Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-08-20
GENERAL PERSH|NG;;
MAN AND SOLDIER
His Personality Interesting; He
Governs and Stimulates
His Men.

sTJerc WE are in q big machine, and there
,r,os the commander in chief of the Ameri
can Army, walking along IN the ram,
talking TO private.
| looked up quickly III time TO see the
tall, soldierlv figure of General John D.
Pcrshing as he passed our car, listening
with such absorbed attention 10 what the
private was saying that he was utterly
ohlivious 10 the harrage oi salutes from
all sides The private was doing all the
talking. and General Pcrshing, rs usual.
listening. II was very evident that
this rrivatc had some important Informa-
tion 10 divulgc, and Pcrshlng was ah-
sorhing II as the sand ahsorhs the eager
sea.
II was one of those misty, moisty
mornings" that one encounters so Ire
uucntlv in France. and the scene was the
General Headquarters Of the \. T. r.,
USUALLY referred to IN letters. tclcgraInS.
and conversation by the doughbOys rs
the G.. IL Q. The place was n small
French town not far from the American
front, where the Rig Ross of the A. f. T.
was hilleted in a romantlc-lookng old
French chateau within close touch oi
C. II O In the middle of the road, rs
far as the eve could reach. were khaki
clad American boys toiling like Italian
Ishorprs in an effort 10 mend this road
and nut II into better shape for the never
ccasine flow of traffic that daily swept
past G. II. z.
SALUTEn ENERYWHERE
These toling doughhovs would
s-raiphtcn rp rs General Pershing passed
them. stand rigidlv erect and salute their
commander with military precision. lie
was hy this time aware Of the fact that
The harragc of salutcS had completely
incIoscd him. for his hand kept going
III, ~ his cap with the automatic precision
of nm automaton Life TO General
Pcrshinc that morning was Just one
darncd salute after another
Somehow. the work progressed faster
and rnoer efficiently after Fcrshing had
passed His personality had left Some
thing electric IN tho atmosphere that
fingered there and inspired the workers
10 do their hest This IS little way
that Pcrhinc has II IS entirely uncon-
scious He doesn't strive 10 impress his
pcrsonalitv upon anyone and there IS
snrclv no one in France who would as
SORT that the American commander pos
scsses that quality which We define as
personal magnetism Tie hasn a
bit of that In fact. q certain detached
aloofness always accompanies him. |
can't imagine anyone going up TO Black
lack Pcrshiug and slapplng him on the
heck But. nevertheless his personality
i strong force in the American Army
and il is force that encourages efficiency
and hard work Pcrshing is just what he
should he He is the Rig Boss Of the
f. r. As a spccdcr-up of men, he
has no equal in France.
SCENTED nATrg + FROM AFAR.
Tho husky young Americans who
first set foot upon French soil were indeed
the PICK of our finest manhood Clean
linhed and athletic fired with patriotic
zeal "a help the hard-6ghting Frenchmcn
who had been defying the kaiscrs hordcs
for s, many wears. the newest allies IN the
cause Of world democracy we're eagerly
ANXIOUS TO demonstrate their mcttlc IN
bout with the Hun.
Like Jobs charger, they had scented
the battle afar off, and the odor Of II was
nlcasing in their noStrils Their nten-
~lvo training in America had revealed
much to them. They know he things
that the Hun knew. and feared them no.
\ large proportion Of them came from
american pioneer stock, and their fore
bears had outfought the Indian on his
own camping ground. They were conf
lent Of taking every new trick that the
borhc had in his bag and ultimately
using II against him.
BIG uoSs" RIGHT on JOn.
1t was this sort Of men that General
PershIng was bossing IN France, and
II was his Job To turn our magnificent
Fighting material into battling ma-
chine that would beat back the boche
with irresistible blows The big boss
had not been in France week before
he was on the ,ob-seeinG things, plan
ning things doing things. From the
time OF his arrival things began to hap
pen Of big import TO America. We were
no longer IN the position OF an innocent
bvstander, likely TO be struck at any
moment bv that bic bully. Germany.
No, We were actively in the fight at
last and. God willing, tho big bully was
in for a pair Of black eyes from lusty
American fists that would serve merely
as 4 reminder OF the more smashing de-
feat that was inevitably 10 come to
this intolerahle thing that had ruth
lcsslv sacrificed honor, decency and
self-rcspcct IN 8 nightmare scramble for
power.
1t was characteristic Of General Persh-
ing's personality that be was listen
ing with both ears and all of hs pores
open TO what that private was telling
him. ON the misty morning that ] first
tftIlttA AltAl ia 'at N4JA a-ANtt.liii3E II Il
favorite stunt with PershIng-if
such a word as stunt be not too un-
dignihed 10 apply to the commander
in chief Wherever he IS, or with whom
ever he IS. II Is the other man that does
most of the talking The consensus
OF opinion among army men Is that
Pershing Is the most loquacious man
with his ears in the world He part
with words like man sending q telegram
All OF his conversation Is geographically
br1ef and straight to the point. The old
adage. Don't use two words one will
do. seems to be his maxim in life
BREvITY HIS CHARACTERISTIC
Cesar said: Il came: saw; | con
auered This would have been four
words too many for Pershing if he had
been in Caesars place The American
would have cabled Washington if Wash
ington and cables had been in existence,
in Casar's time: II conquered +" And
if he had been Perry instead Of Pershing
can easily imagine his sending this
message after the Battle of Lake Erie
Met enemy Licked en- Pershing
General Pershing parts with words so
grudgingly In fact that 1t is like work
for him to make a speech in public.
when he knows that he is expected 10 say
nore than ten words When be made q
Deech in the Picpus Cemetery in Paris
n the Fourth of July, 1917, il wasn't