The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1919-03-28
RETURNING DOUGHbOYS NOT YET
SHOUTING PRAISES OF PERSHING,
But THEY MAY CHANCE THEIR TUNE

WASHINGTON. y. c., March e.
When news flashed across under tn"
waters that Frank II. Hitchcock was 81
guests at headquarters of General Ter
ship at 4 grand review Of 'troopS, inc
Republican politicians 1t this end OF inc
receiving line got Il jolt. How the OK
cabinet member and champion manipu-
,atnr Of his part%'s nati"pal conventions
rlana ccd In got out Of tho country ana
away Off FOUNDER without ANYBODY
knowing about it. has ON puzzled ana
cha5;rincd. Yet her did II. nj right: mono
dispute l..
In plrccs where presidential politics is
discussed With moro or less accurate
knowledge of the tr"nd. and with sone
snmbiancc Of authority. the presence 81
Hitchcock in France as tn" guest or
General urrshing. is the live topic just
now What does it mean.
Thor" is not much divergence in tn"
answer mad" to that question. II means
according to tho reply made. that Hr'
Hitchcock is UP 10 his old game Of scout
/ ing about with tho IurpnS" and Intention
Of picking up n presidential prospect
who seems to hc possessed Of the re-
quiste quality Of 4 winner h"tnr" Il
convention. He is looking them over
and one Of the first Of ON 10 attract his
ohsnrvant rye and challenges, his curi"S-
ty is BLACK Jack" Pershinr.
Now. "Elack lack" is rs much RI Il
myst erious personality To Hitchcock rs
he is to everybody else IIc has hren n
soldier all his life. and what his Qualf-
cations are outside of his profession.
nobody knows. It is not known to what
political party hr claims to belong. hut
there Is authority from his family that
he has never voted. being absent from
his homo at an presidential elections.
His father was n Republican. y belief
exists whic hhas no proof to holster It
up. that If he Is, or becomes anything. h"
is n Republican. On that theory. which
is tho ono said here that Mr.. Hitchc"ck
is woring on in his investigation. tn"
main consideration involved is. can
Pershins corral The soldier vote?
If Pershing can control tho soldier
vote then he is going To be- II he is
willing to he. a presidential possibility
but in which party more definV" infor-
nation is needed TO say. So far as the
question can he answered now. the poll
ticians in the capital declare that the
answer is a negative one. This assertion
of theirs is based on the testimony or
returning officers and doughhors, who
Pershing as in previous wars soldiers
have returned loudly and enthusiastically
cheering their commanders under whom
they won Victories 7su1, as the writer
in the washington Post points out. in
due course Of time there may be Il
change Of sentiment in the army.
"Candor," says this commentator.
"compcls the statement that the SOL
dIcrs are not coming back shouting tn"
praises of General Pcrshiug. They
freely admit his ability and MI that. but
he Is not their popular hero. All the
sins Of commission and commission an-
pear to be charged up against the COM
mandcr in chief 0S the eXpcditionary
forces. In duo course Of time many of
tho grievances and complaints now fresh
in the minds Of the American soldiers
will fade and vanish and others will he
explained away. but just now it appears
that practi cally every division is coming
homo covered with glory and nursing a
crouch All Of which does not add to
the Availability Of General Pershing as
n presidential candidate
confess that they may h. 1nistnke.1
about It. but they do not hclinv" that
anything serious will come Of tho P"rsh-
ing talk. They recall that It WAS 'incor-
roratcd~ under the laws Of Ohio by EN-
Senator Dick and few others ut Akron,
Ohio. several months ago. but 1t Seem
inelv died aborning even under legally
ORGANIZED and ordained effort to make it
amount to something. In this connec-
ton, Il is remembered that the effort to