The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1916-03-30
a, ay from the expedition led those IN
pursuit of II straight 70 a spIIng.
Pershlnq Won His Way.

Much has been Written ana printed
about Brig. Gen. John J. Pershing,
United States army, the commander in
chief of the punitive expedition sent
across the border into Mexico to round
up Francisco villa and his followers.
Many of the things which he has ac-
complished as a soldier have been
printed, but there are some things
which seem to have been overlooked
by the record searchers.
No one seems to have given as yet
the exact circumstances connected
with Pershing's coup in the Philip.
pines, by which he won his star as
brigadier general. He was captain Of
cavalry, and he happened to be near
the Lake LanaO country with his
troop at a time when there we're no
officers of superior rank present, al
though there was considerable body
Of troops tO the immediate vicinity.
In the lection Of the country in
which Pershing was stationed there
was some cavalry, some infantry, and
if memory 10 all right, some field ar.
tillerymen. ThCFe were troops enough
there of the different branches to
form. when combined, miniature bri-
gade. There were the elements pres
ent necessary for mixed brigade, but
there were not troops enough to make
it proper in a military sense to call
@bo ogaapohIa1o hripada
However, it was a brigade in form,
and Pershing happened to be senior
captain present In the absence of
majors, lieutenant colonies and col
onels he therefore became the COM
manding officer of what, for courtesy's
sake, was called a brigade. He took
his troops, cavalrymen, infantrymen
and artillerymen into the Lake Lanao
district and there fought hard fight
and cleaned up what was very dirty
situation, or at least so one might ex,
press it from a military point OF view.
Following this exploit, Theodore
Roosevelt, who was then president of
the United States, mentioned Perish
ing's name in a message to congress,
saying that he wished that he could
| promote the captain to majority or
lieutenant colonelcv, in order to
show appreciation of his fine service
in the Philippines.
The law is such that the president
of the United States cannot promote
an officer except to the grade of brig
adler general. When the opportunity
came, Roosevelt promoted Captain
Pershing and made him Brigadier Gen.
eral Pershing. .-..
Controversy over Submarines.
A controversy still is waging in ma
val circles and in legislative circles
concerning the usefulness OF sub
marines. AS has been pointed out be
fore in Washington dispatches, there
is a wide difference of opinion among
the members of the senate naval ccm
mittee over this submarine matter
The chairman of the committee it il
said favors submarines at the expense
of dreadnaughts, while most of thu
members take issue with the chairman
and favor dreadnaughts at the ex
pense Of submarines.
For a year and five months now tni
submarine matter has been causing
disputes in congress and in the Amer
can navy. In September, 1914, Gel
man submarine, the U-9, performed
feat which astonished navy men al
! over the world The U-9 went loni
distance from it's base and sunk thre
| second-line enemy cruisers. At tha
time it was said that upon the repor
of the captain of the U-9 when it tina
ly was turned in might depend the fl
lures of the navies of the world.
Some time ago, after the exploit O
the U-9, it was reported on seemingl
good authority that one of the under
the-sea boats had made"a voyage fror
the vicinity of the North sea to tn
Bosporus without replenishing it
fuel. This feat was so much more e1
. traordinary than the voyage of the [
8 that naval officers in America bega
} to believe that dreadnaughts were t
be done away with for all time an
that the future navies would consis
principally of speedy battleship crui'
: ers and of an enormous number c
submarines.
: Then all at once there came storie
that the British navy authorities ha
,,,k; nPf I
offset the attacks of submarines an
: moreover to cut short the career {
the Nnder-the-sea boats before the
could get in their deadly work. The
the American authorities, naval an
legislative, had to study the subject a
+ over again. They tried hard to get tn
+ truth concerning the British reports
, they tried hard to get the truth col
= corning the reports which came frol
2 Germany, The stories have been s
z conflicting that the camps are abol
equally divided today between th
, submarine advocates and the drea
naught advocates.
3 Many Experiments Made.
+ All sorts of experiments have bee
e made by the naval authorities OF IL
S world to protect warships from unde
Y the-sea torpedo attacks. No OF
S knows definitely, as has been intima
e ed in the foregoing, whether som
0 thing absolutely adequate to the wol
l. of protection has been secured. The
4 \ Il.
that inventive genius seemingly h;
n not reached the stage where it CO
e produce perfect protection for b
n warship without so handicapping i
l. movements as to make its means
It defense destroy its usefulness
h offense.
s Congress today is uncertain in pr
d pairing it's program for an increase
h the navy as to whether or not it