AS A WRITER AND SPEAKER
THE two predominant qualities that have marked General Pershing in other
lines of activity naturally appear in his written and spoken words.
These are simplicity and forcefulness.
He writes but little and then only when he has something to say. What he
has to say he tells and then stops. His style is lucid and interesting;
even his early reports make good reading.
Certain of his sayings have almost the force of proverbs. For example,
when one has once heard, "Germany can be beaten; Germany must be beaten;
Germany will be beaten," he can never forget the terse epigrammatic
phrasing. The same thing is true also of his response to the message of
the French school children who invaded his headquarters, bringing their
Fourth of July greetings:
To-day constitutes a new Declaration of
Independence, a solemn oath that the liberty for
which France has long been fighting will be
attained.
It is not much when measured in words, but it is enough when behind it
is the man.
Similarly terse and appealing are his words already referred to, hanging
in every Y. M. C. A. hut in France.
He is not an orator in the sense of being oratorical, but he is
conversational, direct and impressive in public address. His soldierly
bearing, his fine physique, clear voice and strong face are accessories
of no small value.
There is a field in which General Pershing has been a pronounced success
as a speaker which perhaps is not commonly known, and that is at dinners
and similar public functions. Anyone who notes the corners of Pershing's
mouth, at once is aware that the General possesses a keen sense of
humor. No better illustration could be given of this fact than an
incident not long ago recorded in the _Missouri Historical Review_:
"He was invited to a stag dinner party one evening
where a jolly story-telling lot of good fellows
were to be present and he went primed with his
best stories, a memorandum in his vest pocket to
aid him in telling them. The memorandum was
accidentally dropped on the floor and was picked
up by one of his friends, who immediately saw what
it was and decided to have his little joke at the
General's expense. The finder got an opportunity
to spring the first story and promptly started off
with the first one on the list. Pershing said
nothing and laughed--he always does when a good
story is told, and makes you laugh, too--but when
the second one on his list was told he felt in his
pocket for the memorandum and discovered its loss.
A few minutes later the General, after a
consultation with a waiter, announced that he had
just received a message which would require his
absence for a few minutes on important business.
"Jumping into a car he was hurried to a hotel.
From the clerk he secured the names of half a
dozen traveling men--drummers--who were stopping
there and announced that he wanted to see these
men at once on important business. The drummers
responded and in twenty minutes the General was
back at the banquet, before the coffee had been
poured, with a new stock of yarns. Then ensued a
battle royal between the two famous raconteurs,
much to the amusements of the guests, until his
friend played out the string and left the General
victor in the humorous contest.
"Just at this juncture one of the drummers, made
up as a police officer, arrived, arrested the
joker, searched him and found the General's
memorandum, which he exposed to the hilarious
guests with the significant comment: 'General
Pershing has really been the only entertainer this
evening, but lots of people are making reputations
with the public on the General's ideas.'"
His words to the British public and his public address in France are
alike notable for their simplicity and directness, their friendliness
and dignity. He understands thoroughly his part. It is a great advantage
for America to have a representative for whose public utterances no
apology must be made and no explanations given.