Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1919-09-08

In officially greeting the General.
Mayor Hylan extended the city's cor
dial and sincere welcome" and con-
graduated him on bis achievements
as commander of the most remark
able military forces in the history Of
our nation"
In concluding his speech, the Mayor
brought forth the greatest ovation of
the City Hall reception by declaring
Winning the war has made the
name of General Pershing historic for
all time"
Standing on the bridge of the huge
Leviathan, itself symbolic of victory
over Germany, the commander of the
greatest host ever gathered under the
Stars and Stripes came slowly up the
bay today, world famed and hailed as
conquering hero should be.
Sad of face, stern and impressive, a
splendid figure of a soldier. he might
have been thinking, as he familiar
landmarks of New York came into
view, of the day 27 months ago when
he slipped secretly out of the harbor
on his way to France to prepare the
way for the hosts that were to follow
Then he was only major general
He came back today with four stars
on his shoulders-the fourth man
since Washington to wear them under
the American flag.
The welcome given him would have
nuickened the pulse of the hero OF a
Roma ntriumph. Fresh from the
capitals of Allied Europe. where hon
ors had been heaped upon him, It re-
manned for New York to show the first
American to lead an army across the
Atlantic that Home, Sweet Home"
as meaning deeper than Hail to
the Chief"
When Congress confers the perma
nent title of General upon John j
PershiDg he will be the fourth man
70 hold that coveted title in the Army
of the United States. The other three
were Grant, Sheridan and Sherman.
AS the central American figure in
the world war, with the single exception
Of President Wilson, so much has been
written about Pershipg, and his life
and history are as fresh to the public
mind that it is difficult to tell the av-
orage American anything new about
the man who commanded the great
army on the battlefields of Europe.
From the time Pershing graduated
from West Point in 1856 he had his
full share of active and valuable serv
ice in the Army. Like his classmates
he Immediately was plunged into the
indian Wars. He entered n campaign
against the great Apache Chief Geron
lam, who for many years he'd kept tho
great southwestern country almos.
closed to immigration by his skill and
bravery. 1t was in those campaigns
that many of our yeung American of
iicers received their special training
evolved in combat with the willy saw
ages which proved of peculiar value
| in certain phases of the highly scien
tific modern warfare in France and
Belgium.
1t is recorded officially of Pershine
| that at the beginning of his career, fol
instance, he was complimented by Gen
eral Miles, his COMMUNICATIVE chief, in
the Geronimo campaigns, for "march
ing his troops, with pack train, over
| rough country, 740 miles in 46 hours
! bringing in every animal and man in
good condition. Until he reached
command rank, Pershing was always o
cavalry officer and the records of the
War Department show more than ono
honorable mention for his conduct dur
ing his ten years service in the De
aartment of Arizona Ia the Spanish
War as an officer of the Tenth Cavalry
he was promoted for gallantry at the
battle of FL Caney to be major In
the Volunteer Army and after a short
detail in Washington in the Bureau OF
Insular Affairs, was sent out to the
Philippines as an adjutant general OF
the Department of Mindanao and Jolo
That was the turning point in Per
shing's career. He bogan to take his
profession of arms seriously and to dis
play the powers of concentration upon
difficult problems that stood him ii
good stead in the great campaigns that
were to follow in Europe.
When Pershing was chosen to com
mand the American forces in France,
he took with ham many of the Drowned
and hardened veterans of his Mexican
campaign and these men formed the
nucleus of the famous First Division
of the American Expeditionary Force.
A terrible tragedy had come into
Pershing's life during his Mexican
border service through the loss of his
wife and three of their little children,
who werc hnrned To death In fheir