Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1917-09-26
OUR TWO LEADERS
NOW WITH FRENCH
Intimate Sketches Of Sibert and
Pershing by One Who
Knows Them.
THEIR RECORDS is FIGHTERS
Both Generate Careful Planners and
Each Has IN EnvIabis Record fce
Getting Big ResuIts By
Hard Fighting.
BY EDWARD D. CLARK.

Hard Fighting.
BY EDWARD D. CLARK.
Washington.--In n recent news arff-
Gle cabled from the field headquarters
Of the American expeditionary force
in France, there was given study OF
the temperament. characteristics,
methods and personal attributes Of
Maj. Gems. John J. Pershing and VIII
liam L. Sibert.
Here IL one thing that was said Of
the senior major general:
"Pershipg is Of the quick-on-the-trigl
ger style. He Is u the dashing type,
nervous. always o. the 20. like a sur
charged battery. stirring up everybody
10 comes IN contact with. forcing them
along at top speed
Here Is what IL afd a the junior
majw general. who commands the d.
vision In the field:
.Sibert IL q deliberate, nefbodical,
tirelcw worker. watching evxry detail.
insistent that reports a hiS young Of.
ficers b. accurate, comprehensive. GOV.
ering every sngie--of tns type that b
persisteuf and sure He b an
engineer with a training far secuzacy
that figures down b tfssunandths q
an inch
Now. In order to- snow tAst here h
no thought on the part Of the writer
that he has appraised thess nsea too
lightly. he says this:
There are two big Jobs with tire
big men tCfIil them. Tne dashfng Per
shing and the methodicai Ssbert make
q team that will be hard to beat when
their macfsine once stnptA~
American military oficers from
Pershing down to the last seecod heu-
tenant realize that this n . war Of
method. a. mefhodicnl war IN cther
words. and that II Is also largely IN
engineering wnr. The picture thst one
gets Of Pesshing from tn csbled n.
ticle Is just such as one carries In his
mind Of Custer on the platnR. his yel-
low hair streaming In the wind Colt
revolver In his left hand. o dazzling
saber In his right hand. charging head
long, regardless Of bullets, Into the
heart Of Sioux horde.
In msthodicai war army men say
that this daredevil gnllsntry does not
win. and nobody knows Il better than
Pershing- II the war department. had
believed that Pershing was quick on
the trigRer- In the sense n which that
expressisn usually b employed. he
would not have been sent to France.
The campaign which John J. Per
shing Nd against tn enemy In the
Lake Ianac district In ths Philippines
was . methodical campaign. II was
conducted on strict naflltary lines. and
there WINS no forcing them along ut
top speed" It WINS this campaign
which promoted Pershang from a cap.
taincy to brigaAier Eeneraiship. IiD
vtn not sacrifice American lives in
France by q reeklessness which is for
eign to his nature. and absolutely for
eign to modern methods Of lighting.
Now AZ for william L. Sibert. havs
said what have about Pershing from
Q study Of his career and from q hum
dred or more expressions Of opinion
which, concerning him. have come to
me from army men who know him well
personally.
In the recently printed. and think
misleading. although enthusiastically
20, description of Sibert's characters
ties as q man and soldier. be is de-
scrihed as deliberate and methodical.
giving close attention 10 the tiny
things and In fact having a purely
and mathematically methodical mind.
Bluntly speaking, II makes Sibert q
student rather than soldier.
Now for the truth Of this thing
oficer Of engineers serving In the Phil.
ippines he did both engineering and
fighting work 90 well that It called
forth the praise Of the general com
manding. Theodore Schwan. The rec
ord Of It II In the war department
today. General Schwan said that thil
engineer insisted on having . plact
on the flring line at al times.
II was william L. Sibert who stood
alongside Of Reilly's battery. the Rel
~ who afterwards was killed 1t Pc
king, at the front Of q battlefield n
the Philippines. and there stood hka
a rock against the furious ciose-rangt
IRE Of the enemy. II was Sibert wht
under IRE On this same battlefield
knelt beside the gallant Maj. Wood
bridge Geary. who fell 1t the nfst nrl
and died within Q few momenta.
| The methodical Slbert 10 - quick o.
the trigger a. any man ought to be
He II fighter Of the frst rank. I d
not think that contradiction WIN COM
from the war department II I shoult
put into words something which Ion,
have suspected. II 70 my belief tha
q certain military report. . n9htini
| program report which In effect Dc
clared that there WAS 10 such thing q
A. s.-~D