The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1919-11-13

directly to several of the gun positions,
where he commended the crews and
told them how proud he was of them"
During the fight in the ArgOnne for
est General Pershing spent nearly two
months in it's recesses directing move
ments of troops. His mobile headquar-
ters was pulled into the heart of the
forest where it was camOuf1aged by
shrubbery. Every night the general
made a visit to the advanced post
commands, which were almost at the
barbed wire entanglements, to see
that his orders were being carried out.
"The general never took any
chances" the sergeant said, "he al
ways went up to the front to be sure
things were done exactly as he
ordered
One of the peculiar things sergeant
Santini noted was that every time he
took General Pershing to Paris the
Germans would start a long range
bombardment or send over a flock of
bombing airplanes. It did not seem to
matter what hour of the night or day
they reached the city the lombard
ment would begin directly after their
arrival and invariably continue for
hours. Sergeant Santini is not so sure
that the Germans did not receive in
formation as to when the general was
going to the city. although every effort
was made to keep the movements of
the commander in chief in the great
est secrecy.
Sergeant Santini probably drove
more historic personages in the time
he was in France than any other
chauffeur in the world can boast of to-
day. He drove President and Mrs. Will
son on several occasions, President
Poincare, Premier Clemenceau, Gen
erals Foch, Haig, Petain and Bliss and
King Albert and Queen Elizabeth of
Belgium. King Albert awarded Ser
geant Santini the gold Medal of Merit
Of the first class.
Fools Newspaper Men.
On the two occasions that Newton
d. Baker, Secretary of War, visited
the battle front in France he rode in
General Pershing's automobile. Ser
geant Santini tells of many amusing
incidents and tricks General Pershing
resorted to in an effort to evade news
paper men. One Of these incidents oc-
Cured during Secretary Bakers first
visit.
Secretary Baker and General Perish
ing were on their way up to the front
line, the secretary In one automobile
and the general in his. There was a
score of other automobiles loaded with
newspaper men in the rear. AS Gen.
eral Pershing came up to turn in the
road he leaped out of his automobile
and into that of Secretary Baker,
neither Of the machines stopping. The
two machines then separated and the
newspaper men took up the trail of
the generals car.
The automobile General Pershing
used was equipped with special tanks
that held forty-two gallons of gasoline.
Gas masks and helmets for the occu-
pants of the machine were tied in bag
on the roof in a position where they
could be reached easily by the driver
or orderly. Inside the machine there
were always several extra blankets in
the event of an emergency. General
Pershing never had occasion to use q
gas mask.
During the time the general was in
France he had in all nine different
kinds of machines An automobile was
discarded not because it had been
worn out or failed to function proper
ly, but because a better model had
been found. The orderly and driver
carried side arms and a rife was
strapped on to one side of the car
Sergeant Santini was asked if Gen
eral Pershing was in the habit of rid
ing very fast, and he replied that "the
general was sometimes in hurry"
He admitted, however, that at times
he had exceeded seventy-five miles an
hour. His orders were to "go as fast
as you can, but take no chances with
the general" Sergeant Santini is salts
fed he carried out those orders to the
best of his ability.
When General Pershing moved from
place to place his ''war car" travelled
with him in his mobile headquarters,
the train which the French people are
now suggesting as a gift to the Amer
lean people as permanent war relic.