The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-02-09
BUTLER LAUDED
| FOR DIPLO MACY
/ SHOWN IN CHINA
Navy Department Book
: Pays Tribute to Generals
Peace Making.
Following Is the eighth and last ar
tiole IN the series on General Butler.
BY RAYMOND CLAPPER
United Pres. stan Correspondent
Copyright. 1881. b. United Press


WASHINGTON. Feb. 9-Although
Ma or General smedley Butler is
generally regarded as a blunt, un-
diplomatic fighting man, who needs
a halter the moment he lays down
his gun, the fact is he has helped
out the state department perhaps as
notably as most Of the gentlemen
who do their work in silk hats and
white spats.
His most conspicuous Job was done
in China in 1929 Nearly thirty
years before, he had won his first
fighting laurels there and with the
advance Of the Nationalist forces,
which threatened Shanghai with
danger to numerous Americans
there, Butler was sent over to COM
mand the marines. But he went
dedicating his sword to the cause
Of peace.
Given Loving Cup
we are here not to fight the
Chinese, but to keep peace if we can
make friends, he said on his ar
rival His men did not fire a shot,
except on q target range set up for
them by the Chinese
When he sailed for home, the
head Of the Nationalist army in the
north came to the station with q
guard Of honor. A Chinese band
played Chinese and American ma
tional anthems. A siX-foOt loving
cup was presented. And General
Butler was given a Ten Thousand
Blessings Umbrella" by Chinese
citizens, one OF their highest honors
to q foreigner.
On the very day he was ordered
court-martialed recently, the navy
department paid tribute to this job
in issuing a book on the navy's
peace-tine activities. It said prob
ably no finer example Of successful
arbitration by American officers
had been demonstrated in recent
years than the peace making in
China by Butler
1t was Buffers duty while in
Nicaragua nearly twenty years ago
to act as an arm of the state de-
psrtment which felt it necessary to
guide affairs in that little tumultuous
republic Butler revealed some of
the inside Of that assignment in a
speech in Pittsburgh in 1929.
He was quoted in press reports as
saying that his marines took charge
of two Nicaraguan elections and
that "our candidates always win -
He said, according to these reports,
it was necessary to keep in power a
president who was "a useful fellow
Ito us" He told how elections we're
controlled. Exactly what he said has
not been officially and publicly
established.
Some have said this incident con-
tributed to Buffers failure to be
named commandant of the marine
corps recently though he was the
senior officer and had an out
standing military record.
Only Man Honored
1t is also said Butler is not popu-
lar with some groups among naval
officers because he has always
fought efforts of naval officers to
dominate the marine corps and to
man key posts with Annapolis men.
Butler was not an Annapolis man,
as are all naval officers.
However, he has been honored in
that he is the only living man to
have a tablet hung on the walls
of the navy department. Five feet
high, it commentaries Buffers
service in Philadelphia and the in
scription is:
He enforced the law inlpartially.
He defended it cowageously. He
proved incorruptible.