New-York tribune., 1919-03-19

MAJOR General John F. O'Ryan, i'm
mersed in preparations for the big pa
rdde of his boys next Tuesday, paused
long enough yesterday to utter a strong
plea for perpetuation of the spirit of
comradeship which animatcs the ranks
of the 9th.
This thing is important" he said:
Every one who has come into any
sort of contact with the 9th has been
struck by the esprit de corps that
pulses through the entire division.
Such spirit is wonderful, an almost
incalculable, asset. We haven't had it
before in this country in quite the
same way-this fervor for the division.
"They've had it abroad, in England.
There, for man to say that he's a
member of some famous regiment like
the Black Watch, for example, is suf
tlclent. Regiments hang together
there. They always have. They treas
ure and reverence their traditions.
They are held together by bond so
strong that it cannot we'll be expressed
in words. Do you suppose a member
of one of the crack British regiments
would be satisfied to fight in some
other regiment-just any regiment Z?
Well, | guess not. The regiment there
is beloved institution to the men
who make it up, not simply an army
unit.
27th proud nf It's Mama
"A great deal Of that same spirit"
continued the leader of the 9th, "has
grown up among our boys through this
war and its associations. 1t ought not
to be lost It's valuable both to the
men and to the country. should
deeply regret to see the men utterly
and permanently scattered"
He went on then to tell of the So
called "post morton" conferences par
tlclpated in by the officers of the 9th
after every engagement overseas.
They were something like the con-
ferences college football coaches and
players hold, as General Organ
sketched them yesterday. Seated
round the tables, colonels,,' majors and
line officers exchanged criticisms and
suggestions. They told where they be-
lieved they had made mistakes in the
days fighting. They consulted to-
gether freely as to how they could
best improve tactics and methods.
They held an unstilted round robin of
discussion on every matter affecting
the division and its welfare.
81 have been told by many people"
said General Organ proudly, "that the
red insignia they wear on their
shoulder is not needed to identify the
men of the 27th. | have been told that
one can pick them out anywhere by
their soldiery bearing, their alertness,
their general air of efficiency / like
to think that this is so. And l know
that those post mortems over there
had much to do with the strengthen
ing of this comradeship, this spirit Of
the 9th, that l have been talking
about.
Officers and Men Work Together
"The men trusted their officers ab-
solutely and entirely" he went on.
"They trusted them unquestioninEly
because they had affection for them,
as the officers had for the men. No
matter what an officer ordered man to
do, after one Of those post mortems, the
man did it without a murmur-did it
gladly. Mutual affection was the key
note of the whole eth outfit. And that
is what / say should not be lost"
General Organ, in this connection,
brought up the matter of national
military preparedness.
"Of course" he said. eve must
maintain an adequate military force" "
He confessed his keen interest in
the present plans for reorganzing the
State Guard. He admitted having
taken part in consultations on the
subject. "This, though" said he, "is
matter in detail | am not the one
to decide what form our military force
shall take. What I do say is that it
is indispensable that it take some
form.
eve say" he continued earnestly
Chat in this war right prevailed over
might, and of course that is true
But how did it prevail? 1t prevailed
by marshalling its own might: lr
other words, it was the mightiest
might that prevailed We must not
forget that.
Foe Over r-Worshipped Own Power
Germany became the victim of hel
own worship of power. Our problem
in this country is to see that we arc
adequately prepared and protected
without the same drawback. Our prob
lem is to see that we eliminate the un
questioned evils in the military sys
tenn, while at the same time get The
advantage of its advantages.
"To work out q system which will
accomplish this is no light task. There
are innumerable items to be taker
into consideration. But I feel yer!
strongly that the spirit of the 9th
and Of toher divisions, too, preserved
intact, would do much to help us solve
the problem and at the same time
buttress the country"
A number of visitors came to div
sonal headquarters at the Biltmor'
Yesterday to pay respects to Genera
O'Ryan. Among these was detach
ment of officers from the 9th Coas
Artillery The head of the 9th tool
occasion during their stay to expires!
his admiration for men like them, ove1
military age, who had in many case!
sacrificed busines and professional oc
cupations in order to serve thel1