The Career of Leonard Wood

[Transcriber's note] Page numbers in this book are indicated by numbers enclosed in curly braces, e.g. {99}. They have been located where page breaks occurred in the original book.

Obvious spelling errors have been corrected but "inventive" spelling is left unchanged. Apparently conflicting spelling is not resolved, as in "Gouraud" and "Gourand". [End Transcriber's note]

[Illustration: LEONARD WOOD (portrait)]

THE CAREER OF LEONARD WOOD

BY

JOSEPH HAMBLEN SEARS

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY

NEW YORK LONDON

1920

Copyright 1919 by D. APPLETON AND COMPANY

Printed in the United States of America

TO GENERAL LEONARD WOOD

By Corinne Roosevelt Robinson

Your vision keen, unerring when the blind, Who could not see, turned, groping, from the light. Your sentient knowledge of the wise and right Have won to-day the freedom of mankind.

Honor to whom the honor be assigned! Mightier in exile than the men whose might Is of the sword alone, and not of sight. You march beside the victor host aligned.

Had not your spirit soared, our ardent youth Had faltered leaderless; their eager feet Attuned to effort for the valiant truth Through your command rushed swiftly to compete To hold on high the torch of Liberty-- Great-visioned Soul, yours is the victory!

November 11, 1918

From "Service and Sacrifice: Poems"

Copyright. 1915. 1916. 1917. 1918. 1919. by Charles Scribner's Sons. By permission of the publishers.

CONTENTS

I. The Subject 11

II. The Indian Fighter 25

III. The Official 51

IV. The Soldier 77

V. The Organizer 101

VI. The Administrator 129

VII. The Statesman 159

VIII. The Patriot 201

IX. The Great War 225

X. The Result 257

THE SUBJECT

{11}

I

THE SUBJECT

In these days immediately following the Great War it is well upon beginning anything--even a modest biographical sketch--to consider a few elementals and distinguish them from the changing unessentials, to keep a sound basis of sense and not be led into hysteria, to look carefully again at the beams of our house and not be deceived into thinking that the plaster and the wall paper are the supports of the building.

Let us consider a few of these elementals that apply to the subject in hand as well as to the rest of the universe--elemental truths which do not change, which no Great War can alter in the least, which serve as guides at all times and will help at every doubtful point. They range themselves somewhat as follows:

The human being is entitled to the pursuit of happiness--happiness in the very broadest sense of the word. No one can approach this object {12} unless he is in some way subordinated to something and unless he is responsible for something. No man can get satisfaction out of life unless he is responsible for what he does to some authority higher than himself and unless there is some one or something that looks to him for guidance. Perhaps the existence of religion has much to do with this. Perhaps prayer and all that it means to us belongs in the category of the first of these elementals. Certainly the family is an example of the second.

The family is the unit of civilization--always has been and always will be. The father and the mother have their collective existence, and their children looking to them for guidance, support and growth, both physical and moral. The moment the family begins to exist it becomes a responsibility for its head, and around it centers a large part of the life and happiness of the human being.