New-York tribune., 1919-05-12
t-Mort te ms
BY Wilbur Forrest
N7IrH THE AMERICAN ARny ~
w OCCUPATION IN crpss.oF oF

pelleVpQ ~
ting opinions first-hand from the so,a:s ss'
Since war "post-mortems" more and
frequently reach the floor of the nv
ana Senate with Congressman or Ss,s..
speaking for the soldier, Baker be,;.,,ss
letting the soldier speak for himsel, ,ss. "
ever possible. Therefore Baker rr.h.s,
had In his mind the political fencs.ns,'
OF members of the House and Sens+.
ne mingled among the rankers hera d..
the last few days asking hundreds os o,.
tions. saes'
Baker will carry the answers r...:
here back to Washington and hurl th.m
BACK at the men who malign the Amer;csa
war machine.
Are you getting enough to eat?p thu
retary asked private of the SD D;v;s;..
in Luxembourg the other day. The ~.
vate was standing in closely formed rsns.
with thousands of companions durin. A.
review by General Pershing.
eyes, sir, the food is good" the n,;r..
replied.
"Was it good when you were at ~.
front?" Baker asked.
1T was bully beef and hardtack. SIR
the man said.
ut made you big and strong and health,
didn't it?" demanded the Secretary
"You had to be big and strong to eat -
was the soldiers reioinder, and the secrs
tary of War passed on down the line
Where do you come from?" Bake,
asked another soldier.
Pm from Cleveland, Ohio, sir" the ma,
replied as he stood stiff as ramrod.
BLESS your heart" said the Secretar,
"I'm from Cleveland, too. Did you ever sea
me in Cleveland ?" he asked
Eyes, sir; you're Newt Baker and von
were Mayor of Cleveland" the lad answered
quickly.
Good boy!" replied Baker "such is
fame!"
Baker asked many soldiers whether thev
had received their Christmas packages ON
time. He ascertained, at least in the Ssd
Division, that most men had been able to
gather in these cheering home gifts al
their local army postofice on Christmas
Day. One man replied that he hadn't re.
What was the matter? % Baker asked
Don't know, sir" the man said; guess
was just sorta outa luck"
Many men did not recognize Baker as the
Secretary of War. He was dressed in ordi
nary civilian clothes and appeared as any
other civilian which the boys might see
anywhere. The Secretary followed along
the lines of men some little time afte.
General Pershing had passed making his
personal inspection. When Baker passed
therefore, very few stood erectly at atten
ton as they did when Pershing passed. An
officer would recognize Baker as he passed
along and give sharp command for "At
tention." The men would stiren for mo.
ment until the little civilian Secretarv
countermanded the order. And for the
most part, during his afternoon of "ques-
tions and answers" Baker talked to men
standing "at ease" He demanded it and IT
made great hit with the men when they
realized they were talking to the Secretary
of War without the necessity OF standing
like poker with "eyes front" Baker met
one man from his old home, Martinsburg,
w. Va, and they stood there talking, man
to man, for some little time about Mar
tinsburg.
Though none of the regiments with
which Baker held his "tete-a-tetes" oriei-
nally hailed from Ohio, the Secretary
found many men who came from that
state. They were "replacements" who had
Joined the various regiments to fill in for
those who had fallen in battle or from
other causes. Whenever Baker met an