the Department and that the officers of the General Staff were also missing from their desks and no one could learn why. Days afterward word came from England that Pershing and his Staff had arrived in that country. The regiments that were to follow him, selected before he left, were already moving toward the seacoast, while other regiments were moving from points North and West; these movements, however, remained obscure. At certain embarkation ports great shipments of war supplies had been assembled, an armada of transports made ready, supplied, equipped, loaded with men and guns and sent to sea, all, however, with no mention of these operations at that time from the press or until after a fleet of transports had safely arrived in France. Then, on June 6, it was made public that some American warships had arrived and anchored off the coast of France, having convoyed a great transport ship loaded with 10,500 tons of wheat and that France had accorded them a tremendously enthusiastic reception. Marshal Joffre, while in America, in his conferences with American Military chiefs, had seen practically everything he advised adopted-so much so, in fact, that by the time. he resumed his work in Paris he had become known as "the godfather of the American Army." Joffre had virtually enlisted in the service of the United States for the duration of the war. France had lent to this nation its first soldier, the one man who, under a French republic, had earned the title of Marshal of France. Joffre was charged with the duty of placing at the disposal of the United States all that France and he had learned in three years of war. It was not merely the advice he could offer, or the assistance he could render in training Pershing's army, that would be valuable; it was the influence of it upon public opinion in the United States that would count most. General Pershing, after his arrival in Europe, June 8, was accorded remarkable receptions in Liverpool, London, Boulogne, and Paris, which were in part recognitions of the honors that had attended the visits to this country of Balfour, Viviani, and Joffre, then just about completed, and of the action already taken by the United States in aid of the Entente Allies. Pershing had sailed on the White Star liner Baltic, the voyage being without special incident. He had gone aboard the Baltic in New York harbor from a tug which conveyed him to the side of the ship as she stopt off Governor's Island, after leaving her pier in the North River. Very few persons in the whole country knew anything about his departure. American destroyers sent out from England, picked up the Baltic off the coast and escorted her through the danger zone. No enemy craft of undersea variety was seen during the voyage or made its presence felt. The British did their utmost in paying honor to Pershing. He was taken to London by special train. Among the many honors accorded him in London was a luncheon with the King at Buckingham Palace. After five days he left for France and landed at Boulogne, welcomed with cheers from French Territorials and British sailors and soldiers. British soldiers and marines, lined up along the quays, rendered military honors as the vessel, flying the Stars and Stripes, preceded by destroyers and accompanied by hydroplanes and dirigible balloons, steamed into the harbor, and bands played "The Star-Spangled Banner" and the "Marseillaise." The scene was striking in its animation. The day was bright and sunny, the quays crowded with vast throngs made up of townspeople and soldiers from all the Entente Allied armies, French and British troops predominating. Shipping in the harbor was gay with flags and bunting, many merchant craft hoisting American flags. Along crowded quays American colors were seen everwhere. A great wave of enthusiasm broke forth as the tall, muscular figure of Pershing stept upon the quay. As the band played the "Marseillaise," he and members of his Staff stood at salute. In Paris he received a tumultuous welcome. At the station he was met by Marshal Joffre, M. Viviani, Ambassador Sharp, Paul Painlevé, the Minister of War, and General Foch, already famous as the man who at the Marne gave the finishing thrust. As Pershing's figure came to the small door of the carriage in the Gare du Nord, he was seen to stand there erect, motionless and expressionless, his eyes fixt above the heads of the reception party, which occupied a cleared space on the platform. When the band struck up |