Evening Star Newspaper, December 14, 1930, Page 91

PART 7. Magasine WASHINGTON, D. C., DECEMBER 14, 1930. he Sundmy Siad 24 PAGES. -GEN. MARCH REVEALS WHY LEONARD WOQOD MISSED A.EEF. COMMAND AND ACTIVE SERVICE Now for the First Time the Inside Secret Story of What Happened to Thewart Gen. Wood’s Ambitions for Participation in the World War Is Told by Gen. Peyton C. March, Who as Chief of the General Staff During the War Handled His Tempestuous, Celebrated Case. (Copyright, 1930, in all Countries by the North American Newspaper Alliance. World Rights Reserved, Including the Scandinavian. Reproduction in Whole or in Part Prohibited.) HEN the United States entered the war Maj. Gen. Leonard Wood was perhaps the best known officer of the American Army, internationally. The only other of- ficer with any considerable international reputation was Maj. Gen. George W. Goethals, and his reputation was asmthe builder of the Panama Canal and not solely as an Army officer. Gen. Wood had been chief of staff of the Army and military governor of Cuba, and had represented the United States at the grand maneuvers of foreign armies. Upon this background he had been drawn with large strokes by his friend, Theodore Roosevelt, as a great colonial adminis- trator and as a man pre-eminently fitted by ability and training to be President of the United States. Mr. Roosevelt had, in fact, suggested Gen. Wood’s name for nomination by the Republican party in 1916, at the time of the nomination of Charles E. Hughes. And the personality of Roose- velt and his outspoken and vigorous language had carried his opinion of Gen. Wood around the world. It was quite natural, therefore, for the Roosevelt following in America to expect that Gen. Woed would play a prominent part in America’s war effort. In fact, he was their candidate to command the Amer- ican forces in France. And this idea reached the allies. Intimation that Gen. Wood was the man to command the American troops in France began to ap- pear in British papers as well as in those of the United States. As a matter of fact, Gen. Wood had done military work of great value dur- ing his career as chief of staff and afterward, and a great deal of it was due to the fact that he was not a trained sol- dier and had none of the inhibitions of that ilk. The Regular Army man is trained, from the first, to keep his mouth shut and play the game loyally for the best interests of the country, no matter what political party may be in power. GEN. WOOD traveled all over the coun- ; try making speeches in favor of pre- paredness, and he was about the first of the Army heads in our history who was capable of making a speech. Grant, who never did learn to speak readily and who generally read four or five lines from a slip of paper, with great embarrass- ment in his oratorical utterances, seemed to be the model our Army officers fol- lowed. Gen. Wood, having been educated at Harvard and trained to be a doctor and not a soldier, had none of this in him. He made speeches whenever he could find any one to listen to him, and grad- ually built up a political following. Of course, the World War was to him his great oportunity. Every one of the wars in which the Nation has participated had put the successful commander of the troops in the White Hcuse, and there was no likelinood, then, of the World War proving an exception. Furthermore, Gen. Wood was a man of ability and courage, and naturally would want to go to the front anyway. IN deciding upon the officer who was to command the American forces in France the choice was limited practicaily to the major generals of the line, some half dozen in number, and the choice, without going inio details, immediately narrowed down to Maj. Gen. Wood, the senior major general before we entered the war, and Maj. Gen. Pershing, who was then the junior major general. Secretary Baker recommended Gen. Pershing over Gen. Wood to the President for this important duty, and his decision was largely affected by what he had seen personally of Gen. Wood’s Pphysical condition. After the War with Spain, when Gen. Wood was in command of the aistrict of Santiago in Cuba, in rising from his desk he struck his head against a sharp-pointed spike, which formed the lower part of a hanging lamp, and severely injured his skull. He had to have medical treatment, including operations, off and on for the rest of his life, due to this accident, and to the end he walked dragging one leg after him. Secretary Baker, inspecting a camp commanded by Gen. Wood, before the United States entered the war, was much impressed by Gen. Wood'’s physical condition during the inspec- tion. Secretary Baker told me several times during our as- sociation in the War Department of his reaction to Gen. Wood's physical infirmities, and ir a letter to me dated March 7, 1928, concerning his choice of Gen. Pershing over Gen. Wood to com- mand the Amcrican Rxpeditionary Forces, he stated: “I had never seen Pershing, but I had seen Wood several times. The last time I saw Wood before I made the selection he had a sham battle for my benefit and walked with me up a little mountain to get a place to view the battle. While walking Maj. Gen. Leonard Wood, lon tary hero throughout the cou By Generalf Peyton C. March, United States Army, Retired. up there he panted and labored so obviously that I came to the conclusion that his health was bad, and when I later came to make the decision between Pershing and Wood, that recollec- tion infiuenced the choice.” GEN. PERSHING was accordingly chosen by the President, on Secretary Baker's recommendation, to command the troops in France, and Gen. Wood was assigned to command and train a division of troops at Fort Riley, Kans., for service in France and, of course, expected to command the division when it was sent there. When I received orders in France to return to the United States to take over the duties of chief of staff of the Army, I went -from my headquarters at Valdahon to Paris, and there went over the whole situation from the American standpoint CJAMES T} ! BERRYMAN with Gen. Bliss at Versailles and with Gen. Pershing, who came in from his headquarters at Chaumont to confer with me. At one of these conferences Gen. Pershing brought up the matter of Gen. Wood. He told me at some length of Gen. Wood’s lack of loyalty, which he illustrated by Wood's conduct on several occasions. and wound up by saying that the War De- partment had authorized him to return to the United States any, officer or officers who for any cause did not fit into the military machine in France, and that if Gen. Wood were sent to France he would order him home, under the general authority given him. My own attitude toward the matter was simply this: As long as we kept Gen. Pershing in command in France I proposed to back him with all the power of the office of chief of staff. After I had reached America and had taken over my new duties I received from Gen. Pershing the following memorandum on the subject of Gen. Wood, attached to a letter to me of February 24, 1918. In his letter Gen. Pershing referred to the memorandum as follows “Please find special confidential memorandum for you and the Secrétary only.” THE memorandum was as follows: “With reference to a certain general, he is the same in- subordinate man ‘he has always been. His attitude toward the g an advocate of American preparedness, was a ntry and had been considered most likely leader of A. E. F. President is implied in his remarks in ordinary conversation, though always in an intangible way. His criticisms of the Sece retary of War and the War Department administration are along the same line. “While here, he has done a lot of talking around Paris and has had several discontented officers call on him, He has had his picture in the Paris Mail as “America’'s Greatest Fighter,” and has been mentioned at different times as one who could reor= ganize the War Department as chief of staff or sit as American representative on the supreme war council. You already kmow of his talk in London, where he is said to have discredited the Army and the administration in the eyes of our allies, as has already been reported to Washington. “A prominent American widow, well known in Washington, 12« cently visiting various camps as Y. M. C. A. representative, showed a prepared “memorandum” which she said was given her by a general officer of high rank. It carried various criticisms, nearly all of which were touched upon by the general of high rank in conversation with various officers. The lady also sug« gested him as corps commander. “He has posed as wanting to help by taking back word of ou¢ needs. He was promptly and very pointedly told that he was not to take any such action, nor would it be wise for him to go about talking to politicians. Also, that the present chief of staff at Washington was thoroughly fa- miliar with the situation here. “It seems high time that meddling political generals be put where they can do no harm. The physical condition of this one is sufficient warrant for action, and any honest board like the Arthur Board would declare him incapacitated at a glance. He drags his left leg worse than ever, and the sight of a lame man like this going about our allied armies posing as ‘America’s Greatest’ must have been anything but inspiring to our allies. “If the present is not opportune fof drastic action, on account of politics, it will come later, no doubt, after the coun= try gets over its excitement over what agitators seem to have stirred up.” The Arthur Board, to which Gen, Pershing referred, was a permanend board of medical officers of high rank, headed by Gen. Arthur of the Medical Corps, before whom were ordered for physical examination all the general ofe ficers of the Army to determine their fit« ness for field service in France. General officers found unfit were either retired or placed on duty at training camps at home, where their experience could be utilized, depending on the de- gree of disability reported by the, board. Gen. Wood had been ordered, like the rest, to be examined by the Arthur Board, and had been reported by that board as fit for service in France, When Secreiary Baker returned fromy France I took up the Wood case with him, telling him of my conversation with Pershing in Paris, and giving him Pershing’s memorandum of February 24, 1918, quoted in the foregoing, to read. I then said to the Secretary that in the ordinary case I would decide this question as a military matter, but tha§ I believed it had a political side which made it desirable that the President should know about the case. It was ineviiable, in my opinion, that Mr. Roosevelt and his followers would attack President Wilson bitterly if € took the action I proposed, namely, to support Pershing and use Gen. Wood only at home. Neither would it be possible to allay their ire by saying the chicf of statf did it, or by saying nothing. It was certain that the Democratic ad- ministration would be accused of dii- posing of a possible Republican candi- date for the presidency, and it might be that the President would wish under those circumstances to send Gen. Wood to France in spite of the recommendation of h's military advise:s.' Secretary Baker agreed to all this, and agrcod to put the whole story up to President Wilson at an eaily date. - (| popular mili- I THEREFORF advised my chief of operastions, Gen. Jerve:, of the status of the matter, and tcld him to give m: iarnias when Gen. Wood's division, which was being trained at Fo:u Riley, neared its turn on our schedule to be sent to France, in case the President had not sent over his decision before that- time, In due course, the division was reached, and Gon. Jerviy notified me. I went into Secretary Baier's o’ic: and aszed hin what the President's conclusions were on the Wood case, telling - him that in the absence of any instructions I rroposed to wire Gen. Wood at once to remain on duty at his ivai ing cam[?'h-'n his division was directed to proceed to New “‘ork to sail to, France. Secretary Baker went over to the White House, and in due - time returned with a decision by the President supporting the military recommendation and retaining Gen. Wood for duty aé home. I immediately gave orders for the nccessary instructions to be wired to Gen. Wood at Fort Rilsy. Gan. Wood, however, LN