bent
forward to speak to the chauffeur, the force of an explosion threw him
against the front seat. Behind him, on the upper edge of the rear seat,
a bomb had exploded with a burst