Evening Star Newspaper, February 9, 1931, Page 4

b g & ’1:HE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTQN, D. C, SAYS BLISS AGREED WITH GEN. PERSHING Son ~ Declares - Differences Were Over Expediency and Not Fundamentals. BY REX COLLIER. Gen. Pershing and Gen. Tasker H. Bliss, World War chief of staff, may have had some differences of opinion over expedicney in executing certain A. E. F. policies, but they were in general accord on the fundamentals of those policies, according to Col. E. G. Bliss, Reserve officer and son of the late general. Asked to commient regarding Gen. rshing's reference to a debate he had P Ge "Bliss over the latter's pre- Jiminary approval of a British plan for ama'gamating some Americen troops into British divisions, Col. Bliss laid stress on the fact that Gen. Bliss “al- ways had great confid-nce in Gen. Per- shing's judgment.” e ettemely reluctant to give vojce to “anything controversial,” Col. Bliss declared that lctters and other documents left by his father show that his vi-ws represented “the ‘best inter- ests of the American cause.” Bliss Surprised Pershing. Gen. Pershing, in his currert story, tells of a conference January 25, 1918, in Paris, between the British gen-ral, Robertson and the two American gen= erals, Pershing and Bl at which, much to Gen. Pershirg’s surprise, Gen. Bliss “almost out of a clear sky frankly expresscd himself in favor of the Rob- ertson plan” to merge American units with Britich divisions. He recalls that the conference brolte un after he (Per- shing) had opposed the plan in no un- certain terms, ard that Gen. Bliss and he later talked the matter over, with the result t Gen. Bliss “came around to my view,” Gen, Pershing was standing out for an independent American Army. “My father ncver discussed with me the particular incident referred to in Gen. Pershing's article,” Col. Bliss said. “However, it must be apparent to every one that under the strcss of a great conflict some differences of opinion were inevitable between such strong charac- TS, ters, . “I feel, however, that from my per- sonal knowledge of my father's views during the war, any differences that arose must have involved matters of ex- pediency in carrying out a general pro- 1'0:‘1? more than the general program Had Confidence in Chief. “Personally, I know that my father always had great confidence in Gen. Pershing’s judgment and held for him a high personal esteem. Their mutual friendship, which began years prior to the war, extended up to the date of my father’s death, “A full expression of my father's views in connection with the matters relating to the prosecution of the wi could not be given in a few brief com- ments. The records which he has left, however, indicate quite clearly from start to finish that his views represented the b‘elt interests of the American It is understood that Col. Bliss is as- sembling his father's war correspond- ence and other records with a view later to making certain of them public. (Copyright, 1931.) EFFORTS OF COLORED LEADERS REWARDED i Johnson, Director of Choir in “Green Pastures,” Is Honored. By the Assoclated Press. NEW YORK, February 0.— The creative work of seven Negroes was re- ‘warded yesterday with the Willlam E Harmon awards for distinguished achievement. ‘The awards, consisting of a gold medal and a $400 honorarium, went to Hall Johnson in the ficld of musi Albon L. Holsey, in the field of bus ness; James Langston Hughes, litera- ture; Thomas Monro: Campbell, farm- ing and rural life; Charles 8. Johnson, sclence; Henry A. Hunt, education, and Henry C. McDowell, religious service. Hall Johnson, who lives in New York, won his award for his arrangement of Negro spirituals and his original com- positions. His choir sings in the cur- rent Broadway stage “The Green Pastures.” Holsey, who is connect:d with Tuske- gee Institute. Alabama, was praised as “the origina‘or of a successfully proven experiment, stores run by Negroes for Negro trade.” He organized a chain of 253 grocery stores. Hughes, a resident of Westfleld, N. J., is the author of the novel, “Not ‘Without Laughter,” and other works. Campbell is connected with Tuskegee Institute as agent for seven Southern States undcr the Department of Agri- culture. He teaches Negro farmers home improvement, stock betterment, crop rotation, co-operative buying and other matters. ‘Charles 8. Johnson, Nashville, Tenn., 1s. known for ‘his findings in social sci- ence. His research has been sum- marized through his publications, “The Negro in American Civilization” and “The Negro in Chicago.” Henry A. Hunt of Fort Valley High and Industrial School, Fort Valley, Ga., developed a training center for Negro th which the announcement said suecsss, “improved the life in a community of 300,000 colored people.” McDowell, a native of Meriden, Miss., won his honor for work as a Congre- gational missionary at Galangue, An- gola, Portuguese West Africa. SCHOOLS ARE CLOSED FOR CARUSI’S SERVICE Former Head of Board of Educa- tion Is Buried in Arlington. With public schools and National Uni- versity closed in_tribute to him , Dr. Charles Francis Carusi, president of the school board and chancellor of Na- tional, was buried with military honors | in Arlington National Cemetery at 10:30 o'clock this morning, Bervices were con rusi residence, 1755 Eighteenth street, at 9:30 o'clock by Capt. R. C. Deibert, U. 8. A, chaplain of Fort Myer, who! also officiated at the gyAve-side rites. The intimate friends, associates and fellow Masons of the educator-lawyer accompanied his body to its final rest- W as honorary pallbearers. the public schools and National University, and the public school ad- tration offices at the #ranklin Building which also were closed today, will reopen tomorrow. At the same time, the flags on all public school will be ‘hauled to the staff peaks for the first time since the edu- eator died. The flag on the Franklin Administration Building, however, will Temain at half-staff until 30 days after Dr. Carusi’s death. Dr. x(il“m;l'h died at Jmkmnvflx. v.lu., early ursday morning, the vic- tim of pneumonia which followed in- fluenza and a chronic heart affiiction, cted at the Cl-‘ | | Allies Decide to Remain on Defensive Until;’ American Strength| Can Reach France. |CLOTHING SHORTAGE PROBLEM FOR A. E. F. | U. S. Irish Troops Are| Given British Uni- forms but Object to| English Buttons. CHAPTER XXIX. NCE Gen. Bliss and I reached | an understanding as to our | attitude toward amalg>mation of our troops with the British, he gave me his suppert in later cinferences. When we saw the British Tepresentat.ves for further talks at Versalllas Jenuary 29, 1918, all their | argum-nts were met frankly and| squarely After they h:d presented their | cace, Prime M:n’ster Lloyd George asked Bliss for his views to which he replied: | “Pershing will sp:ak for us and what- ever he says with regard to the d'spo- sition of the American forces will have my approv I th°n submitted a compromise pro- gram, which Bliss had already scen, and the British concluded to take it under advisement. The following day, while we_were en route to Versailles together, Bliss ex- | pressed some doubt whether they would ! accept, but when we met with Mr. Lloyd | George and some of the others who had been present the previous day he ac- knowledg=d that my objections to amal- ! g'maticn werz sound and told me that | he had said so. 10 his confreres the dey before, An agreement was then signed | by Mr. Lloyd Gecrge, Gen, Maurice and | | myself as s:t forth in ‘the following | copy of the memorandum submitted and | later cabled to Washington: ’ © Text of Agreement. “In order to meet the situati-n rs F‘resenbzd by Sir William Robertson and asten the arrival and tra‘ning of | troops, it s proposed that the British government tse the available sea trans- | portation. in. question- for brin; over the personnel of enure dis under the following conditions: “l. That the Infantry and auxiliary troops of thess divisions be trained with British divisions by battalions, under such plan as may be agreed upon. | 2. That the Artillery be traind under | American direction in the use of French | material as at present. “3. That the higher commanders and | ::uflfl omcfn be ":}:llgned 1'\'»-d uz,r-ming experience with correspont units of the British Army. . “4. That when sufficiently trained, these battalions be reformed into regi- ments and that when the artillery is ful trained all the units comprising each division be united under their own officers for service. 5. That the above plan be carried out | without interference with the plans now | operation fcr bringing over American forces. “6. That question of supply be ar- ranged by agreement between the Brit- ish and American commanders in chief. That question of arms and equip- m;{nr :-.’ :’eme? ltn sgnlur manner.” 2ys later Secretary Baker re- plied stating his views as follows: “We have no objections to the pro- gram which you suggested, but in our Judgment it “would be wiser for the British to undertake to transport six | complete devisions across tne sea to be disposed of and trained as you direct in conference of courss with the com- manding officers of the other fcrees.” Plans Not Always Followed. Of course, this was in exact agree- ment with my views as expressed in the | proposal I made to the British and to which they agreed, but the fortunes of war intervened more than once to pre- vent strict adherence to plans and agreements. The supreme war council began its third session January 30. At the open- ing session Mr. Lloyd George made a statement in some detail of the situation on the allied /fronts. He they spoke of the large number of casualtie; the allies had suffered dur- ing 1917 and in a very pointed man- ner declared that the costly offensives had produced no tangible results. But instead, he said, the allies now found themseives short of man power at a critical period of the war. His sharp criticism was evidently directed at Sir Douglas Haig and Gen. Robertson, but nei§her was given an opportunity to reply. ‘The military representatives presented a joint note with reference to military policy, as directed at the December | meeting, and the opinion given was identical with that of the conference Compiegne January 24 and also in Au- gust at the meeting in Paris, except that the campaign under Gen. Allenby then in progress in Palestine should continue. It will be recalled that these two informal conferences of command- !ers in chief had concluded that the jallies should remain on the defensive on all fronts until the Americans should | arrive in sufficient force to warrant the offensive. The joint note was approved as the decision of the council, with the under- standing, as suggestcd by the French, that no white troops should be sent ,from France to Palestine. It was, de- cidedly the opinion of M. Clemenceau and of all others present who expressed | themselves that the war could not be ended until 1919, when the American Army, it was thought, would reach its maximum strength. ‘The allicd forces at the moment were superior on all active fronts, except in | the Balkans, but the Greek mobiliza- tion, when completed, would add suffi- cient strength to give the allies the ad- { vantage there also. The American strength was then negligible, but the prospect was that we should have a few more divisions ready for service by June, and by September possibly 17 or ' the equivalent’of 34 Prench divisions.. Planned Allied Reserve. | The danger on the western front lay in the continuous increase of the Ger- | man forces and in their ability to con- centrate in turn against the French and British, and as neither had sufficient | regserves of their own it was clear that unless some arrangement could be | made between them for batter co-ordi- nation and support the war might eas- iy l& lost before the Americans should arrive. The study of this problem by the military representatives led to another joint note which proposed & plan for the organization of a general allied re- serve, It provided that the British, French and Italian armies should each set apart a certain number of divisions to constitute this reserve, which would be called into action only in a great emergency. ‘The on of this became rather acrimonious. and Petain both pointed out that short of divisions very of severe fighting, and pre- sented figures on the subject that were veg disturbing. ut the ccuncil's scheme was cut dried. recommendations set in the pote were adopted then and. Experiences in the World War ~LBy— . Gen. John J. Pershing Commander in Chicf of the Amcrican Expeditionary Forces s n » T - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1931. As to fuel, the natural tendency of all troops, but especially Americans, under such conditions was to use an excessive amount. Nothing delights our soldiers more than to gather around a rousing fire either in or out of doors. But the allowance of firewood was limited and there was no such thing in France as stealing the top rail from fences, as our troo%l did in the Civil War Many units had to go into the forests and cut their own wood, and the Winter was well along before our forestry troops got to the point of keeping up the supply. ‘Thnen, as we have seen. there was as0 a shortage of heavy Winter cloth- nter in the trenches. Lack of heavy clothing made the winter of 1917-18 one long to be remembered by the American there by the council. The genéral re-) possible for days, and undey the condi- ve was creptes and its control was | tions even the regular supply of d! sary food for men in the- trenches be- placed undar an Executive War to consist of Gins. Foch, repre the French, chairman; Bl the jcans; Cadorna, the Ttallans, British general officer to be named. At this meeting Mr. Lloyd George designated Cen. Sir Henry Wilson as th: British representative, to the very evident disappointment, of Gen. Robert- son, who was present at the session. The selection of Wilson was regarded by the Britisn high command and the war office as open disapproval of their conduct of che war. In accordance with the decision the Exccutive War Board, as the adminis- trative authority of the Supreme War Council, sent out instructions directing the French and British commenders in chief each to select a-certain number of divisions to_form a part of the gcneral reserve. The number was finally fixed at 30 in all; 10 British, 13 French and 7 Italien. Proportion of Line Problem. The use of these reserves appeared somewhat indefinite, but the idea as brought out in the discussion seemed to b that certain divisions in each army would be. designated as constituting a general reserve, to be so situated that they could be moved expeditiously to the support of the army seriously attacked, 2s might be determined after consulta- tion between the Executive War Board and the commander in chief of the army affect:d. This plan of the Su- preme War Council did not meet with the approval of the armies, especially the British, who apparently regarded it as merely an indirect means of assum- ing supreme command. One other matter somewhat limked up with this question of a general resexye was the proportion of line that shoul be held by the French and British armies. The French occupied about 340 miles of front, with their right on the Swiss border, while the British had only about 110 miles, extending from the French left near St. Quentin to the right of the Belgian army. The French argued that they were holding a greater proportion of line than the British, but the latter con- tended that a large part of the French front was mactive and did not require many troops, while the British front was active. After considerable discus- sion the question was referred to the military representatives on the council for an opinion. Their recommendation was not acceptable to the French, so the matter was finally decided by agree- ment between Gen. Petain and Field Marshal Haig, under which the British were to extend tQeir front some 28 miles, to a point near Barisis. This concession was used later by Sir Douglas Haig as one reason why he could not spare divi- sions for the general reserve. Under date of February 4, 1918, I wrote Secretary Baker: “I am sending this letter by Gen. March, giving a brief report of the ne- gotiations concerning the troops to be brought over by the British and trained with their divisions. Unwise to Split Divisions. “After fully considering the matter I am quite convinced that it would be unwise for us to break up divisions by turning over Infantry battalions, as such, for extended service with the British. The main reasons are set forth in my memorandum cabled to the de- partment, copy of which is inclosed herewith. “I am also inclosing two other memoranda, cne a conversation, with Marshal Joffre; which I would request be held in the strictest confidence, and another giving a synopsis of a confer- ence held between ourselves and the British on the subject of their request for men. From the former it will be seen that the marshal takes the same view that I do regarding service with the British. He further does not look upon thy situation on the western front :.x;?dq‘ume L:Lmuc': ;]nrm as is indi- n s 'men Marshal and Gen. Petain. 4 e “‘One more word regarding this dis- cussion. Gen. Bliss, upon his arrival, was inclined to accede to the British Tequest, basing his action upon the cable he recelved from the chief of staff, which stated that the proposition had my approval, although I had not intended to convey that impression. So after further conference with him, in which I set forth the views of Mar- shal Joffre and similar views of a Bri- tish officer of high rank, given me in confidence, Gen. Bliss agreed with me, and we appeared before Mr., Lloyd George in full accord. My views were then fully set forth and were afterward declared by Mr, Llyod George to be en- tirely sound. “The Supreme War Council has been in session since last Tuesday, during which time the whole subject of the conduct of the war has been discussed in its different phases. Generally speaking, the meeting was a success, and the utmost harmony finally pre- vailed. Pessonally, I am pleased with the outlook for military co-operation. We are at some disadvantage on the diplomatic side in the council. I stated to Mr. House when he was here that I thought he should be our representa- tive. He undoubtedly has the confi- dence of the allied governments and would add great strength to the su- preme council. I see by the dispatches thg! Mr. Lane has also been suggested. ‘Gen. March is returning to America as you requested. He will be difficult to replace, but I feel that you need the best man we can find, so I cheerfully let him go. .He is in touch with plans, organization and progress here and understands the situation very well.” 1917-18 Winter Was Hard. It has been said that the Winter of 1917-18 was the most severe of the war. The cold was at times so intense as to make the generally unheated houses, barns and lofts used as billets nearly uninhabitable. The gloom of short days and long nights in the isolated and largely depopulated French villages can hardly be described. The snow was unusually heavy in Eastern France, and periodical thaws, with consequent mud | areas in village streets were kept and a| and slush in the trenches and dugouts, greatly added to the discomfort of the men of all armies, Training in the open was-often s ing, “although frequent cabies early in the Fall had ‘called attention to the probability of a deficiency. No doubt the demands were greater than the Quartermaster Department could meet, out the relatively small number of troops in France going through the Winter under actual war conditions ,should have been given first consideration. Much of the clothing that we received for our troops looked to be shoddy, and being light and thin of course offered insufficient protection. ‘The deficiencies were met in part by vurchases from the British, although our men did not take kindly to the idea of wearing the uniform of another protest and chagrin thdt they did so until our own could be supplied. Objected to Buttons. T recall an incident that occurred in one of the regiments of infantry which was composed largely of Irish-Ameri- cans. This organization had received a consignment of British uniforms with the coat of arms of Great Britain. Whean the uniforms were issued a wave against wearing British buttons. pacify the objectors an automobile was sent post haste with American buttons, the changes were made, and the regi- ment then turned out looking both smart and seréne. The necessity for haste in preparation, |as well as the maintenance of morale, w2 {made 1t necessary to carry out our program of training almost regardless of the weather, and even though it en- tafled some hardships the constant out- |door life kept the troops in good eastern part of France, while beautiful| health and hardened them for the in Summer, is certainly sombre and un- | work ahead. attractive in Winter. To the credit o soldiers. cleared for daily exercises only by the constant work of troops. The north-| formidaple task. Restricted our officers and naticn, and it was with considerable | brass buttons, which, of course, bore| of opposition swept through the outfit| Te | men be it said that they m«fl:y ored adverse conditions, and, bar- some irritation at French and occasionally ab our own, they at their tasks with commendable determination. Looking back over the different phases of the war I re that Winter, with . its . difficulties, anxieties and apprehension for the future, as the most trying period of them all. Tomorrow: Perishing cm*e- general staff for- hesitating to comPly with his recommendations. (Copyright. 1931, in all countries by the North American Newspaper Alliance. World Tights reserved. including the Bcandinavian. Reproduction in whole or- in part pro- OHIO TO UNDERTAKE TAX LAWS REVISION | Legislators Also to Consider Reso- lution on Dry Act Repeal. By the Assoclated Press. | COLUMBUS, Ohio, February 9.—Re- vision of Ohio's taxation system will get under way this week with the ap- | pointment of a Joint Legislative Com- mittee of two Democrats and three Re- publicans 10 draw up new laws as re- quired by the classification amendment, wlhlch will 'replace the old uniform rule plan. | Besides taxation and further discus- sion on the drought and unemployment situation, the legislators must give their attention to several other important questions during the next few days. | These include prohibition, which caused a stir earlier in the session when nu- | merous bills and resolutions to wipe out all liquor laws were introduced. | The first hearing on this question will be held tomorrow when the House Judi- ciary Committee takes up the Nippert resolution calling for a referendum to | repeal the State prohibition amendment. Next in importance is a bill to repeal the Ohlo syndicalism law, enacted as a war measure. This also will be con- sidered by the House Judiciary Com- mittee Thursday. £ SEES RESTORATION - OF INDAN OFFICER Wheeler Says H. ). Hager- man Will Be Put Back on U. S. Pay Roll. By the Associated Press. Formal restoration of Herbert J. Hagerman to the Government pay roll as special commissioner of Indian af- fairs for the Southwest was forecast to- day by Senator Wheeler, Democrat, Montana. Wheeler, who was Hagerman’s prin- cipal cross-questioner during the hear- ings on charges against him, said he would not oppose such action. He said he understood Senator Frazier, Repub- lican, North Dakota, whose accusations against Hagerman in connection with Navajo oil leases led the Senate to eliminate his pay from the Interior De- partment appropriation bill, “intends to fight it,” but declared the pro-Hager- man forces have the necessary votes to support the Interior Department bill conference report, which advocates re- turning the former territorial Governor of New Mexico to the pay roll. Frazier, chairman of the Senate In- dian Committee, which conducted the hearings, would not say what action he planned on the Senate floor when the report of the Senate and House con- ferees comes up, probably toda; MOTHER IS MISSING Police of the seventh precinct today looked for Mrs. Mary Pascoe, 34-year- old wife of Philip Pascoe, who has been missing from her home at 1411 Wisconsin avenue since Saturday. Police were tpld that the woman went to a picture €how with her son, James, 5, Saturday. The boy came home later in the afternoon, saying he did not know where his mother had gone. ' Two Important Pamphlets FREE To all Industrial Employers ' ssQutline of Industrial Policies and Practices ‘in time of Reduced Oper- ation and Employment.” Based on a study of steps taken by hundreds of companies to meet the present unemployment emergendy. This pamphlet is designed to make a knowledge of these measures available to all employers of labor. A Survey of Unemploy=- ment Relief in Industry.® This pamphlet contains a survey of emergency employment mea- sures founded on information gath- ered from a diversified list of large and small corporations in more than 500 localities and which em- ployed in 1929 more than three quarters of a million men. i THE suggestions in ‘these pamphlets do no? originate with this Com- mittee. The Committee has simply collected and classified the practices now in operation in various parts of the country, both in respect to manufacturing policies and u;iemployment relief. : These pamphlets have already been widely distributed, but the Commit- tee desires to have them in the hands of every industrial employer of labor. For, while the suggestions contained in the outline do not purport to include extensive discussion of all p_ians for stimulating industrial employ- ment or reducing the effects of lay-offs, it is believed that many who have had difficulty in securing information' on what is considered sound pro- cedure, will find these plans of value. - Copies of these pamphlets may be secured free of charge by addressing: President Hoover’s Emergency Committee for Employment Arthur Woods, Chairman Washington, D. C.