Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-03-01
CEN. PERSHING QUIT
lob AS TEACHER TO
co TO WEST POINT
Named as Best Soldier in
His Class Every Year He
Was at United States Mill
tary Academy
By G. c. LYON
With Pershing's army in France.

Win FeE6n1uBS army II GEduSe.
WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY IN
FRANCE, Feb. 26.-JonH :. 2ershing
was teaching country school out in
Missouri in the spring of 1882 when ne
was appointed a cadet to the United
States military academy at West Point.
lie went east to the school early
in the summer and went into camp
with several hundred other ''plebs."
Serving with General Pershing in
France today are several generals who
entered West Point that same summer
and became, along with Pershing, mem
bers of the class of 1886.
I've depended OF, them to describe
Pershing at the academy.
Except that his hair tods= is tinsed
with gray and he wears a snort mus
tache, General Pershing hasn't changed
much in all these years." declares oIe
of these classmates.
Physically Fit
when he entered West Point he
stood six feet. was as straight as an
arrow and weighed about 1SS pounds
Today he weighs only 1SS so you can
see he has kept himself in fine physi-
cal trim. Now, as then, his shoulders
were broad, his chest deep, while he
was slender from the waist down.
AT West Point the entering class
men spend the first few weeks sizing
up one another and forming friendships
Then comes the big election of the class
president which is the one big even OF
the season.
The average age of our class was
about nineteen, but Pershing was then
twenty-one. To the rest of US he ap-
h.
had a lot more experience in the world
So, from the first day, we rather looked
up to him.
There was nothing of the rollicking
happy-go-lucky air about Pershing. Ht
was serious-minded and about the leas
talkative man in the class. He was al
ways very cordial and friendly, bu
there was a certain well-set-up dignity
about him that always impressed Us
younger fellows.
The day came for the election of ouI
class president.
'Whom'n we have for president thu
. temporary chairman asked. and one o.
the cadets got up and said:
L think you'll ali agree with me tina
we'vS got in this class only one mai
who's qualified in every way for presi
dent. l nominate Cadet Pershing. Ev
cry man in the class seemed to be of tn,
same notion and Pershing was electe.
by reclamation.
That was in 1882 and we've never
had any other president except him. H
was reelected president every succeed
ing year at he academy and since oul
graduation he has been continued everJ
six years as class president. Thirty-siI
years as a class president is some rec
ord, Pll say"
Pershing's classmates like to tall
about his academy days.
Our class became noted for its com
plete harmony and lack of internal dis
sensions,' tells another general.
Wanted the Facts
1T was because Pershing knew no"
to run things. He never allowed US &c
take SNAP judgment on anything. Ii
his calm, cool way he'd say: Fellow ca
diets, why wouldn't 1t be better to in
vestigate this matter thoroughly before
deciding? If you'll agree, I'll appoint
a committee to look into it and report
And Eearly every time Pershing' 5
way would turn out to be the best. We
came to have so much confidence in him
that mos of US just sat back and said
Let Pershing do it. He knows how"
In his second year at the academy
Pershing duelled threatened strike in
the cadet body. One of their number, a
member of the graduating class, had
been expelled for some breach of rules
and the cadets of all classes were dis
GUESSING the idea of Tesigning in body
as a protest against the authorities.
Pershing's class held a meeting to
take action.
Every man here has a legal right to
resign from the academy at any time
Pershing counselled his classmates
Now, if any of you men feel so deep
" in this matter that you think you
ought to resign, you should file your
designations in the proper way. 1t is
not a matter for close action or for
any number of cadets to take any ac-
ton that will bind their fellows"
End of Proposed Strike
That was the end of the proposed
strike Nobody in Pershing's class re-
signed and pretty soon the other
classes decided it was an individual
matter with each cadet and the acad-
envy went back to it's routine life.
In all his four years at the Icad-
envy Cadet Pershing each year was
picked as the best soldier in his class
At the beginning of his second year
the authorities made him senior cadet
corporal; in his third year. senior cadet
sergeant; and in his fourth year, first
cadet captain of the entire academy.
At the same time. Pershing was not
the best student in the class of 1886.
While he was always an earnest stu
dent he did not lead his Fellows when
it came to recitations and exam;na-
ton. At graduation, out of a class of
seventy-seven he stood twenty-seventh.
There never was a man graduated
from West Point who was more re-
spected by instructors and cadets Tor
serious-minded attention to business
than Pershins." declares another class
mate. He had before him every day
at the academy the idea that his chief
reason for being there was to make
of himself the best possible soldier"