Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1917-07-13
copyrighted by Fred c. Kelly.)

negligible.
Start talking about Crowder in almost
any bunch of people and about the only
response would be: "Crowder? Who's
he?"
Yet Crowder has been handling more
human fates than were ever handled by
any one man in this country before.
He is the man to whom was entrusted
the task of working out the details for
the raising of the CONSUMPTION army.
And he has been performing the job
with such \thoroughness-with such high
grade efficiency, to use an overworksd
term-that he eNciteS our curiosity ana
we look into his record. Then we cease
to wonder that he is able now to perform
a big thing in a big way.
When Dewey took Manila it was Crow
der who handled all the puzzling legal
matters incident to the occupation. Crow
der formulated and put into execution the
whole present system of government for
the Philippines. which. the experts say,
is the best system of colonial government
in the world.
Imagine starting in to revise the laws
Of an alien people, not only of a different
nationality, but of a different race, so as
to bring them under our own IDEAS OF
good government while at the same time
SpdIItls enough OF lDelT OWL nOtlOllS dIlu
customs to keep them satisfied. That was
Crowder's job. For a time Crowder sat
as associate justice of the supreme court
Of the> Philippines to see that the laws
were properly interpreted. He performed
a score of tasks there which might have
made him a national figure If his work
had only been as spectacular as it was
difficult.
Crowder had much to do with the work
ing out of problems incident to making
an Independent republic of Cuba. He drew
up the Cuban electoral laws. The first
Cuban election was held under his direc-
ton and he personally saw that it passed
off with the smoothness and dispatch that
was vitality necessary. He acted as sec
rotary of state for Cuba under the Ma
COON regime and made the legal prepare
tons for transferring the government
into Cuban hands,.
congress would enact legislation provid-
ing for the raising Of an army by selective
draft Secretary of War Baker realized
that there was a very tidy little executive
job ahead for somebody; but he had not
the remotest idea who that somebody
should be.
1t was obvious that the man in charge
Of the draft should be a person having
rather unusual qualifications. He must be
a good executive. endowed with magma
ton. and he should be able to catch the
civil as we'll as the military viewpoint
for while the use of an army is a mill
tary thing. the actual raising of it is
really less military than civil. He must
be familiar not only with our laws, but
with our traditions. Faulty administra-
ton Of the draft or any show of favorit-
4 ism might be ~fatal-fatal not only to the
draft itself. but to our success in the war.
The man in charge must be a human be-
ing, not too close an adherent to red tape,
and yet one not easily swayed by emo
tons.
So far as Secretary Baker could learn
the only man in the army possessing all
the needed qualifications for the big job
was Brig. Gen. Crowder, judge advocate
general.
In his West Point days Crowder was
noted for his interest in nonmilitary sub
jects. He devoted his spare time OF
philosophy, ethics, psychology, rhetoric
history and law. Later on he was APP
pointed military instructor at the Univer-
sity of Missouri. The work there did not
require his entire time. and he took the
university law course. He became a good
lawyer and from that time on his work
in the army has been chiefly in the legaI
departments.
Today those who know Crowder only
slightly are likely to regard him just as
q crusty old bachelor. He is a steel gray
looking man-steel gray hair, steel gray
mustache. steel gray eyes and a stee
gray manner Of sizing one up. He looks
severe. When occasion requires. he car
make use of a certain picturesque. IN,
cisive brand of profanity that nobody ca,
swing in quite the same masterful wa.
that he can. Yet there is a little flickel
about his eyes-if you are obseryan
enough to see it-which betrays the fac
that is very much of a human
being. If you were broke in a strange cit,
and needed a quarter for food, Crowde
might be the last man you would picl
out of a crowd to ask for help. But h,
would probably be the one most readil.
touched by a plausible appeal. The stor.
ls that for the last score of years Crow
der has followed a practice of taking from
his salary barely enough money to suppl.
his own few simple wants, and has givel
all the rest away. In his youthful day
his appearance was one of rather con
spicuous gallantry. and he had an agree
able personality which made him nue.
sought after. He would have experience,
little difficulty in forsaking bachelorhood
The reason why he never married. so tt
said, was that he felt an obligation to b
free to provide for his mother and other
in his wi family.
Crowder is not much given to needles
parley or palaver and is regarded as
foe to army frivolity. He feels a persona
modification in the fact that the arm
has polo teams. Golf he regards as rattle
overdone; yet he thinks no less of a ma
who plays golf. so long as the playing
done in a mans own time. But let a ma
associated with rowde neglect his wor
in order to play golf or ask for an after
noon off to take part in a match an
nothing could ever by any possibility re
store him to Crowder's esteem.
Strict disciplinarian though he is, ther
is no puffed up dignity about Crowde,