The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1917-10-13
OUR Two LEADERS NOW WITH French

Now. in order to show that there IS
no thought on the part of the writer
that he has appraised these men too
lightly. he says this:
There are two big jobs with two
big men TO fill them. The dashing Per
shing and the methOdiCal Sibert make
a team that will be hard to beat when
their machine once starts"
American military officers from
Pershing down to the last second lieu
tenant realize that this IS war OF
method. a methodical war in other
words, and that 1t is also largely an
engineering war. The picture that one
gets of Pershing from the cabled ar
ticle Is just such as one carries In his
mind Of Custer on the plains, his yell
low hair streaming in the wind, Colt
revolver in his left hand, dazzling
saber in his right hand, charging head
long, regardless of bullets, into the
heart of Sioux horde.
In q methodical war army men say
that this daredevil gallantry does not
win. and nobody knows it better than
Pershing. If the war department had
believed that Pershing was quick on
the trigger" in the sense in which that
expression usually Is employed, he
would not have been sent to France
The campaign which John J. Per
shing led against the enemy in the
Lake Lanac district in the Philippines
was methodical campaign. 1t was
conducted on strict military lines, and
there was no forcing them along AZ
top speed" It was this campaign
which promoted Pershing from cap
taincy to a brigadler generalship. He
will not sacrifice American lives In
! France by a recklessness which Is for
! eign to his nature, and absolutely for
| eign to modern methods Of fighting.
| Now as for William L. Sibert, have
said what | have about Pershing from
study Of his career and from hun
| dred or more expressions Of opinion
which, concerning him, have come tC
me from army men who know him wei
/ personally.
In the recently printed, and | thint
misleading, although unintentionallI
so, description of Sibert's characters
ties as a man and soldier, he is de
scribed as deliberate and methodlcal
giving close attention to the tin!
things and In fact having a purel!
and mathematically methodlcal mind
Bluntly speaking. 1t makes Sibert
student rather than soldier.
Now for the truth Of this thing
When William L. Sibert was q JUNO
officer Of engineers serving in the Phil
ippines he did both engineering ant
fighting work so well that 1t called
forth the praise of the general com
handing, Theodore Schwan. The rec
ord Of it Is In the war department
today. General Schwan said that thl
engineer insisted on having plac
on the firing line at all times.
It was William L. Sibert who stoo
alongside of Reilly's battery, the Rel
ly who afterwards was killed at re
king, at the front Of battlefield Il
the Philippines. and there stood lik
a rock against the furious close-rang
fire Of the enemy. 1t was Sibert VIII
under fire on this same battlefield
knelt beside the gallant Maj. Wooc
bridge Geary. who fell at the first nr
and died within a few moments.
The methodical Sibert is as quick o
the trigger as any man ought to o.
He is a fighter of the first rank. q
not think that contradiction Will com
from the war department If Shout
nut into words something which Ion
have suspected. 1t is my belief ths
certain military report, hghtin
: program report which In effect a
clared that there was no such thing q
the impossible where a real militar
J end Is to be gained. report whic
1t Is said was made by Siber
caused this fine junior brigadier gel
eral to be jumped over the heads
eleven men to a major generalshi
. and then sent to France In command