Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-11-26

~ U4lESESt1Ax- &7H NUN IL
THE WOOD BOOM.
II f14DE1IC ]. HABKN.
tBe1clal Correspondent Of .Ths Afgus).
! WlsAhgtop, D. G., NOV. 3l-The Wood-for-
Preddsnt lsksss viii appear thiSSwesk and b.
gin puships Az aggressive campaign to obtain
the nomination ON The Republican ticket for
Major General Leonard Wood. D. 3. A. So
there Will Be a& least one soldier in presiden-
tial politics through the months to come, even
though General PerSAing refuses to be .
candidate
The Wood-for- President league will be
launched in Cincinnati, . prominent manufac-4
turer Of that city taking the lead in III fofma.
ton. His plan IL 70 esther around him men
prominent In business and industry and ask
consideration for Wood on the ground that hs
IL law-ahd-order candidate
General Wood will not formally announce
his candidacy. but viii allow 1t to be UNDER
stood that he II In the hands OF his friends.
He will not resign nom the army that he may.
gbe { candidAte-at least not until he secures
the nomination,
Although the Wood candidacy is thus COM
ing into the open Tor the first time, It has, a.
a matter OF fact, been more aggresstv&ly push
ed for months than that Of any other cAndi-
date Of either party. General Wood IL more
definitely before the public as q bidder for the
presidency than any other man. He IL 30 far
the leader In the great race which will result,
in less than a year. in the choice Of q new.
dominant factor IN American life, = factor
which may control the drift Of affairs through
ono Of the most eventful decades of American
history.
. It il therefore evident that the personality
Of this man Wood is Of interest to the man on
the street, be he Democrat or Republican.
Circumstances have jOckied Wood into
peculiar position that is not without its ele-
ments of strength. Today he is commander Of
the central division of the army, with head
quarters at Chicago. He Is in the midst Of the
lregion Of greatest industrial tumult. and has
been given authority to &C. upon his own I'm
itiative, should emergency arise. without ref
erance to Washington. 1t is under these cir
cumstances that he has quelled the disturb
ances at Gary and Omaha, and it is under
these conditions that he has stood ready to
strike should trouble develop in the soft coal
mines.
The responsibility for the application Of
force in labor troubles is one which might be
considered of Questionable value to a man in
politics-one which might have the effect Of
arraying the, labor element against him. But
the friends Of General Wood claim that their
| candidates handling OF the labor situation in
the middle west Is proving OF vast benefit to
his political prospects.
The sentiment Of the nation they say, is
crystallizing asoHnd one idea-that Of law and
order The occurrence at Centraliaa wash, on
armistice day, when the reds shot down mem
bers Of the American legion on parade. Is point
ed to as hagrant example Of the thing that
l is to be suppressed Who, they argue, can be
better depended upon to suppress It than
General Wood!
year ago the candidacy Of Wood was
based largely upon martyrdom.- the claim
that he had been used unfairly in not being
allowed to accompany one of the divisions
which he trained overseas.> The weakness Of
this basis for claim to the highest office has
been realized and It has been abandoned.
General Wood, say his friends, is q proven
executive Of the highest ability. They point I'd
his Development Of the Rough Riders in the
In Cuban, to his subsequent work in the Phil
lppines, to his administration Of the department
Of the east when he commanded 1t, to the
course OF events In the army during the foul
years when he Was chief Of staff. F11Ally they
point to his work Of organization IN the re.
cent war, first in the southern division and
later at Camp Funston, where he trained twe
! divisions. T..
A story IL told Of Wood in the south a
the time the war was taking shape. One d
his duties was that Of choosing sites for can
tonments This was not altogether pleasant
Il task because many more sites had to be re
Jected than accepted, and this meant the dis
appointment of whole communities. The Woot
method exempliies his tact a. an executive
He met the leading citizens of q certain
southern community and was taken to 4 pro
posed SITE Despite their high hats and frocl
coats he led them merry tramp of inspection
later Ne was banqueted, and it was after din
nsr that he would render his decision Tn,
place was unfit to be a cantonment. and lhi
10 the way he handed to his hosts their grea
disappointment:
"0entlemen, you have gone with me owe
this tract Of land. You have observed will
line the dificu1ties that lie In the way of it
Iproper drainage. You have inspected tn
source Of water supply and know its short
Icominss. Now ask you this: Do you want t
send your sons into camp on that tract o
Hand? Do you want me to bend my son there
Do you regard 1t as the safest place that thi
government can find at which to concentrat
tens Of thousands Of the young men who ar
to fight Its battles In this great emergency?
The promoters of the tract rose to Ii
emergency and condemned It themselves, The
became enthusiasts for Wood. rather tha
enemies
General Wood IL not West Pointer. an
does not bear the prejudice felt toward man
Irregular army men, He is graduate of Har
Ward, and was admitted to the army in 18Sl
lat the age Of %, as an assistant surgeon.