Baxter Springs news., 1917-09-20
Men Appointed to High Com
mand Have Proven Ability
In Service.
PICKED FOR THEIR RECORDS
Most Of the 200 Major Generals and
BrIuadlsr Generals Recently Ap.
pointed Were Cadets Together
at West Point.
BY EDWARD o. CLARK.

Washington.-H there should be q
mobilization Of the 200 major generals
and brigadier generals appointed to
commands In the new selective service
army the affair would be u reunion
Of men most OF whom were cadets to-
gether ut the West Point Military
academy.
This means that there Is hardly n
new major general In the list who does
not know the methods and the manners
of service Of every brigadler general
who will serve under him and It may
be said also that there Is barely u
brigadler general who does not know
all about the record, the penalty and
the idIosyncrasies Of the major general
who, as division commander, will
give him orders.
Some OF these men who have been
appointed to high rank In the new
army are within one, two or three
years Of the retirement age. II may he
that out Of their ranks will come II
Joffre, a Halg, or Petain, but as many
In Washington look at II, II seems like
~ perhaps that the greatest American
soldiers of this war are more likely TO
be produced from the ranks OF the
younger men, although military ex-
perts admit that in recent wars many
elders Of the services have made ever
lastingly good.
Selected on Their Records.
The 81 major generals Of the new
National army nominated by the presi-
dent were all selected on the basis OF
their records Of service. On going
through this list find that out Of the
81, ~ We're cadets at the United
States Military academy at the time
that I attended that institution. Some
of them l knew we'll when ! was a
cadet. Others l did not know well be-
cause they were upper classmen when
1 was a junior classman, but with the
plebe and the yearllng's interest in the
older fellows / learned lot about
them while they hardly knew that /
was In existence. This is the way OF
things at the military academy.
Seven Of the new major generals
were my classmates and 1t ought to go
without saying that these men ! know
we'll, but at present I shall write moth
ing Of them except to say that every
one Of them has a good military record.
It happens, however, that with some
Of the upper classmen Of that day !
have had more or less intimate ac-
quaintance in recent years and In some
cases strong friendships have devel-
Oped.
Frederick S. Strong is one of the
new major generals. Strong, / think,
will look after the men lucky enough
to be in his division as q father looks
after his children, but when 1t comes
to q case of fighting he will display
the Roman fathers fortitude and Will
lead his children to the front with no
thought Of sparlng them If sacrifice Is
necessary to win the battle.
Strong's just but kindly disposition
led the military academy to put him In
charge Of the incoming plebe class in
the year 1879. Those were the days
of hazlng and hades at West Point.
Strong guarded the peace Of the new
cadets. Made major generals with
him are half a dozen men who re-
ceived their first soldier instruction as
plebes at West Point from Frederick
8. Strong.
Are Real Leaders.
Mai. Gen. Edwin st. John Greble.
who either will lead National Guard
or q new army division to the front, is
a son Of the first officer Of the regular
army to be killed In the Civil war. The
elder Greble fell at Big Bethel. This
newly appointed major general was q
gOdsOn Of the late Gen. o. o. Howard,
sometimes known as the christian
soldier" When Howard went to West
Point to become the academy's super
lntendent, Greble, his gOdson, was a
first classman and the cadet adjutant.
Greble cut up some dido or other and
Howard promptly reduced him to the
ranks.
The relationships Of father and son
and godfather and godsOn do not make
for leniency in the army when regula-
tIons have been violated. Greble's Of
fense would not have amounted to a
hill Of beans at college, but at West
Point II was made to appear a noun
tain. Major General Greble's record
Of service is one Of the finest that ap-
pears in the pages Of the Army Regis
ter.
It was predicted six weeks ago TINT
Joseph T. DIckman Of the Second cav
airy, who then was promoted to q
brlgadler generalship from the rank OF
colonel, would on the next promotion
occasion be made q major general. The
prediction hit the mark.
The regiments that 60 to the front
with Dlckman can be sure that they
are following q soldier. Dickman Is
hard-fsted fighter. much more ready
TO snare his men than to spare himself,
but he viii spare neither unless the
occasion requires sparing. he has
fought everywhere that there has been