t _
By ELMO SCOTT WATSON
IT WAS on a Sunday morn
ing three years ago that
war came again to the United
States.
The story of that “day of in
famy,” when Japan made her
sneak attack on Pearl Harbor,
is too fresh in the minds of all
Americans to need retelling
here. But how many of us
know of those other tragic
days when were made the
fateful decisions which meant
that more American lives
were to be sacrificed on the al
tar of Mars?
This article is a page from
the past which tells how war
came to America in other
years before 1941.
The first war which we, as a na
tion, waged was an "undeclared
war,” that is to say, there was
never any formal declaration of
war. As a matter of fact, we weren’t
even a nation when it started.
The American Revolution began
as a rebellion—the revolt of the Eng
lish colonies in America against
their mother country, England. It
continued as a rebellion and as a
civil war — Patriots against the
Loyalists and the regularly consti
tuted authorities — for nearly a year
before we became a nation. For the
United States of America did not
come into existence until July 4,
1776, when the Declaration of Inde
pendence was adopted.
in tne meantime mere naa neen
fighting and bloodshed—at Lexing
ton on April 19, 1775; at Concord,
where was "fired the shot heard
’round the world,” on the same
day; at Bunker Hill on June 17 and
at Quebec in December. For six
years this “undeclared war”
dragged on until, at last, the sur
render of Cornwallis at Yorktown on
October 19, 1781, meant that the in
dependence, declared five years
earlier, was an accomplished fact.
However, this didn’t mean the
end of the war, which was destined
to last for nearly two years more. It
wasn’t until November 30, 1782, that
the preliminary articles of peace
between Great Britain and the
United States were signed in
Paris; two more months were to
elapse before articles proclaiming
the cessation of hostilities between
the two nations were signed on Janu
ary 20, 1783; and it wasn’t until
September 3, 1783, that the definitive
treaty of peace was signed in Paris.
Thus this "undeclared war” had
lasted for eight years, four months
and fifteen days, making it the long
est in our history.
During the next 20 years we were
involved in two more "undeclared
wars," both of which brought fight
ing and bloodshed. The first was
with our former ally, France, and
was the result of the humiliation and
insults which our envoys in Paris
had suffered at the hands of the
Directory and the attempt of Talley
rand to blackmail us into buying
France’s friendship. Although there
was no formal declaration of war,
Pres. John Adams ordered com
merce with France stopped in 1798
and our treaties with her abrogated.
Then our Infant navy put to sea to
prey upon French shipping and for
the next 18 months there was con
siderable naval warfare, marked
by the victories of the frigate "Con
stellation” over French men-of-war.
When Napoleon Bonaparte came to
power, he immediately took steps
to stop the conflict and in Septem
ber, 1800, a convention was signed
in Paris which ended this "war.”
Meanwhile American shipping,
like that of other nations, had been
suffering from the raids of the Bar
bary pirates in the Mediterranean
and, despite tribute paid to the
bey of Algiers, the pasha of Tripoli
and the bey of Tunis, American ves
sels were being seized and Ameri
can seamen held prisoners until
ransomed. When Thomas Jefferson
became president in 1801 he resolved
to put an end to this early-day
racKei.
The first two naval expeditions
against the pirates failed but in 1803
when Commodore Edward Preble
sailed against the corsairs it was a
different story. His expedition
against Tangiers, the daring attack
of Lieut. Stephen Decatur on Tripoli
the next year and the combined na
val and military expedition — the
latter led by Gen. William Eaton—
which captured Derna in 1805 broke
the power of the Barbary states
and resulted in treaties which guar
anteed the future safety of Ameri
can shipping in the Mediterranean.
The remainder of Jefferson’s ad
ministration was peaceful but by the
time Jgmes Madison entered the
White House, the second war with
England was brewing. For the first
time in our history there was a for
mal declaration of war—on June 18.
1812. For the first time, too, our
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JOINT RESOLUTION
I Vr taring that a -tale of tear rain* lot ween tha Iniprrial Government
•t Ja|nn ami tlie Government ami the people of the United Stale*
and making prnebdnn* to prnm-viite the «»«.
Vheaaaa the lm|ierial Government of Japan haa rommitted unpn>
eokrtl acta of war again* tha Government and tha people of tha
t':.it«d State* of America: Tlwrefore b* it
RrmoJn-J bp ib. Sennit nttd Rente tf Repettmintieet nf tit
CniteJ Sfntet nf A me rim in Ctnyrett attembled, That tha nut* of
•ar between tha United Staten and tha Imperial Government of
Japan whirh haa thu* been thru* upon tha Unitad State* I* hereby
formally ilevlarvd; and III* Prvudent ie hereby authoriaed ami
directed to nuploy the entire naval and military forret af the United
Slatee and tha raaoung* *f the Government to cany on war again*
tin Imperial Government of Japan; and, to bring tho conflict to a
Mtmmful termination, all of tha rraouroe* of the country an hereby
pledged by the Congrem of the United Sutaa
Tint Rrttidtni nf tin ported Sttdm md
, V 4(/tf 7.
shores were invaded by a hostile
force and on August 24, 1814,
Americans suffered the humiliation
of seeing the capital of their nation
in the hands of the enemy and the
home of their president in flames.
Despite this disaster which came
as the climax of other defeats on
land—ofTset, however, by many a
brilliant victory at sea — America
continued the struggle which ended
on December 24 of that year when
the treaty of peace was signed in
Ghent, Belgium, by representatives
of the two belligerents. This war
had lasted two years, six months
and six days.
The next war with a foreign power
was even shorter than the War of
1812. When the United States an
nexed Texas in 1845, Mexico (from
whom Texas had won her independ
ence nine years earlier) regarded
this as a hostile act. There was a
series of “incidents’’ down on the
Rio Grande and Pres. James K.
—
APRIL 2, 1917 — Pres. Woodrow
Wilson reads bis war message to
congress.
Polk asked congress for a dec
laration of war. It came on May
13, 1846, and 10 days later Mexico
declared war on the United States.
Hostilities began soon afterwards,
our armies under General Taylor
and General Scott invaded Mexico
and within a little more than a year
(September 14, 1847) they had cap
tured the Mexican capital. The war
ended with the signing of a treaty of
peace on February 2, 1848 — one
year, eight months and twenty days
after it began.
The next. war in which we en
gaged was another "undeclared
war” for, like its predecessor, it
was a "rebellion” and a "civil” war.
Just when the War Between the
States began is a matter of defini
tion.
The usual view is that it was
April 12, 1861, when Confederate bat
teries in Charleston, S. C., fired on
Fort Sumter and the Union troops
in that fortification fired back. At
any rate, it was this act which
prompted President Lincoln three
days later to call for volunteers to
"suppress the insurrection” and
which resulted in four years of the
hardest and bloodiest fighting the
world had ever known up to that
time. Just as this war had no "offi
cial” beginning, so it had no "offi
cial” ending. But the surrender of
Lee on April 9, 1865, sounded the
death knell of the Confederacy and
organized resistance by the men in
gray ended. From Sumter to Appa
mattox it was four years — minus
three days.
Shortest of all our wars with a
foreign power was the "100-Days
War” with Spain in 1898. It had its
origin in American sympathy for
the Cuban patriots who for several
years had been trying to throw off
Spanish rule but it is doubtful if
there would have been a war had
it not been for the event which took
place in Havana Harbor on Febru
ary 15, 1898. That event was the ex
plosion and sinking of the U. S. S.
Maine. The excitement over this
resulted in diplomatic relations be
tween Spain and the United States
being broken on April 21 and the
declaration of a blockade of Cuba
the next day. Her "national honor”
thus assailed, Spain declared war on
April 24 and our declaration fol
lowed the next day.
The overwhelming victories won
by our navy—at Manila and at San
tiago—and by our army—in the
land fighting in Cuba—soon demon
strated what the inevitable out
come of the war would be. So on
August 12 a peace protocol was
signed and hostilities ceased after
100 days of fighting. The war, how
ever, did not end officially until
December 10 when the peace treaty
was signed in Paris.
Although the period of actual com
bat by our fighting men was rela
tively short (one year and 15 days),
World War I was our second long
est war with a foreign power. Here
is the sequence of events to validate
that statement:
On February l, 1917, Germany
began unrestricted submarine war
fare and as a result we broke diplo
matic relations with her two days
later. On April 6 congress declared
war on Germany and on June 26 the
first American troops landed in
France. However, it was not until
October 27, 1917, that American sol
diers fired their first shots at the
enemy. Hostilities ended on Novem
ber 11, 1918—one year and fifteen
days after they had begun on Octo
ber 27 of the previous year.
The cessation of hostilities on
Armistice Day did not mean the of
ficial end of the war. The treaty at
Versailles was signed on June 28,
1919, but when it came up for ratifi
cation by the senate on November
19 it was rejected. That meant that,
officially, we were still at war with
Germany. It was not until July 2,
1921, that President Harding signed
a joint resolution of congress
(passed by the house on June 30
and by the senate on July 1) de
claring peace with Germany. On
August 25 a peace treaty was signed
in Berlin by representatives of the
United States and Germany. This
was ratified by the German national
council on September 17 and by the
United States senate on October 18.
Then, and not until then, was the
war between these two countries of
ficially ended — four years, six
months and twelve days after the
American declaration of war back
in 1917.
As for World War II, it began
officially for the United States on
December 7, 1941, when Japan de
clared war against the United States
and Great Britain and before the
declaration reached Washington by
air or cable, made an attack on
.Hawaii, the Philippines and other
American possessions in the Pacific.
Our declaration of war followed the
next day. Four days later Germany
and Italy declared war on the United
States and on the same day con
gress, in joint session, issued our
declaration of war against those two
nations.
THE BATTLE OF LEXINGTON. APRIL 19. 1775
J A,ter an engraving by two Continental militiamen who were In the batUe.
I
On that fateful spring morning,
when the advance guard of Brit
ish soldiers, sent by General Gage
to destroy the stores which the
Americans had collected at Concord,
reached Lexington, they found near
ly 200 armed provincials drawn up
in battle array on the village green.
“Disperse, ye rebels!" cried
Major Pitcairn, but the embattled
Minute Men stood fast. Then a shot
was fired—whether by British sol
dier or Minute Man is still un
decided—and the fight which opened
the Revolution began.
I Looking at
IOLLYWOOD
Agnes moorehead doesn’t
hold with those ancients who
believe that genius thrives on mis
ery and an empty stomach.
Everyone — actors, musicians,
painters, even plumbers and ditch
diggers—do their best work when
they have a full belly and are free
of worry, maintains Aggie.
"It stands to reason,” says she,
"that a person can’t put forth his
best effort if he s
unhappy or If in
the back of his
mind there is
gnawing worry
about the butch
er, baker, or re
action of his asso
ciates.”
Agnes is con
vinced that those
great musicians
and artists of the
Attics Moorchcad
past whose taienis nounsnea
'midst poverty had some sort of
compensating happiness; either they
were in love or they had wonderful
friends.
The actress, who in 1943 won the
New York critics' award for her
performance in "The Magnificent
Ambersons," thinks a "relaxed and
happy atmosphere" stimulates an
actress or actor to far better per
formances than tension and repri
mands ever do.
She liked the company and part
she played in “Mrs. Parkington”—
and why not? Agnes was the rival
of Greer Garson for Walter Pid
geon’s affections.
One Big, Happy Family
"We were such a happy com
pany,” said she. "Everyone was
relaxed and understanding. That
attitude was reflected in our ef
forts.”
Agnes, a New York stage and ra
dio actress before Orson Welles
drafted her to play the mother of
"Citizen Kane,” maintains our pic
ture industry is more considerate
of actors than the stage.
"On the stage you have to elbow
your way through your career. Here
it doesn’t much matter whether
you’re a star or a bit player.
There's always someone near-by
ready and willing to give you en
couragement. At least," she added,
"that’s been my experience."
It wasn’t until after "The Mag
nificent Amberaons” that she de
cided to remain here. Before sign
ing a contract with M-G-M she al
ways free-lanced, figuring to obtain
a greater variety of roles in that
way.
But her roles have been pretty
varied; though, with the exception
of a brief appearance in "Big
Street,” each has been a "nasty
character.” Her nastiest, Agnes
thinks, is in “Dragon Seed,” with
Katie Hepburn. She played the part
of a Chinese Quisling. But she was
hateful, too, in "Since You Went
Away.”
"I play the kind of character you
all know exists but, thank heaven,
rarely encounter.” That’s what she
said, but we’ve all met that kind
of women—let's face it.
Blissful Ignorance
Agnes admits she knows noth
ing about "camera angles" and has
no intention of learning. She's far
more concerned that her part be in
teresting rather than that it be too
long.
“It’s my hope to make each por
trayal different,'’ Agnes said. "I'd
hate to get into a rut."
Well, there’s very little chance of
that happening. Aggie, like the late
great Alice Brady, is an actress who
loves her job, will play anything or
everything if she thinks it’s got
merit or is different from the
ordinary run of parts. I remember
years ago sitting in a vaudeville the
ater with Alice when there was a
monkey act on. Alice sat on the
edge of her chair. I asked why. She
replied: "Who knows? I may have
to play one of those critters some
day.”
The public, of course, will decide
how well Aggie manages different
roles, and they’ve been pretty
pleased up to date.
Agnes uses a French accent in
"Mrs. Parkington,” and does it so
convincingly a visitor on the set
asked Director Tay Garnett:
"Where did you get that French
dame?”
“I only got the role by the skin
of my teeth,” Agnes declares.
"After all, Aspasia isn't one of
those bitter, nasty, frustrated wom
en 1 usually play. She’s warm,
charming, chic. Also she’s been
loved by one of the most fascinat
ing men of the century. A big
1 order!”
a m m
I
He Got Last Laugh
William Perlberg, "Diamond Horse
shoe" producer, got Billy Haines to
redecorate his house, then turned
over his household stuff to be sold
' at auction. The auctioneer made a
big to-do about having his furniture,
which has resulted in many embar
rassing happenings for Perlberg.
I When folks saw his stuff on the auc
tion block, they thought he was
i broke. "At least,” said he, "I know
who my friends are. In the last few
days a half dozen offered to lend
me money to tide me over."
SEtniSC CIRCLE NEEDLECRAFT
Gay Accessories Made of Felt
J
706
\/lAKE this season the gayest
AV1 ever—for accessories! Get out
those old felt hats . . . cut ’em up
into beanies, belts, lapel orna
ments, slippers.
• • •
You’ll have lota of fun making felt
"gee-gaws." Instructions 706 contain pat
terns of all pieces; dlrecUons for articles
shown.
To prevent the gloss from coming
off white paint, wash with milk
and very little soap.
—•—
Prevent picture marks on *he
walls by placing thumb tacks in
each of the lower corners of the
frame. Let tacks extend partly,
keeping frame from wall.
—•—
Never leave pieces of cut-up
chicken in water. Some of the good
juices and excellent flavor leaches
out and is lost.
—•—
Boil the wick of a kerosene lamp
in vinegar before using to keep it
from smoking.
—•—
When turning the mattress, also
turn it around, that is, place the
end that was at the head of the
bed at the foot.
—•—
If you have had trouble in mak
ing your whitewash stick to trees,
fences or basement walls try us
ing sour milk or buttermilk in
stead of water to mix the lime.
The casein in the milk acts as a
glue with the lime.
Due to an unusually large demand and
current war conditions, slightly more time
is required in filling orders for a few of
the most popular pattern numbers. Send
your order to:
Sewing Circle Needlerraft Dept.
564 W. Randolph St. Chicago SO, IU.
Enclose 10 cents for Pattern
No_
Name_:_
Address_
Gas on Stomach
Relieved in 5 minutes or double money beck
Whan exeats stomach acid causes painful. suffocaS*
ng ea*. sour stomach and heartburn, doctors oaueR?
prescribe the fastest-acting mediclnaa known for
symptomatic relief— medicines like those in Hell-aar
Tablets. No laxative. Bell-ana brings comfort lb •
iiffy or doublt your money back on return of buttle
to ua. -i5c at all druggists
invest in Liberty ★
★ Buy War Bonds
mon
We’re glad that is (plte of war shortages
you can still get Smith Bros. Cough Drops.
We’ll be gladder still when Victory lea us
make all everybody needs. Smith Bros.—
Black or Menthol—still 54.
SMITH BROS. COUGH DROPS
•LACK OR MENTHOL—5# l
i
WORRIED ABOUT BAKING
WITHOUT DRY YEAST?
Fleischmann’s Fresh
Yeast Gives You the
Same Good Results!
by Sally Cole
Director of Kleiechmuin'i Tenting Kitchen
PVEN though Fleischmann’s Dry
■L' Yeast has gone to war, you
can still bake as easily as ever with
Fleischmann’s Fresh Yeast!
This grand fresh yeast gives
the same wonderful, dependable
results you’d expect from Fleisch
mann’s . . . and you can get as
much as you want whenever you
want.
So If you can’t get Fleischmann’s
Dry Yeast, use Flelschmann’s fast
acting Fresh Yeast. Use it in this
new Quick Roll recipe, next baking
day, and see for yourself how sat
isfactory It Is to work with!
And by the way, Fleischmann’s
Yellow Label Yeast Is tho only
fresh yeast that gives you extra
vitamins! Order some from your
grocer today — a week’s supply
keeps perfectly In the Ice-box.
QUICK ROUS
% cup milk 2 tablespoons sugar
1% teaspoons salt
1 cake Flelschmann’s Yeast
% cup lukewarm water
3 cups sifted flour
3 tablespoons melted shortening
Scald milk, add sugar and salt;
cool to lukewarm. Dissolve yeast In
lukewarm water and add to luke
warm milk. Add lt4 cups flour
and beat until smooth. Add melted
shortening and remaining flour, or
enough for easily handled dough.
Knead well. Shape Into rolls, place
In well-greased pan, cover and let
rise In warm place, free from
draught, until doubled In bulk,
about 1 hour. Bake In moderate
oven (400°F.) about 20 minutes.
Makes 1 dozen.
rnrr | 40-page recipe booki *.«._
■ litt. Send for yours today!
Standard Brands Incorporated, Grand Addrast— .... -..
Central Annex, Box 477, New York 17,
N. Y. Please send ma free copy of ^
7'Ac Bread Banket, containing over 70
recipes for breads, rolls, dessert breads. __2ono No_
SERVING
AMERICAN HOME OWNERS
SINCE 1871
PREPARED TO RENDER
GREATER SERVICE
WHEN VICTORY IS WON
*
BUY ANOTHER WAR BOND TODAY I
to
ROUND OAK
HEATING EQUIPMENT (jj 0
Q3D KITCHEN APPLIANCES
(OUNO OAK COMPANY • OOWASIAC, MICHIOAN
