The Camden chronicle. (Camden, S.C.) 1888-1981, April 24, 1931, Image 3
My Experiences
i>. ii..- World War
By Oeneral John J. Pershing
#f Corrtt*ht. 1931. la *11 countries b? tb? Not?b Am?rlt?n 'I ,,
6lj HPMPMWf AUtoact.World rt?ht?wwmcd,laclwdtngth? K
j.OhMHiis?h? > iprniliirrtnn ttrhnltiTfr prntilMiirl J
I CHAPTER III
Hon I deplorable .situation as to mu
Hju^hs \NJIM fully discussed at a cuu
^Mrcuce culled by Secretary -of Wur
H;>i > i Muy 10 ii was bfougbt out
Hint we had for Issue, not In the
Mimis of troops, fewer than 285,000
i : ; inM rifles, caliber j^O; only a
M, tnort than 400 light field guns,
Mireeinch, and 150 heavy field guns.'
Ah It was Impossible bemuse of
^ iiiiiifiicturing difficulties for our facM
. to turn out enough Springfield
Miles .\yjihln a reasonable time, the
^ftcretary decided to adopt+the Knfleld
Mile for our infantry. It was then
Ming manufactured for the British In
Mi/, quantities ut private factories in I
Mn country, and a slight moidllieation
Mr the chamber only was necessury to
Mni n it ut our ammunition. The total
Mmiiirtion of thih rifle exceeded 2,M)0,000
during the war.
M As to machine guns, It was reported
M? the conference that we had a few
Msg than 1,500, and these were of four
Mpes. Congress in 1916 had approMr
la ted $12,000,000 for machine gun's,
Mm the War department had not deMilled
definitely to adopt any partlcuMr
one for, our army, although ah
Mrder had been placed late In 1916 for
M quantity of the heavy Vickers-'
Ml n situs.
8hort on Ammunition.
I Of artillery ammunition, except for
Mie three-inch, we did not have enough
M> provide more than nine hours' supMly,
even for the limited number of
Mms on hand, firing at the rate ordiMarlly
used In laying down barrage
Mor an infantry attack.
M The situation at that time as to avlMtlon
was such that every American
MiiK'it to feci deeply chagrlifhd to hear
mentioned. Of B5 officers and about
M.OOO men in the air service section of
he signal corps there were 35 officers
Mho could fly.
With the exception of five or six
)fficers, none of them could have met
he requirements of modern battle coalitions
and none had any technical
xperience with aircraft guns, bombs.
>r bombing devices.
, We had some fifty-five training
>1nnog In various conditions of usefulness,
all Entirely without war equipment
Of these plane* it Is amusing
now to recall that the national advisory
committee for aeronautics, which
had been conducting an alleged scientific
study of the problem of flight,
advised that fifty-gp* were obsolete .
and four othec^i obsolescent
We could not have put a single
squadron in the field, although It was
estimated that we should eventually
fteed at least 300 squadrons, each to
ftp composed on the average <>T some
ft-i officers, 180 men and 18 planes, henries
a large reserve of planes for reMl'.icoments,
^ Among other subjects considered
-rfttTti rhe Muenwnry with The^asserfiBTy""
Mr training of the National Guard
^ftd the men to come In under the
In lieu of any previous plans, the
^Mcretary contemplated the const rucMn
of cantonments in different parts
M the country, and May 7 the com^Banding
generals of the several de^fcrtments
were directed te select
I *,,c ?vi uoi cvuscruciiou or cgntouMenu
was not begun until nearly
Mree months after we were In the
M?r, and so great was the task of
greeting buildings and putting in waMr
works and sewers that some ninety
Mays mere elapsed by the time these
enters ef instruction were ready to
Mcelve troops. Thus K was, with some
Mtceptiona, practically tlx months be ore
the training of our army was un *r
* Men then eereral of theee
amps were not favorably located, and
raining was seriously handicapped
Miring the fell and winter months.
Rivalry far Our Treepe.
About this time tfce allies brought
p the question of utilising our men
o build up their ermine, An we shall
Me, the subject arose from time to
me In one form or motherland we
Md to fight agalnet It untll'the end
f the war.
Both the Trench and British mle ons,
under M. it one Vivian! and ArMnr
G. Balfour, respectively, then In
ur country, were very keen to have
M consent to fill up the ranks of their
rmies with Americans.
' WftS decidedly against our becomM
s recruiting agency fQr either the
rench or British, and at that time
Ml* was the attitude of the War deMrtment
also. While fully realising
M? difficulties, it wns definitely tinMr*tood
between the secretary, of war
M>d me that we should proceed to orMni*?
our own units from top to bot m
and bn|ld a distinctive army of
Mr own at rapidly as possible.
The evident rivalry between the
British and Frencfi for control end
Me of our forces. eVen- before we had
M army In the fietfL confirmed my
pression that thfrw t#o governments
ere not working entirely In harmony.
i to their armies, it had been appurMt
for some time that there was a
k of cooperation between them,
e r efforts were often separate and
Mtlnct?that Is. first one end then
H other wenld attach.
fchh2SritSeueht 10 A,or>
* antflratkaw t. mrrwoj mr.
One of them wins a^ personal appeal
for service In nny eupiM-ity by my old
friend, Itolieri l'.ucon, who hud heen
ambassador to France, lie laid al
ready given valuable aid to the allkeil
cuttse, and because Af Ida intimate
knowledge of tlie French people and
his tact and discretion 1 -was glad to
huve hint.
A few days before my departure,
wiiiie at lunch at the Metropolitan
club with Charles 10. Magoon, ex-governor
of Cuha, Charles G. Da was
Joined us. The three of us had bqen
friends in the days when we were together
ut Lincoln, Neb. Magoon and
Dawes as young lawyers, the latter
w ith i? decided talent for business, and
1 as military Instructor ut the state
university.
Dawes was nn applicant for a commission
in one of the engineer regiments
then being organised under the
Col. Thtodoro Roooovolt.
direction of Samuel Felton, from volunteer*
with experience in railroading,
and wanted me to help him get
the appointment. I asked him whether
he knew anything about engineering,
and he said that when a youth^he had
^carried a chain a month or eo for a
surveyor In Ohio.
In was not much Impressed with his
_ pretentions as an engineer or as a
* prospective military possibility, but I
did have knowledge of his business
ability and experience, and knew that
he would be valuable in some position
requiring his qualifications, so I
spoke to the secretary of war In his
behalf.
Requests from National Guard officers
and from governors for the early
acceptance of their state units llterallv
ooured into the War department.
The clamor became so general and so
Insistent that the secretary of war
happily conceived the Idea of forming
a composite dlvisibn to include troops
from every state In the Union. I!
thought the suggestion a good one and
gave It my hearty Indorsement. This
was the origin of the Forty-second
(Rainbow) division, which was later
to distinguish Itself in several fngagemanli
?/ ? ?' ?-J
CHAPTER IV.
My first and my only meeting with
President Wilson until after the armlstlce
occurred May 24, miT. when *1
called on him with Secretary of War
Baker. After some conversation with
Mr. Baker on shipping, Mr. Wtleon
turned to me. t
"General, we are giving yon some
difficult tasks these days," said the
President.
"Perhaps so," I replied, "hst that
Is what we are trained te expect, Mr.
President."
The President then men tinned my
expedience In Mexles and Inquired
about my acquaintance with Frfcncei,
1 bed expected him te any something
about the part our army should play
In the war, but he said nothing.
Premised Pull Support.
Upon leaving, I said: "Mr. President,
I appreciate the honor you have
conferred upon me by the assignment
you have given me, and I realise the
reeponsibllltles It entails, but you can
count upon the best that la In me."
To this the President replied:
"General, you were chosen entirely
upon your record, and I have every
confidence that you will succeed; you
shall have my full support."
The President then asked me to convey
to the king of Great Britain and
to the President of France hit greetIngto
and best wishes. His manner was
cordial with, his.poise and his sir of
determination.
His assurance of confidence In me
was gratifying, but In the difficult situatlons
that arose later regarding the
manner of aiding the allies, he was
inclined to yield to tie persistent Importunities
Of the allied fspreeenfatlvee
In Washington. I
In the actual conduct of operations
I was given entire freedom, and In
this respect was to enjoy as expsrience
unique In the history of American
wars.
Letter Making Him Chief.
t0 MUX 1f(0"nfw *fl?| VUOIIIJ
k?p imt MO ft iMttr of tootfoctftooo
Wm ^ W T w u i mm?
MMiniftf M WOOftMf OMoMMPM
k
Wo*' x' it a *
and duties in which If quoted
la mil
,'The President direct* rae to
communicate to yog the-following!
"1. The President designates
you 10 command all the ' land
forces of the United State* operating
In continental Kuropc and
In the United Kingdom of tireat
Britain and Ireland. Including any
part of the marine corps which
may lie detached for service there
with the arrn.v. Knyd your . mi
mand are excepted the u Hilary
attaches and others of the gy*n<
who may lie on duty directly with
our several embassies ,
"2. You will proceed with yohr
?tutr (o 10urope. Upon arrival III
Great Britain, France or any other
of the countries at war with the
imperial German government, you
will at once place yourself in communication
with the Amcrlcun
embassy and through lta agency
with the authorities of auy country
to which the forces of the
United States may be sent.
"8. You are invested with the
authority ami duties devolved by
the law, regulations, orders and
austoms of the United States upon
the commander of an army lu the
held In time of war and with the
authority and duties In like manner
devolved upon department
commanders In peuce and war, Including
the special authorities and
duties assigned to the commander
" Charles Q. Dawes In War Time.
?f the Philippine department, in
so far as the same are applicable
to the particular circumstances of
jour command.
U. 8. Forcea "Separate."
"4. You will establish, after consultation
with the Frendh war
office, all necessary bases, lines of
communication* depots* etc., and
Make all the Incidental arrangements
essential to active participation
at the front.
"5. In military operations
against the imperial German government
you are directed to cooperate
wtth forces of the other
countries employed against that
enemy; but In so doing the underlying
Idea most be kept in view '
that the forces of the United
States are a separate and distinct
component of the combined forces,
the ifdentity?of which?must?be
preserved. This fundamental rule
Is subject to such minor exceptions
In particular circumstances v
as your judgment may approve.
The decision as to when your
command, or any of Its parts, Is
ready for action Is confided to
you, and you will exerclsa full discretion
In determining the manner
of co-operation. But, until the ?
In rJ*ur Judgment} sufficiently
gjiisf to warrant operations as
an Independent command. It Is unffrgttpd
th*t jo* Win co-operate
ns a component of whatever army
yew may be assigned is by the
French government."
Ik Yew will i*ep the department
fully advised of all that consents
your command and Will eom'
maatcate your recommendations
ft |*f and directly to the depart*$*dv
lh general yon are
Tested With air necessary authority
to carry on the war vigorously
la harmony the spirit .of
these instructions and toward a
victorious conclusion.
' (Signed)
NEWTON D. BAKER."
Warty Sails In Secrecy.
On the date of my sglllafc, May 28,
. 1917* my party assembled at Governor's
island, New York. < All had bet*
Instructed to proceed with the utmost
secrecy, even wearing civilian clothes
until they \ ere aboard the steamship
Baltic.
Although we ourselves stole silently
out through the fog and down the
bay, the large number of quartermasters
and other officers stationed near
New York dashing around In uniform
rather ostentatiously that day really
amounted to an announcement something
out of the ordinary was happed- Ing.
But It must be said to the credit of
the press representatives that they !
were moat discreet, ts the papers generally
published nothing about us un1
til we were In Europe.
During the VIA age most of my 'time
was spent in conference with thfc
heads of staff department* rewarding
their duties and plana. The study of
French was taken np by many officers,
and classes were In acaalon at all
hours. n
In the Danger Zone.
Jung 8 the Baltic began to signs*
and we realised we ..were In the dan7ftiwr
American deetiujp^E, fiT? m
something of n thrill aud fully restored
confidence. No submarines were
observed, however, and the weather
was perfect throughout the voyage.
We steamed Into Liverpool June 8.
A cordial reception awaited us, with
guard of honor from the Royal
Welsh fusiliers. This selection had a
sentimental significance in that the
regiment not only fought against us
a| Bunker Hill but fought beside us
during the Boxer rebellion In China.
Ah .we stepped off the gangplank the
band played "The Star-Spangled Banner"
to welcome us, this being tbe first
time In history that an American army
ever was received officially in England.
A royal conch attached to a "Special
train took our party to London. At
Euston station wo were welcomed hv
Lord Derby, secretary of state for
war; Field Marshul Sir John French,
Gen. Lord Brooke, Walter Hlnes Page,
the American ambassador, Admiral
Williams S. Sims, and many other
British and American officials.
King George Not Optlmletle.
I was received by King George at
Buckingham palace Jnne 0. Hla
majesty was in the uniform of a field
, marshal _And be -talked with me in
democratic fashion for a few minutes
before the other senior members of
my staff were presented. The king
expressed his pleasure that America
bad come into the war* add dwelt opon
the fact that Anglo-Saxon people Were
united at last in n common mm
"The Anglo-Saxon rata sunt save
civilisation," he added,
asked too numerous (jtfestiSit about
America'* prapsratloa fer war.
Leaving tbfc feaiace, wo wnt to eer
embassy and daring an MNml talk
Mr. Page remarked how happy he was
that America vti at lectin the war,
and added:
"Now I am able to bold up my bead
and look people squarely In the eye."
Through hla service as ambassador
he waa beloved and honored by the
British people, who admired his virile
personality, but many Americans did
not spprovo of his rather apologetic
attitude toward hla own country prior
to our entry Into the war in aid of
the all tea.
Admlrll 81ms Not Satisfied.
I had a talk with Admiral Sims, who
waa not In personal command of our
fleet serving with tho British navy,
but remained In London with an office
at our embassy and directed the movements
of our naval vessels, especially
destroyers, from there. Be
was not satisfied with the support
given him from hornet and complained
that the Navy department had
not sent nil the destroyers 'asked "for.
Be said the department seemed to fesr
attacks Along our coast end did not
realm* tbe danger to the cans# In the
enormous destruction of merchant
shipping going on In European* waters.
The admiral's report of these loes**wss,nothing
short of startling, hst he
thought they might b# checked If be
could have S sufficient number of destroy
era. Without more of this class
of itrifli, alias waa not asndUns over
tho prospect* of protecting dor tramsporta.
liwoossr. he made it dear that
Mmm tfianftil a" liTjisria nmlM Va msi!*
pi'wSiOlw wITOri WOUHI wPj Wa''*
to that end,
(Continued next week)
. - x ?' -
Nobody's Business
WritUn for Th* Chronic)* by Geo
McGee, Copyright, 1P2B.
PBA8 AN!) HAKMONY
... .The happiest time of my life
struck jme when I was about 7 years
of age,' Th? thing that made me ho
happy was a 5-eent mouth or?an that
old S&hta Ola us brought me. 8he
was made in Germany and had 14
holes ip it.
r i
....Now, folks it wassent very long
after I took that thing out of my
stocking till I was an authority on
mouth organs. I blowed it so hard
the first few hours, I sprung one of
her keys, and had to take her down
and fix it-^-^os it would never Wow
again.
... .By noon of that eventful Christmas
day, my lips and jaws were so
sore from havling that instrument
slid back-ward and forward across
them, I couldn't eat soup. I had never
heard but one tune, and that was
"Goon shine." They say I could piny
her fine in less than a week.
.... Being a pretty good mechanic, I
kept my musical monstrosity (the
only one ever seen in that community)
in fine trim. She was made by
|Mr. Hohner, in Germany, and I'll
never forget how pretty and shiny
her sides were. I lost the nut off the
holt that held the sides on up towards
the keen keys, but I bradded the old.
Jfuzzy, and she was O. K. again.
... .1 would let any of the little niggers
blow my mouth organ provided
they would cut my stovewood, or slop
,my hogs, or shuck my shucks for the
cows, or tote water for the ash-hopper,
or do any other chores that I
had to account for. (N. B. Germs
had not arrived in America at this
time.)
.... By the tenth day of my ownership
of this handful of music, she
sounded something like this when I
blew it: "Pzz-zzz-eke?zzz-uz," but
I carried the tune right along regardless
of the minor discords. T played
several times for the black coons and
the white brats to shuffle by, but I
played so fast, they coulddent near
shuffle to my time.
....I often wonder how many barrels
of slabbers wo younguns biowe I
through that mouth organ,
course, only the ones that pa
In some way ever got a chance To do
any blowing) 1 woriced o<>n*w*|itlyi
on my treasure. I got ho'k |?.$?&uljl
take the sides off and put them back
in the dark. It got sand and stud' in
it and by March, she had just about
played her last tune, so 1 swapped
her for a pet rabbit which got^kSvay
the next day and 1 haven't wen her
since.
flat rock news.
... .a good manny parties will be hell ,
this week' in our town onner count of j
miss ellie may smith is planning to
get married as soon as possible to
jerry smith both of the same state
and County aforesaid, as announced
by her, mother in yore paper last
week before jerry had fully made up
his mind.
, ?1
, . . .The first party will be a light
shower and will be give at the bride's
aunt's house on westviow at T> p. m ,
and all is asked to fetch along u useful
pres&ent for light house keeping
such as frying pans and dishes unso-.
forth. refreshments will be served
and the culler skeom will be lilies of
the valley if arvny can be found dpwn
in her pastor, and allso roses.
....i have benn assed to explain in
my collum that jerry smith is no kin
to ellie may smith, but both of them
is smith's newer the less, jerry's
daddy is from the cellur brated
smiths who married pokey hunlus,
the injun, in filly delphia, and ellie
may's daddy is a fifth cousin to the
smith who made the smith & wesson
pistol, and was descended from a
long line of famous smiths, including
the black smiths and possilbly a lock
smith or so.
mrs. smith, the bribe's mamma,
has not decided whether she will have
a chuivh wedding or arrange for it
to be hell, .^t her own home, she
feels like a. efcuroh wedding will sound
bigger, but In a far id that the guesaes
won't7Iftekg as manny pressouts to
"the c1tu|chr:aj> they might fetch to
her private home, ho this inhumation
will come out in this collmn next week,
her littl^, boV,- willie, will bo one of
the tlowef girls am; j.inmic w.ll hold
up her t f a in.
. . . .jerry,?is a self made man and is
now clerking in the hall & charge
grocery on saddays. he was gradurated
fioin lire hi. t year hints in the
,8 grade. mls? el lie may is now in
the 7, but will enter the 8 if she don't
marry pretty soon, as she has already
bow* In it 3 years and her
teacher's name is miss mollio thickhed
of piney lane, georgy.
., . .i asked ellie may's dajldy yestiddy
what he thought of the match, but
he had newer heurd of it Ibefoar, us
she don't tell her (bizness to him, but
he felt like it would be a big relief
to all concerned onner count -of his
ford. mr. editor, i will rite or foam
in the wedding as soo-n as it is over
for the society collum.
yores trulie,
mike -Clark, rfd.,
corry spondent
p 1 '
Hand its held up a private bank ut
Waterhury, Conn., \Ve<lnesday and got
away with $4,00(),
- ' '
ROBT. W.MITCH AM
Architect \
Crocker Building, j
I , t !
Camden, S. C. j
?/
FORD
RELIABILITY
j O
nnt roni
Tl!DO* BKOAN
JLong9 hard use shows
the value of good
materials and
simnUcitu of desian
I Everywhere yon go yon hear report* of the good
performance and reliability of the Ford*
| One owner writes?"Jhe Ford Tudor Sedan I am
I driving hae covered 59,300 milea through all hinda
of weather. It It still giving perfect Satisfaction."
I Another owner deiciibefl a trfjp of 3217 tyti^ea
I in 95 hour* over Ibad roads and through heavy rain
| and sleet in the mountains. "Throughout the en!
tire trip," he writes, "thej Faid|jprfsraae4 CRp
I ceQently and no mechanical trouble of any kind
j! was experienced. The shatter-proof glass an*
j doubtedly saved us from serious injury when a
j prairie chicken struck the windshield while we
j; were traveling at 65 miles an hour."
- See the nearest dealer and have him give you a
j I demonstration ride in the Ford. Then, from your
I own personal experience, you will know that it
| brings you everything you want or need in a motor
J ear at an unusually low price. j
I LOW FORD PRICES
*43<f to *630
(f. o, k Dstrohp pl&r frdghi ami ddlvary. Bumper* and
I pmtm tirm mxtra at low cost. You am buy a Ford foro
?fce tmtkortaOd Ford Fioanao Fiona of lh UulaaruU
Camomy.)