The Story of General Pershing Part 14

According to a statement of an orderly sergeant of the commander, the General has a regular order for beginning the work of every day. Rising at five o'clock there is first a half hour of setting up exercises which the two men take together. Next the General, although he is at an age when most men abandon running except as a necessity or a last resort, goes out for a run of fifteen minutes. Later there is a united attack upon the medicine ball and there is no slight or "ladylike" exercise.

Although the sergeant is twenty-five years younger than the General, he acknowledges that he is usually the first to declare that he has had sufficient for the beginning of the day.

The hour of retirement is usually eleven o'clock, and just before that time there are more setting up exercises, after which the sergeant says he himself is entirely reconciled to the suggestion to turn in.

In this way and because he has followed this somewhat strenuous plan since he was a young man General Pers.h.i.+ng has kept himself in magnificent physical condition.

Indeed, the sergeant said that in the ten years during which he had been the commander's orderly he has never known but one day when the General was incapacitated for his duties. That day was in the early rush of the punitive expedition into Mexico to get Villa. The change of water or perhaps the quality of it made him ill, but even then, in spite of the surgeon's advice for him to remain quietly in his tent for a day or two, General Pers.h.i.+ng, unmindful of the influence of his example, "disobeyed orders" and resumed his work. Fortunately no ill effects followed his disobedience.

A tender touch in the sergeant's statement is one upon which we have no right to enlarge though the fact is as suggestive as it is characteristic. The first duty of the orderly in unpacking the General's belongings when they move to new quarters is to take the photograph of Mrs. Pers.h.i.+ng and the four children as the family was before that terrible fire in the Presidio, and place it on a desk or bureau where it is easily seen. Often the General sits in silence before it, and as he looks at the family group, the sergeant believes that, for the time, the tragedy is forgotten and to the silent soldier his family again seems to be complete. It is an occasion into which an outsider, however, has no right to enter and however strong may be his sympathy, the sorrow is too intensely personal for even a close friend to obtrude.

In the letter which General Pers.h.i.+ng wrote from Mindanao to his cla.s.smates on the occasion of their twenty-fifth anniversary of their graduation from West Point he lightly referred to his difficulties in acquiring French. In view of his ancestry, for his name and lineage can be traced back to Alsace, this at first may appear somewhat strange; but the statement is his own. However, when he first went to France his fluency in the language of the people of that country was not sufficient to satisfy him and an interpreter was provided, who usually was present when he met with French officers who were as ignorant of his language as he was of theirs. In a brief time, however, the interpreter was discarded. General Pers.h.i.+ng, in spite of the difficulty of acquiring a new language when one is older, was soon conversing in their own tongue with Marshal Joffre, General Petain and General Foch. Just what the opinion of his accent was we do not know and they doubtless were too polite to express it. The essential point, however, is that just as the American Commander years before had learned the language of the Moros in order to a.s.sist him in his task of dealing with the little brown people, so he resolutely set to work to learn French, at least to an extent that enabled him to understand what was said in his presence and to express himself to his friends without the aid of an interpreter.

Not long before the raid upon Columbus by Villa and his bandits General Pers.h.i.+ng, in a letter from which the following extract is taken, wrote: "We do not want war if we can honestly avoid it, but we must not hesitate to make war if the cause of civilization and progress demands it. Nearly every step in human progress has been at the sacrifice of human life. There are some things dearer even than life. If a nation has set up high ideals either for itself or for others it must be prepared to enforce those ideals if need be by armies and navies. Of course it would be better to enforce them through moral prestige." These sentiments were expressed long before the declaration of war with Germany or the President had written his famous words about making the world safe for democracy. They are doubly interesting for that reason and expressive of General Pers.h.i.+ng's innermost feelings when there was every reason why he should express himself freely. Most brilliant American fighters have not been lovers of war for its own sake.

Was.h.i.+ngton was reluctant to enter upon war, although when he believed there was no escape he fought to the uttermost limit of his power.

General Grant's most frequently quoted words are not warlike, but "Let us have peace." And General Pers.h.i.+ng is not one whit behind the other two.

Early in July, 1918, Chairman Hurley sent a cablegram to the American fighting men in France that the s.h.i.+pbuilders at home would launch one hundred merchant s.h.i.+ps July 4th. Promptly from General Pers.h.i.+ng came the following appreciative and defiant acknowledgment: "The launching of one hundred s.h.i.+ps on the Fourth of July is the most inspiring news that has come to us. All ranks of the Army in France send their congratulations and heartfelt thanks to their patriotic brothers in the s.h.i.+p-yards at home. No more defiant answer could be given to the enemy's challenge.

With such backing we cannot fail to win. All hail American s.h.i.+pbuilders."

His quick sense of appreciation is seen also in the following telegram which he sent Premier Clemenceau after the hearty congratulations sent by the great Frenchman on the occasion of the parade of American troops in Paris in the celebration of the Fourth of July:

"Permit me to tell you how much I am touched by the cordial telegram you sent me. I shall not fail to make it known to the troops in question. All the officers and men of the troops who had the privilege of partic.i.p.ating in the Fourth of July ceremony in Paris will retain unforgettable recollections of the enthusiastic reception accorded to them. Proud of the confidence France places in them they are heartened more than ever to do their duty until common victory comes."

One day in France he saw two American soldiers at work on a woodpile.

One glance was sufficient to show him that the two men were working out a form of punishment for some misdeed. As we know General Pers.h.i.+ng is a believer in strict and if necessary stern discipline. Soon after coming to France he had ordered one American soldier to be hanged for a nameless crime and several others to be disciplined severely for drunkenness. Believing in the best and hoping and expecting the good in every one of his men to manifest itself, nevertheless he is severe when severity is demanded. And he was at once interested when he first saw the two American boys at the woodpile, manifestly serving a sentence of some kind.

Stopping his automobile, General Pers.h.i.+ng sent his orderly to find out what the offense was for which the two soldiers were serving their sentence. Upon the orderly's return he reported that the two men had taken "French leave" of their company several days before this time.

They were jealous because certain of their fellows "had been sent up ahead to fight" while they had been left behind. And they were eager to fight. They had enlisted and come to France for that express purpose.

And now to be left behind! The thought was more than the two Yankee boys could endure. Fight they could and fight they would--with or without specific orders from their officers. And fight they did, for without any ceremony they departed for the front one night and kept on going until they found it. According to their own story they "found war and mixed in." And also they were found out and sentenced to serve five days at the woodpile as a penalty for their disobedience and over-hasty zeal. It is said General Pers.h.i.+ng hastily departed from the spot and that he laughed heartily at the story of Americans who were punished not because they were not willing to fight, but were so eager that they did not wait for such a little thing as orders or commands. And then the General fell to talking about his favorite theme--the daring and bravery of his men in the campaign against the Moros.

One day in Paris, General Pers.h.i.+ng saw a tiny man--a dwarf--upon the sidewalk of the street through which he was pa.s.sing at the time. The little man instantly recalled to the commander the wedding of Datto d.i.c.ky of Jolo. The little chieftain was about to be married. There was a current report that he was the smallest man in the world, but the statement has not been verified. At all events, whatever he may have lacked in stature he more than made up in his power over the tribe of which he was a chief.

At a fair in Zamboanga, Datto d.i.c.ky was about to take unto himself a wife, the little lady being as diminutive as her prospective husband.

After the formal wedding General Pers.h.i.+ng presented to the bride a tiny house in every way adapted to the needs of such a diminutive couple. The dwelling stood on stilts on the beach, a thing of beauty in the eyes of all the Moros that were attending the fair.

The tiny chieftain and his bride gratefully accepted the present of the little building, which they occupied during their honeymoon. Upon their return to Jolo they in turn gave their present to the children of the General and they used it as a playhouse. As Datto d.i.c.ky is said to have been just two feet and three inches in height the little children of the American governor doubtless found the structure much to their liking and well adapted to their needs. They were as delighted over d.i.c.ky's generosity to them as the diminutive chieftain had been over the unexpected gift their father had given him.

The following incidents are taken from the New York _Times_:

"About ten years ago he and Mrs. Pers.h.i.+ng were in Paris and the General, who was then a captain, was suffering from a slight indisposition, which his doctor thought might be attributable to smoking.

Upon Mrs. Pers.h.i.+ng's insistence the captain went to Mannheim where there was a famous cure. The resident doctor examined him and advised that he give up smoking. It happened that Pers.h.i.+ng had always been an inveterate smoker. His cigar was a part of his life. He wrestled with the question a day or two and made up his mind that he would follow the medical advice.

"When asked if he hadn't found the job a hard one and whether he wasn't still tempted the reply was:

"'Not in the least, the only hard thing was in making up his mind. He had hardly given the matter a thought since.'

"There are two subjects which the General will always talk about with interest--his farming experience and his four years with the Moros in the Philippines.

"He loves to hark back to those days when his highest obligation was to get out into the cornfield at the very earliest minute in the morning that there was daylight enough to see the ears of corn. When he was fourteen he took the management of the farm. His father had been a rich man, but the panic of 1873 broke him. John was the oldest of nine children and he had to go to the front. In everything that he does now I can detect the influence of his early training. I can see in the General of to-day the farmer boy with his contempt of hards.h.i.+p, the country school teacher with his shepherding instinct for those around him and the general wariness of country bringing-up. It is inexorably true that the boy is father to the man."

CHAPTER XVII

WHAT OTHERS THINK OF HIM

IN quoting a few words from the opinions others have expressed concerning the American Commander doubtless some of them may seem to be a trifle too laudatory. It is not to be forgotten that the words of those who perhaps did not fully share the sentiments have not been recorded. If such opinions exist, their record has not been brought to the attention of the writer. As a rule, Americans have no comparative degree in their estimates of men. They like a man or they do not like him. He is either a success or a failure, good or bad, wise or foolish.

Between the two extremes there is little standing room, and into one category or the other they cast nearly everyone. If General Pers.h.i.+ng has not escaped this condition, his consolation doubtless is that he is merely sharing the common lot of his fellow-citizens.

A close friend has this to say of him: "You should meet him at a dinner party and listen to his stories. You should stand with him before his tent in the field, in the suns.h.i.+ne--he loves the suns.h.i.+ne and the wide out-of-doors--and hear him tell stories of his campaigning at his best.

You should meet this big man with the heart of a little child, this man who by befriending his enemies has made them his companions, this man who stands up erect and faces the horrors of disaster with a smile and prays in his heart for the sufferers."

Another friend says: "There is something about Pers.h.i.+ng that reminds one of Lincoln. It may be his ready wit and never failing good humor or perhaps his big sympathetic heart. In the army the similarity is frequently pointed out."

An officer who served under him in the Punitive Expedition into Mexico and was thrown into close relations with him writes: "I have had the pleasure of knowing many of our great men, but Pers.h.i.+ng is the biggest of them all. He combines the rugged simplicity of Lincoln with the dogged perseverance of Grant; the strategic mystical ability of Stonewall Jackson and the debonair personality of McClellan. In one quality, that of intuition, he may be inferior possibly to Roosevelt, but in cold logic and in supreme knowledge of human nature and of soldier nature I have never met his equal."

The colonel of his regiment when Pers.h.i.+ng was a lieutenant in the 10th Cavalry said of him: "I have been in many fights but on my word he is the bravest and coolest man under fire I ever saw."

In 1903, Elihu Root, then Secretary of State, in President McKinley's cabinet, cabled him: "The thanks of the War Department for the able and effective accomplishment of a difficult and important task."

A simpler, but no less effective estimate of his character, although it was given in a way to puzzle him and perhaps also was a source of embarra.s.sment was the act of the Sultan of Oato who officially made young Major Pers.h.i.+ng the "father" of his eighteen-year-old boy. This was the highest tribute the ruler of the tribe could pay, to give his own son to the American officer. And this was done, too, when by his training and religion the Mohammedan chieftain looked down upon even if he did not despise a Christian.

Georges Clemenceau, whose words have been previously quoted, has this to say concerning the directness and simplicity of the American General: "General Pers.h.i.+ng has given us in three phrases devoid of artificiality, an impression of exceptionally virile force. It was no rhetoric, but pure simplicity of the soldier who is here to act and who fears to promise more than he will perform. No bad sign this, for those of us who have grown weary of pompous words when we must pay dearly for each failure of performance."

An intimate friend of his boyhood writes: "John was and still is intensely human and that is why we all love him. His old playmates and friends are proud of his success as a soldier, but they love him because of his high standard of principles and unswerving integrity.

John J. Pers.h.i.+ng is revered by the entire population of Linn County, Missouri, and I hope in the near future to see a statue of Pers.h.i.+ng erected in the beautiful town park of Laclede, in his honor."

A well-known college president writes of him: "It is his foresight as distinct from vision which has most impressed me. He sees what ought to be done and then does it. His spirit of determination, his persistence, his foresightedness, seem to me the predominant traits in a well-rounded character. Strength rather than brilliancy, solidity, reliability, saneness are other terms by which the same qualities might be defined."

Another distinguished president of a college in General Pers.h.i.+ng's native State makes the following a.n.a.lysis: "I have been here twenty-six years and have had a good deal to do with young men. I have never seen a man yet that had these characteristics that failed in his life work:

"_First_, Pers.h.i.+ng's modesty.

"_Second_, His friendliness--his ability to get along with his fellows.

"_Third_, His industry.

"_Fourth_, What the boys call, 'everlastingly on the job'--always in his place, always had his lessons, always performed his duties.

"_Fifth_, His courage in facing every obstacle.

"_Sixth_, His forward look--his looking ahead.

"My secretary adds that I have omitted one of the strongest of General Pers.h.i.+ng's attributes--his sense of right."

It is a great a.s.set when the people of a man's native town speak of him, even of his boyhood, in terms of affection and confidence. It is to his credit when school and college mates write of their belief in his sterling character. It is a source of pride when the early efforts of a young man, in the trying days of his first experiences in his chosen profession, find a cordial response to his efforts and it is a still deeper source of gratification when he has done his best and has received recognition and reward from the nation at large. And then when maturer days have come and the glitter and the glamour have lost much of their appeal, for one to find that the great ones of the earth recognize and value more highly than the doer the deeds he has done--all this is a heritage the children and the coming generations will receive with grateful hearts. All these are a part of the possessions of General John Joseph Pers.h.i.+ng.