Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-05-19
GENERAL BELL AS
FIGHTER IN FIELD
soldiers Weapons Should Be
Rifles, Not Trenching
Tools, He Declares.

r-,5er the heading, Every Ameri-
war Has Made a President" the
Shicaeo Sunday Tribune in last Sun
- issue printed the following con-
ming an army man well known
here:
.sTbere never would be pick or q
.bovel in my regiment, If had my
- delares Mai. Gen. Bell. and from
MS speech one may read the charac-
- NJ the man. a soldiers weapons
ssonId be rifles. not intrenching tools
The minute an army stands still and
regins TO dig Entertainments the en-
- takes courage and begins TO at
,.ct The only way TO fight them is
"a keep them on the run.
And that is the way he fights. He
tssps them on the run, even if he has
% charge them alone, as he did at
porsc He keeps them on the run
xith his own men when he can, or
vitb auv other men he can find.
Medals of honor are not given for
slight cause by our congress, and Bell
was thus honored for the Porac Incl
dent. His description of the affair is
mich less glowing than the officias
record of the army register. which GER
tainlv Is not given to outbursts of
eulogy.
u was going along early in the
morning. in advance of the men," he
saws. An officer and seven insurg-
euts-maybe there were only six
lodged around a corner ] went on to
see where they had gone. They began
firing al me. fred back with my pis-
tols-ten cartridges in each-making
2 tearing noise. like gatling guns My
string Of bullets ratified the ruffians.
and they shot too high or too low, or
both rode at them'-in the face of
the FIRE Of the eight-"and chased the
officer and two of his men into a rice
field. They were scared TO death and
surrendered. / tell you il was moth
ing: but the paint has been daubed on
so thickly that the whole incident has
become positively wearisome TO me-"
The general doesn't believe in never
troubling trouble until trouble troubles
you During the early fighting in the
Philippines the then Mai. Bell was
chief Of the new bureau of military in
formation. a sort of army secret ser
ed he found the dangerous task of go
ing about among the Filipinos and
learning their plans for war sufficient
" exciting. But once the big guns had
started to boom he always discovered
that the best place to gain Information |
vas somewhere near the firing line
and he would set of at top speed in |
the direction of the sound.
There, if he found a battalion out OF I
action. he would appropriate it and 1
make one of his brilliant charges. If /
ne couldn't find a battalion, a company /
would do, and if the worse came to /
The worst he could get along with /
eorporal's guard. But he always head I,
ed them toward the enemy, until it be- 1
came a common saying among the Of
hcers that You must keep your eye
on your command, or Bell will steal it /
and charge with it
Maj. Gen. Bell is not merely the
brave soldier but he is a
cool master of his calling as well.
James b. Morrow says that he is the
military expert of the country. Com
pared by antiimperalists with Wey-
Ter because of his furious campaign
against Malvar. he showed himself to
be brilliant diplomat in time of peace
by his work in closing out the insur-
Iection in the Ilocano provinces. He
never fought the Filipinos until he had
'nleo IN every way TO win them over
peaeeably, but when he did fight he
fought In whirlwind fashion.
Fought IN the Indian Wars.
James Franklin Bell was born in
'heloyville. KY, Jan. 8, 1856, and he
'thi retains the charm OF manner of
ne better type of southerner. He ,
'raduated in 1878 from West Point, !
'lt didn't reach the rank of first lieu
enant until 1890. In 1881 he married
ass Sarah Buford Of Rock Island.
mo had attended finishing school in
'hicsgo.
BEL served on the plains with the
ishting Seventh" cavalry during the
loian wars OF 1873 to 1894, and took
ar In the battle OF Wounded Knee,
le last great fight of the redmen. He {
zane captain in the regular army
march 1899, and seven years later ,