New Britain herald., 1919-09-08
PERSHING'S LIFE
 IS EVEN7FUL ONE
American Commander Ranks
 With Nations Foremost

When congress confers the perma- nent title of general upon John J. Pershing he is the fourth man to hold that coveted title in the army of the United States. The other three were Grant Sheridan and Sherman.
 AS the central American figure in the world war, with the single excep- ton of President Wilson, so much has been written about Pershing, and his life and history are so fresh in the public mind that it is difficult to tell the average American anything new about the man who commanded the great army on the battlefelds of Eu- rope.
 When some of Pershing's friends speak of his rise to position of great military importance in world annals, they refer to a story quite commonly told of Charles M. Schwab, the iron master, who is said to have remarked to his old Scotch gardener, a friend of his childhood:
 You never expected to see me in this place, did your"
 And the gardener is said to have re- piled:
 You never expected it yourself.
 Was Always Hard Worker.
 As late as the time of the Russia Japanese war in 1904, Pershing, over 40, still was a captain in the regular army. His associates say he never grumbled, but always kept plugging at his job. Reams and reams have been written about how he took a promi- nent part in the pacification of the Philippine islands and how President Roosevelt made him a brigadier gen. eral, jumping him over the heads of exactly 862 other men who were sen iors to him on the service roll.
 When Pershing took the punitive expedition to Mexico after the bandit Villa, he became the only living officer in the American army who had com- manded any body of troops so large as a brigade in anything approaching action. It is true that the late Gen. Funston commanded more than a bri- gade on the Vera Crux expedition but Funston's troops never got into action.
 Graduates From West Point.
 From the time Pershing graduated from West Point in 1886 he had full share of active and valuable service in the army. Like his classmates he i'm mediately was plunged into the In- dian wars. He entered a campaign against the great Apache, Geronimo, who for many years had kept the great southwestern country almos closed to immigration by his skill and bravery. It was in those campaigns ] that many young American army off, I cers received that special training 1 evolved in combat with the willy sav- 1 ages which proved of peculiar value in l certain phases of the highly modern l warfare in France and Belgium. l They were taught the art of scout ing, of trailing and of perfect self-re- hance in the school beyond the ken of l any European soldier and many a l midnight raid by the Americans into 1 No Mans Land doubtless found it's in ception and clever execution in the brains of one of these one- time Indian fighters of Pershing's type.
 Was in Indian Campaign. It is recorded officially of Pershing that at the beginning of his career, for instance, he was complim ented by General Miles, his command in chief in the Geronimo campaigns, for marching his troop. with pack train, over rough country, 140 miles in 46 hours, bringing in every animal and man in good condition" Until he reached command rank Pershing al- ways was a cavalry officer and the records of the war department show more than one honorable mention for his conduct during his ten years service in the department of Arizona. In the Spanish war as an officer of the Tenth Cavalry, he was promoted for gallantry at the battle of El Caney to be a major in the volunteer army and after a short detail in Washington in the bureau of insular affairs was sent out to the Philippines as adju- tant-general of the department of Mindanao and Jolo
 That was the turning point in Pershing's career. He began to take his profession of arms more seriously and to display the nowars of concan