Evening star., 1921-11-06
BY GRENVILLE BROWN,
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
KANSAS CITY, No.. November g.
UnQuestionably the most spectacular
feature Of the American Legion con-
vention here this week was the ova-
ton to Gen. John J. Pershing. In the
convention hall he was cheered for
eight minutes when he made his first
appearance. That same evening. as
he mingled among the "doughboys''
on the streets and In the hotel lobbies.
he was carried on their shoulders and
wildly acclaimed. =
Many keen observers profess to see
In these events distinct political
omen of the future When Gen. Per-
shing was talked of last year for the
republican nomination for President.
it was freely said Of him that he could
not command the soldier vote. It
was said that he was unpopular with
served in France, because they had
blamed him for everything that hap
pened to go wrong and gave him no
credit for all that went right.
Time Not Regarded Ripe.
Gen. Charles G. Dawes. who was
one Of the men behind the Pershing
boom" last year. admitted. after a
thorough canvass. that the time to
put the general forward politically
had not arrived. :
TT may be years." he said, before
Gen. Pershing Is fully appreciated by
the American people: it may be years
before the extent of his service to
his country is fully understood"
Gen. Dawes felt as did many others
that this appreciation and under
standing must come first from the
men who served under Pershing in
France. Gen. Dawes had the ad-
vantage of serving with Pershing at
headquarters: 1t was different with
the men out in the front-line trench.
They had many real OF fancied griev-
ances. In every big army there are
inevitable hardships, disappointments.
resentments and heartburnings. Most
Of these are based upon misunder-
fore, the friends of Gen. Pershing
who would like to see him eventually
in the White House realized last year
that 1t would take some little time to
sweep aside the petty grievances of
the men who did SO much "grousing,"
as the old British Tommies say, when
they first returned to their homes.
AS these disappeared it was felt that
the big side of Pershing's job would
come more and more to the surface
and that the men who complained
the most bitterly against the harsh
ness ol MS oiscipline "ouIu III the
end be the proudest to have served
under him.
Takes Command OF Crowds.
The reception given 1.-THE old man"
in Kansas City this week seems to
indicate that time, with its healing
influences, passes more quickly than
even the closest friends of Pershing
realized. The American Legion con-
vention body was composed for the
most part Of former privates and the
spacious galleries of Convention Hall
when Pershing first appeared last
Wednesday,. 1t was from this throng
that the general received perhaps the
greatest, ovation ever accorded an
American commander by the men who
had served under him. The parade
When police lost control of the
crowd, Pershing naturally and auto
matically took command. Standing
in his automobile he opened a lane
Of the $4,000 men marching behind
him and gestured the crowd back.
The "doughboys'' admired the way
their old commander acted.
AS a plain matter of fact most Of
the men in uniform were seeing their
general for the first time. The battle
lines in France were too far flung
to permit of much contact between
q cOmmander-1n-ch1ef and his soldiers
at the front. The conditions Of the
world war did not permit of high
personal command in battle. And so
to most of the men in France PERISH
ing was name rather than per-
sonality. His pictures showed him
grim and gray. with stern lines about
his mouth. But the Pershing who
greeted them in Kansas City this
week wore winning smile and those
who knew him best in France marked
a noticeable softening of the lines