The Columbus commercial. (Columbus, Miss.) 1893-1922, 1917-06-10

London, June 9.-Maj- aj-Gen. John
j. Pershing, commander-in-chief of
the first American army to be sent
to France for fighting with the al
lies, arrived in London Friday after
noon, accompanied by his staff, fol-
lowing his arrival at British port
early in the day.
The statement adds that Lieut..
Kenneth Whiting commands the
corps which was sent for duty in
antsubmarine operations, or for any
other active duty that may be given
them in France. Ir addition to
Lieut.. Whiting commanding, the
naval officers in the detachment are:
Lieut.. Virgil 0. Griffin, Alabama;
Lieut.. Grattan o. Diekman, Georgia;
Lieut.. Godfrey de c. Chevalier,
Massachusetts. Lieut.. Whiting is
from New York.
Gen. Pershing was welcomed by
Walter Hines Page, American am
bassador; Lord Derby, secretary OF
state for war; Viscount French, com
manding the British home forces,
and other officers, including Lord
Brooke, who will be attached to
Gen. Pershing's staff during his stay
II England
Gen. Pershing and his staff had
an uneventful trip. All members of
his party were in good health and
spirits. Their ship was escorted
into port by American destroyers.
A hearty welcome was extended
to the Americans by official repre-
sentatives Of the admiralty, the war
office and the municipal authorities.
The war office has assigned briga-
dier-general of the British army as
aide to Gen. Pershing. He took up
his duties with the commander-in-
chief as soon as the latter reached
here.
The formal welcome to the Hmeri-
cans on the landing stage was stir
ring scene. A guard of honor, COM
posed of Royal Welch fusilliers, was
drawn up at the landing with a regi-
mental band. After Gem Pershing
had been introduced to the military
officer in command of the port he
inspected the guard of honor, while
the band played "The Star Spangled
Banner"
Gen. Pershing said to the Asso-
ciated Press:
"The trip has been delightful, par
ticularly the latter stages, when we
were escorted through the danger
zone by our own destroyers. Speak
ng for myself and my staff, we are
glad to be the standard-bearers of
America in this great war for civili-
zation. The opportunity of landing
at a British port and the welcome
we received are very significant, and
are deeply appreciated. We expect
in the course of very short time,
to be playing our part, which | hope
will be a very big part, on the wes-
tern front"
Gen. Pershing and his staff pro-
ceeded toward London. Before leav-
ing the steamer, the general thanked
the captain and crew for their cour-
tesies during the voyage.
The British delegation which wei.
coined the Pershing party on board
The deck of the liner consisted Of
Rear Admiral Stileman, Lieut.-Gen.
Sir William Pitcairn Campbell and
the lord mayor of Liverpool. The
ship docked at o'clock. After the
band had played the American ma
tional anthem, it rendered God
Save the King" all present standing
at the salute throughout.
The voyage was a quiet one. The
time was devoted by Gen. Pershing
and his staff to hard work, with
close concentration on the study of
French by all the officers. During
the trip there was concert at which
Gen. Pershing made an address.
There was great enthusiasm on
board when three American destroy