The Washington times., 1919-09-09
RED TAPE SLASHED
BY GEN. PERSHING
Ccontinued from First PACE

Continued from First Page.)
up this same Pennsylvania avenue
after the civil war.
The parade will be one almost en-
tireiy of regulars. They were first
to go and last to return. In the line
will be seen thousands of boys wear
ing four gold stripes, and thousands
wearing wound stripes. They are not
here to be demobilized, but will re-
main as the veterans of the American
army and the nucleus of the post
war lighting machine which will have
TO be maintained.
Washington will have a chance to
see exactly what manner of man IS
Pershing. When he was on the deck
OF the Leviathan yesterday, dressed in
his best and looking every inch
wonderful soldier. il struck those who
saw him for the first time that he
was much younger than his news
paper photographer friends had pic
tured him.
In Splendid Trim.
There certainly never was a man
who appeared to be in better trim.
CIear-eyed, firm jawed, and with a
complexion that a schoolboy athlete
could well envy, il was very hard to
believe that this pleasant-mannered
man was the genius who welded the
hammer which mauled the Kaiser's
troops until they cried "Kamersd,"
and thus ended the war.
There was an incident which show
cd the man to advantage; On the
pier at the Hoboken embarkation
wharf, Secretary Baker handed him
his commission as general in the
The rrvag
wrapped in paper, with the printed
mark Of the adjutant generals office
in one corner. The general, standing
on q platform, was evidently as proud
and embarrassed as mortal man could
be, and for the moment there flashed
over him something that reminded
those about him Of the cadet at West
Point getting his irst commission.
Gives II to Son.
General Pershing hesitated for Just
a moment. Then his eyes glanced
down at his handsome little blonde
haired son:
Here" he said, you take IT"
And the boy grabbed it, and held
IL tightly, and the fathers eyes
never left the son from that moment
Until they left the ceremonial plat
form.
And before that there was an in
cident which will be remembered by
many. The War Department was
anxious that the First Division and
thes general should receive all the
favorable publicity possible, and
theoretically made arrangements to
bring it about; but in actual practice
II fell down absolutely. The corre-
spondents and photographers who
were to board the Leviathan were not
accommodated at all.
And when they arrived eventually
at the Leviathan's dock. the officers in
charge seemed utterly beyond their
depth as TO what to do. Finally, by a
freak Of luck, the newspaper guests of
the War Department were allowed to
go aboard -hrst, but they found ring
OF soldiers and sailors placed 50 that
no one could get near the general
sIaahes Red TAPE.
A near-riot occurred, and when
General -Pershing found out what was
going on he cut all red tape, which
had been growing in length all the
morning. invited the photographer
movie men, and correspondents to the
most favorable spot, and stopped all
while they photographed,
and ''moyied" to their
hearts content.
If the War Department will take the
example Of General Pershing's arrival
as an example of how not to handle
the matter from q publicity stand
point, il will be making considerable
Of an advance.