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Show War Paralyzes Business of Europe & d Jfi uiS Troops Are Mobilized as by Magic ABOVE Is a Belgian ir pply wagon, loaded to capacity with, provl ions for the soldiers opposing tho progress of German troops across their country -which action on the part of the kaiser was characterized as a flagrant breach of Belgium s neutrality The scene is typical of the mobilization of the armies of all the other European countries engaged In the war The picture below shows the mobilization of troops In Belelum which was duplicated all oyer Trance Oer many tnd Austria When the troops were called to colors evory otlicr business stopped (Mull! Jt a-:. p-'H SrWMI ' 32222 Seventeen Million Men Are Under Arms in Great In ternational Conflict ONE of the most amaz ng ta ngs to the layman about the European war was the rap d ty w th which the nat ons nvolved placed sev eral millions of men m the f eld under arms almost over n ght Mobilizat on in Germany was an eas er matter than n any of the other coun tr es at war for Germany has the larg est stand ng army in the world and her reserv sts are n t mes of peace more nearly on a war foot ng than those of the other nat ons In Euss a the task was a more d ffi c It one for proport onately there were fewer men under am s and most of the reservists were drawn trom the rural d stricts Trance had more than 1,000 000 men under arms m a remarl ably short t me for that country ma n tains a very r gid compulsory mil tarj service system Under the present extraordinary c r cumBtances almost every country in Europe is a country at war but every one of the countr es now fight ng s even under ord nary cond t ons ot peace always a people in arms England Exception In all the warr ng countr es except England m litary serv ce s obligatory and every man "is a defender ot the home and country Wh ch he and h s an cestors bu It up The measures of gen eral defense prepared and kept m readiness at all times are so closely con nected with the nat on s act v t es that even the tremendous preparat ons tor the present war were taken largely as a matter of course by the people of Germany Euss a and Austr a Hungary In the Un ted States it is doubtful if the people have any adequate idea of the magn tude and character in detail of that preparation Although the words mobil zation and coneentrat on seem n th s country to have become household words and a fam 1 ar part of the world s vocabularv only in the last few weeks they are words as common and ?otent n the European countr es in mes of peace as under present cond t ons The f rst effect of mob llzat on t me is the instant cessit on of all ord nary occupat ons of 1 fe The plow s left m the f rrow the aw n the wood and the shop clo es All tho ghts and de E res t rn ng from 0 d nar purs ts to one thing the flag that is the defense of the plow the saw and the shop All ordinary traff c cease Trave pours on v one way That Is toward the concentre on po nts and toward the enem E ery ral road stat on master has a book e nd cat nsr al the mi tary trains wh ch co d Dass h s station should that se t on of the ral road be put to its mos extreme use In he pre ent war perhaps the most n que mob 1 zat on was that of Eng land where there is no compulsory mm tary serv ce When Eng and dec ared war aga nst Ge n a y and prepa ed to send an e ped t ona y fo ce to the con t nent to ad t e F ench and Be g ana and the Tiar off ce ca ed for vo un eers the ecru t ng s at ons were ove whe med w th app cants Men of a c asses as ened to Jo n the co ors For days and n gh s thousands of men stood in ong 1 nes malting to be e am ned They we e ords and aborers peerfl and por ters socle y men nst hats and costers in caps Democ -atica y they rubbed ebows al an ous to don a uni form and go to the front When the actua mob zat on be an the newspapers of Eng and were asked not to pub sh anjthng concern na m tary mo ements They comp ed and the ent re mob zation was conducted wit the utmost secrecy T vo hund ed and f fty thousand B t si troops were concen t a ed at seaports oaded on transports and sent to the cont nent and the world knew noth ng about It unt 1 they were on Frenc so 1 and on the r march to the front TV hen mob zat on began the B t sh government too posse s on of a ra roads of the T, n ted K ngdom and for days eu a traffic was Interrupted There were no passenger tra ns f om London to the seapo ts wh e the t oops were be ng embar ed The men put to sea fron Portsmou Falmou h L ver poo and Dub n Ire and and during the process there was no regu ar t aff c to or from those po ts In t e more tl an a wee af e the movement began the Brit sh exped tlonarv fo ce was n con Junct on with the Trench and Be glans Trance Hastens Work In France the mob zation was con ducted with t e greatest dispatch and smoothness To fac tate t e concentra t on and avoid confus on at the po nt of assembly the reser sts were ordered to Ion the colors on separate dajs Each man 1 able for mobl zat on had rece ed an nd vidua not ce commanding h m to report at a des gnated pace on a certain day Thus the rrench army was concen trated in a remarkab y short time and without congest on In Ku's a the mob zation was a gi gantlc task The czar In the first stages of the war was reported to have massed ' 000 000 men on the German and Aus trlan frontiers M 1 tary experts were amazed in contemp at on of th s hercu ean undertaking E erjthing but the bus ness of war was at a standsti L The troops had to be transported some of them for undrels of ml es to he points of concentration More than forty long trains dal v arrived at the ar o s camps Trains ran cont nuouelv craw ng along one on the hee s of the other Eerj ra road engine in Russ a was used tn haul cars of troops vast flat cars loaded w h art ery long tra ns of ammunition and pro Isions From the cities vi lages and farms poured the Russ an hordes The s o es were c osed the schoo s d s ontlnued Day and n ght, along e erv road and by path there marched a ong streams of men young and mldd e aired hurrv ng to the nearest al wa s at on whence a rain wou d carrj them to the designated camp where the would rece ve un forms arms and ammunition and be transformed nto his Imperial majest s soldiers In Austria Hungary the matter of mobilization was not so dtfflci It because for months that nation had been readv for war At he end of the long Balkan strugg e it w I be remembered Austria Hungarj was on the verge of war with Sen la and later got Into a difficulty w th Mon eneg o At hat t me the Austrian reserv s s mob zed and he were all read to take up arms aga n Less s known of the mob zat on in Ge man than n the oth r ount s Im med ate on the ecan on of war by the kaiser a rigid censorship was est&b- J 1 shed and practically no news has come out of that country s nee Return ng tour sts have to d something of t e m ta y act vity tl ere Ge many has been looking for a great war for many months and was a most in comp ete read ness for it Her huge stand ng army was equipped with the best arms of every sort The nen we e we dri led and In excel ent condit on The navy was we equ pped The reser sts in Germany had een cal ed to the co ors for dr ng and ma neuvers oftener In the last few 5 ears than those of any other country Germany Mas Ready When the mob izatlon order went out, therefore the German troors were in read ness down to the last de ail and in a remarkably s ort time the kaiser had massed h s m lions of troops on the French and Be gian frontiers One of the appa ng effects of war Is that It para yzes industry In Russ a for ; example where the czar ca ed to the co ors .every man of fighting age there wl! be no men left to carrj on the bus! ness of the nat on There wl 1 be no men o t the fields to make food and c oth Ing to carry on manufacture The worn en w 11 ha e to raise such crops as are p oduced The same is true to a lessor extent in Trance and Germany In the latter coun try the a ser 1 as cal ed on a 1 men be tween e hteen and forty five to do m I tary duty That para zed the great manufactures of Germany and halted agr culture All branches of bus ness are at & s andst 1 In Trance the govern ment requested t e women to go into the fie ds and harvest the crops The women thus working In the fle ds are those who forme ly made the 1 nger e im po ted by the United States That Indus try therefore Is at a standsti 1 With approxln ate v 17 000 000 men of Europe under arms there can be few but women and ch dren to carry on the life and bus ness of the nations and Indus tries of the cont nent are bound to suffer for many 3 ears to come |