Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1917-12-19
BY j. w. PEGLER.

BY j. w. PEGLER.
United Press stan Correspondent
WITH THE AMERICAN EXPEDITION
WY ARMY, France Nov. IA BY
AaiD.-General John Pershing has
turned man-of-businoss. He had TO
when his country handed him the job
Of managing the biggest enterprise in
American hisiory-miliiary and COM
mercisl.
General Pershing's grocery store alone
dwarfs the biggest wholesale grocery
to the size Of crossroads store.
His transportation problems make
those Of any private concern look like
children's play with q string Of clock
work choo-choo cars.
And these are only two divisions Of
the great industrial enterprise now go
ing on under John ]. Pershing, general
manager. Later he viii take on The ad-
ded task Of military operations.
His employees viii be numbered not
by thousands but by millions as the
war goes on and Americas plans are
carried out 10 the full. And we are pro-
Feeding on the assumption that the war
will go on 70 a military decision--a
iSnock out
A business firm breaks into the sun
day papers II it distributes real benefits
70 It's employees over and above their
pay.
Pershing's responsibility TO his boys
only begins with their pay. Feeding Is
p day-to-day job We must clothe
them. make soldiers of them, arm them,
provide a perfection Of surgical care
when they are wounded And when a
Sammy from home makes the supreme
sacrifice General pershing. the soldier.
sees that as far as the circumstances
permit, that Sammy receives an honor
able burial the soldiers duo
The further you follow the parallel
Of Pershing's firm and the biz business
house. the smaller becomes the private
concern.
When BLACK jack came 20 France
ho found the seaports lacking facilities
fr landing the tremendous tonnage for
|our Army Men and supplies come into
The Army's charge the moment the
ransport comes into harbor The Army
must unload the ships 10 must furnish
Fan transportation and storage Gold
storage must be found for pcrishablc
foods.
The Army had 10 build docks 10 ac-
q immediate bigger ships than had ever
ne into these ports before. store
2 uses and barracks were quickly pro-
ted and laid out. Railroad yards were
+ in so that the docks could be quick
cleared to make room for more
ips. To do these things Pershing had
lp import labor.
The ports lacked unloading machin-
ery-cranes. engines. light railways
Thelt was no use trying 10 make shift
with the appliances. Of the old days.
pershing had TO gef$things, 10 have the
work done He picked big men TO head
the departments and they are doing
their tasks under his general direction
Transportation problems don't end
with the unloading Of the ship We
had TO have q big food and clothing
depot, a medical supply bsse and an
aviation center.
Rolling-stock and the railway lines
themselves were rundown. Bring over
locomotives and cars was the Gen
erals decision. Special railway-engineer
regiments were thrown into the work
Of bolstering Ut the railway system
They also built din. ; and spur tracks
50 allow the quick unloading and return
of cars.
Al this goes on under the square
built. solid soldier-man. John PERISH
ing. who never was trained to build
seaporis run a grocery or make new
railroads out Of old. He tackled the job
because his superior said there's the .
Nyork-gc TO 1t" His temples. already 1
shot with gray. have grown a lblc 4.
Erayer; his determined face seems 20 .
have 2 few more wrinkles But that 4
indomitable square Jaw still means the "
same 10 those who meet him-force, /.
courage, and. as an Old-time Sammy
said today. "ihe belly for hight"
The Quartermaster had too big a load
under the new emergencies "a France. I
General Pershing examined the sltua-
lion an6 made a new department-the
department Of transportation. He picked
one Of the biggest railroad heads in
tmerica 10 boss this section. Now the
merely distributes food
and clothing 70 the troops. The trans
p0rtation department fakes over the
complicated task Of carrying IL 10 the
men in billets. training school or
trenches.
The engineers also were overbur-
dened SO Pershing made another dlvi-
sion Of the work. Hereafter the trans
portation department must do all con-
sguc1ion work necessary for the trans
Fort Of supplies OF men,
Yes, business is fine. thank you. in