Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1917-07-03
IS OUR HA|G Herr?
AMERICAS FUTURE GREAT COM
WANDER PROBABLY AMONG
NEW GENERALS.
PROMOTIONS SEEM JUSTIFIED
Personal "reminiscences of Morrison,
Sibert, Morton, Shsnks, Sturgis,
Bundy and Hale--Their Careers
VIII Be Watched With Interest.
q. EDWARD q. CLARK.

By EDWARD 3. CLARK.
Washin- ton.-Who's to be who In
the army?
Somewhere in the list of officers
who were designated by the president
for promotion recently probably is the
name of an American Haig, Joffre.
Petain or Nivelle.
There seems to have been some mis-
understanding about these promotions.
officers advanced are to take command
in the new army. They are all officers
of regulars and, so far as the major
generals and the brigadier generals
are concerned, they almost unquestion-
ably will be in command of divisions
and brigades of regular forces in the
fields of France-and that soon.
The American people will watch the
careers of these general officers OF
their army. There probably will be a
personal interest in them that was
shown by the people of Great Britain
in their general officers during the
first year of the hostilities in France.
The British knew that commanders
were to be made and unmade by the
force of battle events.
Your correspondent knows personal
ly many of these newly made major
generals and brigadier generals. With
some Of them he has a close personal
friendship dating back to West Point
days. Several of the men soon to see
service in France were classmates Of
mine and a majority of those named
were students at the academy during
the time of my cadetship.
New Generals Have Fine Records.
There is perhaps not one of the new
ly appointed general officers whose
army record does not give justification
for his advancement. Opinions on
this, of course, will differ in the army,
but in the main the list is one which
shows more careful selection and an
avoidance of that army devil, favorit-
ism.
1t is as boys that remember fully
one-half of the newly promoted. With
others | have kept up close personal
relations whenever the wanderings of
their army career would allow close
association. "As the boy, the man."
The three new major generals of the
army, John f. Morrison, William L..
Sibert and Charles G. Morton, all were
at the academy together, although no
two of them graduated in the same
year. Morrison was an 81 man, Nor
ton an '93 man and Sibert an "a man.
Let us take them in the order of rank.
John f, Morrison was known at the
academy as Babe" not because he
was babyish, but because he was small
of stature, a characteristic of physique
which has not changed with the years
except a little laterally.
"Babe" Morrison's Close Call.
do not know Morrison well, for he
was an upper classman when 1 was a
plebe, but l remember one incident
in his cadet career which filled me with
admiration for his pluck, and which
came near ending his career as a sol
der before he could so much as dream
of being a major general with prospec-
tive service against the Germans in
France.
In the riding hall one day vicious
horse aimed twO-ton kick at Babe"
Morrison, who received it in the pit of
the stomach. Luckily for him, the
force of the kick when he received it
was like that of a spent bullet, for the
receiver was just an inch beyond the
extreme limit of the kicking endeavor.
AS it was, Babe" Morrison fell
over and every cadet present thought
he was dead. He came to in a minute,
declined trip to the hospital, mount
ed the kicker and went through the
strenuous drill with nothing more than
a pain in his stomach to remind him
of salvation from death simply be-
cause the enemy did not quite have the
range.
"GoIiath" Sibert a Sticker.
Maj. Gen. William l.. Sibert was a
classmate of mine at the Military
academy, and for years he has been
one of my closest personal friends.
Sibert, because of his size, was known
as Goliath" SO soon, side by side on
the battle front of france, will appear
two American major generals who re-
ceived their cadet nicknames for dia-
metrically opposite physical reasons.
Siberts roommate at the academy
for two years at least was David Du
Bose, Gaillard, who dug the Gaillard
cut at Panama and died a martyr to
his work Just as he had completed the
great task. The fact that Gailiard's
first name was David tickled the fancy
of the cadets immensely baceuse his
roommate was Goliath. No nickname
ever was given Gaillard, the cadets
sticking TO David" solely because of
the fact that his room mate was a
namesake of the Philistine giant.
AS cadet Sibert stuck to a Job I'M
til he finished it, and it made little diff
ference what it was. He was peril
nacity in person and he was one of
the most brilliant students the acad-
envy ever had known. One of the rea
sons probably why Sibert was pro-
NOTED o"er the heads of other officers
was the knowledge of the officials of
the war department that he had been
insistent from the beginning of his
career in putting into instant operation
the things that he had learned.