The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1920-01-30
PERsHlNG VERSUS WOOD

the republican presidential nomina-
ton by the two leading American
military commanders, General John
IL Pershing and Major General Leon.
ard Wood. And there are increasing
indications of a smashing fight be.
tween these two officers for the honor
of heading the republican ticket in the
November election. General Wood
has been an avowed candidate for
months, and now the admiring friends
of General Pershing announces that
he will be offered by them to the as
sembled delegates when the Chicago
convention meets.
1t might be interesting to recall
some of the high points in the mill
tary careers of these two officers in
this connection, facts which can not
| be kept out of a race between them
for the presidency. They have been
professional rivals for probably TWEEN
| ty years, and if they are to become
political rivals as well, the circum-
stances of their activities in the army
will be played upon to greater or
less extent by their respective fol
lowers.
Soon after the war with Spain,
Pershing and Wood were candidates
for commanders in the Philippines,
where fighting was in progress. But
| it was Pershing who landed the
Philippine post, and it was Wood
who was kept in Cuba to act as a
semi-civilian administrator, an as
signment which he perhaps deplored,
Notwithstanding the work which he
made.
More recently these two officers
were considered by president Taft for
the post of chief of staff of the army.
This time it was General Wood who
scored. He served four years as head
of the active military establishment,
his rival meantime occupying an OBJ
scure position on the Pacific coast.
But when the Mexican troubles be
came acute following the Villa raid
across the border, a democratic presi-
dent gave the command of the ex.
peditionary forces to General Perish
ing and not to the former chief of
staff, whose friends had urged his
availability for that detail. o.
The rivalry became more intense,
however, when the country went to-
war with Germany and the time came
to select an officer to command the
American army overseas, an assign
ment which every general officer in
the country coveted. General Wood
was the ranking major general in the
army at the time, and he feTvently
hoped, it may be assumed, that .presi-
dent wilson would pick him to go
abroad as commander-in-chief in the
field. But General Pershing was
named, and General Wood was sent
to a western cantonment to train
| and commanded division.
An equally interesting situation
arose when the time came for General
| Woods division to sail for France
That officer, to his utter amazement
was detached from his command at
the dock itself, ard sent back into
the interior to train another division.
| A nationwide protest was registered
against this action at the time, ana
President Wilson and Secretary Baker
were held responsible for this sur
prising order. 1t developed little
later that it was at the request OF
| General Pershing that General Wood
was refused a command in the field
a request which the war department
felt impelled to grant
All this must have hearing upon
the political aspirations OF General
Pershing and Wood, and will serve TO
heighten the interest in the race they
will run for the nomination in Chica-
go.-Richmond Times-Dispatch.