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FICTION _ Part 5—8 Pages WASHINGTON, D. C, MAGAZINE SECTION The Sunday S, SUNDAY MORNING, JANUARY 28, 1923. I Gen. Perslming‘.,_ Master of De"cail.,. Constantly 1n Touflch With Army BY JAMES A. BUCHANAN, EARLY all of the male citizens |at his finger tips such information of this country have, at one time or another, had a great desire to be a general in the Army and to lcad troops against an enemy. Few of them, however, even In the days of their youth, the perfod in which dreams are of real import, ever had that greater dream, of being “the” general of the Army. To the average citizen, who sits on the sidelines and watches an Army perform, it is a matter that apparent- GE] 1f one desires to know just how | the highest ranking officer in our Army works, he should spend a day | or so with him and watch him as he directs our forces in all parts of our possessions. Then the onlooker will understand that John J. Pershing has a man’s size job on his hands, for he must never be out of touch with the hundred and odd thousand officers and men that at present comprise our land forces. He must, no matter in what part of the country he is, be in touch with the far-away Philip- pines; must know how things are zoing today in Hawaii; must be con- versant with the day's happenings in Porto Rico; must have his fingers on tlie strings that control our soldiers in the great reaches of Alaska; must know how things are at the posts GEN. PESHING AT HIS DESK. along the border; how his men are distributed along the Rio Grande or up at Fort Niagara; how many men there are - avadlable for immediate duty at this, that or the other point; must have personal knowledge of how the men are equipped; how they could be transported to a given point without loss of time “if an emergency call should be made on the Army and, in addition to all these things, he ynust have vision enough to prepare for the something- that people say can pever happen, the kind of occur- rences, that people never dream can take place, but the kind of things 4 | that do happen. He must also have | AR AAAAAAAAAARAAAAAAAAARAAAAAAAAAARAAARARARA A DN AAAANAARARAAANADBADAANDY, Leader of American Forces Has Man’s Size Job on His Hands and Works Long Hours‘at £ His Task—Must Have at His Finger Tips Such Information as May Be Called For by Members ¢ of Congress at Any Moment—Required to Show That Things Army Is Asking For Are Neces- £ sary—Has Workshop at Home as Well as at Office—Character Revealed in Some of the Unwrit- as may be called for by members of Congress at any moment and must be able to show that the things the Army is asking for are necessary, for It must be admitted that some mem- bers of the lawmaking bodies do not always appear to reallze that what the general of the Army asks for he really needs. * ok ok ¥ ICTURE to youfself a capable, strong man sitting at a large | 1y does not involve much work. 1If he views a_few companies, battalions or regiments, he has the idea that the life of a soldier must be a wonderful thing and uncodsclously he falis into the habit of thinking that all the work a geperal has to do is o it in a finely appéintéd office and mive orders to subordinates who, In turn, carry out his demands without hesitation, trouble or delay. flat-topped desk receiving reports from all parts of the United States and her possessions and acting upon |these reports without a moment's hesitation. Note the seeming ease with which he handles problems that | come _hefore him: every hour—prob- {lems that are decidedly complex in their nature—and you will wonder | how he manages to have such a grasp |ot details. The explanation is that Gen. Pershing 1s continually on the |Job and he takes the job seriously. It was the writers good fortune | the other day to sit in the room with him and watch him as he earned his salary as the general of the Army, and he certainly earned every penny |of the money that Uncle Sam hande | him’ at the end of the month. If he | were working for some vast corpora- tion he would receive many times as | much in his pay envelope as he' does. |A man with such a capable mind deserves more money than the pay of general, for competent executives are hard to find. Little men can be hired for a few dollars; big men cost real money. The commanding officer of the | Army reaches his office sometimes lat 8 o'clock in the morning, some- times earlier and sometimes later, for National Photo, often he has work to do at his apart- ment, matters on which he has been working the night before, and if you go to his home you will find that he has a workshop there also, for, no matter what may como up at any hour of the day or night, you will find that ho is ready for action— action that has been thought out long in advance. John J. Pershing has .an almost uncanny faculty of sensing what 18 going to occur at some future time.: It'may not hap- pen for weeks or months, but it gen. | £ £ ten Incidents of the Late War, . PERSHINEG WITH MAP SHOWING LOCATION OF BRANCHES OF ARMY IN UNITED STATES. National Photo, gasp in amazement at the quickness of the response to the call that has been made on the Army. The time that he leaves his office depends on the amount of work that has piled up on his desk during the night previous or during the course BY MARGARET B. DOWNING. HAT high tide of emotion which inevitably follows all war has swept _ into the diplomatic corps resident in Washington a number of ambassadore, ministers and lesser envoys who differ from those of the past. Collectively, the diplomatists who have presented their credentials since the signing of the armistice, make an interesting study of the changing standards which gov- ern the selection of those appointed to maintain international relaticns, and also emphasize the fact that op- portunities are now open for the ca- pable and the alert, even in a class hitherto tied hand and foot by stern traditions. Many of these envoys were heroes of the battlefield or held posts in the clvic sense which called for heroic endurance and fortitude. Many ways to reward these benefactors of thelr country opened along the nat- ural line of their previous avocations, but, instead of this, diplomatic ap- pointments of supreme Importance have been conferred. No one ordinarily assoclated the pro- fession of civil engineering with a post of diplomacy. Yet, if ‘the most eminent Washington member of that profession, Herbert Hoover, the Sec- retary of Commerce, were to concelve the idea of honoring his distinguished brethren, and as president of the American Soclety of Engineers ho may contemplate such an amenity, two of his guests ‘would come from the diplomatic corps—Prince Gelaslo Benedetta Anatollo Caetani, the Ital- ian ambassador, and M. Valdemaras Carneckis, the charge d'affaires of the _republic of Lithuania. The former | holds the degree df doctor of engi- ineering from Columbia University, New York, and was practicing his profession with considerable success { Europe sent him to Rome. The scholarly - young ' representa- tive of the Balti¢ republic made his studles In Petrograd and Parls,' and was a consulting engineer in’ the French capital when the events' of 1914 called him to the colors. * % x x| EW books of fiction offer more thrilling chapters than the’re- cital of Prince Caetani’s career, and it 1s'regretful that Francls Marion Crawford, who built & trilogy of nov- els on the annals of the Caetani fam- 1ly, did not live to make a fourth story out of the adventures of the Itadlan ambassador to Washington. Under the name of'Gelasic Castania fo matriculated In Columbia Univer= sity and took a ‘degree there. He accepted a position as a common miner in a camp over which John Hays Hammond held proprietary rights, and it was to the latter thgt the young prince -confessed his par- entage and his desire to remain in- cognito. For, he told Mr. Hammond, he desired to master every detail: of his profession and to study problems at first hand and among the regular miners, which would be impéssible if they léarned his true status. His ad- ,in San Francisco when the war inj of the day. Very often he works until after midnight, but he is ready for the job the next morning. One should mnot imagine, however, that all the work the general of our Army has to do is done In Washington, for such is far from being the case, be- cause a condition may arise at any moment that calls for his presence at some point In the country far dis- tant from the nation's capital. Then it is that he and Maj. Quekemeyer his aide-de-camp, take the earliest possible train for that point. Both | of them always have bags filled with extra clothing so that in case of an emergency they do not have to bother with the job of paocking. The gen- eral might be sald to be always ready for the fleld. * % x ¥ EFORE one attempts to describe a day with the ranking officer of our Army, a picture of the man should be drawn. Physlcally he stands a good six feet, with tquare shoulders, a closely cropped mus- tache, hair sprinkled with gray, clear, keen eyes, the kind that look at you, the kimd that make vou tell all of the truth, not part; a chin that denotes an indomitable will; his face, In repose, that of the soldier who recognizes a duty and performs it; but now and then you also catch a| glimpse of & man that you instinct- ively feel is a great, big, whrm- hearted somebody. If you are for- tunate enough to be present when | he welcomes a comrade of the early |days, you will immediately know that he is intensely human. Those | who had the good fortune to sit down to dinner with him at Christ- mas, 1918, had a glimpse of the | human side of this general, for upon | that occasion, while the then Presi- dent of the United States and other | nigh daignitaries were getting ready to take their seats, “Jack” Pershing, in a quiet aside, inquired of one of bis aides as to whether or not the men had been looked after, “the men,” meaning the privates, chauf- feurs and others who were attached | to the party. This side of Pershing | Pershing, real history of the late war, and the historian, if he is a good one, will tell of the infinite patience that our com- manding officer of the A, E. F. dis- played while dealing with certain of our then allies. While you can never get the general to talk of these things, there are men who served In France at the time that know and are not backward in expressing their opinions. One of them, an officer, sald 0 the writer in 1918: ¥If I had been I do not believe that I could have kept my temper; he s really a big man, caring not who re- ceived the glery just as long as we did our work." * ok ok K HE. general's office Is situated on the eastern side of the great gran- ite building that is separated from the White House by a rather narrow street. The room in which he does his work is a large one and the floor 1s made of American inlaid woods, highly polished. At either end of the room are great gllded mirrors. on the walls are portraits of all gener- als; that is, those who have occupied a rank similar to that held by Gen Pershing. For the benefit of those who are not acquainted with the list, it is here given: Gen. Washington, Gen. Grant, Gen. Sherman and Gen. Shei fdan. There are also busts of these illustrious heroes, and graphs of Gen. Pershing with Halg, Foch, Joffre and Petain. The last mentioned show the respective offi- cers in full uniform with all their decorations; that is, all of them ex- cept our general, who generally wears | as possible, in keeping with | 1f he were to pin on all | | tife badges, decorations and the other | things that he is entitled to wear he as few the occasion. would need a chest the size of one side of the large room In which he sits. He has never consented to pose with all his decorations, and the chances are that he never will. In fact, those who closest to him fsay that the decorations or medals that he likes the best are the allied ribbon and the medal that was pre- are [sented to him by the American Legion. is known to his friends. me* some one will rite the | every sort of work from washing| metal in a running stream to the erection of the hydro-electric plant on the Island of Treadwell, in the Gulf of Taku. No exploit of the late war takes on more heroic proportions than the mining of the supposedly impregna- ble Austrian defenses on the summit of Col Di Lana. Prince Gelasio dug a tunnel beneath this fortress, and, without attracting the attention of the enemy, he lald his mines with high explosives. Igniting them with an electric spark, he blew away practically the whole top of the mountain and all the outlying de- fenses, He also 100k a stellar part in the defense of the Plave and in the Aviation Corps, to which he was later assigned. A colonel of the Royal Engineers, Prince Gelasio was turning his at- {tention to his patrimony, some sup- |posedly worthless acres in the Pon- tine marshes near Rome, and had laid the foundation of a tidy fortune when a grateful constituency elected him to the municipal counctl of the Italian capital, and a year later to a seat in the national chamber of deputies. He was. filling this dual role and meantime making strides in redeem- ing the marshes about his home when he was made ambassador to Wash- ington by Mussolinl, with whom he had co-operated in the carly stages of the fascisti movement. * ok ok ok F Mr. Hoover took cognizance of dlplomatists now serving in Wash- ington who won their first laurels in | commercial knowledge, he would find a much larger company than that composed of engineers. The German ambassador, Dr. Otto Wiedfeldt, 1s profoundly versed in commercial lore, and has studied trade in all its as- pects, including the most important, the economic side. Dr. Wiedfeldt en- joys two distinctions. He is the only representative of Prussia or of the German empire who has not written “yon” befpre his name and the only one not selected from the trained corps always in readiness in the for- elgn office of Berlin. The German ambassador was care- fully educated for a scholastic ca- reer, with a leaning toward trade and economic investigations. He passed many. years in the orient, studying trade problems and their influence on domestic progress, and his of¢ial pa- pers on these themes, even under the transformation through which the world has since passed, are of unique value and importarice. Jn August, 1914, Dr. Wiedfeldt and his wife were passing through Wash- ington bound for their German home, when the world war began. They 'had been twelve years in the orlent and it was their first visit to Ger- many. It was profound knowledge of all vital problems relating to trade and international banking which led the Krupps to invite Dr. Wiedfeldt to become their general manager. He was holding that post when the re- publican government of Germany erally takes place, and .then, bang!|ventures led him fromi Alaska to[named him as the first ambassador action follows instantly, and peopls 4 Flores, . Mexico, and he - performed PR SR P ) to Washington after the resumption Down in the National Museum are | numerous cases that are filled with of diplomatic relations. He had never held a position even approximating diplomatic responsibility. x ok kK Jonkheer Andre de Graeff, the min- ister from the Netherlands, is another instance Of entering the diplomatic service through a lifelong study of trade and commerce. The minis- ter in his youth entered the colonial division and spent the greater part of his earlier vears In the South Seas, Java, Sumatra and Ceylon, where he was connected with the governor's office and in charge of trade statistics. He also served in China, Japan and South Africa. Only recently was he transferred from the colonlal to the diplomatic serv- ice. Edgar Prochnik, who Is in charge of the Austrian establishment in Wash- ington, was for years consul in St Paul, Minn, and at other north- west points, and he was chosen sole- Iy for these necessary qualifications without regard to the usual accom- plishments required of Dr. Alois Stangler, charge d'affaires of Czechoslovakia, was a trade ex- pert, a graduate of the University of Paris, whose services the Aus- trian government had employed in one of its eastern provinces, Hradec Kralove. Dr. Stangler resigned his post and thgew his lot with his fel- low Bohemians. He gave invaluable service during the struggle, and was sent by the new republic as a dele- gate to the congress of Versailles. | A trade expert in the state depart- ment of Prague, Dr. Spangler was sent to Washington to act as charge d'affaires during the absence of the minister, M. Stepanek, who was sum- moned home. M. Stepanek has been absent about ten months, but is ex- pected in Washington some time in February. * koK K EN years ago the British ambas- sador, Sir Auckland Geddes, was a practicing physician of Montreal, holding the chair of anatomy in Mc- Gill University. Coming of a distin- guished line of medicos—his father was a famous member of the profes- sion in Edinburgh and a professor in the venerable university there—it is improbable that Sir Auckland fore- saw a post of supreme importance in the British foreign service or, his ac- knowledged success in this unique promotion. But the great war was his opportunity, and he went from a minor position in the London medi- cal council to the forefront of those controlling the resources of.the great city under the distressing conditions of the air raids. The ambassador also served at the front, both in the line and as a doctor, and received his bap- tism of fire in the early months around Namur. » Sir Auckland Geddes Is the only M. D. in the ambassadorial corps, just as the Postmaster General, Dr. Hubert Work, is the only practicing physician who has received a cabinet portfolio. ‘Whether the ambassador of his Bri- tannic majesty has deserted the heal- ing arts permanently is 2 matter for the future to decide. Even the most fervent advocates of the traditional photo- | diplomats. | a3 flags that have been presented to him. One bears the inscription, “Le Dauphne Patre de Bayard.” Another is “Les Dames de la Ville de Chaumont,” the latter being the name of the French town on the outskirts of which he had his headquartes Another reads “Honneur aux Americains,” and was Professional Ranks Are Represented Among Diplomats Now in Washington training for the diplomatist will ad- mit that Sir Auc role with exceptional ability. He has seen- national American characteris- tics more clearly than his predeces- sors and, what is more valuable, he has made the authorities at Downing street see them, too. If the Hungarian minister were familiar with local political phrase- ology he would write his profession as that of “dirt farmer,” and this, too, would fit the recent Italian ambassador, M. Rolandi Riccl. Court Szechenyl belongs to the ancient Magyar nobility and he always kept aloof from Austrian politics, He held no post whatever under the Haps- burg rule. He had studied agricul- turo and had turned his several courses in Paris and Switzerland to practical account when the war broke Ithe ties of the dual monarchy. jImmediately after the collapse of the Hapsburg throne, .he hasténed to Budapest and was prominent in the reconstruction. Already familiar with the agricultural resources of { Hungary, Count £zechenyl traveled ex- tensively, studying other proplems. So that in the“strict sense, he had prepared himself most carefully to handle the delicate questions of | diplomacy, though the American | capital offered him the first oppor- tunity to .display his skill. The new Hungarian government rather frowns on titles, and the Maygars, thought hitherto so tenaclous of their rights, assent to this. In the vast mountain estate of the Czechenyls, the peasants are following modern agricultural methods and, under the new law, they may purchase at a low figure and under easy terms, land {which they and their forefathers have {tilled for centuries. * Xk X R EARLY all the newly established countries of northern and eastern Europe have selected their envoys to the American capital from the pro- fessorial ranks of thelr seats of learning. Latvia, the central portion of the Baltic regions which have de- clared their independence, is repre- sented by a former member of the teaching staff in the great University of Riga, now one of the most flourish- ing In all Europe. When Dr. Charles Louis Seya, the 'Latvian charge d'affaires, accepted an offer from the secretary of state of his country more than '5,000 graduate students were following courses of law and letters in his department, and of these about one-third were women. Dr. Seya has been a most acceptable envoy during the two years of his residence in Washingtdn awalting the'recognition of his country's independence. He Is, besides being profoundly versed in lettors ‘and jurisprudence, an author- ity on musio and art. He has filled his legation with canvases from hitherto unknown artists from Latvia and has delighted Washington with musicals, at which' only: the weird and haunting strains of the Baltic seas were heard. Dr. Ladislas Wroblewski, the min- dster from Poland, comes of a dis- tingulshed family. of professors who have sérved the venerable Unlversity (Continued-on Third Page.) land has filled the | presented by Mme. Raymond Hensel. Another case holds a silken Stars and Stripes, given to him by the Grand Lodge of Philadelphia; another one presented by Rodman Wanamaker, still another present by the Colonial Dames, while one was given to him by the Thimble Club of University City, Mo. The one given him by the Rotary Club of New York is also In the ‘case . Just after Pershing returned from France, Rodman Wanamaker and others presented the general with forty-eight flags, one for every stats in the Union, and he fn turn suggest- ed that the flags be kept in the city hall in New York, as it might serve as a lesson to those who have but lately come to our shores. The sug- gestion was gratefully accepted. * .k HERE is a conference table around which are placed mone too com- fortable chairs. There is a stand of colors, with other things that are military in cheracter. Diagomally across from the general's desk is a large map, which shows the lscations of all the troops In.this country, and the arrows or other markers disclose, at a glance, just the kind and char- acter of soldiers at each point. You have been asked to take a seat while the head of the Army runs through his mail. The term “runs through” is the only one that will fit the manner in which he handles the | different communications that come before him every hour in the day. Apparently he does nothing but skim over each one, but if you have writ- ten him a letter and are there when he reads it he is liable to ask you a dozen questions concerning it, and | you have no further doubt as to his ability quickly to grasp the entire zontents of the communication. You are hardly seated when the door opens and Maj. Quekemeyer comes in. He, like his chief, 15 a man of few words when engaged In official dutles. He quickly, but com- prehensively, tells the general what he has to say and waits for the an- swer, which comes like a shot out of a gun. The major wheels and in a moment you see a member of the general siaff enter. They confer about a certain matter, the question 18 decided and away goes the one of lesser rank. ‘The next time the matter was one that concerned a question of policy at Schofleld barracks, the beautiful spot near Honolulu. This was de- cided upon quickly enough, but you felt that Pershing had given more that a minute’s time to the matter; had been mulling it over in his mind for some time, and right you are. Then there came a delegation of citizens, some .of whom had served with John J. overseas. They had come down to see If they could not get him to make a speech at the dedication of their clubhousé. He consulted his engagethent book and found that on that particular night he was booked to dine with a friend, but these men In front of him were with him in France, so he called up his friend, begged off from the din- ner date and accepted their fnvita- tion, although it meant a night's travel and the loss of a quiet evening® He seemed really glad to be able to help the chaps that had once taken orders from him on the other side of the pond. - The reader may have in his mind the question whether. or not those who asked him to speak were gen- erals. There was not a man among them that had ever worn more than two bars on his shoulders and the majority of them were, or rather had been, just plain “buck privates.” * ok Kk GAIN the aide came:in,’ this time bearing in his hand a letter that had gotten under his skin, for the major, like the general, is not really as stern &s he looks to be. The mi sive concerned the case of a dough- | boy who had broken one of the smaller regulations— nothing that was serious, but it called for official action and he had written to the general about it. What was done? That is a secret, but the lad's mother will never know that the boy had ever done a thing that was not ex- actly according to orders. UNITED STATES. There was =nother letter. It con- cerned the matter of preparedness for our country. This the general read and reread. It evidently was from some one who had given but little thought to the question and who was rather abusive in his style of writing. In the eyes of the gen- eral there was a look of vexatlon, but it was softened by a rather tolerant smile, which meant that the person writing had not taken t to study the ,problem sufficiently to get a CASES CONTAINING SILK FLAGS PRESENTED TO GEN. PERSHING BY CITIZENS OF FRANCE, CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS I National Photo. proper view of the need of a countr: being prepared. ‘What ho! What are those two me dolng here? What business car they have with the general? Th are not soldlers, past, present or potential, they are what are known to the world at large as politicans ‘What can their mission be with the leader of our forces They state thelr case in whispers, old-time politi- cal stuff, but it doesn’t go with John J. He plays the game with cards on the table. No joker up the sleeve for him, and if you have gathered the impression that he is easy you ought to look at him now. That jaw is set, his eyes are cold as Ice, and while his manner is courteous, it would be a dumb individual who did not reallze that the fat was in the fire. Nothing doing; that is not for the good of the country and the good of the service. That was the sum and substance of his reply. Will they try their luck over across the strect at the White House? Not if they have any sense, for you can just see the general sitting down to answer the President’s letter about the mat- ter, and you can not only see the fur fiy, but you can hear the hide coming oft of the ones who would use the service for selfish ends. In comes the aide once more. This time he has in two “shave tails,” the same meaning brand-new second lieutenants. It is the first time they ever have seen the general. They look white about the ghlls and solemn as owls. They stand like twin ram- rods and say something, but you can- not get just what it is. The eves of the general are reminiscent for a moment, Thinking, no doubt, of the time when he was a stripling, he ir vites them to be seated and endeavors to put them at ease; rather a hard job, but he does it. On the brows of both are large drops of perspiratio! not the glycerine kind they use in the movies, either. The interview over, they make their way out’ and you can bet that if any one ever says anything against the general he will have a coupe of young officers to whip. * k% ¥ N comes a rather fussy sort of a I person, the kingd’that-.just can- not get away from the old-fashioned red tape that used to and, to an ex- tent, still exists today, the kind that binds up things when immediate action is needed. A few guestions asked, the old-in-a-rut person do: not get the drift, and the matter postponed, but you van bet your last { doliar that somehow, somewhere, the head of the fighting forces will find 2 way to have the abuse corrected. Real soldiers do not like red tape. Pershing, like all military men,” does not like war, but he believes in being fully prepared for anything that may arise, and if war comes he believes® in striking so hard a blow that the enemy will quickly realize that he has made a mistake in ling the sons of Uncle Sam. The next man to enter the room is announced with a grin by the majfor for he knows that the visitor will be heartily weélcomed. It is an old ser- { geant that served with Pershing in ' the early days. The handshake is not that of the general of the Army or the retired sergeant, but it is the grip that two strong men give eich other when ‘they meet after a long absence. You feel that you had better + take = smoke and you excuse your- self.. It is no place for you. It is all right for you to be present whe the ordinary visitors come arouad, but when two old comrades mect they just want to be by themsclves, and so * you leave, satisfied to know that as® long as Congress will do its part in Lincoln l providing the money to properly equip and Grant used to do the same sort|the Army the destinies of the country of things that the present-day gen- eral does. ' are safe (n the hands of John J. Per- shing, the general of our Army.