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Show PERSHING AND THE POLITICIANS IT was ' characteristic "of General Pershing that he should promptly frown upon the use of his name as a Presidential possibility in 1920. The general is a' soldier and has probably acquired all the regular army man's contempt for politics as they are played at present. He refuses to be the pet of scheming politicians and bluntly resents re-sents the imputation that he has political politi-cal designs and is nursing aspirations for the Presidency. Through his brother broth-er he has made it known that his only ambition is to whip the American troops into fighting shape as rapidly as they come to his command, and to lead them onto victory. This is a fair-sized job, as he sees it, and involves sufficient responsibility to occupy his full time and attention. We quite agree with the general. He has assumed a most difficult undertaking undertak-ing and if he would succeed, he must keep himself clear of all political entanglements en-tanglements and be able at all times to command the full confidence of the peo- y pie bacR home. It would be unfortunate, unfortu-nate, indeed, both for himself and the country, if the commander-in-chief of our forces in France should become tainted with the tar-stick of the politicians. poli-ticians. And so it is that his friends and admirers have unwittingly done him a signal disservice. The American people are prone to worship their successful military chiefs and heartily subscribe to the time-honored custom of rewarding them with the highest gift at their disposal. All of Avhich speaks well for the generosity of a grateful people, but in this instance they have become just a bit .previous. This for the reason that the war has not yet ended and it is a little early to make elaborate preparations for hailing hail-ing the return of a conquering hero. Also, some strange fate may yet decide to place the crown upon some other brow than Pershing's. We hope not ; nevertheless we have a long way to go before we may venture to fix the honor with even the slightest degree of certainty. cer-tainty. Hence it is very much in order for the politicians to take back seat and forget Pershing's candidacy for the time being. Goodwin's. . n |