The Story of General Pershing

by Everett T. Tomlinson

In his boyhood his close friends report that this same quality often made him the protector of the younger boys when they were the victims of the school bully. "As a young fellow," states one of his early friends, "he was accommodating and never pushed himself forward. He was always ready to help other fellows who were not able to work out their problems. As a boy his decisions were always quick and accurate."

Of course the spirit of fairness implies the possession of a kindly nature as well as imagination. One cannot be fair or just to his enemies unless he can first get their points of view. This was the underlying quality in the work Lincoln did. He saw what his opponents saw but he also saw more. It is the quality which makes of a man or a boy "a good sport." He appreciates his antagonist and also—in the end—is appreciated by his antagonist.

A writer in the Missouri Historical Review, whose words have before been quoted, pays the following tribute to this quality in General Pershing:

With his scholarly attainments, his ability as a writer and speaker and his grasp of big problems, Pershing might have developed into a statesman: he certainly would have succeeded as a business man if he could have contented himself with the humdrum life in a downtown office; and with his attractive personality he might indeed have led a successful career as a politician, except for his unfortunate modesty which even in the army has frequently delayed for him a merited promotion. As a soldier, Pershing's methods are those of clemency rather than ruthlessness and he makes personal friends even of his enemies.

Writing as he did before the declaration of war with Germany he adds:

Since the death of General Funston he has been in command of the Department of the South, one of the important military posts of the country at the present time. With this country an active participant in the War of the Nations and the probability that a strong expeditionary force will be sent to coöperate with the Allies in France, what is more probable or desirable than that General Pershing should command it? He has participated in every war in which this country has been engaged for thirty years and in every campaign has added luster to his own name and distinction to American armies.

One has to read no more than the painstaking reports which he sent from the Philippines to the Adjutant General or to the Headquarters Department of Mindanao and Jolo to comprehend the mastery of details which has been a striking characteristic of General Pershing. From his recommendations concerning military posts and the disposition of the troops in the province he turns to deal specifically with detailed suggestions about cold storage plants and to present carefully prepared suggestions to aid the quartermaster from whom "too much is expected." It is easy for one to tell what ought to be done. The world has never lacked, nor does it lack now, multitudes of men who fancy they are competent to do that. But to find one who is able to tell how to do it—he is the individual for whom the world ever has a warm welcome. Many are officious, but only a few are competent or efficient.

Nor is this quality of mind and heart limited to details of administration alone. It applies also to his knowledge of men. The incident of the telegram to the former cook, John Kulolski, related in Chapter XVI, is illustrative. Most men find that for which they are looking. If they expect to find evil they seldom are disappointed. If their objective is the thing worth while, that too they find. To know men as well as maps, to study soldiers as well as supplies, to grasp the varying and differing elements that compose an army—these are the essential elements in a successful leader of men. To the German war lords their men may be merely "cannon fodder." To the public a French soldier may be a poilu, a British fighter a Tommy, an American a doughboy. To General Pershing every one that carries a gun is above all else a man. This is at once the basis of his confidence in and appeal to his followers. It may be because of this trait that Rowland Thomas and others have described General Pershing as "the most brilliant and most dependable general officer in our army."

Like many men who are large, physically as well as mentally, he has almost infinite patience. This quality too is so closely linked to self-control that at times it is difficult to distinguish between them. Confidence and self-possession are the foundation stones upon which patience rests. It is the man sure neither of himself nor of the goal he seeks nor of the cause for which he fights who becomes impatient. Was promotion delayed? Then he must wait with patience, first making himself fit to be promoted or doing his work in a manner that would compel recognition. Had the Moros for three centuries successfully resisted every attempt to subjugate them? Then his campaign must be so conducted that the little brown people must be made to see that the United States was seeking to help as well as to subdue. Had Germany for more than forty years been preparing armies to overthrow civilization and dominate the world? Then, "Germany can be beaten, Germany must be beaten, Germany will be beaten," is the quiet statement of the American Commander, because, having confidence in the cause for which he is fighting and faith in his fighters, he can be patient. With the end in view, there must be no hasty or impatient activity which might lead to disaster.

One distinguished writer on military topics has called him the American Kitchener, because of his ability as an organizer. Points of resemblance there may be and doubtless are, and these are not limited to any one man, British or American, but the people of the United States are well content to take him as he is. If comparisons are to be made then the resemblance should be based upon the fact that the party to which reference is made is "like Pershing," not because General Pershing is like another.