The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-04-23
Yanks Returning From France
I'm Presidential Choice.
All Agree That Funston Head
Was q Real Martyr.
have NO USE FOR PERSHING
Soldiers Lay All Troubles at the
Commanders Door.
Wilson Is Not Considered by
the Olive Drab Voters.

Gle was written the other day in New York |
Sis City Star, with the 3;51l and s9th di
visions It points out the real feeling of
ing, Wilson and Wood.]
New York. April 2s.-some one has
said that the future can only be
judged by the past. If that is true
and there are some four million men
banking on 1.-THE next president will
be military man. For after all
great wars the military have held the
whip hand.
The chief talk in the A f. F. now
centers upon two subjects. The first is:
When are we going to get homer"
The second: who is going to be
the next PRESIDENT
Judging from what I have heard in
two days in the States. the Democrats
here are centering their hopes on Will
son. But that isn't the feeling in
Europe. The soldiers believe that
Wilson is playing a bigger game; lay
ing his plans to be the chief high mo-
gul, or whatever he will be called, in
the league of nations. In the soldiers
mind, that leaves him out of the run
ming.
General Pershing. who. being the
commander in chief of the American
forces abroad, appears to be the logi-
cal candidate. Pershing has been
doomed for president some two mil
lion times a. day in France and Ger
many since the armistice has been
signed. but each time he has gone
down to defeat.
L, have had occasion, to visiH the
troops, both during and after the war,
in all parts of France and Germany.
And in all places the matter would
come up for discussion, especially
since the armiStice was signed, and
the minds of the men had chance to
wander from their work. 1 have heard
the matter discussed in compartments
of French trains, in the aisles of
Boche trains in billets, dugouts, on
the boulevards of Paris, in hotel lob
bies and cafes, in camps, and. in fact,
all over the A. E. F. 1 have heard it
discussed by regulars-men from the
old regular army; by national guards
men; by men from the national army,
and by reserve officers. And always
the conclusion was the same:
Pcrshing Won't Do.
"Pershing will never be president"
That was always the way it ended
Why? The reasons were many and
varied. Just what Pershing himself
| thinks about it, 1 don't know. I new
err talked to him on the subject and
never talked with anyone who had.
Pershing is distinctly a military man,
and as far as I have been able to
learn, he has never confided to anyone
the fact that the presidential bee was
buzzing in his bonnet. But, being the
leader of the American forces abroad.
the logical conclusion would be that
he would be the next presidential can
| didate. -e
But that isn't the feeling as found
/ it, AS far as I have been able to
learn, regulars, national guardsmen
reserve officers and the men of the
| national army are almost solidly
against him. Not all of them, YOU
must understand, but great majority
| There are a few who uphold him. but
| they are drowned out by the voices
| of the many.
Always Blame Pcrshing.
There were a great many mistakes
| made in the A. E. F. Any fair-mind-
ed man who knows anything about the
war will admit as much. They were
! inevita BILE, OF course. You can't throw
| fighting army of two million in the
field, literally over night, without a
| lot of confusion and a lot of mistakes.
And they occurred every day. PERISH
| ing, being the one outstanding figure
| in the A. E. F., was charged by every
| one with everything that went wrong.
All mistakes were laid at his door.
The responsibility was placed upon his
shoulders. The regulars were sore;
they blamed it on Pershing. The
guardsmen were sore; they blamed it
! on Pershing- The reserves were sore;
again Pershing. The national army
I
once more. Each lot had its own
| grievance.
All Had Grievances.
| The guardsmen never forgot their
| grievances. Most any guard officer
would tell you that only SO per cent
of the regular officers came to France
| The others remained behind and fast
ened their feet on a mahogany desk
by means of their spurs. living a life
| of luxury and ease. The rest of the
3S per cent, the guard officers will tell
you, came to France. but there were
lots of soft jobs in France, too. "Cof-
| fee coolers" they were called And
he can go on to show you that he can
count upon the fingers of his left hand
all the regulars he knew who served
with regiments in the front line.
They grabbed all the jobs around
headquarters" he will say. where the
going was easy and a dugout always al
hand"
He will point out to you where Gen.
eral So-and-So was given a medal be-
cause he commanded a brigade of q
division in the line for a week or two
while he and his pals led the men over
the top day after day and week after
week, and all they received was a
leaky billet in devastated area Med
ais were not for them. The regulars
received all the medals. they will tel
you. and "outranked" them out of al
of their good billets
The men in the national army have
a similar line. The reserves have
their troubles, also. just what basis
they have for their complaints ISM
for me to say. Each man talks fol
himself. They all have their particu
lar troubles, but each and every one
of these troubles is laid at Pershing'.
door. He is the one man they car
find to blame everything on. 1t ism
for me to go into the merits of theil
different complaints. but only to re
cord their opinions and their state
ments. And they are all. almost to Z
man. against Pershing for president
Wood for President.
Then whom do they talk about fo
President? Mainly, there is only one maj
and 1t isn't hard to guess who he is
Majer General Wood. the ranking majo
general In the American army. But Gen
eral Wood didn't get to France. you say