Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1920-05-06
The Injustice" Done Wood.

General Wood, says the Yorkville
Enquirer. ''has not lost anything by
the injustice that was done him by the
administration in denying him an active
part in the World war. Evidently The
Enquirer has fallen victim to the old
story that has been industfiously cir
culated, for political reasons, by friends
of General Wood since he was first
mentioned at the close of the World
war as possible candidate for the
Republican nomination for the presi-.
dency. The administration is not re-
sponsible for General Woods failure
to receive an assignment in Europe To
fight the Germans, we were some
months ago told by United States
senator, who got the information from
the secretary Of war, Mr.. Baker. Nor
did Mr.. Baker himself withhold from
General Wood the opportunity to show
on the battlefields of Europe what a
great military genius he is, albeit
he has never had any experience
in commanding men in action except OF,
one or two occasions in Cuba when u
score or two soldiers were biting each
other in the Yanko-S 5anko war. s
Here are the facts as we get them
concerning the stay-at-home career of
General Wood in the World war:
Shortly after General Pershing reached
Europe as the commander of the
American expeditionary forces, the war
department requested him to furnish
the department with list Of the regular
army generals he wished assigned to
active duty overseas. In due time the
request of the department was COM
piled with by General Pershing. The
list did not bear the name of General
Wood, and for good reasons as General
Pershing is understood to have since
explained. Wood Is no general in the
sense that mems lives should be en-
trusted to his care, and General Per-
shing knew it. Wood is said to be a
good organizer, which appears to be
about all there is to say in his behalf
as military man.
General Wood 8 record In the army
from a contracting surgeon to the conn.,
mand Of a department. might make al
strong appeal for him as the Rep,1bli-I
can candidate for the presidency, asl
The Enquirer suggests s-that is, to the
uniformed. But depend upon thel
Democrats to have something to saw
about General Woods army record. tol
tell it in Gath and publish it in the
streets of Askeion that the people.
having an ear for the explosion of
myths, may hear and rejoice. For one
thing they are going to let It be known
that the rankest injustice was done.
scores of regular army officers by
Roosevelt, who was an adept at that
sort of thing, when he jumped Wood
over their heads to provide him with
an easy berth in the array, for no other
reason than that Wood was q personal
friend of his. Prior to the War with
Spain Wood had had no military ex-
perience, we are informed. He and
Roosevelt were in the same command
in that skirmish, and Roosevelt, form
ing an attachment for Wood, nothing
was easier than for him as president
to show favoritism for his former com.
rade in arms. How Roosevelt ever rot
the senate to confirm the nomination
he sent up promoting Wood over the
heads of regular army officers is one
of the unsolyed puzzles Of politics.
We do not know, of course, r-hether
General Wood would prove, strong
candidate for the presidency or not,
but we are convinced that il he "a
nominated and elected the resctionary
forces of the country win again be In
the saddle. Furthermore, he Is a pro.
nounced militarist and given q Re-
publican Congress to do his bidding, as
any Republican Congress would do.
pretty soon the American people would
wake up to the fact that the army
establishment of the country had been
increased tenfold and that, due to the
large army, the menace Of war was
ever present. Today all over the land
there are In happy homes young men
who have returned from service in the
army overseas. Had Wood been in
Pershing's pls1e thousands of these
yourg men would have been buried IN
foreign uoiI. FOR Wood knew nothing