The Dickinson press., 1917-12-22
COL. PEAKE R0ASTS
HEADS OF ORDNANCE
BOOSTS ROOSEVELT

That the ordnance department Of
iacking-up, is the opinion of Col. a
in the city this week. According to
officiousness and ~jealously Of depart:
navy. He believes that not always
have the best men been selected to
fill the more important Offices and until
that is done, he thinks, there will be
a discord and a dissatisfaction in re-
suits.
Secretary McAdoo, he says, is an
ideal. man for his position and is ac-
complishing big things for the Gov
eminent. Col. Peake is a forceful
character, a man who does things,
therefore it was not a surprise to hear
him remark that the administration
would have made a big step toward
the conclusion Of the war had it al
lowed Teddy Roosevelt to go to
France with those loyal supporters
who volunteered to follow him.
Roosevelt's influence would have put
stamina and force to the forefront.
Col. Peake believes that better results
can always be obtained by having
troops differed by men from their
own territory. He cited instances to
show that when men, going cover the
top" realized that the man by their
side was Of the same town or terri
tory, men who knew each other, there
was greater incentive to go forward,
knowing that there would be interests
of a home nature backing him up.
The regular army, said he, has been
split up into units that have no indi-
vidual personal interests. He be-
lieves that the National army should
have been held into original COM
panies and thus the men who knew
each other intimately would be to-
gether and their officers would be
those who left the home state with
them.
Asked as to the truth of the rumor
that Col. Frame was soon to receive
a commission as Brigadier-G General,
Col. Peake said: II can say not any
thing definite at this time but we have
been at the matter for the last month
and we believe that Col. Frame, who
is one of the really big men in army
life, will receive that commission"
Col. Peake says that the German
army fights only en- masse; that it
has had no experience as individual
fighters and for that reason is greatly
inferior to men. He believes that
after our boys have learned thorough
ly the game of war as being played
on the foreign theater, there will be
quickening of action and results will
come faster.
The colonel is president of the Con-
solidated Coal Co. and is acquainted
with the coal situation all over the
country. The east wants coal but will
want more in the spring, says he.
There will be a demand from this
quarter and then people will begin to
realize the good feature Of getting the
local bins filled before that time. He
saw no reasonably there should be an
advance in coal prices next spring but
he did venture the assertion that it
was going to be a hard matter for
dealers to make local deliveries when
the demand elsewhere was calling.
Speaking of the camps, Col. Peake
said that he had visited them all and
found Camp Greene the best. The
men are in good condition and are
cheerful, some Of them being a little
over-anxious to get over there.
The colonel left Thursday for Des
Moines, where he will spend the holi-
days with his children and wife, the
latter now visiting friends in Michi-
gan. He was formerly Adjutant Cen
eral of this state and saw service in
the Philippines,