Life — April 18, 1918 — page 10: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

ity GERMAN MIRAGE If> F you have heard the breezes sigh Your loved one’s name in passing by; li you have heard the pearly shell The tale of distant regions tell; If you have heard the ocean cry Defiance to the cloudy sky; lf you have heard the gentle stream Sing songs of peace as in a dream; 1f you have heard the woods complain Because the year is on the wane; If you have heard the rocks reply To waterfalls, that shouted high— I would not rudely say you lie; But—you've heard a good deal more ; than Lt sa Teiiene Hancock, IRST PICKET: Here come twenty Germans to attack us, Bill. I guess start for the rear. COND Picket: You ain't going to desert your pal like that, are you? “Tain’t that, Bill, But I want to give the Boches a sportin’ chance.” i Dr. Wilson and Dr. Wood cr seems to be highly satisfactory all around that General Wood was able to pass the physical examination, and is available for service abroad. It helps to abate the supposition that the ad- ministration was sitting up nights to keep him out of the war. On his return from France the General was called before the Military Committee of the Senate to give testimony about matters abroad, and seems to have got his au- ditors thoroughly stirred up. It was thought that the President, too, ought to see him and get the benefit of his stimulating revelations, but so far as known, the President did not think so. At that time he probably talked over the wire every day with Mr. Baker, in Europe. Mr. Baker has his confidence, just as General Wood has Ex-Presi- dent Roosevelt's confidence, and as Mr. Baker must have had first rate oppor- tunities to know what was going on, Mr. Wilson doubtless thought himself thoroughly informed. If Mr. Roosevelt had been President in Mr. Wilson's place—as might have happened if Providence had so willed it —he would both have seen General Wood and talked over the wire with Mr. Baker, and would have given each of them abundant information, and possibly received a little from them, And having Mr. Baker on the wire he would doubtless have distributed a lot of valuable counsel along the fronts and elsewhere. Mr. Roosevelt would have seen everybody and told them something. It would have been grand to see him take charge of the war, and he would have done it, and we should all have enjoyed it very much. But Mr. Wiison is a much shyer person. If he must see people, he pre- fers, if possible, to see them through a periscope. He has a lot of brass about addressing an audience, however for- midable, for that is something he knows he can do, but he does not seem to take people, especially people whom he distrusts, as easily as he does audi- ences. And he is shy of putting himself in a false position. It will be remembered that he didn’t go to President Hibben’s inauguration. For reasons of his own he preferred to keep clear of that, just as he seems to prefer to keep clear of General Wood. It is never safe to blame Mr. Wilson for not behaving like someone else. He can’t, and he would not get ahead any by trying to. If Colonel Roosevelt had been Daniel, cast into the den of lions, he would have had all the lions jumping cheerfully through hoops within ten minutes. But Mr, Wilson would have gone to sleep, and thereby saved his time and strength. It seems that General Wood told the Military Committee of the Senate that we ought to have five million men under arms or in training. That's about twice as many as have been pro- vided for at present. General Wood was raised a doctor, and got used to having things, and to the exercise of real authority. He takes large views, and takes them harder than most of our military men, and he is not as well schooled in suppressing his opinions as he might be if he had got his early training in the line. All the same, there is nothing out of the way in his call for five million men. We have provided to have about three millions in the war or in training next fall, unless the war caves in, and experi- ence teaches that our military plans are subject to sudden enlargement. comicbook