The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-10-19
GENERAL STEINER HAS A BRILLIANT
 MILITARY RECORD
Matt Murphy Answers Criti- cism of Capt. Frank White. Four Stars on Steiner
 Service Flag

Birmingham members of the Dixie division expressed great surprise yesterday at the charge made by Capt. Frank S.
 White that Gen. R. E. Steiner
 did not arrive in France until
 after the armistice.
 These m m bers of the brigade commanded by Gen.
 eral Steiner during the war point out that he not only ar
 rived in France before the ! armistice but that he was given
 a most important assignment by G. H. 0. immediately upon arriving in that country. The charge of Captain White was contained in a letter which he wrote to Governor Kilby, in which he declared that General Steiner did not offer his | life nor shed his blood in France, and that he had arrived in that country after the armistice.
 "Without making any comment upon the merits of Captain Whites letter to Governor Kilby I feel 1t my duty as one who knows the facts and who served under General Steiner in the world war to correct the charge that he did not offer his life and did not ar rive in France until after the armis- tice," said Matt H. Murphy, state com mander of the American Legion. who was a captain in the Dixie division. ARRIVED IN FRANCE "General Steiner not only arrived in France before the armistice, but upon reporting to G. H. e., and after very critical examination of his record, he
 was assigned to duty in connection
 with the planned attack on Metz,
 scheduled for November 15. This bat tle which was stopped by the signing of the armistice, in the opinion of mill- tary strategists, would have been one of the most bloody in the history of. the war. The taking of Metz was consld- cred A most stupendous effort, and only
 the success of the Americans In the Argonne convinced the allies that the
 Americans could do it.
 "GeneraI steiner was engaged In 1lei0 WOEk On NHhs eAtAs
 when the armistice was signed. 1t
 will be recalled that the Second American army to make the offensive and that m Alabamian,
 Gen. Robert l.. Buliard, wns in command of the army. ThOusands of Alabama boys were fin the units to be engaged.
 ENVIABLE RECORD This duty to which General steiner was assigned was usually reserved TOT the most skilled of the west Point graduates. and only the enyiable rec ord which General Steiner had made caused him to be selected for this serv- ice If the people of Alabama knew how many national guard generals who entered the service were thrown out they would appreciate better the record made by General Steiner. He was one of the very few who survived the con- stant watching and the rigorous tests constantly applied by the West Point military leaders to national guard oi- ficers of high rank.
 no defense before the people of Ala bama." continued MT. Murphy but since Captain White has seen fit to bring it into question, it is well to state 1 all the facts. When the trouble on the Mexican border broke out the United States was short on cavalry. and Gen l eral Steiner at the request or Generai | Leonard Wood. in the course or iess | than thirty days raised an entirely new regiment and had 1t on the porder' fuIlv equipped and ready for service in record time.
 COMBAT UNIT
 Awhen General Bricken resigned m brirndier general to go on the | court of appeals bench, General Steiner was appointed to command 1 the entire Alabama brigade on the | hora~r. A soon as war with Ger morx VII. declared, he was fnduct- ra into the federal service md ns- signed to command the Sixty-sec- oud infantry brigade nt Camp Wheeler, This wns n combat unit ..S tse men from this brigade did .ore of the finest fighting in the E.F. An unusually large per- centage was killed.
 "ceneral Steiner exerted every effort to get to France early Tn isio' anu when he got across. he was assigneo 10 active duty at once by G. II. c. After the armistice he was placed in charge of the Dixie division and brought tne troops back home. To show now ne stood with the war department ne was 1 general in the reserve army, peihs' think the only national guard gen eraI to receive this high appointment. "After the war was over, Governor vuhv named General Steiner as ori- rade commander of the Alabama | troops.
 "All during the war there were Tour | .,.r. in the service flag at General 1 st.iner,s home and one of his sons
 va, decorated for gallantry in action
 r.cs,unr the Distinguished Service rro.s and Croix de Guerre. Another
 snn' vho was too old for the draft age
 GEN. sTEINER's STATEMENT
 When shown the statement of Cap tain White at his headauarters yester- dav General Steiner declined 10 com ment beyond saying:
 .I decline to try to make capitai ou' of what little service was given my country by my family and myseii' However, everyone who was Tn service in France knows that with my nrisaoe | arrived in France long before the ar mistice was signed. and unfortunateiy, many of the boys of my brigade sun sleep there~
 New Repair Trucks
 l. Orders have been placed by City