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 HKESE.NTEI) BY 
 
 
 ■'if^ 
 
In Service 
 
 S. HERBERT WOLFE 
 
 Brigadier General, Finance Reserve Corps, 
 Army of the United States 
 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE DISTRIBUTION 
 
 1922 
 
^« 
 
 T?^<' 
 
 Gift 
 Author 
 
 «CT S! 1921 
 
jForetoorli 
 
 ONE of the distressing- after-effects of the war will 
 be the number of books which will be written by 
 the soldiers who took part in it. I have no desire 
 to be numbered among- those who will attempt to inflict 
 their views and personal experiences on the public, but 
 I remember how keenly I have been interested in the 
 military papers of my father and how much I regret the 
 loss by shipwreck of the major portion of his service 
 records. That he left no permanent record of his many 
 unusual experiences in the field, his interviews with 
 Lincoln, Grant and other public men and his experiences 
 while on staff duty in Washington during the Civil War, 
 is likewise unfortunate for those are tales which in the 
 interest of accuracy should not be handed down by word 
 of mouth. 
 
 In the hope, therefore, that my children may be 
 glad to have this account of my experiences in France, 
 England and in this country during the World War, I 
 have prepared this memorandum. 
 
 Being an account of my personal doings and not a 
 literary effort, the personal pronoun must of necessity 
 be prominent and I make no apology for its frequent 
 appearance. 
 
 S. Herbert Wolfe 
 
It is not my intention to discuss the events which precipi- 
 tated the World War. I doubt whether anyone is able at this 
 time to decide where the responsibility for the struggle rests. 
 If the truth were known it is probable that the fixing of the 
 responsibility would entail an examination of political, economic 
 and financial histories extending over many years. I shall there- 
 fore leave to others the duty of describing the events which 
 brought about the first outbreak and the occurrences of the 
 first two years. 
 
 It must have been apparent to anybody who had given the 
 subject any consideration at all that the training and education 
 of Army officers did not necessarily fit them for the problems 
 which would confront those who would be required to equip, 
 maintain and transport the large armies which I felt would be 
 required if we ever went to war. On December 15, 1908, I 
 wrote to the President of the United States and suggested to 
 him the formation of a body of civilians who by their knowledge 
 of business affairs would supplement the work of the regular 
 Army officers. To this letter I received the following reply : 
 
 "WAR DEPARTMENT 
 Washington 
 
 January 6, 1909. 
 Sir: 
 
 'The Secretary of War directs me to acknowledge the receipt 
 by reference from the President of your letter of the 15th ultimo, 
 wherein you suggest the organization of a body of civilians to 
 be trained in methods of transporting and providing subsistence 
 for troops in time of war. In reply you are informed that your 
 letter was referred to the Quartermaster General and the Com- 
 missary General, whose reports on the subject are quoted below: 
 Legislation and appropriation would be required to 
 inaugurate such a scheme as herein proposed and any 
 Legislation covering the matter would have to be based on 
 some plan of permanency, as a yearly tour of two weeks only 
 would result in no benefit to the service in war-time as far 
 as acquiring even a basic knowledge of the many duties of 
 the Quartermaster's Department. The Quartermasters of the 
 different organizations of the National Guard already in ser- 
 vice would be more available, furnishing a handier and better 
 class of material from which to draw on for an auxiliary 
 quartermaster's corps, than from civilians at large, as pro- 
 posed, (signed) J. B. Aleshire, Quartermaster General, U. 
 S. A. 
 
 General Orders No. 6, War Department, 1904, drawn in 
 conformitj^ with the Act of Congress approved January 21, 
 
1903, entitled 'An Act to promote the efficiency of the Militia 
 and for other purposes,' provides for certain examinations 
 to secure lists of persons specially qualified to hold com- 
 missions in any volunteer force which may hereafter be called 
 for and organized under the authority of Congress, other 
 than a force composed of organized militia. 
 
 This act of Congress provides the remedy for the con- 
 dition set forth by Mr. Wolfe, but unfortunately, so far as 
 this particular Department is concerned, little interest has 
 been taken by individuals to have their names listed as 
 specially qualified for subsistence work. 
 
 This office realizes fully the difficulty in securing proper 
 material in time of war out of which to make efficient sub- 
 sistence officers, and would be only too glad to assist in every 
 way applicants who desire to take examinations, so that in 
 war-times the list of available men who have demonstrated 
 their efficiency would be as large as possible. 
 
 For the purpose of assisting these applicants this office 
 would cheerfully recommend that authority be granted them 
 to visit any of the stations of the Subsistence Department 
 for the purpose of being instructed in their duties, at the 
 place and periods of time most convenient to the applicants. 
 Further, an applicant successful in his examinations would be 
 assisted in every way possible in keeping up with the ad- 
 vances made in the method of subsisting troops. (Signed) 
 Henry G. Sharpe, Commissary General." 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 John C. Scofield, 
 
 Mr. S. H. Wolfe, Assistant and Chief Clerk. 
 
 165 Broadway, 
 
 New York City. 
 
 1 Inclosure. 
 
 Of course, in view of this documentary evidence it would 
 be very logical for me to claim that in 1908 I foresaw the possi- 
 bility of the World War, but honesty compels me to admit that 
 my plea for the creation of this reserve corps did not originate 
 in such an idea. The letter from the War Department, however, 
 was not encouraging and I determined, therefore, to hold the 
 matter in abeyance. As soon, however, as the war clouds burst 
 in 1914, I saw the opportunity of making use of my idea and it 
 is interesting to note that very soon after we entered the war 
 it became necessary to adopt the suggestion which I made in 
 1908, for in no other way could the wonderful record which the 
 American Army made for transporting and equipping its men in 
 so short a time have been accomplished. 
 
II 
 
 The progress of affairs during 1914, 1915 and 1916 made a 
 number of things apparent to every thinking man in this country. 
 The first of these was that sooner or later this country would 
 become an active combatant ; whatever doubt on this point may 
 have existed at first, it was clear that the sinking of the Lusitania 
 and the unrestricted operations of the U-boats would require us 
 to take a decided stand in the interest of humanity. The second 
 thing that was apparent was the woeful unpreparedness of this 
 country. I doubt whether anyone realized the full extent of our 
 helplessness until the events which followed our entry into war 
 demonstrated so unmistakably our short sightedness in failing 
 to profit by the experience of other nations. 
 
 Attempts were made by various people to meet this situation 
 along different lines. The first Plattsburg camp had been held 
 and this served admirably to emphasize the need for trained men 
 in the military establishment. 
 
 On January 17th, 1916, I wrote the following letter to the 
 New York Times : 
 
 The Editor. 
 
 The New York Times. 
 
 Sir:— 
 
 "If the present war has taught us one thing above all others, 
 it is the great advantage which results from the ability to have a 
 large force ready to strike rather than to have to drill and train 
 the various units after the declaration of war. This is the key- 
 note of the entire plea for preparedness 
 
 A careful reading of the proposed bills for the increase of 
 our armed forces and a study of the programs which have been 
 spread before the American public, do not, in my opinion, take 
 cognizance of a very important factor. 
 
 In the rearrangement of the military establishment some 
 place should be found for those who are beyond the age of 
 active military service, but who, by virtue of their training and 
 experience, could be of peculiar value to the Government. There 
 are certain duties which, while vital to the success of an armed 
 force have more of an administrative than a military function. 
 Such, for example, is the solution of problems dealing with the 
 obtaining of food supplies, of arms, of ammunition, of clothing, 
 with their manufacture under forced conditions, with the trans- 
 portation of men and supplies and the various other matters 
 related to them. A reserve force trained to look after such needs 
 of large bodies of troops, could be entrusted with certain duties 
 now devolving upon the Ordnance, Quartermaster and Commissary 
 
Dcpailmcnts, thus relieving: sotiio o( tlic olVicers of those Depart- 
 im'iits for service in other directions. Men between the ages of 
 40 and 50, connected with large industrial enterprises who have 
 been especially trained in organization, in directing large num- 
 bers of employees in the most effective way, who are skilled in 
 liandling i)roblems of administration, constitute a group of civil- 
 ians possessing a form of ability which should prove particularly 
 valuable in times of emergency. 
 
 I have been told tliat civilians interested in the various 
 branches of engineering are now arranging to be of service to 
 the C'lovernment in case of war and this is a step in the right 
 ilirection. The pri>posal outlined above, however, deals not with 
 engineers, but with men who have been especially trained along 
 the lines indicated. 
 
 The fact that recruits may be enlisted in the National Guard 
 uii to age 45. does not solve the problem, for the men who would 
 be entrusted with this work of organisation and who are now 
 beyond the age of 40, could not be expected to enlist in the 
 National Guard: iti fact, there is no place in that body where 
 they could be used etYectively. 
 
 If this suggestion appeals to any of your readers I would 
 be ghul to have them correspond with me for the purpose of 
 tindit\g out whether there is some way of carrying out the plan." 
 
 Yours trulv, 
 
 S. H. WOLFE. 
 
 'VUc rcspoiK^o whicli I roooivod to this were most encourag- 
 ing-. A nntnlier of professional men telephoned or wrote to me. 
 pleili^ing their ei>-operation. .Xmotiji them were F. E. Townsetid. 
 Sturtiis Laurence. B. G. Burtnett, Major C. H Eagle and Archi- 
 bald E. Stevenson. Copies of the "Times" were sent to ex-Presi- 
 dent Roosevelt and Major General Leonard Wood, with the 
 request that if thev approved of the idea they assist in forming 
 the organization. The following replies were received: 
 
 Oyster Bay, 
 Long Lsland, N. Y. 
 
 Februarv 4. 1016. 
 My Dear Mr. Wolfe:— 
 
 ■"That is a very interesting suggestion contained in your 
 letter, but it is not possible for me to take up matters of that 
 kind at this time." 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 (Signed^ T. ROOSEVELT. 
 
 Headquarters Eastern Department. 
 Governor's Island. X. V. 
 
 January J5. \^\6. 
 
 My Pear Sir :— 
 
 "Yours received. I think there is indeed a place for older 
 men in the general scheme of preparedness. Their place is in 
 connection with the organization of <upply departments and 
 work behind the lines, work where business experience and 
 capacity for organization will tell." 
 
 \"ery truly yours. 
 
 (Signed) LEONARD WOOD. 
 Mr. S. H. Wolfe. 
 
 lev? Broadwav. New York Citv. 
 
In order that the details might be discussed, all who had 
 written to me were invited to meet in the directors' room of 
 the United States Casualty Company, the use of which had been 
 cheerfully given for that purpose by Edson S. Lott, President of 
 the Company. I notified General Wood of my intention and he 
 wrote as follows : 
 
 En route to Boston, 
 February 14, 1916. 
 My Dear Sir : — 
 
 "Your letter received. If you will give me the date of the 
 next meeting I will try and arrange to have Colonel Bellinger 
 or Captain Dorey of my staff present to talk the matter over 
 with you." 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 (Signed) LEONARD WOOD. 
 Mr. S. H. Wolfe, 
 
 165 Broadway, New York City. 
 
 At the meeting Colonel John M. Bellinger. Q. M. Corps. 
 U. S. A., represented General Wood and indicated the way in 
 which the proposed organization could be of service to the 
 Government. At the Colonel's suggestion I prepared an outline 
 of the organization, its scope and the duties of those who would 
 join. This outline was discussed with him and Major Frank H. 
 Lawton, who was then on duty on Governor's Island. They 
 were good enough to approve of tlie general plan and to suggest 
 that I present it to the War Department officials in Washington. 
 
 Although I have had considerable experience in submitting 
 new propositions to those in authority, I must admit that I was 
 unprepared for the lack of interest and lack of desire to co-oper- 
 ate which was manifested by those in Washington. I had no 
 illusions as to the value of my idea. Our unpreparedness was 
 something which everybody had to admit : that soon there would 
 be need for the services of the kind indicated was likewise too 
 obvious to permit of discussion : that the regular establishment 
 could not spare men to take up these duties was equally clear ; 
 that my proposal (approved as it had been by General Wood 
 and such practical Quartermasters as Colonel Bellinger and 
 Major Lawton) would enable the Government to obtain the 
 services of professional men with special qualifications, was 
 apparent. Notwithstanding all of these facts, however, there 
 was a spirit of antagonism in Washington which would have 
 discouraged one imbued with less confidence in his proposal. 
 Lindley M. Garrison, the then Secretary of War. was away and 
 I was referred to Major General Hugh L. Scott. Polite frigidity 
 would be the proper characterization of the reception accorded 
 me. The request to have General Scott (who was then Chief of 
 Stafi") refer the matter with recommendations to the Quarter- 
 master General of the Army was denied and I returned to New 
 York disgusted not with the men with whom I had come in 
 contact, but with the blind adoration of the existing svstem 
 
which tliey manifested and the refusal to try something new 
 simply because it had never been done before. 
 
 After considering the matter at some length I came to the 
 conclusion that the only way in which my object could be accom- 
 plished would be by directly entering the service through the 
 Reserve Corps of the Army. 1 had served over five years in the 
 22nd Regiment of Infantry, National Guard, New York, and had 
 thereby l)ecome familiar with basic military matters; I had 
 studied various manuals issued by the different bureaus of the 
 War Department from time to time and I felt that it would not 
 take me long to master the necessary subjects for the examina- 
 tion. About this time T became acquainted with a newspaper 
 writer — John M. Oskison — who was interested in the same sub- 
 ject and who had attended the Plattsburg Camp. We arranged 
 to study together and for several months burned the midnight 
 oil mastering the details of army "paper v/ork," regulations, rules 
 for the care of horses and kindred subjects. Learning that a 
 certain number of men would be admitted to the Reserve Corps 
 on their professional qualifications without examination, applica- 
 tion was made with the approval of General Wood, but the 
 application arrived one or two days after the War Department 
 decided to admit no more without examination and it was there- 
 fore denied. 
 
 Orders were finally received from Washington directing me 
 to report for examination early in May, 1917, and together with 
 a number of other candidates for commissions in the different 
 branches of the service. I presented myself at the Army Build- 
 ing, 39 Whitehall Street, New York City ; a non-com in the 
 Hospital Corps tested my ability to detect different colors and 
 shades by having me select pieces of wool yarn, and also tested 
 my hearing; a Captain in the Medical Corps completed the exam- 
 ination of the various organs and after certifying to my physical 
 capacity directed me to the Board of Examiners. 
 
 Of the seven who entered the physical examination only 
 three of us emerged successfully ; this was somewhat of a shock 
 for it indicated from the physical standpoint how poorly equipped 
 was the average citizen of mature age to enter military service. 
 Subsequently I learned that this was also the experience in 
 England and it is a commentary upon the conditions of life 
 surrounding the man of sedentary habits. Afterwards, I believe 
 the standards were lowered as the rejections were interfering 
 with the military program. 
 
 I shall never forget the mental examination which we re- 
 ceived. Two retired army officers — one Major Whipple (Cavalry) 
 and the other Captain Piper, an Infantry officer — put us through 
 our paces. For three hours we were submitted to a gruelling 
 examination. The findings of the Board were forwarded to 
 Washington and we were left in doubt as to our fate. 
 
 10 
 
Ill 
 
 As soon as it became evident that there would be war 
 between this country and Germany, the life insurance com- 
 panies gave serious attention to the question of additional prem- 
 iums to be charged to those who entered the military or naval 
 service. Nearly every company decided to charge no additional 
 premium on policies then in force, but the methods to be followed 
 in the case of new issues varied greatly ; in fact, there were 
 nearly as many diflferent plans as there were companies ; some 
 planned to charge $100 for each $1,000 of insurance, the payments 
 to continue for five years ; others planned to limit the payments 
 to two years ; still others planned to charge $25 per $1,000 as 
 long as the policyholder was engaged in military or naval ser- 
 vice irrespective of the field of operation. I felt that the addi- 
 tional charge would be prohibitive in man}^ cases and would 
 serve to discourage enlistments. 
 
 This matter was discussed at great length with Mr. Justice 
 Brandeis of the Supreme Court of the United States and at his 
 suggestion I placed the matter before Mr. Ingraham, then Assist- 
 ant Secretary of War, and Mr. Howard Coffin, of the Advisory 
 Commission of the Council of National Defense. I had very 
 courteous interviews with both of them April 11th; Mr. 
 Ingraham felt that the proposed activity was one in which his 
 department should not engage. I. of course, could not agree 
 with him and this and the subsequent history of the War Risk 
 Insurance Bureau showed the correctness of mv judgment: Mr. 
 Cofiin asked me to submit the matter to him in writing, which 
 1 did on April 12th. Under date of April 17th, he wrote a non- 
 committal formal letter of acknowledgment in the course of 
 which he said : 
 
 "This of course brings up problems, the solution of which is 
 only now being taken up. I can only say that the matter is in 
 the hands of the Director for action." 
 
 Although the matter was taken up with Mr. Gifford, the 
 Director, by me, I was never able to get any action by the 
 Advisory Commission. I mention these matters in order that 
 they may form links in the chain of events which led to the 
 formation of the War Risk Insurance Bureau. 
 
 The National Convention of Insurance Commissioners at its 
 meeting in Des Moines, on April 17th, 1917, appointed a com- 
 mittee to take up with the life insurance companies the question 
 
 11 
 
of uniform war service regulations. The committee invited all 
 of the life insurance companies to send representatives to meet 
 them at the Hotel Astor, in New York, on April 27th, 1917. At 
 that time a joint committee of the commissioners and repre- 
 sentatives from the companies prepared a joint report setting 
 forth recommendations upon which all had agreed and urging 
 every company to adopt the recommendations contained therein. 
 
 The matter had been discussed at length by a number of 
 people and the suggestion had been made by the President of one 
 of the insurance companies in a letter to the President of the 
 United States that the companies should issue policies at their 
 regular rates and that the Government should agree with the 
 companies to make up any mortality experienced in excess of 
 the American Experience Table. 
 
 The matter was of interest not only from the actuarial 
 standpoint, but in view of its direct bearing upon enlistments ; 
 T felt that it was the patriotic duty of everyone to devise some 
 plan whereby the policies of the large number of men who would 
 probably be required to serve their country could be saved for 
 the benefit of their families ; I feared that the charging of the 
 proposed additional premium would interfere with the taking 
 out of the necessary protection, which would result in privation 
 and hardships to many of their dependents. 
 
 At the request of one of the technical magazines, I sug- 
 gested the following plan for handling the situation. 
 
 LIFE INSURANCE AND THE WAR— A SUGGESTION 
 
 By S. H. Wolfe, Consulting Actuary 
 
 (Written exclusively for Insurance and Commercial IMagaziiie) 
 
 "Per capita, the people of the United States enjoy better life insur- 
 ance protection than do the inhabitants of any other country. 
 
 This is merely another waj' of saying that our people have been 
 quicker to grasp the economic advantage of permitting a large number 
 to share the financial damage caused by their death instead of bearing 
 it individually with no help from their fellows. 
 
 Is it any wonder then that the patriotic man about to obey the call 
 of his country will stop long enough to see how his act will affect the 
 protection which he has provided for his dependents, for in many cases 
 the insurance policy is the thing which will spell the difference between 
 comfort and discomfort for his family in the event of his death? 
 
 Now. the policies of different companies vary in their provisions. 
 Some do not refer in any way to military or naval service, others assume 
 that risk after one or two years, while still a third group requires the 
 insured, if he wants to keep his policy in full force and effect, to obtain 
 a permit and pay such extra premium as the company may decide it is 
 necessary to charge. 
 
 But after he has made a rapid calculation of the high cost of living 
 and the disappearance of the usual pay envelope and salary cheque while 
 he is at the front, he may come to the conclusion that he really ought 
 to have more insurance. He does not anticipate any trouble, for prob- 
 ably he has been importuned time and time again to put his name on 
 the dotted line. In fact, he may have had difficulty in resisting the 
 appeals of his friend— the agent. So, full of confidence, he telephones 
 to the agent to come and see him. 
 
 12 
 
Shock No. 1 is now due. 
 
 The news is gently broken to him that in policies issued hereafter 
 there will be a provision that if he engages in military or naval service 
 under certain conditions he must pay an extra premium. 
 
 As yet there has been no universal rule adopted by the companies 
 in this country, and some may decide to charge no extra premaum if the 
 service is performed within the limits of the United States : others may 
 charge $50 each year on each $1,000 of insurance; if his services takes 
 him out of the country the insured will be called upon to pay annually 
 $100 or $150 for each $1,000 of insurance. Of course, those charges are 
 prohibitive, and if the war should last five years — the period during 
 which most of these additional premiums are payable — the insured would 
 practically pay the cost of his policy. 
 
 Now comes shock No. 2. 
 
 Even if he should be willing to pay the extra premium, he may be 
 able to get only a very limited amount of insurance, for companies have 
 reduced the limits of the coverage which they are willing to give to 
 those who engage in military or naval service. One large company has 
 announced that it will not issue such policies in excess of $5,000. and 
 when the regular premium and the extra premium are taken into account, 
 it will be seen that the policyholder is receiving mighty little insurance 
 protection. 
 
 It is therefore natural for the prospective policyholder to attempt 
 to find out the cause for this increase and to determine whether the 
 companies have simply become panic-stricken or whether they are really 
 afifected by the war situation. 
 
 Of course, there is no question but that warfare has an eflFect upon 
 the mortality of insurance companies, but it is incorrect to consider 
 that the sole effect is felt by those who are in the fighting ranks. Even 
 the mortality on the peaceful stay-at-home may, under certain condi- 
 tions, show an abnormal increase. 
 
 The reason why life insurance companies are interested in the 
 question of war risks are two — first, because with other American 
 corporations they will have to meet a large part of the cost of war in 
 the shape of special war taxes and ordinary corporation taxes, and, 
 second, because all of their contracts with their policyholders involve 
 two sets of calculations — mortality and interest earnings — both of which 
 are directly affected by war conditions. 
 
 Of course, the primary purpose of an insurance company is the 
 payment of claims. No one element enters so largely into the cost of 
 that function as mortality. The companies, therefore, are vitally inter- 
 ested and concerned in anything which is so essential to a proper basis 
 for their relations with their clients. It requires no extended proof to 
 show that war does affect the mortality experience of a company, but 
 perhaps we have lost sight of the changed methods of conducting war- 
 fare. Formerly a company's mortality was in direct proportion to the 
 number of its policyholders who were enrolled as active fighters; 
 thanks to modern methods of conducting war, this has been changed 
 and new factors have been introduced. Not only are companies con- 
 cerned in the casualties of the firing line, but I venture to say that a 
 considerable variation in the rate of mortality can be ascribed to 
 collateral causes. In Germany, for instance, the shortage in food sup- 
 plies and the difficulty in obtaining food with the proper amount of 
 nutrition must be contributing factors to an excessive mortality among 
 those who are not directly engaged in the actual fighting. 
 
 Zeppelin raids and all of the other different forms of aerial inva- 
 sion contribute additional mortality risks to non-combatants. 
 
 Passing now to the other factor entering into insurance calcula- 
 tions — the interest rate. Nobody knows just what effect the war in 
 Germany, for instance, will have upon the principal of such securities 
 as internal war loans in which the funds of her life insurance companies 
 
 13 
 
have been invested. Will such indebtedness be repudiated or will their 
 payment be provided for by the levying of taxes upon a scale as to 
 amount to practical repudiation? We must wait until the present war 
 is ended before a satisfactory answer to those questions can be obtained. 
 
 But irrespective of any consideration of the security of the prin- 
 cipal, we do know that in every country violent fluctuations have 
 taken place in the interest yield, and in consequence all calculations 
 based upon interest rates have been directly affected. At the present 
 time short-term notes of some of the principal countries at war are 
 being offered upon a basis which will yield over 8 per cent, and in some 
 cases 9 per cent. The entrance of this country into the war can have 
 only one effect, viz: to still further increase the interest rate at which 
 securities will become attractive to capital available for investments. 
 The value of the securities now held by insurance companies will be 
 directly affected by these fluctuations in the interest rate. 
 
 From the above we may properly conclude that war conditions 
 affect not only the fighting man, but every policyholder on the books 
 of an insurance company. It must follow, therefore, that every policy- 
 holder is vitally interested in reducing the time during which such 
 abnormal conditions prevail. Is it good policy, therefore, to discourage 
 military or naval service by imposing penalties upon those who are 
 able and willing to do the actual fighting? 
 
 But that is just what some companies are doing, and it seems to 
 me that instead of discouraging efforts to shorten the duration of war, 
 every attempt should be made to encourage those acts which will safe- 
 guard the interest of all of the policyholders by bringing the fighting to 
 a prompt termination. 
 
 How can this be done? In the first place, let us not lose sight 
 of the fact stated before, viz: that insurance companies were primarily 
 intended to furnish insurance protection. The question of profits is 
 entirely secondary. If we are prepared to admit that, the rest of the 
 proposition is comparatively easy. Why should we attempt to separate 
 the mortality as between the combatants and non-combatants? Are we 
 not justified in assuming that if any additional mortality be experienced 
 in the former class it is the result of an endeavor to maintain intact the 
 equities of the entire body of policyholders and therefore it should be 
 assumed not by any particular class, but by the entire body? Of course, 
 this would result in those profits which arise from favorable mortality 
 among the non-combatants being used in part — or even in whole — for 
 the pavment of unusual death claims instead of being distributed in the 
 form of dividends. After all. however, this is both just and equitable. 
 
 Our chief concern is with the new entrants. Are they to be de- 
 prived of the benefits of life insurance protection by the imposition of 
 an additional premium purposely made prohibitive? If so, the matter 
 seems wrong in principle. 
 
 For the reasons outlined above, I am of the opinion that the 
 proper procedure would be for the companies by concerted action to 
 agree to issue policies for a certain restricted amount at the regular 
 rates and to provide for the additional mortality from the profits which 
 would ordinarily be distributed in the shape of dividends to policyholders 
 or to stockholders. Last year the records of the three largest companies 
 were as follows : 
 
 Dividends Paid to Death Claims 
 
 Company Policyholders Paid 
 
 A $13,226,900.00 $23,067,760.00 
 
 B 19,695,355.00 29,332,346.00 
 
 C 17,518,116.00 25,741,436.00 
 
 This is the record for one year only, and when we stop to consider 
 that these companies very wisely did not distribute all of their profits, 
 we can appreciate the reserve power of life insurance companies to meet 
 unusual conditions such as the one which now confronts us. 
 
 14 
 
There is still another flexible fund which may be used as a 'shock 
 absorber' for the three companies shown above were holding at the end 
 of 1916 certain funds representing profits to be paid to policyholders in 
 the future. These undistributed profits amounted to the enormous sum 
 of $212,592,887, and there is no reason why they should not be used for 
 any legitimate purpose, such as the one indicated. What is the true 
 significance of these accumulations? Disregarding for the moment the 
 question of normal profits on the business in force and assuming that 
 each policyholder serving outside of the limits of the United States is 
 required to pay an additional premium of 10 per cent, of the amount of 
 insurance, each $100,000,000 of undistributed profits on hand would pay 
 the additional premium for one year on $1,000,000,000 of insurance, and 
 therefore, in the three companies shown above, the accumulated profits 
 of over $200,000,000 would be sufficient to pay the additional premium for 
 one year on over $2,000,000,000 of insurance protection. 
 
 While, of course, it is impossible to tell just how much insurance 
 will be issued upon the lives of those who will be exposed to the war 
 hazard, it is fair to assume that the three companies referred to will not 
 issue more than $500,000,000 of insurance a year to all policyholders. 
 What percentage of the total will be war risks? If we take into con- 
 sideration the fact that it is proposed to recruit the fighting force from 
 those between the ages of 19 and 25, and if we consider that the com- 
 panies proposed to limit the amount of insurance which will be granted 
 to such applicants, it is safe to assume that not more than $25,000,000 
 will be issued on such lives. The annual additional premium — 10 per cent, 
 of the face of the policies — will therefore amount to $2,500,000. Inasmuch 
 as the three companies referred to paid dividends to their policyholders 
 last year of over $50,000,000 and also had on hand undistributed profits 
 of over $200,000,000. it would seem that the question of additional mor- 
 tality would take care of itself without causing more than a ripple on 
 the financial exhibit of the companies. 
 
 Therefore, why should we not carry the principle of insurance 
 one step further? If the basic idea is the distribution of the normal 
 losses over the entire body of policyholders, why should we not dis- 
 tribute the abnormal losses in the same manner? Surely every logical 
 reason exists for requiring the policyholder who has been insured for a 
 number of years and who has valuable equities in the shape of accumu- 
 lated reserves requiring protection, to pay for such protection by fore- 
 going his usual profits. 
 
 Certainly the plan is worth a trial, and the wise underwriters 
 managing our companies can be trusted to safeguard the interest of 
 their policyholders by discountinuing the practice before it reaches the 
 danger point. 
 
 I. personally, think the danger has been over-estimated and the 
 extra mortality arising from our participation in the war may safely 
 be paid — for the present at least — from the profits of the large amount 
 of business now on the books of the companies. 
 
 Of course, this would require the concerted action of the com- 
 panies to prevent discrimination, but surelj- in times like these the 
 supervising authorities would be justified in exercising whatever pressure 
 was necessary to extend benefits to those of our people who make the 
 sacrifices and undergo the hardships not solely for their own protection, 
 but in order that the interests of others may be conserved." 
 
 15 
 
IV 
 
 Early in April, 1917, I received a telegram from Mr. Justice 
 Brandeis. asking me to come to Washington for a conference 
 in connection with some important war work for the Govern- 
 ment ; at the conference in his office were present Miss Julia C. 
 Lathrop, Chief of the Children's Bureau of the Department of 
 Labor, and Miss Josephine Goldmark, whose interest in soci- 
 ological work is so well known. 
 
 The object of the conference was to outline some plan of 
 providing relief for the care of the dependents of enlisted men 
 serving in our armed forces, for it was felt that it would be a 
 mistake to defer the preparation of relief plans until the destitu- 
 tion actually existed. It was suggested that valuable suggestions 
 might he obtained from the methods followed by our neighbor — 
 Canada — and I was requested to undertake this work. I agreed 
 to do this if it was understood that I should receive no remunera- 
 tion, and that it might be considered as my contribution to the 
 war activities. 
 
 Early in May, 1917, I proceeded to Toronto, Ottawa and 
 Montreal. It is unnecessary to refer here to the results of my 
 inquiry, for they have been published in the shape of a pamphlet 
 by the United States Department of Labor, Children's Bureau 
 (Bureau Publication No. 25) "Care of Dependents of Enlisted 
 Men in Canada." but I should feel that 1 would be guilty of gross 
 lack of appreciation if I did not take this opportunity of acknowl- 
 edging the great courtesies received at the hands of all with 
 whom I was brought in contact in Canada. 
 
 In Toronto, Sir William Mulock, K. C. M. G., and Mr. Angus 
 MacMurchy, who were greatly interested in the Canadian Patri- 
 otic Fund, were instrumental in enabling me to obtain a clear 
 insight into the workings of that efficient institution ; in Ottawa, 
 thanks to Major J. L. Todd, the President of the Board of 
 Pension Commissioners, I not only obtained valuable informa- 
 tion, but was introduced to Sir Herbert B. Ames, Mr. E. H. 
 Scammell (Secretary of the Military Hospitals Commission) and 
 all of the officers of the Assigned Pay and Separation Allowance 
 Departments of the Canadian Military Establishment; Miss 
 Helen R. Y. Reid, Convener of the Montreal branch of the 
 Canadian Patriotic Fund, was greatly interested in the attempt 
 of our Government to solve a problem, the full extent and impor- 
 tance of which she realized and was of the greatest assistance 
 in that city in pointing out the practical safeguards necessary 
 
 16 
 
in relief work of this kind. In Toronto, Lieutenant Colonel and 
 Mrs. Vincent Massey were most kind ; he was the Dean and 
 Professor of English Literature. I think, at Victoria University, a 
 man of wealth and erudition, who had given up his academic 
 work in order to instruct soldiers in musketry and in the mech- 
 anism of the rifle and the machine gun. In one of the university 
 buildings Colonel Massey had constructed a most ingenious aid 
 to musketry instruction. One entered the room by means of a 
 trench identical in construction with those on the battle field. 
 The soldier was given a rifle and instructed to observe carefully 
 any moving object which appeared upon the stage situated at the 
 other end of the hall ; by pressing a button the instructor was 
 enabled to cause a small tin figure of a German soldier on a 
 bicycle to shoot across the stage ; pressure on another button 
 caused the figure of a German spy to appear for a moment in a 
 church tower and similar effects were produced with other but- 
 tons. The soldier was instructed in sightmg and by means of 
 sub-caliber ammunition was instructed in marksmanship. 
 
 Early in June, 1917, I received my commission as Captain in 
 the Quartermaster Reserve Corps, U. S. A. ; in accordance with 
 instructions I addressed a communication to the Adjutant Gen- 
 eral of the Army accepting the commission and filed my Oath 
 as required by regulations. At last I was an officer in the same 
 Army in which my father had held a commission, but until I was 
 ordered into active service from the reserve list I could be of no 
 use to my country. 
 
 Being called to Washington in connection with the report 
 on my Canadian trip, I met Louis B. Wehle, of Louisville, a 
 nephew of Justice Brandeis ; Mr. Wehle was assisting the Coun- 
 cil of National Defense in the preparation of the "cost plus" 
 contract to be used by the Construction Division of the Army 
 in building the sixteen cantonments which were planned to take 
 care of the National Army when called into service. He spoke 
 to me of the insurance problems connected with the contract 
 and at his request I accompanied him to the ofiice of the Officer 
 in charge of Cantonment Construction — Colonel I. W. Littell. 
 Our conversation very soon indicated to the Colonel's satisfaction 
 that the insurance problems were of no mean magnitude. When 
 he and his assistant. Major W. A. Dempsey, learned that I was 
 commissioned but on the inactive list, they at once "put in" for 
 me, which is a technical way of expressing the fact that the War 
 Department was asked to detail me to the Officer in charge of 
 Cantonment Construction. 
 
 Upon my return to New York I waited notification from the 
 War Department that I had been ordered into active service, but 
 none came ; I read the Army orders in the daily papers religiously 
 and one morning was gratified to see that the long waited order 
 had been issued but no official notification came and I hardly felt 
 that I was justified in going to Washington on the strength of 
 a newspaper report. The next few days, however, were spent 
 
 17 
 
in patting niy affairs in order ; I had arranged to accompany my 
 family to Lake Placid but decided that 1 would not remain there 
 in view of the probability of the receipt of my orders. It was 
 well that I had planned in this way as ten minutes before we 
 left the house for the train a telegram came from Walter Lipp- 
 mann, Assistant to the Secretary of War, asking me whether I 
 could come to Washington. I replied stating that I would be 
 there in two days and remaining in Lake Placid only long 
 enough to deposit the family, I took the night train, landing 
 in Washington the next afternoon. 
 
 Before calling on Walter Lipptnann. I decided to report at 
 the office of Colonel Littell to learn whether any orders had 
 been issued. It was fortunate I did so for as soon as I put in 
 an appearance Major Dempsey handed me my orders, which for 
 some reason or other had not been forwarded to me in New York. 
 
 18 
 
The latter part of June, 1917, saw me hard at work on the 
 staff of Colonel Littell. The problem of building sixteen canton- 
 ments in sixty or ninety days, each of which would accommodate 
 between 40,000 and 50,000 men, was not a simple one. 
 
 My introduction to Army life was under the most favorable 
 circumstances for I was thrown in contact with men of experi- 
 ence and action. It would be impossible to describe all of them, 
 but some stand out with particular prominence. 
 
 Colonel Littell was a graduate of West Point and had seen 
 service in the Phillipines. A man of the most kindly disposition, 
 whose chief defect, as it appeared to me, was a disinclination to 
 adopt a harsh attitude towards those who were manifestly dere- 
 lict in their duty. It always seemed to me that if Colonel Littell 
 had been more severe with the contractors and supply men 
 engaged in the cantonment construction work, many of the 
 evils which afterwards developed might have been avoided. He 
 was most kind to the officers who were brought into the Army 
 from civil life and I shall never forget the considerate treatment 
 received at his hands. It meant much to obtain the first im- 
 pression of Army life from a superior of this stamp and when in 
 later days I was tempted to be annoyed at the acts of some of 
 my assistants. I remembered the kindly tolerance exercised 
 towards my own mistakes by Colonel Littell and I governed 
 myself accordingly. Subsequently, while I was in France, he 
 was made a Brigadier General ; after being relieved from his 
 work in the Construction Division he was made the Secretary of 
 the Old Soldiers Home in Washington. 
 
 The first officer one met in Colonel Littell's ante-room was 
 Preston Brown, a Major of the 19th infantry, a man with a most 
 delightful sense of humor and a most engaging personality. He 
 was a Yale graduate and his classical quotations served to 
 enliven many official interviews ; for some reason, which I never 
 learned, Preston Brown took a kindly interest in my progress, 
 instructed me in Army procedure and saved me from many of 
 the pitfalls which await those who are unfamiliar with the way 
 things must be done in the well-regulated machine known as 
 our Army. I made up my mind that if he had the opportunity, 
 Preston Brown would rise by sheer force of his ability and 
 merit. He arrived in Europe shortly after I did and made a 
 most brilliant record, was promoted from rank to rank until 
 
 19 
 
when the armistice was signed he was a Brigadier General in 
 charge of a division and had received the Distinguished Service 
 Cross. 
 
 The Executive Oflicer is the staff officer who stands between 
 his superior and the rest of the world ; he is the one who receives 
 all of the complaints, interviews all visitors and attempts to save 
 his Chief from the routine annoyances which inevitably are 
 found in every office. Colonel Littell's executive officer was 
 Captain R. C. Marshall, Jr., who entered the Army from civil 
 life, took first honors at the Coast Artillery School at Fortress 
 Monroe and possessed talents which peculiarly fitted him for the 
 work of the Construction Division. Upon Colonel Littell's retire- 
 ment, Captain Marshall (who was then a Colonel) became his 
 successor, with the rank of Brigadier General. 
 
 My immediate superior was Major' W. A. Dempsey, who, 
 after graduation from college, had become a civilian clerk in 
 the Army ; at the outbreak of the war he was commissioned a 
 Major in the Reserve Corps and became known to man}^ of the 
 civilians who afterwards entered the Army owing to the fact 
 that he was lecturer and instructor for a class formed to fit men 
 to enter the Quartermaster Corps. He and Major Frank H. 
 Lawton were the joint authors of a book for such students. 
 Throughout my entire connection with the Construction Division 
 Major Dempsey lost no opportunity to assist me in every way. 
 
 There were a number of other capable officers and civilians 
 in the Division and the two months spent there were most inter- 
 esting and instructive. Fortunately, I was able to fit into a 
 niche as the problems involving fire insurance, workmen's com- 
 pensation coverage, public liability and surety bonds were most 
 intricate. The "cost plus" contract was a new departure for 
 the Army and it was necessary to take cognizance of the insur- 
 ance needs — a requirement which had been disregarded in pre- 
 vious Government work for, as the Government never insures 
 its property, no similar situation had ever arisen. Inasmuch as 
 the contractor and not the Government was erecting the can- 
 tonments, the injured workmen could look to him under the 
 liability and compensation laws for damages ; it became necessary 
 for the contractor to protect himself by taking out an insurance 
 policy, the cost of which was a proper item of disbi:rsement and 
 one, therefore, which the Government in the final analysis was 
 required to pay. It is evident, therefore, that the Government 
 had a vital interest in all of the matters pertaining to the insur- 
 ance activities of the contractor and Colonel Littell entrusted 
 the entire supervision of this Department to me. 
 
 In all my dealings with the officers of the insurance com- 
 panies, I attempted to impress upon them the existence of an 
 emergency and to appeal to them in the name of patriotism. It 
 was not an easy thing for me to understand the attitude of some 
 of the insurance carriers whose sole purpose seemed to be to 
 
 20 
 
obtain as high a premium as possible. There were some pleasing 
 exceptions to this rule and it is interesting to note that the fire 
 insurance companies met the situation in a most liberal and 
 patriotic spirit. The arrangement which they made with the 
 Government saved it many thousands of dollars. The question 
 of the bonds which the contractors were required to furnish was 
 taken up with the surety companies and the rate was cut in half. 
 
 An Army officer is expected to accomplish 100% of the 
 things he starts out to do and he can claim no special credit for 
 accomplishing anything in the line of duty. 1 have never kept 
 any record of the results of my strenuous interviews with com- 
 pany executives but in an official memorandum filed with the 
 War Department, General Littell is reported as stating that my 
 eflForts were instrumental in saving over $500,000 to the Govern- 
 ment in insurance premiums. 
 
 On June 29th Colonel Littell's orderly handed me the 
 following order : 
 
 WAR DEPARTMENT 
 
 THE ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE 
 
 WASHINGTON 
 
 June 26, 1917. 
 From: The Adjutant General of the Army. 
 
 To : Capt. Samuel H. Wolfe, Quartermaster Officers 
 
 Reserve Corps, Washington, D. C, through the 
 Quartermaster General. 
 
 Subject: Special Assignment. 
 
 The Secretary of War directs that, in addition to your other 
 duties, you take up the question of the needy who are depend- 
 ent upon soldiers of the Army. 
 
 (Signed) J. S. JONES 
 
 Adjutant General. 
 
 1st Ind. 
 
 326-P, Officers (Wolfe, Samuel H.) 
 
 O.Q. M.G., June 28, 1917— To Capt. Samuel H. Wolfe, c/o Officer 
 
 in Charge, Cantonment Construction, 
 Washington, D. C. 
 Forwarded. 
 By authority of the Quartermaster General. 
 
 (Signed) Wm. H. CLOPTON, JR. 
 Captain, Quartermaster Corps. 
 
 21 
 
VI 
 
 To appreciate the real meaning of this detail it should be 
 stated that the Council of National Defense, which consisted of 
 three or four cabinet officers, had been considering my report 
 on the Canadian method of taking care of the dependents of the 
 soldiers and had requested Mr. Samuel Gompers, the head of 
 the Federation, to prepare the necessary bill for introduction 
 in our Congress to accomplish the same purpose. Mr. Gompers 
 called to his aid Judge Julian Mack, of the United States Circuit 
 Court. Mr. Gompers was also Chairman of the Committee of 
 Labor of the Advisory Commission of the Council of National 
 Defense. It should he borne in mind that the Council consisted 
 of the three or four cabinet officers referred to. while the Advis- 
 ory Commission consisted of a number of prominent men, 
 leaders in their own particular industries or professions who 
 were of great assistance to the Government at this particular 
 time. 
 
 Immediately after receiving my orders I reported to Mr. 
 Gompers and found that Major Harry Leonard had been detailed 
 to act for the Navy Department in the same capacity as I was 
 for the War Department. Major Leonard was a gallant officer 
 in the Marine Corps, who had lost his arm in action during the 
 Boxer Campaign in China, had been retired for disability, was 
 practicing law in the West and at the commencement of hos- 
 tilities was called into active service and placed on duty in the 
 office of the Judge Advocate General of the Navy. His trained 
 legal mind, his familiarity with matters of Navy procedure, his 
 warm sympathetic feeling for the enlisted personnel and their 
 dependents and his charming personalitv were of the greatest 
 assistance in the preparation of the War Risk Insurance Act. 
 
 It should not be assumed that Mr. Gompers. Judge Mack. 
 Major Leonard and T were responsible alone for this work. While 
 Judge Mack in his letter to Mr. Gompers. dated July 15th. very 
 generously states : 
 
 "Primarily this credit is due to Captain .S. H. Wolfe, of the 
 War Department. His work performed under detail of the 
 Secretary of War for the Children's Bureau of the Department 
 of Labor on the separation allowances in Canada, was the 
 foundation on which the article coverinp: this matter has been 
 built; but more than that, his wide actuarial knowledge and 
 experience and his unstinting work under detail of the Secretary 
 of War, first to the Committee on Labor and then to the Treas- 
 ury Department, for the purpose in co-operation with myself, of 
 preparing a draft of a law covering all the subjects under con- 
 sideration, has been of the utmost importance and value. 
 
 a number of others were called into consultation and ren- 
 
 22 
 
dered most valuable assistance. It is impossible to give a full 
 list of them, but 1 recall that Mr. P. Tecumseh Sherman, Dr. 
 L. S. Rowe, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, and Mr. Sulli- 
 van, a most efficient and sane labor leader, were prominent in 
 this patriotic work. It is necessary, at this time, to refer to a 
 very interesting matter, the true political significance of which 
 I have never understood. The Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. 
 McAdoo, was not a member of the Council of National Defense, 
 but he decided that it would be advisable to have some form 
 of insurance for the armed forces. Accordingly, he called a 
 meeting of representatives of all of the insurance companies who 
 could be reached by telegraph ; this meeting was held at the 
 Hotel Washington on July 2nd, and all of the prominent com- 
 panies sent representatives. Mr. McAdoo presided, made an 
 address outlining the purposes of the gathering and called for 
 an expression of views from those present. Mr. Sweet, Assist- 
 ant Secretary of Commerce and Labor, read a thoroughly 
 impracticable plan which had been devised for him by some- 
 body, which, as I recall it now, proposed to give $4,000 of free 
 insurance to each soldier. A thorough discussion revealed that 
 the insurance companies of this country were not prepared to 
 assume the risk of the excess mortality resulting from war 
 casualties without charging additional premiums which would 
 have to be based upon insufficient data and which, therefore, 
 would be very imperfect guesses made sufficiently safe to pro- 
 tect all of their policyholders. No blame should attach to the 
 companies for this attitude. The experience of some of them in 
 Canada with policies issued for the city of Toronto had shown 
 the danger of attempting to issue these policies without charging 
 an adequate premium. I. personally, felt that the entry of the 
 United States in the war would bring it to a speedy conclusion 
 and that the mortality among our soldiers Avould be very much 
 less than that which had been experienced by those of England 
 and France : I was therefore of the opinion that for the time 
 being the companies would be amply protected by the use of 
 their surplus funds for the payment of excess death losses instead 
 of using them for dividend purposes. I was Avrong in my esti- 
 mate of the duration of war after our entry, but had the satis- 
 faction of knowing that my estimate of the additional mortality 
 caused b}^ the war was approximately correct, for I think that 
 all of the companies which charged additional premiums have 
 returned them as they were not needed and the companies who 
 made no additional charge have had no unduly unfavorable 
 experience. Whether the War Risk Insurance Act. which will 
 be referred to afterwards, had any effect upon this, is a matter 
 of conjecture. 
 
 I was directed by the War Department to attend Mr. 
 McAdoo's meeting as its representative and being called upon 
 for an expression of opinion, pointed out that imder the Federal 
 Workmen's Compensation Act, a workman in the employ of 
 
 23 
 
the Government who was injured during his work would receive 
 compensation benefits : I was of the opinion, therefore, that 
 the soldiers who were merely performing a different kind of 
 service for the Government should be compensated for injuries 
 arising "out of and in the course of their employment." With 
 this as a basis I advocated the extension of the Workmen's 
 Compensation Insurance idea to provide for the payment of 
 benefits to dependents in case of death and to the soldier him- 
 self in case of injury or illness received while in the service. 
 
 After the meeting recessed (to be reconvened a few weeks 
 later in Mr. Mcx\doo's office) I continued my work with Judge 
 Mack and Major Leonard. At the same time Dr. Rowe was 
 calling me into conferences in order to give concrete shape to 
 the ideas brought out at Mr. McAdoo's conference. The danger 
 of divided effort was apparent and I foresaw the difficulty which 
 would arise from m}- attempting to serve the varying interests. 
 I determined that the situation called for the cutting of red 
 tape and although an Army officer still attached to Colonel 
 Littell's office (and incidentally still continuing to perform my 
 duties there in addition to my work with Judge Mack and Dr. 
 Rowe) I construed the order from the Secretary of War of 
 June 26th as permission to consult him -without going through 
 the usual military channels. 
 
 I suggested to Dr. Rowe that it would be well if Mr. McAdoo 
 requested the Secretary of War to have Judge Mack and me 
 co-operate with him (Mr. McAdoo) rather than to have separate 
 reports handed in. At the same time I took the matter up with 
 Walter Lippmann — who was then acting as Secretary to the 
 Secretary of War — explained my embarrassment to him and 
 received the followino- letter: 
 
 WAR DEP.\RTMEXT 
 Washington 
 
 Tuly 11. 1917 
 
 Captain S. H. Wolfe. 
 
 Quartermaster Reserve Corps. 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 Dear Captain Wolfe : — 
 
 The Secretary of War asks me to say to you that it is his 
 desire, and that of the Council of National Defense, that you and 
 Judge Mack should co-operate with Secretary McAdoo on the 
 formulation of a plan for the care of dependents of soldiers and 
 sailors and the problems related thereto. 
 
 \'ery truly yours, 
 
 (Signed^ WALTER LIPPMAXX. 
 
 24 
 
It is to be assumed that Dr. Rowe communicated with the 
 Secretary of War. as suggested, for on July 13th, I received 
 the following letter : 
 
 TREASURY DEPARTMENT 
 Washington 
 
 July 13, 1917 
 My Dear Captain Wolfe : — 
 
 Some time ago the Secretary of the Treasury requested me 
 to ask you to co-operate with him in the formulation of a com- 
 prehensive plan of compensation and indemnity to the soldiers 
 and sailors enlisted in the Army and Navy of the United States, 
 and their dependents. 
 
 The Secretary has received a letter from the Secretarj'^ of 
 War reading as follows : "I have to-day requested Captain 
 Wolfe and Judge Afack to co-operate with the Treasury Depart- 
 ment in the formulation of a measure dealing with the questions 
 of dependents of soldiers and sailors as well as insurance and 
 indemnification." 
 
 The Secretary of the Treasury is exceedingly anxious to have 
 before him the first draft of a measure which will accomplish 
 this purpose. In pursuance of the Secretary's wishes and at his 
 direction, I beg to request j'ou and Judge Mack to prepare such 
 a draft for submission to the Secretary on Monday morning 
 next. 
 
 Very sincerely yours, 
 
 (Signed) L. S. ROWE. 
 
 Assistant Secretary. 
 
 It may not be amiss to outline some of the ideas which 
 I submitted to Judge Mack and Major Leonard, together with 
 the reasons behind them. 
 
 In the first place I felt that the pension evil which followed 
 the Civil ^\'ar was a blot upon our history. Following the 
 report which I made on the Canadian situation, Mr. Wilson, the 
 Secretary of Labor, asked the Secretary of W'^ar to detail me 
 to take charge of the preparation of an analysis of the govern- 
 mental provisions existing in the various countries for the care 
 of dependents. Miss Julia C. Lathrop. Chief of the Children's 
 Bureau, was most anxious for me to undertake this work and 
 promised to detail a staff of assistants to help me. It must be 
 apparent that my work in Colonel Littell's office and my work 
 with Mr. McAdoo. Judge Mack. Mr. Gompers and Major Leon- 
 ard left me but little time to do more than outline the new 
 work and to pass upon the matter which was submitted by the 
 investigators. I dealt only with the broad, general policies and 
 it is due to the efificient work of Miss Anna Rochester and the 
 corps of assistants detailed by Miss Lathrop that the report — 
 published as Miscellaneous Series No. 11. U. S. Department of 
 Labor, entitled "Governmental Provisions in the United States 
 and Foreign Countries for Members of the Military Forces and 
 
 25 
 
their Dependents" covered the subject as thoroughly as it did. 
 Subsequently, the following copy of Secretary W. B. \\'ilson's 
 letter was transmitted to me through official channels : 
 
 August 11, 1917 
 
 The Honorable Newton D. Baker. 
 War Department, 
 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 My Dear Mr. Secretary: — 
 
 In accordance with a suggestion made by me to Captain S. H. 
 Wolfe upon the completion of his report upon the care of 
 dependents of enlisted men in Canada, a study has been made 
 by his direction by the Children's Bureau of governmental pro- 
 visions in the United States and foreign countries for members 
 of the military forces and their dependents. 
 
 I wish to express my sense of the great value of Captain 
 Wolfe's services and thank you for making the detail. 
 
 Cordially yours, 
 
 (Signed) W. B. WILSON, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 26 
 
VII 
 
 The sjtudy of this report showed that the most serious 
 pension drain on the Treasury came from the so-called "service 
 pensions" which were given to soldiers and their dependents for 
 merely serving ninety days during the Civil War, without regard 
 to any injury which may have resulted from that service. It 
 was apparent to me that we must get away from this idea and 
 the compensation sections of the War Risk Insurance Act were 
 intended to compensate the soldiers and their dependents for 
 any injuries caused by their service, thus affording a scientific 
 method of dealing with the subject instead of the haphazard 
 way which had been followed in pension legislation. 
 
 It was therefore decided to base the compensation benefits 
 upon the pay of the injured soldier, within certain maximum 
 and minimum limits. It was felt that the widow of a Major, 
 for instance, had been in the habit of incurring necessary ex- 
 penses upon a more extravagant scale than the widow of a 
 private who had become accustomed to getting along with the 
 allowance which was made to her from the private's pay. There 
 is nothing in this idea which does violence to the strictest prin- 
 ciples of democracy and it was embodied in the first draft which 
 was submitted to Congress. In the course of the process of 
 adoption by that body this idea was amended so that the com- 
 pensation was based not upon the earning power — a principle 
 followed out in all compensation acts — but upon a flat $25 for 
 all widows, whether their husbands had been privates or Major 
 Generals. It is quite apparent to me that this amendment will 
 serve to defeat the very purpose of the compensation section 
 of the War Risk Insurance Act for a flood of private pension 
 bills will, I think, surely follow as it is not just to assume that 
 the compensation paid will be sufficient to provide for the 
 dependents of all ranks. 
 
 When the subject of insurance was taken up the following 
 argument was advanced : The Government attempts to com- 
 pensate soldiers for the damage which results from calling them 
 into service. This is the principle underlying the payment of 
 family allowances and the payment of compensation in case of 
 injury or disease. There is another damage, however, which 
 the Government has inflicted upon the men called into service, 
 viz : it has destroyed their ability to buy insurance at the 
 regular rates. It becomes the duty of the Government, there- 
 fore, to enable the men called into service to escape this penalty 
 
 27 
 
and as it is manifestly impracticable to pay the private insurers 
 the additional premium for this hazard, the Government must 
 furnish insurance to the members of its armed forces, not as a 
 matter of charity, but at the same rate as that charged to 
 non-combatants. This was the underlying principle of the life 
 insurance feature of the War Risk Act. 
 
 Realizing the necessity for obtaining the benefit of a broad 
 view of the proposition, I obtained permission from the Sec- 
 retary of the Treasury to call a conference of a number of 
 actuaries in Washington. Consultations were held with John 
 P. Gore, Actuary of the l^rudential Insurance Company, Henry 
 Moir, Actuary of the Home Life Insurance Company. Arthur 
 Hunter, Actuary of the New York Life Insurance Company, 
 James D. Craig, Assistant Actuary of the Metropolitan Life 
 Insurance Company, and Joseph H. Woodward, then the Actuary 
 of the State Insurance Fund of New York. These gentlemen 
 came to Washington at their own expense, at a sacrifice of their 
 vacations and during one of Washington's hottest spells. The 
 proposed War Risk Act was submitted to them and we attempted 
 to arrive at an estimate of the cost to the Government which 
 would result from the adoption of the suggested provisions. 
 The report agreed upon is a matter of record and appears in 
 the Congressional hearings. It represented the best opinions 
 obtainable and if the estimate of the amount of insurance which 
 would be taken by our forces was an underestimate, the error 
 can be adequately explained by the fact that we were sailing 
 an uncharted sea and nobody could have foretold the enthusi- 
 astic way in which this idea was embraced by the members of 
 the armed forces. Alas, the inefficient management of the War 
 Risk Insurance Bureau has resulted in the lapsing of many 
 billions of insurance which should have been kept in force. 
 
 On July 15th. the first draft of the bill was completed and 
 copies sent to Mr. Gompers and to Secretary McAdoo. On 
 July 18th the following letter was delivered to me : 
 
 SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY 
 Washington 
 
 July 17. 1917 
 My Dear Captain Wolfe: — 
 
 Although I am counting on your valuable co-operation in 
 the further progress of the Bill in reference to military and naval 
 compensation and indemnity, I want to take the earliest oppor- 
 tunity to express to you my sincere appreciation for your valuable 
 assistance in providing with such promptness so excellent a 
 measure dealing with this subject. 
 
 I have called a meeting of the committee of insurance men 
 named recently, to be held at my office next Monday at 11 A. M., 
 and sincerely hope you will find it possible to be present. 
 With best wishes, I am 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 W. G. McADOO. 
 Captain S. H. Wolfe. 
 Quartermaster's office, 
 Evans Building, Washington, D. C. 
 
 28 
 
On July 23rd the committee of insurance men which had 
 been appointed at the meeting held July 2nd, met in Mr. Mc- 
 Adoo's ofifice and discussed the report which had been submitted 
 to them. As a general proposition it may be stated that they 
 approved everything except the Article relating to the estab- 
 lishment of a Government Insurance Bureau. While the idea 
 was not expressed, I am of the opinion that the fear of the 
 inauguration of Government insurance was predominant, but 
 subsequent events have served to show how poorly prepared 
 the Government was to undertake work of this kind. 
 
 It was apparent to me that to inaugurate a system of 
 family allowances, family allotments and compensation bene- 
 fits without learning at first hand of the experience of France 
 and England with similar problems would be the height of 
 folly. When the matter was brought to the attention of Secre- 
 tary McAdoo and Dr. Rowe, they were quick to grasp the 
 necessity for the proposed investigation. The Secretary sent 
 an official communication to the Secretary of War asking that 
 I be detailed for the purpose of observing at first hand the 
 problems which would confront us. 
 
 On July 30th, the following communication was handed 
 to me : 
 
 WAR DEPARTMENT 
 Office of the Chief of Staff 
 
 July 30, 1917 
 Memorandum for Captain Wolfe: — 
 
 I have been unable to get you by telephone at the office this 
 morning. There is an official communication in my office which 
 the Secretary of War has directed me to confer with you about. 
 Please report to me at my office as soon as you get this or con- 
 venientlv can thereafter. 
 
 WM. S. GRAVES, 
 Colonel, General StaflF, Secretary. 
 
 Colonel Graves — afterwards Major General Graves in 
 charge of the Siberian Expedition — was not in particularly 
 good humor. He did not approve of detailing army officers 
 to assist other departments and he did not hesitate to say so 
 in unmistakable language. In the files which he gave me 
 was the following letter : 
 
 WAR DEPARTMENT 
 
 Office of the Quartermaster General of the Army 
 
 Washington 
 
 July 27, 1917 
 
 Memorandum for the Chief of Staff: — 
 1 : Referring to telephone message received this morning, asking 
 if Captain S. H. Wolfe, Quartermaster Officers Reserve Corps, 
 could be spared for a considerable length of time for duty under 
 the Secretary of the Treasury; you are informed that Captain 
 Wolfe has become entirely familiar with the work of this 
 Department and his services here are of the utmost value and 
 it is my desire that he be retained as a member of this office 
 and detailed temporarily with the Secretary of the Treasury 
 
 29 
 
for such purpose as he may be needed and for such time as he 
 may be needed, but upon completion of said duty that he be 
 returned to this office. 
 
 I. W. LITTELL, 
 Colonel, Quartermaster Corps. 
 In Charge of Cantonment Construction. 
 
 I left Colonel Graves with the firm belief that Mr. McAdoo's 
 request would not be granted and it was with a feeling of sur- 
 prise and considerable pleasure that I received from Mr. McAdoo 
 the following- copy of a communication : 
 
 WAR DEPARTMENT 
 Washington 
 
 August 1, 1917 
 
 The Secretary of War presents his compliments to the Hon- 
 orable, the Secretary of the Treasury, and has the honor to 
 acknowledge the receipt of his letter of the 23rd ult., in which 
 he suggests that it would be most helpful if Captain S. Herbert 
 Wolfe were detailed to prepare a report on the care of depend- 
 ents of enlisted men in Great Britain and France, similar to that 
 prepared for Canada, and, in addition, to make some investiga- 
 tion of the insurance of enlisted men in both great Britain and 
 France, and to say that there is no objection on the part of 
 the War Department to Captain Wolfe performing the duty 
 indicated, provided the expense involved shall be borne by the 
 Treasury Department. 
 
 For the first time it appeared to me that I would be able 
 to reach the goal of every officer with whom I had come in 
 contact, viz : to get across to France, where I would have a 
 chance to see some active service in the fighting zone. Under 
 date of August 14th. 1917, orders were issued (paragraph 22 
 Special Orders No. 188 W. D. 1917) relieving me from my duties 
 in Washington and directing me to report to the Secretary of 
 the Treasur}^ in connection with the work previously referred 
 to and directing me upon completion of the duty enjoined to 
 resume my duties in the office of the officer in charge of can- 
 tonment construction. ' 
 
 30 
 
VIII 
 
 It required some time to wind up the work which I had 
 started in Colonel Littell's office, to report at the Army 
 Medical School to get the anti-typhoid injections and vaccina- 
 tion against small pox prescribed for all officers and men going 
 over seas and to determine the nature of the facts which would 
 be most helpful to Mr. McAdoo in the work for which I was 
 sent over. 
 
 What was probably the hardest thing for me to do through- 
 out my service was before me — to tell my wife that I had been 
 ordered to France. After all, women have the greatest burden 
 to bear for they have none of the excitement, none of the feel- 
 ing of exhilaration which comes to the man in service. The 
 physical dangers to which the soldier is exposed are as nothing 
 when compared with the worries and uncertainties which are 
 constantly with those who are left behind. 
 
 It will not be amiss for me to express my appreciation of 
 the patriotic spirit in which my wife accepted my decision to 
 enter the Army ; she shared with me my feeling that in the 
 emergency which confronted us. I should do as my father had 
 done before me, even though it required her to assume additional 
 responsibilities. No man ever had more sympathetic co-opera- 
 tion in his work than I received from her. 
 
 It was Mr. McAdoo's wish that I should go to Canada to 
 supplement the inquiry which I had previously made as to 
 methods there, especially in view of the fact that my inquiries 
 at the War College in \Vashington liad shown how deploral^ly 
 deticient that institution was in the matter of reliable statistics 
 relating to the mortality and morbidity to be expected in our 
 armed forces. During my detail in Washington I had several 
 conferences with Colonel MacDonald. .Secretary of the War 
 College, and with its Librarian, Major (afterwards Colonel) 
 J. R. M. Taylor. Colonel Taylor was a most interesting man, 
 formerly Attache at Constantinople, whose knowledge of the 
 literature of his profession, as well as scientific matters in 
 general, made him a most valuable officer for this post. Both 
 the Secretary and the Librarian requested me to communicate 
 to them any facts of interest with which I might become 
 acquainted during my work in Canada and abroad. 
 
 I left Washington about the middle of August for Canada 
 and as my camp at Lake Placid was only a few miles from 
 
 31 
 
Montreal. I availed myself of permission to spend a few days 
 there before I started my active duties. Thanks to her exquisite 
 tact and patriotic feelings the duty of telling my wife of my 
 departure for France was not as difficult as I had anticipated 
 (the late John B. Lunger told me at luncheon a few hours 
 before his death that life is made up of troubles, most of which 
 never occur) and I urged her to go to Canada with me. In 
 view of the fact that Montreal was so close to the camp, we 
 decided to borrow an automobile to make the trip and take 
 the two older children with us for the day. they to return the 
 same evening. 
 
 Following out this plan, we started in a few days and after 
 showing the children some of the principal points of interest in 
 Montreal I devoted a few hours to conferences with Miss Helen 
 Y. R. Reid. taking up with her the most recent developments 
 in the Canadian Patriotic Fund. From Montreal my wife and I 
 went to Ottawa, where my principal Canadian work was to be 
 done. From there I sent official reports to our Quartermaster 
 General on additional pay and allowances which were then being 
 granted in the Canadian Army and to Major Taylor. Librarian 
 of the War College, on mortality and morbidity statistics in 
 Canada ; I also sent to Major Taylor a report on the establish- 
 ment of Queen Mary's Auxiliary Hospital at Roehampton. Eng- 
 land, where a special study was being made of the manufacture 
 of artificial limbs, together with a report on the Avork of Dr. 
 Morton Seedorff. of the Hospital Militaire Benevole. Paris, who 
 was making a specialty of artificial limbs composed of a mixture 
 of paper and rags. 
 
 The Canadian officers were most kind and considerate. 
 They plied us with courtesies which were most welcome. For 
 example, while dining at our hotel — the Chateau Laurier — a 
 gentleman in civilian clothes came to our table, introduced 
 himself as General Sam Hughes, formerly head of the Canadian 
 Militia, and asked how he could be of service to an officer wear- 
 ing the uniform of the L^nited States. L'pon learning that we had 
 planned to attend the session of the Canadian Parliament that 
 evening (the sessions were held in temporary headquarters. 
 owing to the recent destruction by fire of the Houses of Par- 
 liament) he expressed his pleasure and stated that as a member 
 of the Legislature he would see that we received comfortable 
 seats. We had been invited to the evening session by Sir Her- 
 bert Ames, who was escorting us to seats in the visitor's gallery 
 when General Hughes came up and took charge of us. The 
 debate that evening was very interesting, dealing with the 
 advisability of the Canadian Government acquiring the stock 
 of the Canadian Northern Railway. 
 
 I remained in Ottawa for several days, completing my work 
 there, and we then returned to Lake Placid to await advices as to 
 the sailing date of the ship upon which T had engaged passage — 
 
 32 
 
the "Orduna." She was originally to sail on September 1st, but 
 notice of the postponement of her departure until September 5th 
 led me to book on the "Adriatic," which was scheduled to leave 
 on September 8th, it occurring to me that I would make better 
 time on the latter ship, in view of her greater speed. 
 
 About September 5th, I left Lake Placid for New York, my 
 wife insisting upon accompanying me. We spent three very 
 happy days in New York and on Saturday, September 8th, went 
 to the steamship pier to embark at 10 A. M. as ordered. After 
 going through the various formalities rendered necessary by 
 the fact that we were at war, I was told that the ship would 
 not leave at noon as scheduled, but was being detained to await 
 the arrival of the 101st Field Artillery, and that we would sail 
 at midnight. This enabled us to lunch together, go to the 
 theatre, take an early tea and instead of my wife waving adieu 
 to me from the steamship pier, T bade good-bye to her at the 
 Grand Central Station, when she took the 7 o'clock train for 
 Lake Placid. 
 
 I reported aboard in good season, went to bed and expected 
 to wake up in the morning many miles from land, but the delay 
 in the arrival of the troops held the ship until noon of the 
 following day. Finally, on Sunday, September 9th, lines were 
 cast off and the "Adriatic" moved out. The sensation of em- 
 barking on a voyage of great adventure was a new one and 
 as I looked at the receding pier, I wondered what my experiences 
 would be until I returned. 
 
 33 
 
IX 
 
 We, in the United States have never really understood the 
 true meaning- of war restrictions ; we have never experienced 
 the hardships and the deprivations which have fallen to the lot 
 of the inhabitants of the European countries. We were too far 
 removed from the theatre of operations to be brought into 
 intimate contact with the grim side of the conflict and it was 
 not until the "Adriatic" headed for midstream that war regula- 
 tions became apparent. A statement of a few of the unusual 
 precautions may be of interest. 
 
 Before the ship had cleared the shore everybody in uniform 
 was ordered below so that no German spy ashore could tell how 
 many troops were aboard. Whether this precaution was neces- 
 sary or not, it is impossible to say, but the elaborate spy system 
 with which Germany was credited certainly required the exer- 
 cise of every precaution. All of the portholes and ventilating 
 transoms on the ship were either screened with movable shut- 
 ters or covered with opaque material and at night it was required 
 that every such opening should be shuttered or screened in such 
 a way that no ray of light could be seen from the outside. The 
 discomfort of sleeping in a poorly ventilated room need not be 
 commented upon. While we were permitted to walk on deck 
 at night, the passage ways were darkened so that no light would 
 escape when the doors were opened, and the striking of matches 
 and smoking on the deck at night were strictly forbidden, the 
 ship's officers telling us that the flare of a match could be seen 
 many miles at sea and instances had been known where sub- 
 marines had been enabled to torpedo a ship, the existence of 
 which had been unsuspected until the flare of a match had 
 revealed its presence. Life boat drills were held daily and one 
 was required to keep his life preserver with him at all times 
 while in the danger zone, dining room stewards having been 
 instructed to serve no meals to any passenger who did not have 
 his life preserver with him in the dining room. Before we left 
 port the "sending" apparatus of our wireless had been sealed, this 
 being a regulation of our Navy Department and the British 
 Admiralty in order that no messages might be sent, thus pre- 
 venting enemy craft from learning of the presence and location 
 of our ship. 
 
 Mention is made of these precautions in order that one may 
 realize how constantly were we reminded of the fact that we 
 
 34 
 
were embarked on no usual transatlantic voyage. To many of 
 the soldiers aboard it was the first evidence of the discipline 
 which must exist in armed forces and was a forerunner of the 
 conditions which they would find abroad. 
 
 Notwithstanding the unusual conditions aboard ship the 
 trip was most pleasant, the result of pleasant companionship 
 and the exhilaration which came from the knowledge that one 
 was serving his country. 
 
 The purser had assigned me to a table together with very 
 agreeable companions. Lady Drummond, head of the Canadian 
 Red Cross work in London, was most interesting. Her only 
 son had been killed at the first battle of Ypres and this was 
 the first time that there came to my attention a thing which 
 became so noticeable throughout Europe — the entire absence 
 of bitterness on the part of those whose dear ones had been 
 killed. The feeling that the sacrifice had been made in order 
 to advance civilization, together with the evidence of the great 
 number of other people who had been similarly bereaved, seemed 
 to count for the unemotional consideration of their loss. In the 
 "Light of Asia" I think Matthew Arnold has developed this idea 
 when Buddha offers to revive her dead infant, if the sorrowing 
 mother will bring a grain of rice from any house which has 
 not been touched by the hand of death (it is many years since 
 I have read this, but I think it is correct). 
 
 Two of my other table companions were Miss Isabella 
 Adami and Miss Cynthia Holt. The former was a daughter 
 of Colonel Adami, a Canadian officer stationed in London, to 
 whom, strange to say. Major Todd in Ottawa had given me a 
 letter of introduction. Miss Plolt was planning to do Red Cross 
 work among the Canadian soldiers at one of the British Hos- 
 pitals, either Roehampton or Brighton. 
 
 There were three other Army officers at the table — Colonel 
 Charles S. Wallace and Lieutenants Wheeler and Randolph. 
 Colonel Wallace was a regular Army officer in the Signal Corps, 
 who had seen service in the Phillipines and was going to Paris 
 to become Chief Signal Officer, Line of Communications. He 
 had charge of the elaborate net work of telegraph and telephone 
 wires throughout France, and we met again in Paris, when we 
 were both stationed there. The two lieutenants were fine young 
 chaps who had gone through the training camps, won their 
 commissions and were being sent to France as Casual officers 
 to receive additional training there in the French schools which 
 were being established for American officers. I did not meet 
 them again but have determined to see if I can find out what 
 happened to them. I shall be greatly disappointed if I do not 
 learn that they have acquitted themselves with honor, for their 
 training, their standards and their viewpoint of life all pointed 
 in that direction. 
 
 35 
 
The 101st Field Artillery — a Massachusetts organization — 
 was under command of Colonel Sherburne, one of the very few 
 National Guard officers who were commissioned as Generals 
 for service in France. Many of the enlisted men in the different 
 Batteries were Harvard students and the spirit of the entire 
 regiment was admirable in every respect. Their well developed 
 bodies, their youth and their happy, joyous spirit of optimism, 
 seemed to be characteristic of our country, and when I had the 
 opportunity of comparing our soldiers with those of France and 
 England these characteristics seemed to be more marked. 
 
 Upon learning that I was to sail on the "Adriatic," some 
 of my friends in New York (A. Duncan Reid and Charles H. 
 Holland, among others) sent me notes of introduction to the 
 ship's Commander. Captain J. B. Ranson. Realizing the great 
 responsibility, under war conditions, which rested upon the 
 Commander of a ship of the size of the "Adriatic," I determined 
 not to present these letters, but instead, turned them over to 
 the purser, Mr. Edwards, telling him of my feeling in the matter 
 and suggesting to him that when, in his opinion, we had reached 
 the point in our voyage when the Commander might care to 
 see me, he should send them to the Bridge. He must have 
 decided to send them at once for. very much to my surprise, a 
 trim little sea scout (boy scouts who are learning to become 
 officers in England's Merchant Marine) presented Captain Ran- 
 son's compliments to me the first day and asked me to come 
 to his quarters for tea that afternoon. I accordingly went there 
 to pay my respects and this was the first of several interesting 
 visits which I had with this capable officer upon whose shoulders 
 rested such grave responsibilities. 
 
 From time to time in my description of the voyage I will 
 refer to the other companions with whom I was brought into 
 such close and personal contact, for, after all, a two weeks trip 
 on the ocean under the conditions surrounding us, enabled 
 people to become well acquainted. 
 
 My detail rendered it necessary for me to keep a complete 
 account of the systems and methods which were observed by me 
 and extracts from the record I kept may prove of interest. The 
 following are some of the notes which appear in my record of the 
 trip on the "Adriatic," and they may serve to indicate the war 
 atmosphere to which I have referred. 
 
 Sunday, September 9th. 
 
 After the Narrows were passed, we were permitted to again 
 appear on deck. I doubt whether many people in New York 
 realize that across the Narrows was stretched a net intended 
 to prevent the passage of submarines. In the lower bay, mine 
 sweepers or dredges were at work in order to guard against 
 the possibility of damage from mines thrown over by any 
 hostile ship. 
 
 36 
 
It was a wonderfully beautiful day and although the bobbing 
 of the pilot boat indicated that there was considerable swell, 
 there was hardly any motion noticeable on the deck of our ship. 
 At 3:30 Colonel Sherburne called all of the officers together 
 (about 200) in the lounge room and gave them a manly, pleasant 
 talk, preceded by a prayer from one of the Chaplains on the 
 boat. It was announced that Officers' Classes were to be held 
 twice a day — one at 11 and another at 3:30 — and that talks on 
 various topics would be made. 
 
 All civilians were ordered on deck, assigned to life boats 
 and shown how to adjust the life preservers. As indicated 
 before, the fact that we are not on a peace cruise is apparent 
 on every side. No daily runs of the ship are posted. Your 
 steward nonchalantly starts a conversation with you "when I 
 was torpedoed the second time, etc., etc." The boat zigzags 
 on her course constantly and the sea scout boys are practicing 
 signaling with flags whenever they have the chance. 
 
 The spirit among the men is wonderful : they are gay and 
 sing constantly. I mentioned the fact today to Lady Drummond 
 and she used this phrase which she tells me she found in a 
 French book, "this is too sad a world in which to be anything 
 but gay." 
 
 After dark the ship is uncanny ; every unnecessary light is 
 extinguished ; all companionways are dark. After dinner, Lady 
 Drummond and I groped our way to the boat deck and saw 
 the most wonderful starry night, the heavens by their bril- 
 liancy seemed to make up for the darkness of the ship, which 
 carried neither side lights nor the usual light at the mast head. 
 Lady Drummond told me stories of her son who was killed at 
 Ypres. She speaks of his death without one trace of bitterness 
 — only sorrow and the determination to do everything possible 
 to prevent a continuance of conditions which led to the war. 
 She plans to visit Ypres to buy the ground where her boy fell 
 and to erect a small hospital there. 
 
 Monday, September 10th. 
 
 After a restful night's sleep, I was awakened at 6 by the 
 enlisted men going through their setting up drills on deck under 
 the guidance of their non-coms. 
 
 After breakfast I started my walks on the deck, having 
 determined to walk as many miles a day as possible in order that 
 I may keep myself in good physical condition. At 10:30 I 
 attended some lectures which were being given to the medical 
 officers and at 11 attended the first session of the Officers' School. 
 The scheduled lecture was postponed until a black board could 
 be made, but Colonel Sherburne spoke for about an hour most 
 entertainingly on the attitude which an officer should adopt to 
 the men under his control. 
 
The weather was beautiful until noon when it became foggy 
 and chilly. We will change our course soon (the Captain having 
 confided to me that we are due in Halifax Tuesday morning and 
 will remain there until Wednesday night, picking up our con- 
 voy.) I am anxious to see how closely we will keep to schedule, 
 my steward having expressed the opinion that the trip would 
 take fourteen days, owing to the slowness of the other boats 
 in our convoy. 
 
 This afternoon a very interesting lecture was given by 
 Lieutenant Colonel Hale, of the 101st F. A., on the mathematics 
 of map making for artillery fire. 
 
 The two lieutenants at my table — Wheeler and Randolph — 
 are fine chaps. They spent an hour in my cabin, today, discuss- 
 ing various matters with me- There is a feeling of good com- 
 radeship among the officers aboard; the wearing of the same 
 uniform and a knowledge of common danger to be shared 
 undoubtedly are factors in building up this feeling of friendship. 
 Everyone is anxious to help everyone else and there is more 
 kindness, courtesy and true gentlemanliness than I have seen 
 in any similar group. 
 
 We had a most beautiful sunset — even finer than the Lake 
 Placid brand and that is admitting a good deal. The horizon 
 was banked with purple clouds and the sun shining through 
 them and the clear sky above them was a gorgeous sight. It 
 grew very cold, too cold, in fact, to go on deck after sundown. 
 
 Tuesday, September 11th. 
 
 When I woke at 6 this morning we were entering the har]:)or 
 of Halifax ; it was a glorious morning and the surrounding hills 
 appeared beautiful, covered in green and bathed in sunlight. 
 Dressing as quickly as possible I rushed on deck to watch the 
 entrance. The harbor is fine and well protected ; the view of 
 the city is rather disappointing, but with a port such as this 
 there should be great development. Of course, it is unfair to 
 judge, as nobody is allowed ashore, and while letters will be 
 sent to the Halifax postoffice, they will be held there and for- 
 warded only if and when (to use an insurance phrase) the 
 "Adriatic" has docked in Liverpool. Coming up the bay we 
 passed the war ship which is to accompany us across and some 
 of the ships which are to be in our convov, among them the 
 "Orduna." 
 
 Swimming around the boat are millions of jelly fish, a novel 
 sight and one which furnishes great amusement to the men. 
 
 I was asked by Colonel Sherburne to be one of the lecturers 
 at the Officers' School ; he asked me to discuss and explain the 
 War Risk Insurance Act so that the officers would be in a 
 position to explain its provisions to their men. The lecture 
 this morning was by the Ship's First Officer — Mr. Howe — who 
 described the submarine, its method of firing torpedoes, how to 
 
 38 
 
watch for them and how to give the alarm. He then answered 
 the many questions which were asked. It was very interesting 
 and an hour and a half passed before we knew it. 
 
 The afternoon school was omitted as the officers and men 
 were assigned to life boats and drilled in the course to be 
 followed in emergencies. 
 
 Became acquainted today with Major Douglas Clapham of 
 the British Army, an ordnance expert who has been stationed 
 for three years at the Bethlehem Testing Grounds, Cape May, 
 N. J., inspecting ammunition for the British Government. 
 
 Spent the evening in the lounge until 9, when I called on 
 Captain Ranson and stayed with him until 10. He was in com- 
 mand of the "Baltic," which rescued the "Republic" when the 
 latter was wrecked. He was the man who warned the "Titanic" 
 to look out for ice, a warning which was disregarded with 
 tragic results. After leaving him, I wrote some official reports 
 for transmission to Washington in the official sack tomorrow. 
 
 Wednesday, September 12th. 
 
 A beautifully cool day set off the beauties of Halifax Har- 
 bor and I spent the morning and early afternoon in walking 
 and reading. The Captain had told me that we would sail at 
 5 and promptly at that hour we Aveighed anchor, incidentally 
 taking the first step in what was one of the most impressive 
 sights I have ever witnessed. The "Adriatic" headed the fleet, 
 followed by the "Orduna," the "Mongolia" and three other ships 
 all crowded with troops : as we passed, the shores were lined 
 with crowds who cheered and dipped the flags. 
 
 Then followed a sight I never expected to witness. The 
 Flagship of the British North Atlantic fleet — the large English 
 battleship "Leviathan" — was crowded with bluejackets ; as we 
 passed, her band played "The Star Spangled Banner," the sailors 
 manned the yards shouting "three cheers for the U. S. A." and 
 the United States flag was flown ; every officer and soldier 
 aboard our ships stood at rigid salute ; our band struck up 
 "God Save the King" and the converted cruiser "Gloucestershire" 
 (which is to accompany us) joined the line and we steamed out 
 of this beautiful harbor. 
 
 When we dropped the pilot I felt as though we had really 
 started on our transatlantic trip. 
 
 39 
 
While in Halifax Harbor the Officers' School continued and 
 I was the lecturer today, explaining the proposed pension and 
 insurance bill. At the afternoon class Major Parker lectured 
 on the duties of a liaison officer. This morning; I posted a notice 
 on the bulletin board inviting those who had talent to meet me 
 in the lounge at 4 :45 to assist in getting up a series of enter- 
 tainments. Quite a number responded and in all probability we 
 shall start tomorrow with the first performance. 
 
 Thursday, September 13th. 
 
 Thanks to the Gulf Stream we had a balmy summer day, 
 which made my overcoat unnecessary. When I went on deck 
 for my pre-breakfast walk, I got my first view of the formation 
 of the different ships. Seven other large ships accompanied us, 
 all steaming in correct formation headed by the "Gloucestershire." 
 
 Of course, the ship is a very prolific "rumor factory"; word 
 went around this morning that another German raider is loose. 
 It is a novel sensation to feel that in crossing the Atlantic on 
 a ship of this kind you have more tonnage within hailing distance 
 than in going up the North River and it gives one a sense of 
 security, but robs the trip of one of its usual advantages — 
 isolation. 
 
 Spent a busy morning in arranging for the concert, which 
 is to take place Saturday. My notice brought out considerable 
 talent among the civilians, the officers and enlisted men. 
 
 The lecturer this morning was Major Augustus Trowbridge 
 who gave an interesting talk on the scientific methods used in 
 locating the position of guns by determining the difference in 
 the time of arrival at different points of the sound waves of the 
 discharges ; in civil life he is the Professor of Physics at Prince- 
 ton and probal)ly one of the foremost physicists in the world. 
 Another officer aboard is Major Robert W. Wood, who, when 
 not in the Army, occupies a similar chair at Johns Hopkins, and 
 who will lecture shortly. It is a most encouraging sign when 
 men of the type of these two Professors give their services 
 to the Government. 
 
 A boat drill this afternoon took the place of the lecture. 
 
 Friday, September 14th. 
 
 The weather is most beautiful and the sea calm, but the 
 ship's officers advise me that we shall probably run into heavier 
 weather very soon. 
 
 40 
 
At 10:30 I was invited to accompany the Officer of the Day 
 on his rounds. He, the surgeon and one of the ship's officers 
 make an inspection each day from stem to stern ; the men's 
 quarters are examined, the food tasted in the kitchen and the 
 prisoners in the brig^ visited. Three soldiers are confined in the 
 brig at the present time, being accused of smoking on deck — 
 a serious offense at present as a lighted cigar can be seen for 
 three miles — and the ship's safety thereby jeopardized. 
 
 An English Army Surgeon lectured this morning on "gass- 
 ing" and. as it dealt largely with his own experience, it was 
 interesting. 
 
 After luncheon I spent some time discussing matters with 
 those who are to take part in the concert tomorrow night. Mrs. 
 Hinton (Katherine Goodson) a very well known English pianist, 
 will play and I walked with her and her husband for some time. 
 
 At 4, Lieutenant Van der Veer, U. S. Navy, (who is going 
 to England to join the staff of Admiral Sims), Captain Seagrave 
 of the British Navy and I called on Captain Ransom and had 
 tea with him. 
 
 After dinner I bundled up and walked on deck. The nights 
 are wonderful. You stumble through inky blackness, through 
 passage ways and finally reach the top deck. Around you is 
 an oppressive envelope of darkness, the only visible thing being 
 the light at the mast head of the war ship ahead. She is the 
 only ship that carries this light, which serves as a guide to 
 all others and when we reach the danger zone even this light 
 will disappear. Gradually the eyes become accustomed to the 
 night and then you distinguish the two ships on either side a 
 mile away ; the other four ships are invisible. The skies are 
 filled with stars and you seem alone with your God. 
 
 Saturday, September 15th. 
 
 Altliough the ship is rolling a great deal, I walked my 
 usual two miles before breakfast and several miles afterwards. 
 
 The morning lecture was by one of the surgeons, who told 
 of the advances which surgery had made on the battle front. 
 
 At last my French has been vindicated, after years of unap- 
 preciation at home, for Colonel Sherburne asked me to take 
 charge of the French classes and I called a meeting at 2 :30 
 today. About fifty officers responded and as I had selected the 
 instructors in advance, I had eight classes in full swing by 2:45. 
 I went from one to the other, changing students around so that 
 each class would be composed as far as possible of those whose 
 ignorance of the French language was relatively the same. 
 
 Sunday, September 16th. 
 
 The concert last evening was a great success, the enlisted 
 men particularly doing wonderfully well. The collection 
 amounted to $375, which I think was surprisingly good. 
 
 41 
 
Today there is quite a swell and the boat is pitching con- 
 siderably, but when you look at the behavior of the other boats 
 you realize how steady is the "Adriatic." 
 
 At 10:30 divine services were held and I attended. At noon 
 the Captain sent for me to pay him a visit and an interesting 
 hour was spent in his quarters. The impression he leaves with 
 you is that he is a most careful and resourceful man. 
 
 My walking companions today were Captain O'Keefe, from 
 Massachusetts. Lieutenant Charles Lawrence, who was Oskin- 
 son's bunk mate at Plattsburg, and Lieutenant Van der Veer, 
 of the Navy. 
 
 At 3, I attended my French class and at 5, Miss Adami, Mrs. 
 Copley Hewitt (a major in the Women's Auxiliary Motor Corps). 
 Lieutenant Wheeler and I played deck tennis until 6:15, a very 
 invigorating exercise and one rendered more interesting by the 
 fact that it was beginning to blow very hard ; as the equinoxial 
 storms are due I should not be surprised if we ran into some 
 very heavy weather. 
 
 Monday, September 17th. 
 
 Another beautiful day — the threatened storm did not appear 
 and the sea was as calm as a lake. Colonel Sherburne was my 
 walking companion this morning. 
 
 The morning lecture was by Major Adams, the Surgeon of 
 the 101st F. A., who spoke on personal hygiene. Read until 
 lunch time, then a French lesson and in the afternoon a walk 
 with Sir Gilbert Parker and several games of deck tennis until 
 dinner time. 
 
 Our fleet went through a number of maneuvers this after- 
 noon and it was rumored that we would meet our escort tonight, 
 although I doubt it. 
 
 As we are approaching the danger zone I slept fully dressed 
 last night in order to get into practice. My suit case is packed 
 with my papers, the life belt is ready to slip on and I feel that 
 I could leave my room fully equipped with papers, pistol, field 
 glasses and two overcoats in one minute. Sleeping in shoes and 
 puttees is not the most comfortable thing in the world, but it 
 did not interfere very much with my sleep. 
 
 Tuesday, September 18th. 
 
 Nothing very unusual to record for today. In the morning 
 Colonel Sherburne lectured on trench warfare and after my 
 French lesson in the afternoon I called on Captain Ranson. who 
 told me that he expected to pick up the destroyers on Thursday 
 at 5. That will be the event of the trip. 
 
 In the evening the enlisted men of Battery A, 101st F. A., 
 gave a minstrel show, which was a great success. The Battery 
 comes from Boston and is composed principally of Harvard 
 
 42 
 
students, who think they can get their commissions quicker by 
 going to France as enhsted men than by going to Plattsburg. 
 The amount of talent is remarkable. 
 
 While playing deck tennis in the afternoon a large ship 
 passed bound westward, and then we saw a beautiful sight. The 
 sun was shining, but it was evidently raining near us, for two 
 brilliant rainbows appeared in the sky — one dead ahead and 
 the other to starboard. 
 
 Wednesday, September 19th. 
 
 Raining all day — the first bad one we have had — the start 
 of the equinoxial "storms probably. Shortly after breakfast 
 three large ships passed us, the "Justitia," which we are told 
 is half again as large as our ship, the "Megantic" and one other. 
 
 Major Wood lectured very interestingly this morning on 
 various scientific matters connected with the war and I followed 
 with an explanation of the English currency — having borrowed 
 from the Purser for my talk a sample of every coin and bill 
 used in England. 
 
 We are entering the danger zone tonight and it was an- 
 nounced that beginning with tomorrow no passenger would be 
 allowed in the lounge or in the dining room without his life belt. 
 
 Thursday, September 20th. 
 
 Was awakened by an early morning boat drill (5 A. M.). 
 The lecturer this morning was Major Clapham, who spoke most 
 entertainingly on the method of firing large guns. 
 
 The enlisted men are going to hold their games on deck 
 today under the guidance of the Chaplain, who is a trump and 
 reminds me of one of Kipling's Chaplains. At his request I 
 acted as one of the judges of the games, which were very good 
 sport, winding up with a very bloody boxing match. 
 
 Of course, the excitement of the day was the arrival of the 
 torpedo boat destroyers. Promptly at 5 P. M., the little hornets 
 appeared — eight of them — and circled around the ship, their 
 crews and our soldiers exchanging cheers. It was a wonderful 
 sight and a still more wonderful accomplishment to think that 
 on this wide expanse of ocean, the destroyers and our convoy 
 were able to meet at the exact minute calculated, surely a 
 triumph for science. 
 
 It is rumored that we are to go to the north of Ireland 
 and pass the Giant's Causeway. At this rate we ought to land 
 in Liverpool Saturday. 
 
 Friday, September 21st. 
 
 It was pleasant to look out this morning and see the 
 destroyers darting about in all directions ; it gave an added 
 feeling of security, although we realize that we are now in 
 the real danger zone as our ship is zigzagging around in furious 
 fashion. 
 
 43 
 
One never tires watching the sixteen ships go through their 
 various formations. Suddenly three or four small signal flags 
 are displayed from the Flag Ship and the zigzagging commences. 
 The object of these changes in formation is to interfere with 
 the plans of any submarine, which must submerge before firing 
 the torpedo and it is assumed that constant changes in formation 
 will prevent any successful target work by the submarine's 
 gunner. 
 
 After dinner this evening a pleasant surprise awaited us 
 for a notice was posted on the bulletin board asking passengers 
 to have their state room baggage ready for removal by 2 P. M. 
 tomorrow, Saturday. Can this mean that we are to land then? 
 It is too good to be true. 
 
 Saturday, September 22nd. 
 
 I was right. It was too good to be true, for we are not 
 to be permitted to disembark until Sunday morning. 
 
 Rose before 5 :30 this morning in order to be on deck to 
 see the sunrise and get the first glimpse of land. It was rather 
 rough during the night and when I reached the top deck we 
 were still rolling heavily. We were taking the northern route, 
 passing between Scotland and Ireland instead of to the south 
 of Ireland as ships do in peace times. My first view of Scotland 
 was through the mist, but it looked mighty good to me, although 
 I realized that the most dangerous part of our journey is still 
 to come. During the course of the morning the Irish coast came 
 into view, with its wonderfully cultivated fields. 
 
 In the afternoon four of the destroyers dropped off and 
 soon four of our ships fell away, the supposition being that they 
 went to some port in Scotland, 
 
 Sunday, September 23rd. 
 
 We anchored off the Bar last night at 10 and remained there 
 until four this morning, when we slowly steamed up the river. 
 I rose at 5 :30 and went on deck to watch the docking. At 9 the 
 English oflicers came on board to examine our passports and 
 satisfy themselves that we were fit to enter the country. As 
 an Army officer I was given the preference and in consequence 
 was enabled to collect my baggage, have it passed by the cus- 
 tom's officer, cross Liverpool to the railroad station and get the 
 12:50 train for London. 
 
 Lieutenant Barney Flood, Adjutant General's Department 
 (whom I knew when he was a Police Sergeant in New York 
 City attached to the District Attorney's office) went with me 
 and while waiting for the train to start. Captain Benjamin Sutro 
 Oppenheimer came along the platform. He had travelled on 
 the "St. Paul.*' which docked today and was bound for a London 
 Hospital, where they are making a specialty of heart cases 
 (Captain — afterwards Lieutenant Colonel — Oppenheimer did 
 remarkable work in his specialty as did many of the other 
 medical officers from the States). 
 
 44 
 
When London was reached we received our first evidence 
 of the changed conditions, for it was almost impossible to get 
 either a porter or a taxi. Through the good offices of a police- 
 man who was patronizingly anxious to do anything for a "Colo- 
 nial American Officer" (as he called me) I finally reached my 
 hotel. 
 
 1 reached London on September 23rd and stayed until 
 October 7th and it was my good fortune to have many inter- 
 esting experiences during that time. My special diplomatic 
 passport from the Secretary of State, the fact that I was a 
 commissioned officer in the United States Army, the great 
 assistance given by our Ambassador, Dr. Page, and the innate 
 courtesy and kindliness of British Army and Navy Officers, all 
 combined to give me an unusual opportunity to obtain the infor- 
 mation for which I was ordered abroad. Undoubtedly, part of 
 my warm welcome can be ascribed to the fact that the number 
 of our Army officers who were in England was comparatively 
 small during these early days of our entrance into the war. 
 
 45 
 
XI 
 
 I landed at my hotel Sunday evening and determined to 
 take a walk before dinner. London presented a peculiar appear- 
 ance. The streets were in semi-darkness. Search lights pierced 
 the sky in every direction, searching for Zeppelins. No lights 
 are visible from the windows for you are required to draw 
 heavy curtains over them to prevent any light escaping. The 
 globes of the street lamps are painted dark blue and have screens 
 on top to prevent any rays of light shooting upward. The 
 resulting darkness was in marked contrast to the illumination 
 on Broadway the last night of my stay in New York. 
 
 The streets were crowded with people and a row of ambu- 
 lances containing wounded soldiers passed down the Strand 
 from Charing Cross Station ; they were an ugly and grim 
 reminder of my approach to the fighting zone. 
 
 In the darkness of the Strand I bumped into a man in 
 uniform ; we both started to apologize and then at the same 
 time recognized one another. He was Major Stoddard, formerly 
 Deputy Superintendent of Insurance of New York, who, although 
 still an officer of the New York National Guard, was in England 
 and France making a special study for the Government of air 
 defense methods. He was subsequently commissioned in our 
 Army and became an authority on this particular work. 
 
 On Monday I visited the Embassy and paid an official visit 
 of courtesy to our Military Attache, General Lassiter, who 
 arranged for my visit to the diflFerent departments of the War 
 Office necessary in the investigation which 1 was about to make. 
 I had determined first to look into the Separation Allowance 
 Department of the British Army and the General arranged for 
 a conference with Mr. J. [. Beard in charge of that work. 
 
 Mr. Beard's office was in the National Portrait Gallery, 
 St. Martin's Place, right oflF Trafalgar Square. It was strange 
 to see this building, formerly the home of beautiful paintings, 
 given up to grim business, filled with a large number of clerks, 
 mostly girls, and nothing but hustle and bustle where formerly 
 all was (Hgnified silence. Most of the valuable paintings had 
 been removed or protected to guard against possible damage 
 from air raids. 
 
 From Mr. Beard's office I called on Mr. T. M. E. Armstrong, 
 General Manager of the Ocean Accident and Guarantee Corpora- 
 tion, who was surprised to see me and whose assistance I sought 
 in obtaining a stenographer who could accompany me to the 
 
 46 
 
various offices and take down the notes which I would dictate 
 from time to time (my Canadian experience had shown me that 
 it was advisable to dictate notes on the ground, rather than to 
 make memoranda and dictate a report after the visit was com- 
 pleted.) This was not an easy thing to do for the supply of 
 stenographers was very limited as so many of them had gone 
 into service. 
 
 I declined a dinner invitation as I wanted to study in the 
 evening and dined alone at the hotel. The head waiter gave 
 me the "Menu for Officers' Dinner" and informed me that the 
 Army Regulations provided that no officer may spend more than 
 ;!^ 0:3:6 for lunch and ^0:5:6 for dinner and that he presumed 
 I was entitled to the same privileges as a British officer. I 
 agreed with him and found the dinner ample and delicious, 
 soup, fish, roast lamb, salad and dessert and one roll, so you 
 see it is clear that no officer need starve ; in fact, there doesn't 
 seem to be a scarcity of anything hut sugar, which is served 
 in a tiny yellow envelope — about a teaspoonful — and I have 
 seen no lump sugar since I landed. 
 
 After diimer I was sitting with some English officers in 
 the lounge when an air raid took place — the first time I have 
 heard the soimd of a gun fired by an enemy. There was not 
 much excitement and in order to see what a Zeppelin looked 
 like I walked out of the hotel during the firing, but was warned 
 by a policeman that it was contrary to the rules to permit people 
 on the street. I expressed a willingness to obey the rules and 
 regulations but urged that as an army officer they did not apply 
 to me and he agreed to allow me to remain. He was evidently 
 a fatalist for he said "you might as well stay for if your number 
 ain't on the 'Un bomb you wont be 'it." It was very interesting 
 to see the play of the search lights and to hear the firing of 
 guns. A bomb fell comparatively near us, along side of the 
 Ritz Hotel, and dug quite a hole in Green Park. The shrapnel 
 from the British anti-aircraft guns fell around continuously 
 and it seemed to me that people in the streets would be more 
 in danger from them than from the occasional bomb which was 
 fired. A number of people were killed on tlie streets and one 
 of our medical officers — a doctor from Albany, New York — 
 received a shrapnel wound in the arm. 
 
 During the afternon I had a conference with Mr. Lloyd, at 
 the Ministry of Munitions, and Mr. Chance, the United States 
 Treasury Agent, after w^hich I spent an hour at the Authors' 
 Club — an organization to which I had belonged for many years. 
 
 On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of a most instructive 
 two hours with Sir Mathew Nathan, Secretary to the Ministry 
 of Pensions. Sir Mathew has occupied a number of important 
 administrative positions. He entered the Royal Engineers as 
 Captain, served gallantly in the Nile Expedition and received 
 his promotions as Major and Lieutenant Colonel. He also served 
 
 47 
 
as Governor of the Gold Coast, of Hong Kong and of Natal. 
 Before going to the Ministry of Pensions he served as Under- 
 Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. 
 
 Sir Mathew and his assistant, Mr. Sanger, were most kind 
 in arranging for interviews with the various departmental heads 
 and my visit to the different offices in which the branches of the 
 Ministry of Pensions are located, furnished me with much valu- 
 able information. 
 
 In the afternoon I was received by our Ambassador, Dr. 
 Page, who had been absent from the city. He was most cordial, 
 seemed greatly interested in my work and asked me to take tea 
 with Mrs. Page and him later in the afternoon — a delight- 
 ful experience. Embassies, I think, by a legal fiction are sup- 
 posed to be on the soil of the country represented by the 
 Ambassador and Mrs. Page succeeded in making one feel as 
 though he were back in his own country, being assisted in this 
 laudable work by such accessories as hot tea biscuits and lump 
 sugar. Our Minister at Berne, Mr. Pleasant Stovell, was also 
 a guest and as he was on his way to the United States I gave 
 him a message to be delivered to my wife, which, unfortunately, 
 never reached its destination. 
 
 Before I left the United States, Dr. Rowe, Assistant Secre- 
 tary of the Treasury, had asked me to obtain certain information 
 relative to the war measures which the British Treasury Depart- 
 ment had adopted and I was fortunate enough to be brought in 
 touch with Mr. Niemyer of the Treasury Department, who 
 promised to get the publications which Dr. Rowe wanted, a 
 promise which he most promptly and efficiently filled. 
 
 The entire next day — Thursday — was spent in the various 
 departments of the Ministry of Pensions. Sir Mathew's office 
 itself is located in Westminster House, Millbank, near the 
 Houses of Parliament and the Navy Award Department is in 
 the same building. From there I went to Chelsea Hospital, 
 where the army awards are made. This was in a distant part 
 of the city and it was the first time that I had ever visited 
 this very interesting institution, founded for old and invalid 
 soldiers. My next stopping place was the King Edward Horse 
 Guards barracks, which had been converted into an office for 
 the handling of appeals and from there I went to the Tate 
 Gallery, where the pensions to widows and dependents are 
 looked after. The appearance of the Tate Gallery had changed 
 so completely from the time when I visited it before in 1911 
 that it would have been difficult to recognize it as the same place. 
 Most of the collections had been moved and the place was filled 
 with desks and files. We were taken from here to Baker Street 
 (a shrine for all who worship the wonderful doings of Sherlock 
 Holmes), where the pension payment warrants were issued, and 
 then to St. Marylebone Town Hall, where still another part of 
 the paying branch is located. It will be seen, therefore, that 
 
 48 
 
there were six different offices in widely separated districts of 
 London — a most inefficient arrangement, which was the subject 
 of a special recommendation by me to Mr. McAdoo in the hope 
 that he would prevent a similar situation in Washington — a 
 vain hope, alas. 
 
 In the evening I had the pleasure of dining with Mr. Hugh 
 Lewis and his family. One of his sons had been killed while 
 flying, another son, Captain Gwilym Hugh Lewis, D. F. C, was 
 an officer in the Royal Air Forces, and Mr. Lewis himself has a 
 Royal Aero Club Pilot Certificate, a distinction which he shared 
 with few civilians of his generation, for while my remarks must 
 not be construed as implying that he is old or even an elderly 
 man, it is a well recognized fact that it is dangerous for men of 
 over thirty to attempt air work and, in fact, many instructors 
 will not take men beyond that age on any of their flights. His 
 keen desire to keep abreast of the times, his wish to share with 
 his boys the excitement of the work and his keen interest in 
 scientific matters, led Mr. Hugh Lewis to undergo this training. 
 He and his son subsequently wrote a pioneer book "Aviation and 
 Insurance." 
 
 My concluding work with the Minister of Pensions took 
 me to a most delightful office — that of the Special Liability 
 Department in Abbey Gardens. 
 
 Mr. Lorenzo Chance, Special Agent of the Treasury 
 Department, invited me to be his guest at the luncheon of the 
 American Luncheon Club — an organization consisting of the 
 Americans residing in London who adopt this means of becoming 
 acquainted with one another, maintaining home ties and hearing 
 discussions on topics of the day, usually by an Englishman. On 
 this particular day, Friday, September 28t'h, Lord Milner spoke, 
 dealing particularly with the new ties which bound England and 
 the United States together. Our Ambassador presided and 
 noticing me at one of the nearby tables, beckoned to me at the 
 conclusion of the speaking and presented me to Lord Milner, 
 explaining in very pleasant terms the nature of my mission. In 
 the afternoon I paid some formal visits to Major Rethers, the 
 representative of the Quartermaster General in London, and 
 Captain McDougal, our naval Attache ; upon my return to my 
 quarters later in the afternoon I had the pleasure of a visit from 
 Captain B. S. Oppenheimer and Lieutenant Wilson, of our 
 Medical Reserve Corps. 
 
 Although my time was so limited and I had so much to 
 accomplish, I nevertheless was hospitably entertained by a num- 
 ber of people, both Englishmen and Americans ; in fact, I was 
 compelled to decline many invitations, lest they should interfere 
 with my duties. Mr. S. G. Warner, Actuary of the Law Union 
 and Rock Insurance Company, after entertaining me at his club 
 at luncheon, took me to Staple Inn, the home of the Institute of 
 Actuaries, of which he was then the President. Mrs. Lewisohn, 
 
 49 
 
the mother of Dr. Richard Lewisohn (who had written to her 
 that I was coming) was more than kind to me and by her cour- 
 tesy and tact reheved me of any embarrassment which 1 might 
 have felt at being the recipient of so many acts of kindness and 
 gifts at her hands. Mr. and Mrs. Lionel Harris — related to my 
 brother Lee by marriage — were most attentive and 1 recall with 
 particular pleasure dining with them, the other guests being 
 Mrs. Harris' sister, Miss Nelson, Lt. Colonel and Mrs. Alinson 
 and Dr. and Mrs. Playfair. Dr. Playfair is a nephew, I think, of 
 the famous obstetrician and impressed me as being an example 
 of the ideal physician — one who knew how to combine scientific 
 training with the knowledge of the psychology of human nature, 
 a combination not common in these days. An amusing incident 
 occurred at the dinner, for in the midst of it the air raid alarm 
 was sounded and our host, who was a special constable, had to 
 rush off to his station at Buckingham Palace, presumably to 
 guard the royal family. It was like a scene from a Shaw play. 
 
 On Saturday afternoon Mr. T. M. E. Armstrong called for 
 me and we motored to his home, Lunchwood, Limpsfield, Surrey, 
 a beautiful English country place. My respect for Mr. Arm- 
 strong's influence with the authorities went up several pegs, for 
 the prohibition against the use of pleasure vehicles and the 
 restrictions placed upon the possession of petrol (or gasoline 
 as we term it) were very stringent. One saw almost no private 
 cars in London, except those that were fitted with huge reser- 
 voirs to hold illuminating gas, which some of the engines were 
 able to use instead of petrol. These huge bags on the roof of the 
 car gave it a grotesque appearance which somewhat reminded 
 me of an Italian woman moving along with a feather bed bal- 
 anced on her head. 
 
 In the afternoon we took a long stroll over the Commons 
 and I had my first introduction to the English countryside in 
 this section. ' It is beautiful and the regret at my inability to 
 move that gorgeous country to within an hour of New York 
 was intensified when I learned how reasonable were the rentals 
 as compared with the charges made in my country. 
 
 At dinner we were joined by Mrs. Armstrong, her parents, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Young, and her sister. Miss Nora Young, delightful 
 Irish people, who did everything possible to make me forget that 
 I was with strangers. At the conclusion of the dinner the 
 Archies (slang for anti-aircraft guns) started a furious fusilade 
 and we rushed out to see if any of the "Zeps" were visible. We 
 could hear the purr of the engines distinrtly and see some of the 
 lights, but were driven indoors by the shrapnel which was falling 
 all aroimd us. 
 
 It seemed hard to realize that it was only three weeks 
 since I had bade good-bye to mv wife in New York — so much had 
 happened in the interval. On September 27th T had received my 
 
 50 
 
first letter from Lake Placid dated September 10th, which was 
 not a bad record in war times. 
 
 The next day, Sunday, September 30th, we all walked to a 
 beautiful country church in the yard of which there is a yew 
 tree over two thousand years old. The services were very inter- 
 esting and as a special compliment to me the minister (who had 
 been informed by Mr. Armstrong of my coming) quoted Bret 
 Harte in his sermon ; I expressed to him after the services my 
 appreciation, not only of the compliment, but also of his versa- 
 tility. 
 
 Before I left London I had left my telegraph and telephone 
 address with one of the Assistant Secretaries at the Embassy. 
 Upon our return from church I was called on the long distance 
 telephone and the following cable from Secretary McAdoo was 
 read to me : 
 
 "For Captain S. H. Wolfe: 
 
 Early passage insurance bill assured. If passed deem it most 
 important that you organize military and naval insurance with 
 the rank of Commissioner. We all realize the personal sacrifice 
 which this will involve but feel that the great patriotic service 
 to the country will fully justify such sacrifice. Hope that you 
 will respond to this emergency. All your friends here concur 
 with me with reference to importance of having you organize this 
 division. Acceptance will not involve necessity of permanent 
 tenure. Not necessary for you to sail immediately. Will inform 
 as soon as bill passed." 
 
 I considered the matter and after discussing it with Mr. 
 Armstrong (who did not hesitate to express his wonderment at 
 my temerity in refusing to comply with the orders of our 
 "Chancellor of the Exchequer," as he called him) I decided to 
 send the following cable reply : 
 
 "I cannot possibly accept the Commissionership but I am 
 willing to be a tem.porary Director if you think I should organize 
 branch. I do not want any public office and I should assume 
 the position of Director at considerable sacrifice to my plans 
 which seem just as important for patriotic service along present 
 lines. All my investigations here show the absolute necessity 
 of my acting in that capacity, but experience justifies my refusal 
 of the Commissionership, and I therefore request that you do not 
 urge it upon me." 
 
 In the afternoon my host and I took a ten mile walk over 
 the beautiful hills in the neighborhood of Limpsfield, in the 
 course of which we visited one of the British encampments 
 devoted to musketry training. After tea came the usual air 
 raid and by this time I was so used to them that they aroused 
 very little curiosity. 
 
 51 
 
XII 
 
 The next morning we took the train to London and at the 
 Embassy 1 found two letters from home — one dated September 
 13th and the other the 18th ; 1 had a long talk with Major 
 Rethers about Quartermaster matters and arranged for my 
 passage to France the following week. 
 
 While at the Authors' Club one afternoon, the Honorable 
 Secretary, Mr. Algernon Rose, upon learning that I was a 
 Mason asked whether I would like to attend a meeting of an 
 English Lodge. When I answered in the affirmative he expressed 
 regret that Authors' Lodge (composed exclusively of members 
 of the Authors' Club) would not hold a meeting for some time, 
 but promised to arrange for my attendance at a meeting of some 
 other Lodge. In the course of a few days a very formal invita- 
 tion — in French — arrived from the Master and Wardens of 
 L'Entente Cordiale Lodge No. 3796 (under the jurisdiction of 
 the Grand Lodge of Great Britain, but working in French) to 
 attend a meeting on Monday, October 1st, at 4 P. M. 
 
 Lodges in England usually meet at that hour and after the 
 work of the Lodge has been performed a rather elaborate 
 dinner takes place ; in consequence, one does not visit an English 
 Lodge without being asked, for that would be the equivalent of 
 inviting oneself to dinner, and therefore, there is not the amount 
 of lodge visiting to which one is accustomed in the United States. 
 
 Promptly at 4 I went to the Cafe Royal in Regent Street 
 and was enthusiastically received. I was the first American 
 officer who had ever attended the Lodge and I found the work 
 most interesting as it differed in many respects from the First 
 Degree as followed in my jurisdiction. 
 
 The Worshipful Master, H. Le Forestier, was connected 
 with the French Intelligence Department, I believe, and there 
 were a number of English and Canadian officers present, among 
 them Colonel Raikes and Lt. Colonel D. McClean. In the midst 
 of the work occurred one of the heaviest air raids to which 
 London had been treated, but it caused no interference with the 
 orderly procedure ; in fact, the impression that these air raids 
 left with me was that if they were intended to terrorize the 
 English people, they failed in their purpose, as the only evidence 
 of alarm was noticed in those portions of the city given over to 
 foreign born residents. 
 
 The next day. Tuesday, was spent at the War Office going 
 over the methods followed in paying officers and enlisted men. 
 The officials were most cordial in their reception and the Colonel 
 
 52 
 
who had me in charge took me personally to the chief of the 
 air service in the Hotel Cecil (which had been commandeered 
 for that service) who gave me a pass to go up in the "balloons" 
 which were very active at this time. The informality of the pass 
 is so characteristic of the delightful relationship which I found 
 existed between the average British officer and his subordinate 
 that I repeat it : 
 
 Dear Boville : 
 
 "The bearer, Captain S. H. Wolfe, U. S. Army, insists on 
 going up in a balloon. Will you, like a good chap, grant him 
 a free or fixed ride accordingly?" 
 
 The only other event of interest of this date was that the 
 first daylight air raid, since my arrival, took place. 
 
 Wednesday, October 3rd, I started dictating my report and 
 worked on it all morning. After luncheon in the Directors' room 
 of the Ocean Accident and Guarantee Corporation, I went to the 
 Embassy. On the way I met our new Military Attache Colonel 
 Slocum and called on Commander Tobey, one of our Naval 
 representatives, who arranged for an interview at 4 o'clock 
 with Admiral Tophill, Fourth Sea Lord of the Admiralty. The 
 Admiral was very kind and went with me to Sir Alfred Eyles, 
 the Accountant General of the Navy, who was equally cordial 
 and arranged with his subordinates to get all of the information 
 and the forms which I needed. 
 
 During the next days I completed my report, which was 
 forwarded to Washington, called on Sir Montague Allen, the 
 Canadian Pension Commissioner resident in London, and at- 
 tended a luncheon given in my honor at Connaught Rooms by a 
 number of Masons with whom I had become acquainted at the 
 Lodge. On Friday, October 5th, I paid my farewell visit to the 
 Ambassador and in the afternoon was invited to take tea with 
 Sidney and Beatrice Webb. Two very pleasant hours were spent 
 with these delightful people who had given so much attention to 
 the development of Trade Unionism in England. Mr. Webb is a 
 noted English publicist, one of those who established the London 
 School of Economics and Political Science and co-author with 
 Beatrice Webb of "Industrial Democracy." Their house is 
 delightfully located near the Tate Gallery, overlooking the river 
 with its ever changing panorama, so interesting to the visiting 
 American. 
 
 Saturday morning I breakfasted with H. G. Wells — a most 
 interesting and charming host. He surprised me by his intimate 
 knowledge of modern war methods and the developments whi^h 
 had taken place in the scientific world. One did not expect to 
 find this in a literary genius. Farewell visits to the War Office 
 and the Admiralty took the rest of the day, which concluded 
 with dinner at Claridges with Mrs. Porges, a kinswoman of my 
 wife, the other guests being Mr. Reed, the American Vice Coun- 
 sel, and Dr. Oscar Bernhard, a Captain in the Swiss Army, who 
 
 53 
 
had been selected by the English Government to pass on the 
 physical condition of the German prisoners. 
 
 Sunday, October 7th — just two weeks after I landed in 
 England — in compliance with instructions from the British War 
 Office, I proceeded to Charing Cross Station, where I took the 
 "Staff Special" for Folkestone ; in the Pullman (they do have 
 Pullmans on this train, but they are entirely different from those 
 to which we are accustomed in America) I became acquainted 
 with a number of English officers, among them Major W. Ver- 
 non Hume of the South Lancashire Regiment, and then attached 
 to the General Staff. When I reached Folkestone I reported as 
 directed to the A. M. O. L. (the English throughout the war 
 were great believers in the use of initials and it took me some 
 time to find out that I was to report to the Assistant Military 
 Landing Officer when I reached Folkestone) and expected to take 
 the five o'clock boat for Boulogne, but was informed by that 
 officer that owing to stormy weather no boat would leave until 
 the next morning at 9. Accommodations, however, had been 
 reserved for me at the Royal Pavilion Hotel, where I was 
 directed to spend the night. Major Hume had preceded me 
 and arranged that I would have the rate which had been fixed 
 for English Officers— ;^0 : 10:6 for dinner and lodging — and I 
 spent a very pleasant evening after an invigorating walk along 
 the bluffs on the water front. 
 
 Early on Monday, October 8th, after passing a very com- 
 fortable night at the hotel, I boarded the boat punctually at 9. 
 We remained moored to the dock until 10, when we were 
 told that the stormy weather would again delay the departure 
 and we were instructed to report back at 4 o'clock. I took 
 this opportunity to walk around Folkestone, which is a quaint 
 village with quite a French tone. At 3 an uncomfortable rain 
 storm broke over the town and I was drenched getting to the 
 boat, which to everyone's surprise did not leave until 4:50. The 
 Purser had received instructions to reserve a cabin for me. for 
 which I was very grateful and I took in a number of British 
 officers as my guests, for the boat was greatly overcrowded due 
 to the delayed trips. The Purser told me confidentially that the 
 delays were not due to stormy weather but to the fact that a 
 number of floating German mines had been found in the channel 
 and it was deemed unsafe for Iwats to go across until the waters 
 had been thoroughly dragged. 
 
 Thanks to the very careful methods employed, millions of 
 troops had been transported across the Channel with no loss 
 of life. Our boat was not only preceded by two torpedo boat 
 destroyers, but two aeroplanes hovered overhead and circled in 
 advance of the boats, aviators being able to detect su1")marines 
 many feet below the surface. 
 
 The crossing was very, very rough and although I was not 
 ill I was mighty glad to see the lights of Boulogne. The Purser 
 escorted me to the smoking room and arranged for the French 
 
 54 
 
landing- officials to receive me very early ; my diplomatic pass- 
 port passed me through with no delay. At the foot of the gang 
 plank an English officer, Colonel Gage, stepped up, called me by 
 name (there were very few American officers coming from 
 England at this time) and told me that he had been instructed 
 by the War Office to look after me. He took me in his car to 
 the French Military Authorities, who were very kind and con- 
 siderate, issued transportation warrants immediately and detailed 
 an orderly to see that I was properly fixed. Colonel Gage 
 invited me to be his guest at a dinner that evening which he 
 stated they were giving to one of our American Judges — Judge 
 Mayer — but as I wanted to take the night train for Paris I 
 declined (I found out two years afterwards that the recipient 
 of the dinner was not one of our Federal Judges, but someone 
 who was called, or called himself "Judge Mayer," who was not 
 a lawyer and who I think was engaged in selling horses to the 
 French Government.) 
 
 Colonel Gage's chaufiFeur, after taking me to the hotel, where 
 I dined, managed to find my field chest and luggage (how he suc- 
 ceeded in doing so remains a mystery to me to this day) and 
 took me to the station, where the French orderly who had been 
 assigned to me took complete charge of me, registering my 
 baggage and finally placing me in a railroad carriage in which 
 there were two other officers, Brigadier General Sir John Camp- 
 bell and his Aide. 
 
 I think I can do nothing better at this time than to leave a 
 permanent record of my appreciation of the treatment accorded 
 me by reproducing letters which passed between Commander 
 Tobey and myself : 
 
 U. S. Naval Forces Operating in European Waters 
 U. S. S. Melville, Flag Ship 
 
 30 Grosvenor Gardens, 
 London, S. W. 1, 
 12 October, 1917. 
 My Dear Captain Wolfe : — 
 
 I have just received your letter of the 9th, October, announc- 
 ing your safe arrival in Paris and expressing your appreciation 
 of the courtesy of the British officers who assisted you en route 
 and I am particularly pleased at the kind things you have said 
 of the small service I am glad I was in a position to render you. 
 Believing that such action would meet with your approval, 
 I have taken the liberty of quoting an extract from your letter 
 to Brigadier General Osborne, Assistant Director of Movement 
 of the British War Office, a copy of which I am enclosing for 
 your attention. 
 
 Hoping that you will find your tour of duty in France a most 
 agreeable one and that you will emerge safely at the end thereof, 
 I remain, with best wishes 
 
 Yours very truly. 
 
 E. C. Tobey, 
 Aide for Materiel, Supplies and Repairs. 
 Captain S. H. Wolfe, Q. M., U. S. R., 
 Hotel Majestic, 
 Avenue Kleber. 
 
 Place de' TEtoile, Paris. 
 
 55 
 
The enclosure was as follows : 
 
 12 October, 1917 
 My Dear General Osborn : — 
 
 It gives me pleasure to quote for your information, as I 
 am sure that it will be of interest to you, the following extract 
 from a personal letter which I have just received from Captain 
 S. H. Wolfe, Q. M., U. S. R., who has just arrived in Paris after 
 a journey from London: 
 
 "My arrival in Paris this morning completed a journey 
 for the comfort of which I am indebted to you. At every 
 point the British ofiFicers were most kind, and I wish there 
 were some way in which I could acknowledge the great cour- 
 tesy of Colonel Gage, who met me as I disembarked at 
 Boulogne. He went out of his way to be of assistance to 
 me — treatment which meant much to one arriving in dark- 
 ness, in a drenching rain storm after a most tempestuous 
 trip, and speaking the language but imperfectly. 
 
 "If you consider such action appropriate, I am sure that 
 Captain Wolfe will be greatly pleased if you could convey 
 to Colonel Gage some expression of his appreciation of the 
 treatment accorded him." 
 
 Yours very sincerely, 
 
 E. C. Tobey, 
 Aide for Materiel, Supplies and Repairs. 
 Brigadier General Osborn, 
 Assistant Director of Movement, 
 War Office. 
 
 Our train left at 9:10 and thanks to some mysterious placard 
 which the French orderly and the station master had pasted on 
 the windows of our carriage, we were not disturbed. As intend- 
 ing passengers after one glance at the placard, fled, I suspect 
 that we were labeled either as dangerous lunatics or as small- 
 pox patients. We are able to stretch out comfortably on the 
 seats and at 2 A. M. the General and his aide left at Amiens, 
 from which point they motored to Albert, the headquarters of 
 the Third British Army, which place I subsequently visited when 
 I went to the British front. I reached Paris at 7 A. M., and after 
 a cursory inspection of my baggage — the novelty of American 
 officers had not yet worn off — I was released by the custom 
 authorities and permitted to go in search of a taxi to take me 
 to the hotel. 
 
 56 
 
XIII 
 
 While motor cars in London were not plentiful, one never 
 had any difficulty in finding a taxi ; in Paris, however, there 
 was a great scarcity owing to the fact that so many of the city 
 taxis had been commandeered by the Government and used to 
 transport troops. After considerable search and with the assist- 
 ance of two French porters, I finally found a dilapidated open 
 barouche with a pitiful specimen of horse flesh between the 
 shafts. I hesitated to engage him, for in our country one would 
 have been arrested by the first officer of the Society for the 
 Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The entire absence of other 
 vehicles emboldened me, however, to take the risk and after 
 arranging with the driver for the fare which was to be charged 
 (not an easy matter I assure you) I piled my travelling impedi- 
 menta aboard and started for the hotel. 
 
 It was a beautiful morning and the distance from the Gare 
 du Nord to the Hotel Majestic where rooms had been reserved 
 for me was considerable. It took me through some of the most 
 interesting parts of Paris and I thoroughly enjoyed the trip. 
 
 The Hotel Majestic (this had been selected for me as it 
 was near our Embassy) presented quite a different appearance 
 from the last time I saw it in 1911. It was then one of the 
 popular places for American tourists and was luxuriously fitted 
 up. Now a large part of it had been converted into a French 
 hospital and the balance showed the effects of wear and tear 
 and the lack of renovation. Owing to the lack of coal, hotels 
 and even private houses in Paris were not permitted to have 
 hot water for more than two days in the week ; Saturday and 
 Sunday were hot Avater days at the Hotel Majestic and when 
 I asked for a bath towel the maid explained that this being 
 Tuesday there was no hot water and evidently doubted my 
 sanity when I announced my intention of taking a cold tub. 
 Notwithstanding her disapproval and her assurance that it might 
 prove fatal, the bath after an all night ride in the railroad 
 carriage was most refreshing and I enjoyed my breakfast in 
 my room — a procedure insisted upon by the French hotel 
 authorities, to do away with the necessity for waiters in the 
 dining room in the morning. 
 
 A ten minutes walk took me to our Embassy and I paid an 
 official visit to the Military Attache, Major Frederick A. Mahan, 
 who received me most cordially and after listening to my plans 
 took the necessary steps to obtain audiences for me with the 
 
 57 
 
French officials — a much more formidable undertaking than in 
 England or the United States. To Major Mahan I am indebted 
 not only for many personal acts of kindness and courtesy, but 
 also to him is due credit for much of my success in obtaining 
 information from the French war office and civil bureaus. The 
 Major was a retired engineer officer (a brother of Captain 
 Mahan, our celebrated naval officer) who before the war had 
 taken up his residence in Paris and who had become acquainted 
 with many of the French officials. His acquaintance with them 
 and his knowledge of the French language made him a valuable 
 Military Attache and he was recalled to active service shortly 
 after we entered the war. His unfailing courtesy to me — a 
 younger officer — his entering into the solution of my problems 
 even at the sacrifice of his own time and convenience, and his 
 constant, affectionate solicitation for his invalid wife, are im- 
 pressions which will always remain with me. When in 1918, 
 after my return to the United States, I heard of Major Mahan's 
 death as a result of an operation in a Paris hospital, I felt as 
 though I had lost a very dear friend. 
 
 I completed my morning by calling on Mr. Sidney B. Veit — 
 my brother's uncle by marriage — on my bankers and at the Red 
 Cross headquarters, where I surprised Major Alexander Lam- 
 bert. Major Uambert, in civil life, was greatly interested in 
 hospital social service work and in that we had a common 
 meeting place, for while he was President of the Hospital Social 
 Service Conference, in New York, I was Vice-President. Major 
 Lambert afterwards went to Italy on Red Cross work and as 
 was to be expected, rendered most distinguished services in that 
 field ; Mrs. Lambert was doing organization work in Paris and 
 I envied the Major's ability to have his family circle complete — 
 a privilege denied to so many of us. 
 
 At 6:30 Paul Rie called for me at the hotel and took me 
 to his house for dinner ; it is difficult for me to express my 
 appreciation of the hours spent in the Rie household. It was 
 the nearest approach to home which I had during my stay 
 abroad. Mrs. Rie — my wife's most intimate girlhood friend — 
 had visited us in America and we had seen much of her_ during 
 our previous stay in Paris in 1911, so I really came to look upon 
 the Rie household as the substitute for home best obtainable 
 in the circumstances. 
 
 It is almost impossible to describe the manv interesting 
 events of my stay in Paris, and a brief narrative of the happen- 
 ings of some of the most important days may even, at the risk 
 of repetition, serve to give an idea of my work, the conditions 
 in Paris and the way I spent my time. 
 
 Wednesday, October 10th. 
 
 On my way down town I stopped at the Embassy, where 
 I found a cable from Washington from Mr. McAdoo. advising 
 me of the progress of the Insurance Bill and from there went 
 
 58 
 
to the headquarters of the United States Army in Paris. The 
 Army had taken over the entire Hotel Mediteranee, situated on 
 the river bank — the Quai de la Rapee — a structure w^hich 
 Parisians assured me had been a failure as a hotel, but which, 
 thanks to the American Army, its owners had now found to be 
 a veritable gold mine. I called on General Richard M. Blatch- 
 ford, the head of the Line of Communications. He ordered his 
 adjutant to issue to me the special identification card with 
 which all officers in Paris were to be equipped. The General 
 was much interested in my explanation of the relief plans which 
 the War Risk Insurance Act contemplated — a subject which I 
 discussed with him subsequently on a number of occasions. 
 
 While at headquarters I sent my first E. F. M. cable home ; 
 this was a special service inaugurated by the Western Union 
 Telegraph Company for the benefit of the officers and men of the 
 American Expeditionary Forces. The rate was very low and 
 the service slow as all messages were mailed to London and 
 sent from there. No code words were permitted and all in all 
 the service was not particularly satisfactory^ as when it was 
 necessary to send a cable it was usually desirable to have it go 
 without delay — results which could not be accomplished by 
 using the special service. 
 
 Major Mahan called for me after lunch and we visited 
 Colonel Goubet, Chief of the Second Bureau of the French War 
 Department, who found out what information I wanted and 
 promised to advise me when the Bureau Chiefs would be ready 
 to give the facts to me. The French War Office is located in 
 interesting buildings on the left bank of the Seine and access 
 to the bulidings is not the simple procedure to which we Ameri- 
 cans were accustomed. Application has to be made in advance, 
 a full statement of the mission of the applicant and an appoint- 
 ment made with the officer who is to be seen. A formal looking 
 pass was issued, half of which is detached by the sentry at the 
 door as you enter. During your progress through the building 
 you are frequently stopped by guards to whom must be shown 
 the remaining half of your pass. Unless you have a pass you 
 are not permitted to leave the building and one shudders at the 
 thought of the fate of one who had inadvertently lost his pass — 
 he probably would be compelled to spend the rest of his days 
 in the War Office. 
 
 Major Mahan and I then walked across the city to the 
 Hotel St. Anne (the Major, notwithstanding his years, is a great 
 pedestrian and tells me that he owes his good health and his 
 vigor — for he is over 70 — to his long walks, his deep breathing 
 and his abstemious habits) ; here the United States Armv has 
 established a post office, where one may buv United States 
 stamps and feel reasonably sure of never receiving letters which 
 are sent from the United States. This constituted one of the 
 great complaints of our soldiers, for the mail service was as 
 
 59 
 
bad as it could possibly be. I am not sure that this could be 
 remedied, for it is not an easy thing to deliver mail to organiza- 
 tions which are split up and the various units spread all over 
 a country vv^ith poorly equipped transportation facilities ; for- 
 tunately, my mail came in the official Embassy pouch and 
 reached me with as little delay as one could expect in war times. 
 In the afternoon I called on Colonel Keene, of our Medical 
 Corps, and discussed with him the records which the army would 
 keep in order that they might supplement the records of the 
 War Risk Insurance Bureau. 
 
 Thursday, October 11th. 
 
 At the Embassy this morning I found a number of pieces 
 of mail from England, but none from home, and spent some time 
 with my official correspondence. Major Mahan invited me to be 
 his guest at a meeting of the American Luncheon Club — of 
 which he was Vice-President — at the Cafe Cardinal, at which 
 Isaac F. Marcosson, the well known war correspondent, spoke 
 most entertainingly of his experiences in Russia, from which 
 place he had just returned. He told of his interviews with 
 Kerensky and of his fears for the future of Russia — fears which 
 were justified by the events which took place in Russia during 
 the next twelve months. When I came in the room and was 
 introduced to Marcosson, he at once recalled the fact that many 
 years ago he had come late at night to my house to interview 
 me on the fake schemes of sellers of stock of life insurance 
 companies, a subject about which he was writing a series of 
 articles for one of the magazines. I was amazed at his memory, 
 for he was able to recall every detail of what must have been an 
 ordinary interview to him. I know of no man who has met so 
 many interesting people and who is able to get so clear a view 
 of the real political and social situations in the different countries. 
 
 In the afternoon I returned to the Embassy to meet Captain 
 Carl Boyd, A. D. C. to General Pershing (Captain Boyd was a 
 graduate of West Point, spoke French fluently and was of great 
 assistance to General Pershing in his work. He was subse- 
 quently made a Colonel and his untimely death in Paris from 
 pneumonia was a source of great sorrow to those to whom he 
 had endeared himself.) He informed me that General Pershing 
 was to be in town the next morning and made an appointment 
 with me for 10:30 at the Hotel Mediteranee. When we were 
 through talking Major Mahan took me up stairs to meet 
 Ambassador Sharp, who received me most graciously. 
 
 Friday, October 12th. 
 
 Naturally, there is no man who occupies so exalted a posi- 
 tion in the world of an army officer as Commander-in-Chief ; 
 I, therefore, looked forward to our meeting with considerable 
 interest and wondered how a General would behave to a mere 
 Captain — I venture to say that no civilian can appreciate the 
 space which separates those two ranks. 
 
 60 
 
I reported at the Hotel Mediteranee as directed and found 
 a number of officers — some of high rank — waiting in the ante- 
 room. Punctually at 10:30 Captain Boyd took me in to General 
 Pershing's office and introduced me. The General is a wonder- 
 fully simple, democratic and kindly man, who made me feel at 
 ease at once ; he was interested in the plans of the War Risk 
 Insurance Act and particularly the attempt to furnish adequate 
 compensation to the disabled soldier. He instructed me to come 
 to his headquarters and to visit the other divisional headquarters 
 for the purpose of explaining the various features to the officers 
 and men stationed there. I had frequent conferences with 
 General Pershing after that, but the recollection I have of this 
 first interview will always be the most vivid. 
 
 Before returning to the Embassy I was introduced to the 
 Chief Quartermaster, Line of Communications, and lunched with 
 Major Miller, a Q. M. Reserve officer from Chicago. 
 
 01 
 
XIV 
 
 Before leaving Washington I had a talk with Secretary 
 McAdoo as to the necessity for learning what the French and 
 English were doing in the matter of education and restoration 
 of wounded men; he informed me that Dr. Edward T. Devine 
 had offered to make such a survey for him (I think Dr. Devine 
 told me the funds were furnished by a philanthropist in New 
 York named Milbank) and that he had accepted the offer. The 
 Doctor left about a fortnight before I did and in consequence 
 finished his English investigation before I reached that country; 
 we met, however, in Paris, and Dr. Devine invited me to dine 
 with him at the Cafe Voisin for the purpose of discussing his 
 report with him. It was hard to believe that there was any 
 food shortage, for the delicious dinner — ending with heaping 
 plates of wild strawberries and oceans of whipped cream — 
 could not have been improved upon in peace times. 
 
 Saturday, October 13th. 
 
 Divided my morning between the Embassy, the Hotel St. 
 Anne and the Hotel Mediteranee. Mr. and Mrs. Rie lunched 
 with me and in the afternoon we went to the Petit Palais, where 
 they are exhibiting the tapestries which were removed from 
 Rheims — one of the few museums open in Paris. We also visited 
 the captured guns and airships which were stored in the court- 
 yard of the Hotel des Invalides, near Napoleon's tomb. After 
 tea I walked home with them so that I could congratulate her 
 mother, who had just received a medal from the French Govern- 
 ment for her work at the American Ambulance. The evening 
 was spent at the hotel reading and mapping out my future plans. 
 
 Sunday, October 14th. 
 
 After visiting the Embassy for mail and cables, I went to 
 the home of Mr. B. F. Shoninger for lunch. Mr. Shoninger. with 
 whom 1 had become acquainted at the luncheon of the American 
 Club, had been President of the American Chamber of Commerce 
 in Paris and occupied an important position in our colony. Mrs. 
 Shoninger was trying to create an American atmosphere for 
 our officers and soldiers stationed in Paris, and her home was 
 always filled with a number of such "exiles," who were recipients 
 of her bounteous hospitality ; in the afternoon Mr. Shoninger 
 and I called for Ambassador Sharp and took him and his guest. 
 Professor Baldwin, (who with his wife and daughter was tor- 
 
 62 
 
pedoed on the Sussex) to the model farm operated entirely by 
 mutilated soldiers. M. Poincaire, President of the French 
 Republic and the Minister of War, Painleve (I think I have his 
 name correctly) were also there and I was presented to them. 
 The accomplishments of the soldiers along agricultural lines 
 were wonderful and I have never seen a more excellent exhibit 
 of rabbits. During our visit there was a flock of aeroplanes over 
 us all the time as one of the French aviation schools adjoins the 
 farm. 
 
 In the evening I dined with the Ries at the Island Club, 
 located on one of the islands in the Seine just beyond Neuilly. 
 This club has extended its hospitality to American and English 
 officers stationed in Paris, and a number of them were dining 
 there. 
 
 Monday, October 15th. 
 
 The Metro landed me at the Gare de I'Este, where after an 
 inspection of my travel orders by the gendarme at the ticket 
 window, I was permitted to buy a ticket for Chaumont, head- 
 quarters of the American Army, at the reduced military rate, 
 which is 25 per cent of the regular tariff. It seems strange to 
 an American, accustomed to go where he wanted, and to see 
 what he wanted, to find that no one was permitted to leave 
 Paris without permission from the military authorities. 
 
 After a few hours ride I landed in one of the quaintest 
 French villages imaginable, near the Swiss border and went 
 direct to headquarters, where I saw Major James A. Logan, Jr., 
 of the General Staff, and was informed that General Pershing 
 would be away with Marshal Joffre until the evening. I spent 
 the afternoon with General Rogers, Chief Quartermaster of the 
 American Expeditionary Forces, who was greatly interested in 
 the War Risk Insurance Act, and we prepared a cable for sub- 
 mission to General Pershing to be sent to Washington in refer- 
 ence to the issuance of an order announcing the provisions of the 
 Act to the A. E. F. While walking along the streets of Chau- 
 mont I met Harry Bullock, formerly a star reporter of the New 
 York Times, who came to Lake Placid to see me when I was 
 investigating the Provident Savings Life Assurance Society for 
 Mr. Rittenhouse of Colorado and Mr. Kelsey of New York. 
 Bullock was afterwards Secretary to Colonel Williams, President 
 of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company and in charge of its 
 welfare work ; we saw considerable of one another in connection 
 with the insurance plan which Colonel Williams wanted to estab- 
 lish for his employees, but neither of us knew that the other 
 had entered the service. I think we were mutually happy over 
 the meeting and Bullock — who was a Captain in the Quarter- 
 master Corps — asked me to dine at the Quartermaster mess in 
 the evening. He and Colonel Clayton were killed early in 1918 
 near Montdidier. 
 
 63 
 
For some reason or other Chaumont was not well known 
 to Americans before the war. I have never heard why it was 
 selected for the headquarters of the American Expeditionary 
 Forces, but it certainly was a most delightful town — beautifully 
 situated in a rolling section of France, traversed by quaint wind- 
 ing streets and its architecture appealing to Americans accus- 
 tomed to the monotonous regularity of our buildings ; all these 
 tended to make this an ideal spot for an officer taking exercises 
 ancl recreation after the long working hours, which fell to the 
 lot of our officers. In peace times I was informed that Chaumont 
 was the headquarters for a very extensive glove industry. I 
 hope some day I may be permitted to return to the Hotel de 
 France, where 1 spent many comfortable nights after my initia- 
 tion. The initiation consisted in being assigned to a room right 
 across from the bell tower, from which emerged at half hourly 
 intervals loud peals which effectually banished all ideas of sleep. 
 All new officers were initiated in this way, but after the first 
 night nobody ever willingly took a room in that part of the 
 house. 
 
 Tuesday, October 16th. 
 
 Had a very enjoyable time at the Q. M. Mess last night. 
 Bullock walked back to the hotel with me and although it was 
 only the middle of October, the time of our most delightful 
 Inaian summer at home, there was a chill in the air which 
 seemed to penetrate to the marrow of one's bones. All in all, 
 I think that the climate of France was the most unpleasant I 
 have ever experienced. The dampness seemed to have a pene- 
 trating quality which had no respect for clothing and which I 
 found had a very depressing effect. 
 
 I reported at General Pershing's headquarters and while 
 awaiting him, a car drove up from which he and Marshal JofTre 
 alighted. They proceeded to the General's quarters and later 
 in the morning the Marshal asked to have all of the officers 
 presented to him. We were all marched up and Colonel Boyd, 
 acting as master of ceremonies, presented each officer in turn. 
 Although I had seen the Marshal on his visit to New York, it 
 was a pleasant experience to have the opportunity of saluting 
 him, grasping his hand and being personally introduced. Major 
 Logan invited me to his mess for lunch ; he and Colonel de 
 Chambrun (Count de Chambrun was French Military Attache 
 at Washington for a number of years) had a house near General 
 Pershing's chateau and had as orderly and mess attendant a 
 soldier who was formerly one of the chefs at the Hotel de 
 Crillon in Paris ; it is not hard to appreciate that one suffered 
 all the privations of war at this mess. 
 
 In the afternoon General Pershing sent for me and outlined 
 some of the work which he wished me to undertake. 
 
 I caught the 5:31 train to Paris and travelled in company 
 with some very pleasant officers. The dining service on the car 
 
 64 
 
was very fair and the system used is one which has so many 
 advantages that it would seem that our railroads might adopt 
 it in the interests of efficiency and economy. As the train starts 
 the dining car conductor goes through and gives you a ticket 
 either for the first, second or third service as desired by you, 
 unless there are no more vacant seats at the service which you 
 desire, in which case you are compelled to make another choice. 
 When meal time arrives the first service is announced and all 
 who had tickets for that service go to the dining car and occupy 
 the seats indicated by the numbers on their ticket. When all 
 are seated the waiters start and serve the first course to every- 
 body. When the last person in the car has been served the 
 first one has finished and the service of the second course is 
 started. In this way three waiters are enabled to serve the 
 entire car expeditiously and satisfactorily and although some 
 may prefer service a la carte, the meal was excellent and not 
 expensive. 
 
 Wednesday, October 17th. 
 
 Met Colonel Wallace, of the Signal Corps, who crossed on 
 the Adriatic with me, and found that he had been detailed as 
 Chief Signal Officer of the Line of Communications. As such, he 
 will have charge of the telephone and telegraph service except 
 at the front — a very responsible detail. 
 
 Conferences were had this morning with Lt. Colonel Stan- 
 ton, who is in charge of money matters of the Quartermaster 
 Corps, and Major Miller, relative to the way in which the 
 financial matters connected with the War Risk Insurance Act 
 can be most advantageously handled. 
 
 Thursday, October 18th. 
 
 At the Embassy I found a message from Dr. Devine asking 
 me to call at Red Cross Headquarters ; when I reached there I 
 found that Dr. Devine had asked Professor Edward Fuster, 
 Professor at the College of France, and a great French authority 
 on pensions and workmen's compensation insurance to meet me. 
 We lunched together and I obtained a great deal of valuable 
 information. In the afternoon Miss Harper, of the Red Cross, 
 took me to the Grande Palais, where there is a hospital, physical 
 therapy rooms and re-education classes. The work which 
 mutilated soldiers are being taught to do is wonderful. There 
 are classes of blind men who are taught to become basket 
 weavers and another class where blind men are taught to 
 become masseurs. I am informed that these masseurs have 
 developed great skill and there is an excellent field for men 
 with this training. 
 
 Friday, October 19th. 
 
 I learned that Colonel Reynal Boiling was in Paris in charge 
 of aviation matters and on my way from the Embassy stopped 
 in to pay my respects. We had served together on the City 
 Pension Commission, appointed by Mayor Gaynor to investigate 
 
 65 
 
pension conditions in New York City — a commission created as 
 a result of my cursory investigation of the Teachers Retirement 
 Fund, which showed its impencHng insolvency. Colonel Boiling 
 as usual, was most charming and we chatted together for some 
 timcK Shortly afterwards, Colonel Boiling, while travelling in 
 his auto near one of the battlefields was killed by a German 
 sniper. I never heard the exact facts, but was told that his 
 driver had lost his bearings and was headed for the German 
 lines at the time. 
 
 Very near the aviation headquarters was the beautiful house 
 formerly used by Colonel Bacon as the American Embassy. In 
 it the Clearing House was established — an organization intended 
 to co-ordinate the various activities in Paris — with which Mrs. 
 Alexander Lambert was very actively connected. In addition 
 to calling upon her, I had the opportunity of seeing the very 
 interesting work which was being carried on in the interests 
 of efficiency and economy. 
 
 Saturday, October 20th. 
 
 My entire morning was taken up with consultations with 
 Mr. Frazier, First Secretary of the Embassy, relative to some 
 important cables which were sent to me here from Washington. 
 As nothing could be done until further instructions arrived from 
 the United States, I was enabled to devote the balance of the 
 day to sight seeing — a treat which, up to this time, I had denied 
 myself. 
 
 Mrs. Rie and I took lunch together in a delightful restau- 
 rant and then we crossed to the Isle de la Cite to Notre Dame : 
 from there we went to the Isle St. Louis, where, thanks to an 
 obliging porter, we were permitted to stroll through some of 
 the delightful old gardens surrounding what were once the 
 houses of the aristocratic citizens living in that quarter. A 
 I)risk walk took us to the Jardin du Luxembourg, where we 
 watched the interesting maneuvers of some aviators hovering 
 over the city. Paris seemed to be protected by a systematic air 
 patrol for, at stated intervals, aeroplanes could be seen and heard 
 crossing and recrossing the skies : there were also a number of 
 captive balloons which evidently served as observation posts. 
 Whether these precautions were responsible for the comparative 
 freedom from air raids which Paris enjoyed or whether there 
 was some deep political reason why London should be visited 
 so frequently and Paris so seldom. I never learned. There were 
 constant rumors to the effect that the Germans did not wish to 
 destroy Paris and that the reason why the French boats were 
 seldom torpedoed was that German spies used them for travel- 
 ling to and from the United States. These, of course, were mere 
 rumors and during war time I know of no industry which is 
 so overworked as the Rumor Factory. This is probably a natural 
 result of the nervous tension which everybody experiences, 
 caused by being constantly on the alert, distrusting all acquaint- 
 
 66 
 
ances, save those whose antecedents are well known and being 
 constantly on the watch for spies and plots. 
 
 Sunday, October 21st. 
 
 Spent the morning at the Embassy attending to the cables 
 and letters which I found there awaiting me, then took a long 
 walk through the Avenue de la Grande Armee through the Porte 
 Maillot to Neuilly. The Porte Maillot is one of the city gates — 
 a relic of the old time when Paris was walled in, and, in fact, 
 some of the old fortifications and embankments can be seen 
 nearby. At present it serves as a point beyond which taxi 
 drivers double their fares — without regard to distance — and here 
 are collected the taxes which the city levies on all supplies, 
 including gasoline, which are brought in — the Octroi. The Ries 
 live about ten minutes walk beyond the gate. 
 
 After lunch we visited the American Ambulance — a modern 
 American Hospital located in a very attractive building formerly 
 a large school. It is not a matter of mere insular prejudice 
 which leads me to conclude that the United States need take no 
 back seat when it comes to hospital administration, for I have 
 had the opportunity of visiting English, French, Swiss and Ger- 
 man institutions. The American Ambulance seemed as though a 
 section of New York had been removed and transplanted 3000 
 miles away, for American doctors, American nurses, American 
 patients and American methods blotted out Paris for the instant. 
 The French appreciated the good work which this Hospital is 
 doing for the French wounded and this co-operation between 
 countries is one of the few pleasant results of this war. 
 
 67 
 
XV 
 
 Monday, October 22nd. 
 
 General Pershing having ordered me to report at Chaumont, 
 I took an early morning train ; at Troyes — where a large 
 Canadian hospital is located — a dapper French officer entered 
 my compartment and with the characteristic courtesy of French 
 officers, clicked his heels together and saluted stiffly. I invited 
 him to sit beside me and his imperfect English and my equally 
 imperfect French, enabled us to carry on a conversation in the 
 course of which I learned that the previous day a German 
 Zeppelin — the L-49 — had been brought down by French aviators 
 at Bourbonne-les-Bains, about 30 kilometers distant from 
 American headquarters. Upon my arrival at Chaumont I asked 
 the Officer of the Guard to detail a car to take me to Bourbonne. 
 but he explained with much disgust that the Hoover party had 
 taken all of his cars and the best he could do was to detail a 
 sergeant of the Signal Corps to take me over in a motorcycle ; 
 the ride was unique and enjoyable, though cold, and we covered 
 the 30 kilometers in about an hour. 
 
 We found the L-49 about 4 kilometers out of the town and it 
 was a wonderful sight. Although I had read of the size of these 
 air ships it was impossible to visualize it from the mere descrip- 
 tion and the actual Zeppelin seemed like some uncanny monster; 
 they had captured the entire crew, all scientific instruments and 
 the log book. The French officer in charge of the field gave me 
 a large piece of the outer envelope which covered the entire 
 aluminum frame (I thought it was of silk, but was subsequently 
 informed by the War College in Washington — I had sent a piece 
 of the fabric there as soon as I could — that it was closely woven 
 cotton cloth covered with a bitumen to render it air proof and 
 moisture proof). The French interpreter, standing near the 
 balloon, had just come from interviewing the captured German 
 officer who had been in charge of the Zeppelin and told me the 
 story which he had obtained, which ran about as follows : This 
 was one of a fleet of Zeppelins which started for England to 
 raid London, but when he was crossing the Channel the Com- 
 mander concluded that he would reach London before it was 
 dark enough and he thereupon decided to kill time by rising to 
 a higher altitude. He did so and when it was decided to start 
 again for London, found that his radiator was frozen and he 
 was compelled to drift. This drifting took place all night and 
 in the morning, the Commander thinking he was over a neutral 
 
 68 
 
country — probably Switzerland — decided to land; as he ap- 
 proached the earth some French aeroplanes started up after 
 him and the Commander, trying to elevate his balloon, found 
 that for some reason he could not do so. He, thereupon, flew 
 a white flag and brough the Zeppelin to earth, its nose resting 
 in the bed of a creek and the stern resting on a clump of trees 
 on the bank, the idea being to break the back of the ship so 
 that it could not be used again. Although he had flown the 
 white flag, the officer jumped to the ground as soon as he could 
 and started to fire incendiary bullets from his pistol to destroy 
 the ship, but three French peasants, hunting in the field, rushed 
 up and covered him with their shot guns until French troops 
 arrived. Fortunately, the bullets struck the engine, were 
 deflected and did no serious damage. How much of this story 
 is true, and how much is German invention tempered with 
 French interpretation, is something that I cannot tell. 
 
 Upon my return to headquarters I reported to General 
 Pershing, who directed me to prepare the basis of the memo- 
 randum which he will promulgate in regard to the Insurance 
 Bill. 
 
 Tuesday, October 23rd. 
 
 Continued my conferences and then left at 5 :30 for Paris ; 
 I had three delightful companions in the person of Fleet Surgeon 
 F. von Wedekind, U. S. N., Surgeon W. B. Brinsmade, U. S. 
 N. R. (whose home is in Brooklyn) and Captain Lewis P. Ford, 
 U. S. A. 
 
 Wednesday, October 24th. 
 
 Went to the Embassy early this morning and, while dis- 
 cussing matters with Major Mahan, had the pleasure of renew- 
 ing my acquaintance with Major General Hugh L Scott and 
 Major Fenton, who was with him. The following cable dated 
 Washington, October 19, was handed to me : 
 Embassy, Paris. 
 2728, October 19, 5 P. M. 
 
 For Captain Wolfe, 
 From Secretary McAdoo. Quote : 
 
 You are to remain abroad for a time fully to organize and 
 put into operation European Office War Risk Insurance in Paris, 
 and such branch offices as you may deem advisable. In all of 
 your work, relative to War Risk Insurance, that whatever you 
 do you should do with approval of the Commanding General of 
 the Expeditionary Forces. It is also recommended that you re- 
 quest of General Pershing the necessary detail of assistants, 
 officers and non-commissioned officers for the purpose of this 
 work. End quote. 
 
 LANSING. 
 
 This cable was indicative of the lack of appreciation which 
 people in America had of the conditions in France, and in con- 
 junction with Major Mahan, I prepared my reply which, before 
 sending, I took to the Hotel Mediteranee for submission to Gen- 
 eral Pershing; the General, however, was not there, but his 
 Adjutant General, General Alvord, after hearing my explanation, 
 
 69 
 
approved my reply as I had drawn it and T therefore sent the 
 
 following cable to Mr. McAdoo : 
 
 Secretary of Treasury McAdoo, Washington. 
 
 Your cable nineteenth just received. Work you request me 
 to perform exceeds scope contained in my detail from Secretary 
 of War paragraph 22 special orders 188 and if War Department 
 orders me to perform this additional work supplementary in- 
 structions must be issued as under terms of my orders I would 
 not be authorized to organize and operate War Risk Insurance 
 office. That work may involve expenditure of many thousands 
 of dollars engaging hundreds of clerks and executing leases. In 
 absence of specific instructions and authorizations no such work 
 can be undertaken. General Pershing would not entertain any 
 request from me for detail of officers. Such instructions would 
 have to come to him from Washington. There are no officers 
 and non-commissioned officers here available for purpose indi- 
 cated and additional civilian force would have to be sent from 
 America or engaged here. In circumstances respectfully request 
 prompt instructions from sources which as army officer I can 
 obey. Am prepared to leave shortlv. 
 
 WOLFE. 
 
 At five o'clock Major Mahan and T went to the British 
 Embassy to call on the British Attache and arrange for my 
 visit to the British front, where I wished to inspect the methods 
 used by the British in keeping a record of the casualties from 
 the time that the soldier was injured until his return to England. 
 
 On my way home I was greatly surprised to meet Lt. Colonel 
 Frank H. Lawton. whom I had not seen since the time that he 
 was stationed at Governor's Island ; he arranged to dine with 
 me in the evening. 
 
 Thursday, October 25th. 
 
 Upon arriving at the Embassy this morning found that the 
 French War Department had sent the necessary permits, so 
 Major Mahan and I called on L' Intendant Militaire Vinel — the 
 equivalent of whose office in our country would be that of Assist- 
 ant Quartermaster General. We stayed with him for several 
 hours, accompanying him from department to department and 
 obtained an excellent insight into the way matters of allotment 
 and allowances were handled by the French War Department. 
 I felt, however, that the system followed no methods which 
 could be advantageously adopted by our Army. 
 
 On my return to the Embassy found that headquarters at 
 Chaumont had telephoned that there was an important cable 
 for me. and upon communicating with Colonel Hines, he promised 
 to send it to Paris by courier at once. 
 
 Friday, October 26th. 
 
 From the Embassy Major Mahan and I called on Leon 
 Marescaux, Sous Chef du Cabinet du Sous Secretaire d* Etat 
 a' r Interieur. who explained the working of the Separation 
 Allowance Department of the French Government. I found, 
 however, that the small amount of pay which the French soldier 
 received and the financial condition of the French Government 
 rendered their methods inapplicable to us. This department is 
 
 70 
 
housed in one of the beautiful old mansions in Paris and it 
 seemed incongruous to have a palatial ball room filled with filing 
 cabinets, desks and other furniture connected with grim military 
 business. 
 
 In the afternoon, called at the Hotel Mediteranee to get a 
 copy of the cable which Washington had sent to General Per- 
 shing, and as a result deemed it advisable to go to headquarters 
 the following morning. 
 
 Saturday, October 27th. 
 
 Went to Chaumont and talked with General Rogers, Colonel 
 McCoy, Colonel Hines and Lt. Colonel Davis, and discussed with 
 them the terms of the order which General Pershing was to 
 issue to me placing me in charge of the European Office of the 
 Bureau of War Risk Insurance. Lunched Avith a unique char- 
 acter, Father Joyce, a Chaplain now working in the Intelligence 
 Department, and in the evening dined with General Rogers at 
 his mess. 
 
 While I feel that from the reports I have received from the 
 United States I should be at home directing the formation of 
 the Bureau of War Risk Insurance — which, unless it is properly 
 started, will soon get into a miserable muddle — I, nevertheless, 
 am pleased to be able to remain in France, where so much of 
 the world's history is being made at this moment. The orders 
 which General Pershing issued were very interesting to Army 
 officers as they conferred unusual powers upon me, as may be 
 judged from an inspection of the document itself, as follows : 
 
 General Orders No. SO. 
 
 Headquarters American Expeditionary Forces 
 
 France, October 27, 1917. 
 1. Under authority contained in a cablegram from the War De- 
 partment (No. 314-R) Captain S. H. Wolfe, Q. M. Corps, U. S. R., 
 is assigned to duty in charge of the European Office, War Risk 
 Insurance, which will be organized and put into operation by 
 him at Paris, France. In addition to the European office to be 
 organized at Paris, he will establish branch offices at such other 
 places as he may deem advisable. 
 
 Captain Wolfe is authorized to hire such buildings and incur 
 such expenses as may be necessary under his instructions from 
 the Secretary of the Treasury. On his request, the Commanding 
 General, Line of Communications, will furnish him necessary 
 details of assistants, officers and non-commissioned officers for 
 the purposes of this work; and the Disbursing Quartermaster, 
 Line of Communications, will pay such vouchers as Captain 
 Wolfe may certify to as necessary for the purposes laid down 
 in instructions furnished him through these headquarters. 
 By command of General Pershing, 
 
 J. G. Harbord, 
 Brig. Gen., Chief of Staff. 
 Official: 
 
 Benj. Alvord, 
 
 Adjutant General. 
 
 Sunday, October 28th. 
 
 Continued my work at headquarters preparing the bulletin 
 to be issued and the application blanks to be used. Lunched 
 
 71 
 
with Major Coulter, former head of the Children's Aid Society 
 in New York, and took the evening train back to Paris, travelling 
 with George T. Leake, Superintendent of Transportation of the 
 U. S. Army Mail Service, who told me what difficulties he had 
 in tr3nng to get mail delivered promptly to our men. 
 
 Monday, October 29th. 
 
 I presented General Pershing's order at headquarters and 
 the Commanding General, Line of Communications, detailed 
 Captain B. N. Carvalho, Q. M., U. S. R., and Lt. Harold B. 
 Hoskins, U. S. Marine Corps, as my assistants; I started the 
 former on a hunt to find where we could have our forms printed 
 — not an easy job in Paris at the present time — while Hoskins 
 and I went in search of offices. 
 
 I had known Carvalho slightly in the States and when 
 Colonel Lawton told me that Carvalho had crossed with him on 
 the transport I was very glad to put in for him as my assistant, 
 for I realized that his knowledge of insurance matters would 
 be of inestimable value. In this I was not mistaken, for what- 
 ever success I had with the establishment of the War Risk 
 Insurance office in Europe, a generous share of it is due to the 
 assistance of Captain Carvalho. No man ever had a more loyal 
 and enthusiastic associate to relieve him from many of the 
 grinding details which would have interfered with the successful 
 working of the main idea. 
 
 Tuesday, October 30th. 
 
 Saw an office at 35, Boulevard Haussmann and had almost 
 decided to take it when Captain Washburn, in charge of real 
 estate matters at the Hotel Mediteranee, asked me to look at 
 an office at 1, Rue des Italienes the tenant of which wanted 
 to sub-let, and I agreed to meet the tenant tomorrow morning 
 at 10, to discuss the matter with him. 
 
 Wednesday, October 31st. 
 
 Made an early start at headquarters and attended to a 
 number of routine matters before going to 1, Rue des Italienes, 
 where I met the interpreter and tenant. After some dickering 
 as to price, I arranged to take the place. It is in the same 
 building with the American Consul-General, Mr. Thackera, and 
 the Guaranty Trust Company has its Paris office on the ground 
 floor. I opened a bank account with the Trust Company and 
 foimd that in France this is a considerable function and not the 
 haphazard procedure which we follow in America. You pay for 
 your cheque book — each cheque has a Government tax stamp 
 lithographed upon it — and I was told that no cheques are ever 
 returned with the monthly statement, the bank retaining them 
 as authority for having made the payment. Sent Hoskins to 
 Chaumont and spent the rest of the day at the printer's reading 
 proof until it was time for me to go to Neuilly, where T dined. 
 
 72 
 
Thursday, November 1st. 
 
 Nothing- of interest today except that on our way round 
 town Carvalho and I stopped in at the art exhibition to see the 
 portrait of General Pershing, which a young American had just 
 finished. Found General Pershing-, General Harbord and Colonel 
 Boyd also there and had an excellent opportunity to compare 
 the original with the portrait. I found the latter cold and stiff 
 and lacking in a portrayal of those human qualities which are 
 so characteristic of the General. 
 
 Friday, November 2nd. 
 
 \^isited the new office and indicated the furniture which I 
 was willing to buy. I had received my pass and instructions 
 from the British Embassy, and in accordance therewith made 
 my preparations to start for the British front tomorrow. The 
 thorough way in which the British carry out their projects is 
 well illustrated by the "undertaking" which I was required to 
 sign, and as it may be of interest. I repeat it here. The 
 "undertaking" was printed in parallel columns, one French and 
 the other English : 
 Undertaking to be signed by all intending visitors to the British Front. 
 
 1. (a) All correspondence written by me in the Field will be handed 
 
 open to the officer conducting my party who will arrange for 
 it to be forwarded. Letters, etc., posted without a censor stamp 
 in an Army Post Office are subjected to delay; those posted in 
 civil post offices are either delayed or destroyed. 
 
 (b) I will not mention in any correspondence anything which could 
 be, either directly or indirectly, of use to the enemy. The follow- 
 ing subjects, amongst others, I will not mention: — 
 i. Names of places or units of the Armies, when such mention gives 
 any indication as to where headquarters of Armies, Divisions, 
 Brigades, or Units are situated. 
 
 ii. Plans of future operations, whether surmised or known. 
 
 iii. Hours, dates, and system of reliefs. 
 
 iv. Details of batteries, defensive works, observation stations, rail- 
 way construction, mining and bridging operations, billets of 
 troops, strength of units, casualties. 
 
 I will avoid criticism of the conduct of operations, or of indi- 
 vidual officers, or anything reflecting on the Allied Forces. 
 
 2. On my return I will conform to the spirit of the above rules 
 when recounting my experiences either in public speeches, in 
 private conversation, or in correspondence. 
 
 3. I will not publish, nor submit for publication, matter of any 
 kind concerning, arising out of, or suggested by, my visit either 
 in the form of letter or otherwise, without first submitting such 
 matter, if in the Field, through G. H. Q., or, if elsewhere, direct 
 to the Official Press Bureau, Whitehall, London, for censorship, 
 and I will not publish anything that has not been passed as 
 censored by the Press Bureau, Whitehall, London. 
 
 4. In no circumstances will I bring into the zone of the Armies 
 any camera, photographing apparatus, instrument or accessory. 
 
 5. I will not deliver an address to the troops on any subject without 
 first obtaining consent of the senior officer present. 
 
 6. In no circumstances will I deliver a political or electioneering 
 speech to troops. 
 
 7. I understand that it is impossible to arrange for me to see 
 relatives serving with the fighting forces, and that, as the num- 
 
ber of Staff Officers and cars available is limited, my tour must 
 be conducted according to a set program. 
 
 8. I will not write to, nor be interviewed for the press on my 
 return, unless previously granted permission by the Secretary 
 to the Army Council. 
 
 9. I will not visit the enemy front during the present war. 
 
 10. I will conform to any further instructions that may be issued 
 
 by G. H. Q. during my visit. 
 
 I have read the foregoing instructions for visitors to the British 
 Front, and I agree to carry them out. 
 Place Paris Date 30-10-17 
 
 Signature S. H. Wolfe (Signed) 
 Signature of Officer F. Lane, (Signed) 
 
 Capt. 
 
 Note. — One copy of this undertaking should be signed by the 
 intending visitor, either at the Military Permit Office, 
 Bedford Square, London, or at the office of the (British) 
 Assistant Provost Marshal in Paris. If not signed at 
 either of these two places, then it will be signed on the 
 arrival of the visitor within the British Zone. 
 A second copy will be handed to the visitor on signing, 
 as aide memoire. 
 
 74 
 
XVI 
 
 Saturday, November 3rd. 
 
 Paul A. Rie — who was in Paris on leave from the American 
 Army — took breakfast with me and I then caught the 9:10 A. M. 
 train for Amiens, where I was met by Major D. P. Watson, of 
 the British Army. The Major consulted the schedule which had 
 been arranged for us and found that we were not to leave for 
 headquarters until the afternoon, so we used the intervening 
 time to walk about the quaint city and to visit the celebrated 
 Cathedral with its beautiful Rose window. Both the exterior 
 stone carvings and the interior chapel carvings are protected by 
 bags of sand to guard against damage resulting from shell fire 
 and in consequence I failed to see some of the more elaborate 
 carvings. In one of the campaigns — 1915 I think — the German 
 operations were very close to Amiens and, in fact, the Com- 
 manding General and his staff entered the city, but for some 
 reason it was spared the horrors of a bombardment. 
 
 After a very delightful lunch, the Major's car called for us 
 and took us to the headquarters of the Third British Army at 
 Albert. This was the first destroyed town which I visited and 
 it left a peculiar feeling of resentment. To walk through street 
 after street and find no house left standing brought one face to 
 face with the grim realties of war. Rooms were reserved for 
 me in the Officers Club, which, in peace times, was the Alms 
 House ; it is one of the few houses left habitable, although it 
 has no roof over a considerable part of the building. 
 
 I was presented to Surgeon General J. M. Irwin and his 
 staff and spent a very pleasant hour with them. 
 
 Major Watson took me to the Gas Department to have a 
 gas mask fitted. This was a very interesting experience for, 
 after instructing me in the proper way to adjust the mask and 
 teaching me how to breathe I was taken to a gas chamber in 
 order to see whether there was any leak in the mask and also 
 whether I had learned the proper method of using it. I prac- 
 ticed putting it on for some time — for after the alarm is given 
 all masks are supposed to be properly adjusted in six seconds — 
 and was then put in the chamber where I stayed for perhaps 
 five minutes, after which time I was taken outside and permitted 
 to unmask. In order to show me how efficacious the appliance 
 was. I was asked to step into the chamber which I had just left, 
 but urged not to do it too quickly. The caution was most timely 
 for as I opened the door of the room which I had just left and 
 
 75 
 
put my face inside, I was nearly asphyxiated. The room was 
 filled with fumes — bromide I think — which it would have been 
 impossible to breathe for more than three seconds, but I had 
 stayed in there for several minutes with no discomfort and 
 without realizing that the air was not as pure as in the open. 
 It gave me supreme confidence in my mask. I was then equipped 
 with a steel helmet and on the way back to our quarters we 
 stopped at the ruins of the Basilique de Notre Dame de Brebieres. 
 This is probably one of the cathedrals with which Americans 
 are most familiar, for it was surmounted by a statue of the 
 Virgin holding the Infant in her arms. After fifteen months 
 of bombardment the statue was displaced so that it was hanging 
 over the street at an angle of 90 degrees to its original position. 
 There was a legend that the war would not end until the statue 
 fell in the streets (a prediction which was carried out, for in the 
 drive in the spring of 1918, when the Germans returned almost 
 to Amiens, the bombardment of Albert continued and the statue 
 landed in the street.) 
 
 Before going to the General's mess for dinner. Major Wat- 
 son and I attended a concert given by the enlisted men attached, 
 I think, to the Royal Flying Corps, stationed at Albert. It was 
 a most creditable performance and some idea of the spirit which 
 actuated the men can be gleaned from the titles on the program. 
 
 PROGRAMME 
 
 1. 
 
 2. 
 
 3. 
 
 4. 
 
 5. 
 
 6. 
 
 7. 
 
 8. 
 
 9. 
 10. 
 11. 
 12. 
 
 Part I 
 Opening Chorus 
 Shepherd's Bush 
 A Bachelor Gay 
 Interne Them All 
 When I Left the World Behind 
 Oh. Joe, with Your Fiddle 
 Impressions 
 Wakki Hula Yukki Du 
 Follow the Sergeant 
 Friend O' Mine 
 Sing Us an English Song 
 Order Please 
 
 Part II 
 
 1. Come 'Round London 
 
 2. Good, Damned Good 
 
 3. Where Did That One Go? 
 
 4. Some Sort of Somebody 
 
 5. Moses, Moses 
 
 6. The Burglary 
 
 7. By and By You Will Miss Me 
 
 8. Lead Me to Love 
 
 9. The Band 
 10. Good Night 
 
 GOD SAVE THE KING 
 
 Sunday, November 4th. 
 
 At 9. Major Watson and I started for Arras, passing through 
 Bapaume — my introduction to the famous Somme battlefield. 
 It is as impossi1)le to describe what this looks like as it is to 
 describe the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Imagine a beautiful, 
 thickly populated, agricultural country so swept by shell fire 
 that no house, tree or barn is left standing, that no crops are 
 left in the fields, that on all sides are shell holes and craters, 
 that one sees no inhabitants and meets only soldiers and la])orers 
 connected with military operations — one then has a faint idea 
 of the picture presented by this poor country. The happiest 
 people one meets are the German prisoners, who seem overjoved 
 at their escape from danger and at the food and clothing which 
 thev receive from the British. 
 
 76 
 
At Arras we called on Colonel Monteith, who took us in an 
 ambulance to visit the R. A. P. (Relief Aid Post), where the 
 wounded are first brought. At this time we were within 1000 
 yards of the German lines and the shells were flying over us con- 
 stantly. The British guns were replying at a lively rate. We were 
 then taken to a dressing station where, after inspecting the sys- 
 tem, we had lunch — my first under fire. This was a place called 
 Fampoux, just south of Vimy, the place where the Canadians 
 fought so gallantly. At Fampoux the officers were quartered 
 in a very ingenious structure which had been built by the 
 Germans. Apparently it was the chimney of a building which 
 had been destroyed by shell fire, but in reality it had been built 
 of concrete and iron in order to serve as an observation post. 
 At a distance of one hundred feet one would have been sure 
 that he was looking at an interesting ruin and would not have 
 suspected its true character. 
 
 From here we returned to Arras to visit another Hospital 
 (Ecole Normal) and then to Warlus to a C. R. S. (Corps Rest 
 Station) where minor cases are sent for treatment and recupera- 
 tion. By this time it was dark and we had a "spooky" ride back 
 for all lights must be extinguished when the car is running 
 towards the Boche. The constant artillery fire, however, illu- 
 minated the sky so that the driver was enabled to pick out the 
 road and we returned with no casualties, but a trifle late, for 
 dinner at General Irwin's mess. The General was quartered in 
 what had been the finest chateau in Albert. Part of the dining 
 room was cut ofif by a board partition and evidently noticing 
 my wonderment, the General took me to a door in the partition 
 through which we looked and saw a shell hole about ten or 
 twelve feet in diameter — a little souvenir from the last bom- 
 bardment. 
 
 Monday, November 5th. 
 
 When I reached the Officers' Club last evening, I was ap- 
 proached by Lt. James Allen of the Black Watch, who asked 
 if he might share my room with me, as there was a scarcity of 
 quarters. I, of course, was very happy to extend this privilege 
 to this English officer in view of my courteous treatment by 
 his associates. He told me that his brother, David Allen, was 
 living in Pittsburgh, Pa., and I promised to look him up upon 
 my return. 
 
 At ten o'clock Colonel H. M. W. Gray, Consulting Surgeon 
 of the Third Army, called for me and took me to Perr^onne. 
 Colonel Gray, a delightful Scotchman, was a most interesting 
 companion. He showed me the ruins of the house in Perronne 
 upon which the Germans had placed the sign which so angered 
 the French, "nicht angern nur wundern." This town, like the 
 others in this section, was a mass of pitiful ruins; from there 
 we went to Ytres, where I had the opportunity of inspecting for 
 the first time a Corps Clearing Station, where cases are received 
 
from the dressing- stations and then evacuated to the base hos- 
 pitals after the necessary operations have been performed. The 
 entire surrounding country is filled with interesting spots and 
 Colonel Gray explained in detail the various operations in the 
 Somme offensive. It gave one a better idea of the nature of 
 the fighting than could have been obtained in any other way. 
 In the evening we had another delightful dinner at General 
 Irwin's mess. Most of the officers were called away on special 
 duties and the Chaplain and I spent an interesting hour before 
 the fire ; like most educated Englishmen he was well acquainted 
 with American literature and history. 
 
 Tuesday, November 6th. 
 
 On my way back to the station at Amiens we passed a 
 number of German prisoners working in the fields. They were, 
 unquestionably, the happiest troops to be seen in this neighbor- 
 hood. 
 
 It was with genuine regret that I bade Major Watson good- 
 bye at the Amiens station. During my brief stay on the British 
 front I became well acquainted with him and learned to admire 
 his excellent qualities. My travelling companion on the train 
 was another interesting English officer — Captain Thornbill ; on 
 my arrival in Paris went to the office at 1 Rue des Italienes, 
 where I worked until 6:30. 
 
 78 
 
XVII 
 
 Wednesday, November 7th. 
 
 Spent my first day at my new office. It is interesting to 
 be required to start an enormous project — such as the War 
 Risk Insurance office in France is going to be — with none of 
 the usual faciHties. 
 
 A number of cables from Washington were received, the 
 most interesting one, however, being the announcement that 
 Major Willard Straight would leave in ten days to become the 
 permanent head of the Bureau in France and directing me to 
 come home as soon as possible. 
 
 Thursday, November 8th. 
 
 Having been ordered by General Pershing to report to him, 
 I took the early train to Chaumont, but upon my arrival was 
 told by Colonel Boyd that the General was ill and had directed 
 me to remain until the next day. I reported to the Quarter- 
 master General — General Rogers — and we went over a number 
 of matters affecting my office. 
 
 Friday, November 9th. 
 
 I spent two very delightful hours with General Pershing, 
 explaining the War Risk Insurance Act to him. It is needless 
 to say that he is a very busy man and his willingness to spend 
 so much time is an indication of his interest in matters con- 
 cerning the welfare of the forces under his control. Before 
 reporting to the General, I asked his Aide to tell me the General's 
 place and date of birth ; I, thereupon, prepared an application 
 for insurance complete with the exception of the name of the 
 beneficiary. At the conclusion of my interview I produced this 
 application blank and showed him where to put his name on the 
 dotted line. He seemed most surprised at the preparations 
 which had been made (an old trick thoroughly familiar to every 
 insurance man) and applied for the full limit — $10,000. 
 
 The Secretary of the Treasury had asked me to obtain a 
 letter of approval from the General which could be used as a 
 means of inducing the officers and enlisted men to sign applica- 
 tions and I was fortunate to obtain from the General an excellent 
 letter, the contents of which I cabled to Mr. McAdoo. Before 
 I left. General Pershing sent for his Chief-of-Staff, General 
 Harbord, and introduced me. General Harbord took me into 
 his room to discuss a number of matters with him and the 
 
 79 
 
grasp which he had of the various details connected with the 
 Army made a deep impression. After talking- with him for a 
 few minutes one would have no difficulty in understanding why 
 General Pershing placed such implicit confidence in and relied 
 upon him. 
 
 Sunday, November 11th. 
 
 Worked at the office until 12 and lunched with the Ries. 
 Late in the afternoon called on Mrs. Cans, who invited me to 
 her "Lion's tea"; she had some very interesting artists, sculptors 
 and writers there, but, unfortunately, my imperfect French 
 deprived me of much of the opportunity to enjoy their conversa- 
 tion. I have been elected an honorary member of the Island 
 Club and went there for dinner. 
 
 Monday, November 12th. 
 
 A cable came from Mr. McAdoo requesting permission to 
 name me on the Advisory Board of the War Risk Bureau, but 
 I declined, feeling that as a commissioned officer in the Army I 
 should hold no other office under the Government. 
 
 Tuesday, November 13th. 
 
 Routine office work all day, laying my plans for an inten- 
 sive campaign as soon as I receive the material. Received 
 instructions from Chaumont stating that General Pershing 
 wished me to come up the next day. 
 
 In the evening, Lt. Wells, Signal Corps — who crossed on 
 the Adriatic with me — and I dined together at the University 
 Club, formerly the Royal Palace Hotel. Afterwards, we took 
 the Metro to the Gaumont Palace, where we saw some won- 
 derful movies. 
 
 Wednesday, November 14th. 
 
 Spent the entire day at headquarters outlining to General 
 Pershing and General Rogers my plans, which met with their 
 approval. Waited at the station three hours for the train to 
 Paris as the entire line was blocked with trains loaded with 
 men, guns and horses being hurried to the front. There is 
 evidently some drive being projected and rumor has it that Italy 
 is the objective point. 
 
 Thursday, November 15th. 
 
 The six lieutenants detailed by General Pershing to assist 
 me reported for duty and I started a school of instruction. It 
 is but proper I should record their names, for they were most 
 intelligent assistants and were of great value to the work. The 
 detail consisted of Lieutenants R. T. Walker Duke. Hugh P. 
 Frere. Fred C. Hempy, Frank D. Nowack (afterwards killed in 
 action), Whitney R. Spiegle and Roy A. Wohlford. It was a 
 delight to work with these men and I am sure that no officer 
 ever had more loyal and unselfish assistants than I did. 
 
 80 
 
I moved back to my old quarters in the Hotel Majestic, as 
 the advantages of the University Club, being near to my office, 
 did not outweigh the comforts 1 had at the Majestic. 
 
 Friday, November 16th. 
 
 Continued my school of instruction and am sure that the 
 six lieutenants will be a credit to the War Risk Bureau. 
 
 Major Mahan and I lunched together and then went to the 
 British passport office, where I arranged to go to London via 
 Boulogne and Folkestone. 
 
 Saturday, November 17th. 
 
 Spent the morning at the office and most of the afternoon 
 at the Hotel Mediteranee interviewing various officers in the 
 matter of war risk insurance and answering their many ques- 
 tions. Arranged to leave for Boulogne at 9 : 10 tomorrow morning 
 and will probably have to spend the night there as the tides 
 will compel the Channel steamer to leave before my train arrives. 
 
 Sunday, November 18th. 
 
 Left for Boulogne, arriving there at 3 :25, just in time to 
 enable me to jump into a rickety horse drawn vehicle (no taxis 
 available), and hurl myself aboard the boat, which left at 3:30. 
 The Channel was as calm as the proverbial mill pond and I 
 reached London at 7 :45 P. M. — less than eleven hours after I 
 had left Paris. On the train met a Canadian officer. Colonel 
 Eddy Dean, a great friend of A. Duncan Reid. 
 
 Monday, November 19th. 
 
 Made an early start and fortunately our Ambassador be- 
 lieves in getting to his office early for this enabled me to get 
 through with him by 10 o'clock, after which came conferences 
 with the Military and Naval Attaches and the other officials. 
 
 The Ambassador had invited me to take tea with Mrs. Page 
 and him and for an hour it seemed as though I had been trans- 
 ported to America — an illusion heightened by the fact that Mrs. 
 Page's American tea biscuits, made with white flour, were in 
 marked contrast to the hunks of war bread to which I was 
 accustomed. 
 
 Tuesday, November 20th. 
 
 At 11 o'clock called on Colonel Lyster, the head of our 
 medical forces, whose headquarters are in Adastral House on 
 the Embankment. Spent an hour with him and his Adjutant 
 explaining the insurance plan and then lunched with Mr. Hugh 
 Lewis in the Director's room at the office of the Liverpool and 
 London and Globe Insurance Company. More conferences in 
 the afternoon and then tea at the Bazaar given to obtain funds 
 for the aid of crippled soldiers. I dined in the evening with 
 Mrs. Lewisohn, mother of Dr. Richard Lewisohn. 
 Wednesday, November 21st. 
 
 Spent the morning with Major Hamilton, Captain Currier 
 and the aviation officer. 
 
 81 
 
Made plans to have my assistant, Captain Carvalho, visit the 
 different camps. Major Hamilton gave me a card to the new- 
 American officers club house in Lord Leconfield's magnificent 
 home, donated by him for that purpose, and Captain Currier and 
 I lunched there. More conferences in the afternoon, tea with 
 Mrs. Copley Hewitt and her mother, and dined with Alice Porges 
 at Claridge's. 
 
 Thursday, November 22ncl. 
 
 Had chance to call on Mr. Beard at the Separation Depart- 
 ment and caught the 12:50 staff boat train from Charing Cross 
 for Folkestone. At the table opposite me in the train was a 
 delightful English officer. Brigadier General J. W. Marsden 
 Newton (Royal Body Guard), who is much interested in Ma- 
 sonry and the time passed very quickly. On the boat met 
 General Lassiter and when we landed at Boulogne, Colonel Gage 
 met us and looked after us admirably. We all had a fine dinner 
 at the Criterion and Mr. Peter Fletcher and I were fortunate 
 enough to get a compartment to ourselves on the train for Paris. 
 
 Friday, November 23rd. 
 
 Arrived at 7 A. M.. and after considerable time managed 
 to secure a taxi which took me to the hotel. Found that every- 
 thing had been going along nicely at the office during my 
 absence. 
 
 Saturday, November 24th. 
 
 Forwarded applications covering insurance for $26,000,000 
 (in view of the subsec[uent achievements of the War Risk Insur- 
 ance Bureau, this was nothing at all, but to one who had 
 experienced the laborious work in starting a commercial life 
 insurance company, the accomplishment was wonderful). Had 
 lunch at a very fine restaurant — Pruniers — with the Ries, as the 
 guests of Mr. Lamplaugh. If Mr. Lamplaugh can make auto- 
 mobile bodies (his business) as well as he can order a lunch, he 
 is certainly a genius. Afterwards we went to the French War 
 Office, where I had ordered some official war photographs, back 
 to the office and dinner w'ith the Ries. 
 
 Sunday, November 25th. 
 
 Went to the office and was rewarded by getting three letters 
 from home postmarked September 18th, October 29th and Nov- 
 ember 1st, respectively. Dined with the Shoningers and took a 
 long w^alk in the afternoon through the Bois to the Island Club, 
 where I dined. 
 
 November 26th, 27th, 28th. 
 
 Three strenuous days during which I worked at the office 
 until late at night, having found it necessary to reorganize the 
 entire system to make it applicable to the unusual character 
 of war risk w^ork. The ordinary rules applicable to an insurance 
 office cannot be used and I had to start afresh. I have heard 
 
 82 
 
that Burbank frequently roots up an entire patch in his garden 
 when he finds a plant developing in the wrong direction and 
 I now know his feelings. 
 
 Thursday, November 29th. 
 
 Thanksgiving Day away from home. On days like this one 
 seems to miss those at home more than ever, but what's the 
 use of kicking — c'est la guerre. Spent the morning at the office 
 and at 12:15 left for the Hotel Palais d'Orsay, where the 
 American Club had its luncheon. A wonderful assembly. All 
 the big guns of Paris were there — Pershing, Joffre, Viviani and 
 Tardieu spoke. It was certainly an historic occasion — the first 
 Thanksgiving with the American troops in Paris. A number of 
 good speeches, including one by Brainbridge Colby. Back to 
 the office and worked until 7, when I went to the Hotel Rich- 
 mond for dinner — an hotel for American officers run by Mrs. 
 Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., and other ladies who wait on the table. 
 This has its disadvantages, for you cannot swear at the waitress 
 if she spills soup down your back. Very good turkey and mince pie. 
 
 Friday, November 30th. 
 
 Spent some time at the Embassy helping to decipher my 
 cables which have come in much mangled condition. Then to 
 the Hotel Mediteranee, where I saw General Harbord and 
 Colonel Logan about Bulletin No. 12, which they finally approved. 
 
 Sunday, December 2nd. 
 
 As usual, spent the morning at the office and in the after- 
 noon went to the Trocadero with Mr. Shoninger where we had 
 two seats in the box of the Minister of Education. Charpentier 
 conducted and a very excellent orchestra gave the "Damnation 
 of Faust." Took a long walk to the Quay de Billy to the United 
 States Army storehouse and then to the Island Club for dinner. 
 
 Monday, December 3rd. 
 
 Had a visit from a French Deputy who wished to copy our 
 pension and insurance bill for France. After obtaining per- 
 mission from headquarters, I gave him all the data I could 
 (subsequently the French Government adopted an insurance bill 
 on a very much modified scale.) It is interesting to know that 
 the experiment we are trying in the United States is being 
 watched by other countries. 
 
 Tuesday, December 4th. 
 
 The American Consul General, Mr. Thackera, and I took 
 lunch together. The consulate is located in the same building 
 with me and as Mr. Thackera is a brother-in-law of William 
 Tecumseh Sherman, we had many things to talk about. 
 
 Wednesday, December 5th. 
 
 Went to headquarters at Chaumont, where I took up a 
 number of matters with Colonel Logan. Had the pleasure of 
 hearing him dictate a memorandum for General Pershing recom- 
 
 83 
 
mending my promotion as Major. He invited me to lunch with 
 him at his mess with Colonel McCoy, Captain O'Brien and some 
 French officers. 
 
 Thursday, December 6th. 
 
 Received information from headquarters that General Per- 
 shing had instructed the General commanding the Four Divisions 
 to detail officers representing their various organizations to meet 
 me for conferences. I was directed to proceed to the various 
 division headquarters for the purpose. 
 
 Saturday, December 8th. 
 
 Received a cable from Mr. McAdoo today announcing that 
 Major Straight would sail on the Adriatic. This probably means 
 that 1 will not be home before the end of January. 
 
 Sunday, December 9th. 
 
 After working at the office all morning went to the Shon- 
 ingers for dinner, where I was much surprised to find that they 
 knew it was the anniversary of my wedding. 
 
 Tuesday, December 11th. 
 
 Spent a very interesting day at headquarters at Chaumont 
 arranging details of my trip to the various divisions with Lt. 
 Colonel Logan and on the train coming back to Paris shared the 
 compartment with Colonel Carson, Lt. Colonel Longley, Captain 
 Ord (A. D. C. to General Liggett) and General Bethel, Judge 
 Advocate General. 
 
 Thursday, December 13th. 
 
 The anniversary of my father's death. I have thought a 
 great deal about him today and his work during the Civil War. 
 In the afternoon I addressed the officers of the various organi- 
 zations near Paris, who were ordered to report to me by the 
 Commanding General, Line of Communications. 
 
 Sunday, December 16th. 
 
 Left for Chaumont at 8 A. M. ; Captain Carvalho accom- 
 panied me. In the afternoon I spoke at the Y. M. C. A. hut to over 
 500 officers and men, explaining the War Risk Insurance Act. 
 
 84 
 
XVIII 
 
 Monday, December 17th. 
 
 Started on a most interesting trip at 8 A. M. in a Cadillac 
 staff car for the headquarters of the Second Division at Bour- 
 mont. Mighty cold trip. Reported to General Omar Bundy 
 and was taken by him to the Town Hall, where I addressed 
 about thirty officers. The Town Hall was formerly a chateau 
 of Louis XV, and our meeting place was one of his bed rooms. 
 The town is beautifully situated and one gets a gorgeous view 
 from the chateau. Saw snow for the first time in France. After 
 messing with Lt. Randolph, we started at 1 :30 for the head- 
 quarters of the Twenty-Sixth Division at Neufchateau, a very 
 good sized town. The commanding officer. General Edwards, 
 was ill and I did not meet him, but addressed about forty officers. 
 Major Howard of the 101st Machine Gun Battalion (Secretary of 
 the Travelers Insurance Company of Hartford) who was sta- 
 tioned in a small village about five miles away, came in to see 
 me and took us over to the Lafayette Club, an officers' club just 
 started by the French and American officers. The French orderly 
 was very insistent that we should have an American cocktail, but 
 honesty compels me to admit that I could not recognize the 
 drink. I was told that the commanding officer at Liverpool had 
 stated that the landing records for Major Howard's organization 
 were the best of any that had been presented to him and I can 
 readily appreciate that the Major's executive ability — so well 
 known in the insurance world — has enabled him to have the 
 model organization which I understand he has. 
 
 Captain Loy, who in civil life was connected with the National 
 Cash Register Company at Dayton, was celebrating his birthday 
 at the Club and invited us to the feast. The menu was so unusual 
 that I shall reproduce it: Soup, snails (which I skipped), turkey, 
 goose, vegetables, cheese and lots of champagne. The Captain 
 had given the orderly five francs to keep a roaring fire in the 
 stove (it was intensely cold outside) and he did his work so 
 effectively that the Captain had to give him another five francs 
 to stop him otherwise we would have been roasted alive. Spent 
 the night (candor prevents me saying that we slept) at the 
 Providence Hotel and it was difficult to imagine any less com- 
 fortable place. 
 
 Tuesday, December 18th. 
 
 Left at 8:15 for the headquarters of the First Division at 
 Gondrecourt, passing on the road large bodies of French artil- 
 lery ; evidently there is going to be some important movement 
 
 85 
 
soon — perhaps at Nancy, which seems to be the most logical 
 point. Met General Bullard and talked to 50 officers. The 
 Adjutant, Captain Lowrie, is a very fine officer and had arranged 
 things in the most systematic manner imaginable. Messed with 
 him and then left at 1 :30 for the new headquarters of the Forty- 
 Second Division, but as no troops had arrived, we returned to 
 Chaumont, Avhere we spent the night. Today we passed through 
 Domeray, where Joan of Arc was born. 
 
 Wednesday, December 19th. 
 
 This was one of the most interesting days of my trip. We 
 motored to Langres, where I spoke to about 200 of the higher 
 officers attending the staff school here. 
 
 Lunched at the officers' mess with Captain Morgan, who 
 crossed on the Adriatic with me. This town is the most beauti- 
 fully situated of any I have struck and the view from the front 
 of the school is gorgeous. On the train met General Liggett, 
 General Russell, Chief Signal Officer, Colonel Wilgus (who in 
 civil life was Vice-President of the New York Central) and 
 Mrs. Cartier. Mrs. Cartier had just been visiting her husband, 
 an officer in the French Army. 
 
 Thursday, December 20th. 
 
 As was to be expected found a great accumulation of work 
 at the office. The applications are coming in at a great rate 
 showing how effective is the intensive campaign which has been 
 inaugurated. 
 
 The Adjutant General in London advised me that Major 
 Straight's ship would arrive a1)out Christmas. 
 
 Sunday, December 22nd. 
 
 Ended up the week with $121,000,000 of insurance in force, 
 a wonderful result. 
 
 Monday, December 24th. 
 
 Spent the day preparing for Major Straight, whose ship is 
 due shortly. In the evening dined with Dr. Hipwell, who had 
 invited me to share a Smithfield ham which had been sent to 
 him and we had an old-fashioned American ham and egg supper. 
 Loie Fuller, a former dancer, now a Red Cross Nurse, was there 
 also. Not like the usual Christmas Eve's home — no tree dress- 
 ing, filling of stockings, etc. 
 
 Tuesday, December 25th. 
 
 Cliristmas away from home. The less said about it the 
 better, although Mrs. Shoninger did her best to make me forget 
 my loneliness with some very acceptable presents and a pleasant 
 dinner ; in the evening a large gathering at the Ries. 
 
 Wednesday, December 26th. 
 
 No word from Major Straight, although I believe he landed 
 yesterday at Liverpool. In the evening Carvalho and I dined 
 
 86 
 
at the Restaurant des Artistes, a very Bohemian place in the 
 Latin quarter, where he had some amusing table companions. 
 
 Thursday, December 27th. 
 
 Received a telegram from Major Straight that he would 
 arrive in the evening with 33 officers and asking me to engage 
 rooms for all of them, which I did, and went to the station to 
 meet them at 9:50, but upon learning that the train would be 
 an hour late and feeling very miserable from the effects of a 
 sore throat, I left my directions with Lt. Ewing, our R. T. O., 
 and went back to the hotel, not wanting to stand around in 
 the cold. 
 
 Friday, December 28th. 
 
 Major Straight arrived this morning and spent considerable 
 time with me. He has a charming personality and I can readily 
 understand why he is liked so well. He returned in the after- 
 noon and we talked for several hours. 
 
 Saturday, December 29th. 
 
 Major Straight came at 9 :30 and we spent the entire day 
 together. He would like me to remain with him some time but 
 I know I am badly needed in Washington to straighten things 
 out there as they seem in a terrible muddle but when that is 
 accomplished I want to return here, for this is where the history 
 of the world is being made "fresh every hour." 
 
 Major Straight gave a delightful luncheon in my honor in 
 the most beautiful apartment in the Hotel Crillon, in which I had 
 ever been. Ten of the principal officers were invited to meet 
 me and after luncheon we went into another room where the 
 rest of the officers were assembled and I spoke for an hour. 
 Major Straight is to go to headquarters today and when he 
 returns on Tuesday I will know more of his plans. He brought 
 the following letter to me from Mr. McAdoo : 
 
 THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY 
 Washington 
 
 December 5, 1917. 
 My Dear Captain Wolfe : — 
 
 I want to thank you for your very interesting letter of 
 November 10th with accompanying material. We are to be con- 
 gratulated in having a man of your executive capacity to take 
 charge of the work in Paris. I shall be anxious to have your 
 personal report as soon as you return, and I know that your 
 advice and suggestions will be of the greatest value to the 
 Bureau of War Risk Insurance. 
 
 I regret very much that Major Straight's sailing has been 
 unavoidably delayed and that it has not been possible to relieve 
 you at an earlier date. I hope, however, this has not caused you 
 any inconvenience and want to take this opportunity to assure 
 you how deeply I have appreciated the splendid service you have 
 rendered in organizing the work in Paris. 
 
 Faithfully yours, 
 
 (Signed) W. G. McAdoo, 
 Captain S. H. Wolfe, Secretary, 
 
 c/o American Ambassador, 
 Paris, France. 
 
 87 
 
XIX 
 
 Monday, December 31st. 
 
 Went over the papers which Major Straight brought here 
 from Washington and lunched with the two Captains Mack. In 
 the evening I dined with the Ambassador and Mrs. Sharpe. They 
 live in a beautiful house, one of the modern houses embodying, 
 however, all of the beauties of the old ones and I had a delightful 
 evening. Lt. Colonel Dawes, of Chicago, was the other guest. 
 The Ambassador is very keen on the sciences, particularly on 
 astronomy, and all in all it was the most intellectual evening 
 I have spent here. Colonel Dawes is a wonder, and unless I am 
 a poor judge of men, we shall hear more of him. 
 
 Tuesday, January 1, 1919. 
 
 Called at the Hotel Crillon for Major Straight and received 
 the cheering news that headquarters had issued orders relieving 
 me, so I plan to leave Paris tomorrow. Had Major Straight, 
 Major Lindsley and Captain Carvalho for lunch. In the evening 
 Captain Carvalho gave a dinner for me at the Officers' Club. 
 Madame Rothschild had turned over her gorgeous house at 33 
 Rue de Faubourg St. Honore for the use of Allied officers. A 
 very pleasant evening. Among the guests were Colonel Hay- 
 good. Colonel Clayton, Lt. Colonel Booth and Major Lindsley. 
 
 Wednesday, January 2nd. 
 
 Started for home. My last view of Paris was a damp, 
 muggy place, the streets covered with slush, and no gladness 
 or joy. The 9:10 train landed me in Boulogne at 3:15, where I 
 planned to spend the night; much to my surprise I found that 
 owing to the tide the afternoon boat would not leave until 4:15 
 so I caught it and as a result was in my hotel in London at 8 :45. 
 On the boat became acquainted with a charming officer, Lt. 
 Colonel Newton-King, a King's messenger, who invited me to 
 share his cabin with him all the way over. He was bearing 
 messages to the King from Italy and his pouches were chained 
 together with heavy weights so if anything had happened to the 
 boat, they could have been tossed overboard and the messages 
 would not have fallen into the hands of the enemy. 
 
 Thursday, January 3rd. 
 
 My first visit this morning was to the steamship offices and 
 I was pleased to find the St. Louis, which had been scheduled 
 to sail some days ago, would not leave until tomorrow, so I 
 secured accommodations on her, although she had the reputation 
 
 88 
 
of being an uncomfortable ship. I determined, however, to put 
 up with nine days of discomfort in order to get home early. 
 Lunched with Mr. Armstrong, who has just returned from 
 America and was the first person with whom I talked who had 
 seen my wife since I left home. In the evening I dined with 
 Lady Drummond, who had crossed with me on the Adriatic, and 
 had a most enjoyable evening. 
 
 Friday, January 4th. 
 
 Left Euston at 9:15 for Liverpool in the boat train. In my 
 car were two delightful English boys — officers in the Royal 
 Flying Corps — who had been unable to get a taxi and therefore 
 shared mine from the Carlton ; also a very pleasant English 
 Captain who is going on the St. Louis. At Liverpool, boarded 
 the ship at 3 and we were told that we would leave at 4 A. M. 
 Very nice cabin, clean and roomy and an excellent dinner. 
 
 Saturday, January 5th. 
 
 When I arose this morning, I wondered at the steadiness 
 of the ship for I felt no tremors at all; the reason for this 
 became apparent as soon as I went on deck, for while we had 
 left the dock the previous night at 10, we were at anchor in 
 the river but a few hundred yards away — a situation which the 
 opaque covering over the port hole prevented me from observ- 
 ing when I was in my cabin. No one is allowed ashore and 
 boats are not allowed to approach the ship even to put news- 
 papers aboard. The English Captain, who was my railroad 
 companion on my way from London, met me on deck and sug- 
 gested that we get seats at the same table. He is Captain 
 Leonard C. Beecroft, and while we were pacing the deck he told 
 me that he was going to the United States to be married to a 
 girl from a town of which he imagined I had never even heard — 
 Frontenac, Minn. I told him that I knew only one person there, 
 General Gerard, and it turned out that he is to marry the 
 General's granddaughter, a young lady I had met when I spent 
 a week-end at the house with Rukard Hurd. John E. Masefield, 
 the English poet is aboard and at our table are Captain J. H. 
 Mathews, who in civil life is Professor of Chemistry at the 
 University of Wisconsin, and Captain J. C. Beatty, a West 
 Pointer, attached to the Ordnance Department. There are a 
 large number of Naval Officers returning to the United States 
 to take command of some new destroyers to be sent to Euro- 
 pean waters. 
 
 Sunday, January 6th. 
 
 After I turned in last night I hear the anchor raised and 
 at 11 we started off. Rose at 8 this morning and after break- 
 fast walked on deck. On our port Ireland was seen and Scotland 
 to the starboard. Just as we got opposite the Giant's Causeway 
 a patrol boat crossed our bows, flew signals, and we turned 
 completely around, it being stated that we are headed for Bel- 
 
 89 
 
fast. We don't know how many days we will be there, but the 
 Hini subs are evidently active. 
 
 Monday, January 7th. 
 
 Remained in Belfast Harbor all day yesterday and left at 
 7 :30 A. M. today. As soon as we left the coast we ran into a 
 storm, which tossed us around at a fearful rate. This kept up 
 all day, getting worse at night, — some of the Naval officers on 
 board told me it was as severe as any storm they had ever seen. 
 Squalls of snow and waves mountain high washing over the 
 ship. One gunner was washed overboard and no attempt was 
 made to get him as no boat could live in that sea and he was 
 probably dead when he struck the water. The storm kept up 
 all day. I lunched, but did not go down to dinner — went to 
 bed instead — wasn't sea sick but several particles of undigested 
 food were forcibly ejected from my mouth. 
 
 Tuesday, January 8th. 
 
 Still very rough but enjoyed my three meals. I have never 
 seen a more gorgeous sight than the high sea which is running. 
 Walked a little on deck but read nearly all day other than the 
 time spent with Captain Beecroft, who has been in bed two days. 
 
 Wednesday, January 9th. 
 
 Glorious sunset. First we have seen this trip. The rough 
 sea was providential for it stayed with us through the danger 
 zone and thus prevented any sub from coming to the surface. 
 We are told that we are out of the danger zone now and a load 
 of responsibility seems lifted from the ship's officers. Had a 
 long walk and a very pleasant talk with John Masefield. Found 
 him a most interesting companion. Remarkable rainbow effects 
 observable this morning. Sea continued rough in the afternoon 
 and evening. 
 
 Thursday, January 10th. 
 
 Rather rough all day, but managed to walk quite a great 
 deal. Major H. W. Alden (Ordnance), Captain Beecroft and I 
 played three handed cribbage. Spent the evening in the lounge 
 talking with some of the Naval Officers. If all goes well we 
 will reach New York Tuesday. 
 
 Friday, January 11th. 
 
 Unusually warm today but quite some rolling. John Mase- 
 field loaned me his latest book, "Our Old Front Line," which 
 I read with great interest, as it dealt with the Somme battlefield, 
 over which I had been when with the British Army. Spent the 
 evening with Commander B. C. Allen, who had been an instructor 
 for two years at the Naval Academy. 
 
 Saturday, January 12th. 
 
 The roughest day yet ; I had been told by many that this 
 is the roughest trip they have ever had. Few people are at 
 
 90 
 
meals and I feel now that I can class myself as a good sailor. 
 The sight of the huge waves breaking over the bows and covering 
 the ship completely is awe-inspiring. Even though the racks 
 are on the table one has to be careful that the plates do not 
 slip into the lap. Played cribbage with Major Alden until he 
 felt ill, talked with Captain Mathews until he suddenly retired 
 and then spent the evening with Mr. Bosqui — an engineer from 
 California — and found that we had a number of friends in 
 common, among them Will H. Davis, of Los Angeles. 
 
 Sunday, January 13th. 
 
 The sea continued so rough that walking on the deck was 
 almost impossible. Attended church service by the Purser. After- 
 wards tried again to walk, but the decks were covered with 
 water. In the evening, Mr. Sheldon, of Topeka, author of "In 
 His Steps," talked on "What's a Man Worth." Played cribbage 
 with the Major until bed time. 
 
 Monday, January 14th. 
 
 Our steering gear broke last night and we laid to for two 
 hours. At noon today we had 400 miles to go to the Ambrose 
 Channel Light Ship ; normally, we should make that in a day 
 but I doubt whether we will be able to land before Wednesday 
 morning. It is very cold and although the sea has moderated 
 slightly, it is too cold to stay on deck. 
 
 Tuesday, January 15th. 
 
 When I arose this morning, I learned that we had passed 
 Nantucket Light Ship at 2 A.M., and that we would probably 
 be at Quarantine at 3 P. M. All of the familiar land marks 
 were observed with added interest. Coney Island, Sandy Hook, 
 the Highlands, all seemed like old friends ; the Statue of Liberty 
 never looked so beautiful before. We rounded the Battery and 
 approached our pier at 23rd Street and the North River at 
 about 4 P. M., but much to our chagrin we anchored in the 
 river, as owing to the amount of ice which filled the slip we 
 could not get in until the tide helped carry it out. It was 8:45 
 P. M. before the tugs succeeded in forcing a passageway through 
 the floes and the delay seemed interminable. All of this was 
 forgotten, however, when upon landing I found my wife and my 
 brother. Thanks to telegraphic instructions from the Secretary 
 of the Treasury, my baggage was passed quickly and a taxi took 
 me home. 
 
 So ended an interesting trip replete with unusual happenings. 
 
 91 
 
XX 
 
 As soon as I could do so I reported my arrival by telephone 
 to Mr. Love, the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Avho, as 
 Mr. McAdoo's representative, approved of my suggestion that I 
 remain in New York for the balance of the week for the purpose 
 of preparing my report. 
 
 The thing- which made the most impression upon me was 
 the utter absence of all traces of the war; it was quite evident 
 that the 3,000 miles not only acted as a barrier to any physical 
 destruction, but served also as a screen which shielded the 
 people in this country from the psychological effects of the 
 struggle. It was also a shock to see how free our people were 
 from the ill effects of the war as compared with those in Eng- 
 land, and to a greater degree with those in France. One missed 
 the great number of women wearing heavy mourning — so notice- 
 able in France ; the great number of mutilated soldiers so 
 numerous in France were conspicuous by their absence. 
 
 In less than a week my report was ready and I reported 
 to Mr. McAdoo in Washington. The Secretary took up with 
 me its details and for the first time I think had brought home 
 to him in a most direct way the necessity for changing the 
 methods of administration then in vogue in the War Risk Bureau. 
 Never before had the problem been presented to him from the 
 standpoint of the soldier in the field and I believe that he was 
 greatly impressed with the new viewpoint. This opinion was 
 strengthened by the contents of two letters, copies of which 
 were shortly afterwards handed to me by Mr. Love, the Assist- 
 ant Secretary. Both of these letters were dated January 22, 
 1918, and were as follows : 
 
 Treasury Department 
 Washington 
 
 January 22, 1918 
 My Dear Mr. Secretary: — 
 
 In view of the experience of Captain S. H. Wolfe and his 
 familiarity with similar conditions abroad, it is advisable that 
 he aid the administration of the War Risk Insurance Bureau, in 
 order that we may avoid the errors which have been made in 
 other countries. 
 
 I, therefore, request that he be detailed by you to serve in 
 the office of the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury who has 
 charge of the work of that bureau. 
 
 I shall be grateful if this can be done. 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 (Signed) W. G. McAdoo, 
 
 Secretary. 
 Hon. Newton D. Baker, 
 Secretary of War. 
 
 92 
 
Treasury Department 
 Washington 
 
 January 22, 1918 
 My Dear Mr. Secretary: — 
 
 In August, 1917, at my request, you detailed Captain S. H. 
 Wolfe, Quartermaster Corps, U.S.R., to report to me for the pur- 
 pose of preparing a report on the English and French methods 
 of taking care of the dependents of the enlisted men in those 
 countries, (See paragraph 22 S. O. 188, WD 1917). 
 
 When he was about to return to this country it was deemed 
 advisable to have him remain in France in order that his experi- 
 ence in insurance matters might be utilized for the benefit of 
 the War Department and the Treasury Department in the estab- 
 lishment of the European Office of the War Risk Bureau. You, 
 accordingly, cabled to General Pershing instructing him to detail 
 Captain Wolfe for that purpose (See G. O. 50 A. E. F. 1917). 
 
 Captain Wolfe has rendered the Treasury Department very 
 valuable service in pursuance of these orders and by reason of 
 his information and knowledge of conditions overseas and of the 
 status and needs of the War Risk Insurance work there, as well 
 as his general knowledge of insurance matters, his continued 
 service in assisting in the administration of the War Risk Bureau 
 is extremely desirable. It is my belief that it is necessary, for 
 the proper effectiveness of Captain Wolfe's services in this 
 connection, that he be given a rank appropriate to the impor- 
 tance of the work he has performed and will be called upon to 
 perform. At the same time this will be a proper recognition of 
 the service he has rendered. 
 
 I, therefore, beg to suggest for your consideration that he 
 be given immediately the rank of Colonel in the Quartermaster 
 Corps, National Army. 
 
 In view of the exigencies of the work of the War Risk 
 Bureau it is deemed important that this suggestion be acted 
 upon as promptly as possible. 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 (Signed) W. G. McAdoo, 
 
 Secretary. 
 Hon. N. D. Baker, 
 Secretary of War. 
 
 It was extremely pleasing to have Secretary McAdoo record 
 his opinion of my work in this manner and I confess that I was 
 pleased at his request for my promotion. I am of the opinion 
 that the professional men of this country who accepted com- 
 missions in the Reserve Corps did so with no thought of the 
 rank which their commissions would carry. In my own case 
 I know that my appointment as Captain meant nothing to me 
 at the time ; my experience in Europe, however, showed me 
 that it was necessary for officers undertaking important work 
 to have a rank commensurate with the importance of their 
 duties. Any one who has had any experience with Army mat- 
 ters will understand this and I was greatly pleased, therefore, 
 that the Secretary of the Treasury thought that I should be a 
 Colonel. Of course, officers in the Army are not usually jumped 
 from a Captaincy to a Colonelcy and I was not surprised, there- 
 fore, at the issuance of the following order : 
 
 93 
 
War Department, 
 Washington, January 31, 1918. 
 Extract 
 
 Special Orders No. 26: 
 64. The promotion of Capt. S. H. Wolfe, Quartermaster Reserve 
 Corps, to the grade of major, Quartermaster Reserve Corps, 
 writh rank from January 31, 1918, is announced. Upon the com- 
 pletion of his present duties Captain Wolfe will report to the 
 Secretary of the Treasury for duty in connection with the War 
 Risk Insurance Bureau. 
 By order of the Secretary of War : 
 
 John Biddle, 
 Major General, Acting Chief of Staff. 
 Official: 
 H. P. McCain, 
 The Adjutant General. 
 
 Between January 22 and February 3rcl, when my promo- 
 tion was accepted, I returned to my old station — in the office 
 of Colonel Littell. During my absence the very important in- 
 surance matters connected with cantonment construction had 
 been admirably carried on by my brother — Lee J. Wolfe — who 
 on numerous occasions was urged to take a commission and give 
 all of his time to Army matters ; he felt, however, that his duty 
 to our own office organization prevented this and this was an- 
 other incident of his sound judgment and willingness to sacri- 
 fice his own interest in order that I might be permitted to 
 continue the work which I had started. 
 
 While stationed in Colonel Littell's office, I completed my 
 full report and on January 25th submitted it to the Secretary. 
 The receipt of this was acknowledged by the Secretary as 
 follows : 
 
 Treasury Department 
 Washington 
 
 February 1. 1918. 
 Captain S. H. Wolfe, U. S. A., 
 Washington, D C. 
 
 Dear Captain Wolfe : — 
 
 I have received your report dated January 2Sth, 1918, cover- 
 ing investigations made by you in England and France, at my 
 direction, to determine the best plan for administering relief 
 methods for enlisted men and their dependents. 
 
 The information you have obtained will be most helpful to 
 the Government in administering the very important work of 
 the War Risk Insurance Bureau, and I desire to express my very 
 deep appreciation of the valuable services you have rendered in 
 making these investigations and also in initiating the overseas 
 work of the War Risk Insurance Bureau. 
 
 Cordially yours, 
 
 (Signed) W. G. McAdoo, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 In compliance with the instructions contained in the Special 
 Order quoted above I reported to Mr. McAdoo, who in response 
 
 94 
 
to my request for specific instructions dictated the following 
 letter, which he signed and handed to me : 
 
 The Secretary of Treasury, 
 Washington. 
 
 February 7, 1918. 
 My Dear Major Wolfe: — 
 
 I have just received formal word from the War Depart nent 
 of your promotion and detail to the Treasury Department, and 
 also your own note to the same effect. I need not assure you 
 what deep satisfaction this gives me. Your work in France for 
 the Bureau of War Risk Insurance was highly satisfactory and 
 I hope that you will be able to prove of even greater assistance 
 here. You will please keep in close touch with Assistant Secretary 
 Love, to whom I have entrusted general supervision of the 
 Bureau of War Risk Insurance and who will go into the details 
 of the situation with you. 
 
 With warm regards, I am 
 
 Cordially yours, 
 
 (Signed) W. G. McAdoo. 
 Major S. H. Wolfe, 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 The Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, who was most 
 responsible for the preliminary work involved in the War Risk 
 Insurance Act, its passage through Congress and the installation 
 of the Bureau, was Dr. Leo S. Rowe, who had been Professor 
 of Political Science at the University of Penns3dvania. Dr. Rowe 
 was a tower of strength to Mr. McAdoo and few appreciated 
 how many of the latter's successful policies were due to the 
 former. Dr. Rowe was primarily responsible for my going to 
 Europe and it was with satisfaction, therefore, that I received 
 the following from him: 
 
 Assistant Secretary of the Treasurj^ 
 Washington 
 
 February 11, 1918. 
 My Dear Major Wolfe: — 
 
 While I have not had any official information, I have heard, 
 with great pleasure, of your promotion, and want to take an 
 early opportunity to extend most cordial congratulations. Your 
 services certainly deserve this, and more. 
 
 Yours most sincerely, 
 
 (Signed) L. S. Rowe. 
 Major S. H. Wolfe, 
 165 Broadway, 
 New York City. 
 
 95 
 
XXI 
 
 Now followed six months of the most engrossing work. It 
 is difficult to describe the chaotic condition in which I found the 
 records at the Bureau, a condition ascribable to two causes — 
 first, the attempt to put in operation over night, as it were, what 
 was destined to be the biggest insurance company in the world, 
 and second, the attempt to administer such an organization with 
 inexperienced, political appointees. This would have been a 
 man's job for the most skillful insurance office systematizer in 
 the world. 
 
 Throughout this period, the greatest assistance was ren- 
 dered to me by General — then Colonel — H. M. Lord, Quarter- 
 master Corps, U. S. A. Nobody will ever realize how much of 
 the delay in the payment of beneficiaries was eliminated by 
 General Lord's intimate knowledge of Army procedure, his 
 broad vision and grasp of the situation, which showed the 
 necessity for cutting red tape wherever it existed and his insist- 
 ence that all of his subordinates should bear in mind that it 
 was the duty of a disbursing officer to find some way for dis- 
 bursing the funds under his control rather than to find some 
 way for keeping them in the Treasury. I became acquainted 
 with this inspiring officer early in my service in the Army — 
 in June, 1917 — when he was a Lt. Colonel and it is impossible 
 for me to properly acknowledge the great assistance which he 
 was to me throughout my Army career. My association with him 
 is one of the most pleasant things upon which I can look back. 
 
 Conditions became so bad and complaints so numerous and 
 general that the Secretary of War, in May, 1918, suggested to 
 the Secretary of the Treasury, that the problem of promptly 
 paying to the relatives of soldiers the payments which, in one 
 way or another, they expected to receive while the wage earner 
 was absent on military service, be inquired into by a representa- 
 tive of the War Department, a representative of the Treasury 
 Department and that a third man be selected to serve with them. 
 Colonel Lord was designated by the Secretary of War to be his 
 representative, the Acting Secretary of the Treasury designated 
 me to represent the Treasury Department — although I was an 
 officer in the War Department — and we recommended that Her- 
 bert D. Brown, Chief of the United States Bureau of Efficiency 
 be designated as the third investigator. The Board convened 
 and organized by electing Colonel Lord as President and me as 
 
 96 
 
Recorder. We had numerous sessions, analyzed the delays and 
 suggested remedies. It is gratifying to note that the installation 
 of these requirements put a stop at once to many of the exas- 
 perating delays. The Secretary of War and the Assistant 
 Secretary of the Treasury commented upon the reports as 
 follows : 
 
 War Department 
 Washington 
 
 June 28, 1918. 
 My Dear Major Wolfe: — 
 
 I have received and read with great interest the copy of the 
 report of the Committee appointed to consider the problem of 
 promptly paying to the relatives of soldiers money which in one 
 form or another they might expect to receive during the absence 
 of men in the service. You transmit this report to me as Re- 
 corder of the Committee and I am in turn asking you to do me 
 the kindness of expressing to the Committee my appreciation of 
 the thorough and considerate way in which they have performed 
 their task. The report is full of interesting and useful informa- 
 tion and sets right many of the inquiries which have, from time 
 to time seemed otherwise difficult to answer. 
 
 I understand from Dr. Keppel that he has arranged with Mr. 
 Love to have the report printed in the Congressional Record. 
 This, I think, is a very happy thing to do, as its information 
 will then be available for many who have had questions pressed 
 upon them about the difficulties of this great and intricate under- 
 taking. 
 
 Cordially yours, 
 
 (Signed) Newton D. Baker, 
 
 Secretary of War. 
 Major S. H. Wolfe, 
 
 War Risk Insurance Bureau. 
 Treasury Department. 
 
 Treasury Department 
 Washington 
 July First, Nineteen Eighteen. 
 
 Major S. H. Wolfe, 
 
 Bureau of War Risk Insurance, 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 My Dear Major Wolfe: — 
 
 By direction of the Secretary I am writing to acknowledge 
 receipt of the copy of the report submitted by Col. Herbert M. 
 Lord, Herbert D. Brown, and yourself, covering your survey of 
 the work of paying to the relatives and dependents of soldiers, 
 the moneys due them under the provisions of the War Risk In- 
 surance Act. 
 
 In this connection, I wish to express to your associates and 
 yourself, the appreciation of the Treasury Department, of the 
 thorough consideration you have given to the problem and the 
 valuable service you have rendered. 
 
 In line with the suggestion of the Secretary of War, we are 
 undertaking to arrange for the publication of the report as a 
 public document. 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 (Signed) Thos. B. Love, 
 
 Assistant Secretary. 
 
 97 
 
It was felt that many of the reforms which had been sug- 
 gested could now be left in the hands of the Bureau Chiefs and 
 that I could be of more use to the Government if I addressed 
 my attention to the solution of some of the problems of my 
 own Corps, which General Lord — much to the gratification of 
 everyone in the Army he had been made a Brigadier General 
 in the National Army — on numerous occasions had discussed 
 with me. I accordingly sent the following letter to Mr. McAdoo : 
 
 July 17, 1918. 
 Hon. William G. McAdoo, 
 
 Secretary of the Treasury, 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 My Dear Mr. Secretary: — 
 
 When I returned from France last January, you paid me the 
 high compliment of requesting the Secretary of War to detail me 
 to assist you in connection with the War Risk Insurance Bureau. 
 
 It is unnecessary for me to refer to the condition of the 
 Bureau at that time, to the great number of complaints which 
 were pouring in and to the dissatisfaction existing among the 
 dependents of thousands of our soldiers throughout the country 
 — a condtion which threatened to have a serious effect upon the 
 morale of our fighting forces. 
 
 It is equally unnecessary to refer to the present condition 
 of affairs at the Bureau, to the solution of the many problems 
 of administration which have risen and to the establishment of 
 a centralized control, instead of the aimless distribution of 
 authority when I first became connected with the organization. 
 If I am entitled to even a small share of the credit for that 
 development, I shall feel that my detail has been successful. 
 
 But notwithstanding the pleasant association with those in 
 charge of the Bureau's work, I must, nevertheless, recognize that 
 my own Corps has had problems placed upon it in the solution 
 of which I feel that my previous professional training has pecu- 
 liarly fitted me to assist. 
 
 If, therefore, in your opinion, the Bureau is in a position 
 which will permit my services being directed to the considera- 
 tion of problems existing in other Departments, I respectfully 
 request that I may be given the necessary clearance papers. 
 
 Allow me, m}' dear Mr. Secretary, to take this opportunity 
 of expressing to you my pleasure at being selected by you for 
 this work so important to the welfare of our Government at this 
 time. It has been a genuine pleasure to be associated with you, 
 the Assistant Secretary, the officers of the Bureau, and the Chief 
 of the Bureau of Efficiency, at the hands of all of whom I have 
 received nothing but uniform kindness and courtesy. 
 
 In view of the urgency of some of the problems, may I 
 bespeak for this, your prompt consideration? 
 
 Believe me to be. 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 (Signed) S. H. Wolfe. 
 Major, Q.M.R.C. United States 
 Army, detailed to Bureau of 
 War Risk Insurance. 
 
 I showed this to General Lord, who seemed much interested 
 and the next morning's mail brought me a copy of a memoran- 
 dum which he had sent to the Administrative Division of the 
 Quartermaster General's Department : 
 
 98 
 
Office of the Assistant to the Acting Quartermaster General Finance 
 
 July 17, 1918. 
 Memorandum for Administrative Division : 
 
 Major S. H. Wolfe, Q. M. R. C, is now^ on duty with the 
 Treasury Department at the request of the Secretary of the 
 Treasury, where he has been intimately connected with the work 
 of the Bureau of War Risk Insurance If, in the course of devel- 
 opments there, he should, eventually, be relieved from duty in the 
 Treasury Department, it is requested that he be assigned to duty 
 in the Office of the Assistant to the Quartermaster General, in 
 charge of Finance. 
 
 H. M. Lord, 
 Brigadier General, Q. M. Corps, N. A., 
 Assistant to the Acting Quartermaster General. 
 
 I heard nothing from the Secretary of the Treasury until 
 July 22nd, when the following letter from Mr. Love was received : 
 
 Assistant Secretary of the Treasury 
 Washington 
 
 July Twenty-second, Nineteen Eighteen. 
 
 Major S. H. Wolfe, Q. M. R. C, 
 
 Bureau of W^ar Risk Insurance, 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 Dear Major Wolfe : — 
 
 Your request of July seventeenth to be ordered to return 
 to the War Department, addressed to the Secretary of the Treas- 
 ury, has been favorably considered. 
 
 As soon as you have completed matters referred to you for 
 consideration, you are relieved from duty with the Treasury 
 Department, and will report to the Secretary of War for further 
 instructions. 
 
 Permit me to express the thanks of the Treasury Department 
 for the very valuable services you have rendered in connection 
 with the work of the War Risk Insurance Bureau, and, as well, 
 my own personal appreciation of the uniform courtesy and de- 
 votion to duty which has characterized it. You have contributed, 
 in a very large measure, to the success of the important work 
 of the Bureau. 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 (Signed) Thomas B. Love, 
 
 Assistant Secretary. 
 
 This was followed by Special Orders 172: 
 
 War Department, Washington, July 24, 1918. 
 
 Special Orders No. 172: Extract 
 
 160. Maj. Samuel H. Wolfe, Quartermaster Reserve Corps, is 
 relieved from further duty in the Bureau of War Risk Insur- 
 ance and will report to the Quartermaster General for duty in 
 the Finance division of his office. 
 By order of the Secretary of War, 
 
 Official: 
 
 H. P. McCain, 
 
 The Adjutant General. 
 
 Peyton C. March, 
 General, Chief of Staflf. 
 
 99 
 
XXII 
 
 After I had reported to General Robert E. Wood, acting 
 Quartermaster General, and had been received most graciously 
 by this talented officer and ordered to report to General Lord, I 
 learned for the first time that by direction of the Secretary of 
 War, General Lord discussed my case with the Chief of Staff 
 and had submitted the following memorandum : 
 
 Office of the Assistant to the Acting Quartermaster General Finance 
 
 July 20, 1918. 
 MEMORANDUM for Administrative Division. 
 Attention: Major Jacobson. 
 Under recent date, this office recommended that if, as it was 
 understood, Major S. H. Wolfe, Q. M., U. S. R., were relieved 
 from duty with the Treasury Department that he be assigned to 
 duty in the office of the Assistant to the Quartermaster General 
 in charge of Finance. It is now learned that Major Wolfe has 
 made request for such relief and that in all probability his re- 
 quest will be granted at an early date, and it is, therefore, recom- 
 mended that on such relief he be directed to report to the Officer 
 in charge of Quartermaster Finance for duty in his office and 
 that, in view of the splendid service he has rendered and the 
 constructive work he has performed in connection with the 
 Bureau of War Risk Insurance and other work in the Canton- 
 ment Division prior thereto, that he be promoted to the rank 
 of Lieutenant Colonel, N. A. The Chief of Staff directs verbally 
 that this recommendation be brought to his personal attention. 
 
 H. M. Lord, 
 Brigadier General, Q. M. Corps, N. A. 
 Assistant to the Acting Quartermaster General. 
 
 This recommendation soon bore fruit as evidenced by 
 Special Orders : 
 
 War Department, Washington, July 29, 1918. 
 
 Special Orders No. 176: 
 Extract : 
 419. The appointment of Major Samuel H. Wolfe, Quartermaster 
 Reserve Corps, to the grade of Lieutenant Colonel, Quarter- 
 master Corps, National Army, with rank from July 29, 1918, is 
 announced. He will report to the Acting Quartermaster General 
 of the Army for assignment to duty in his office. 
 By order of the Secretary of War : 
 
 Peyton C. March, 
 General, Chief of StaflF. 
 Official: 
 
 H. P. McCain, 
 
 The Adjutant General. 
 
 100 
 
The months that followed were most happy ones. Few 
 civilians have any idea of the problems which arise in Army 
 administration or the system which it has been found necessary 
 to use in handling those matters. Not only had General Lord 
 installed an efficient system for solving the many intricate 
 problems submitted to him, but he had surrounded himself with 
 a staff whose loyalty and devotion to him might well serve as 
 a model in and out of the Army. Without, in any sense, being 
 a martinet or a stickler for empty forms, he insisted upon the 
 observance of those amenities of military courtesy which made 
 service on his staff so delightful. No officer — no matter how 
 inferior his rank — ever felt any hesitancy in submitting to Gen- 
 eral Lord troublesome problems, with the firm conviction that the 
 experience and good sense of the General would soon find a way 
 to solve the difficult}'. It was one of the very few offices in the 
 War Department with which I came in contact in which there 
 were no petty jealousies. Every man realized that he would 
 get from General Lord a square deal and that no favoritism 
 existed. 
 
 The atmosphere of confidence and willingness to help which 
 existed in the office is well illustrated by an occurrence shortly 
 after I reported for duty. The General sent for me and an- 
 nounced his intention of appointing me his Executive Officer. 
 Those who have had any experience in Bureaus of the Army real- 
 ize the power and influence of the Executive Officer. Unless 
 otherwise directed all matters are submitted to him before being 
 discussed with the Bureau chief. Slight reflection will indicate 
 the necessity for this arrangement as it would be an impossi- 
 bility for the Chief to decide upon question of policy if he were 
 required to bother with details. The Executive Officer, therefore, 
 acts as a filter, weeding out those matters which can be effectively 
 handled by subordinates and permitting only the more impor- 
 tant subjects to come before his Chief. It can be seen readily 
 that the position is one of great delicacy and when General 
 Lord announced his intention of making me his Executive Officer 
 I ventured to point out to him that this appointment might 
 cause some resentment on the part of the Officers of the perma- 
 nent establishment who had been detailed for duty for some 
 time in the office and assured the General of my willingness to 
 serve him in any wa}^ he wished, whether I had the title or not. 
 
 In the kindliest manner possible the General pointed out 
 that while considerations such as I had urged might be pertinent 
 in the administration of a private business, he, as the newly 
 appointed Director of Finance, was charged with the duty of 
 organizing his office in the most efficient way, that he intended 
 to have me take charge of the preparation of the War Depart- 
 ment estimates to be submitted to Congress and that the impor- 
 tance of this work rendered it necessary that it should be 
 performed by his Executive Officer. Many Bureau Chiefs would 
 
 101 
 
have resented a sug-g-estion such as the one I made, but his treat- 
 ment of me in tliis matter was characteristic of General Lord. 
 
 The preparation of the estimates to be submitted to the 
 Congress by the War Department is a comphcated afifair. My 
 first experience was with the Deficiency Bill, which is always 
 introduced after the regular appropriations have been made and 
 is intended to provide for expenditures in excess of those esti- 
 mated in the original bill. The method followed seemed to me to 
 be very unbusinesslike and unscientific. Separate appropriations 
 were made for the different activities and money required for ac- 
 tivity (A) could not be paid for from the money appropriated for 
 activity (B) even if activity (B) did not require any or all of the 
 money which had been anticipated ; in consequence, deficiencies 
 existed in some appropriations while surpluses occurred in others. 
 The method then used might well be compared to a house which 
 had a separate water tank on the roof for each of the rooms. It 
 can be seen readily that some of the tanks would be full, while 
 others were empty and would require refilling. The logical plan 
 would be to have the water from a central tank available for 
 use in the different rooms and the necessity would disappear 
 for keeping certain tanks filled with water which would never 
 be used. Thanks to General Lord, this condition was remedied 
 — if not in its entirety, at least partially — and if our Government 
 adopts a proper budget system, this criticism will no longer exist. 
 
 The sessions with the House Committee on Appropriations 
 were very interesting. Its Chairman was Swager Shirley of 
 Kentucky, a most brilliant man. Unhappy indeed was the officer 
 — it mattered not whether he was a Major General or a Second 
 Lieutenant — who was not prepared to give an intelligent reason 
 for his request for funds. A keen, analytical mind, associated 
 with a tongue capable of the most biting sarcasm, were a com- 
 bination which proved the undoing of man}- an officer who tried 
 to "bluff through" his request. Those of us who attended the 
 hearings always knew that when Mr. Shirley threw his glasses 
 on the papers in front of him and ordered the stenographer 
 "lift up your pen," an explosion was due and when the smoke 
 cleared away the offender would have shrunk to microscopic 
 proportions. 
 
 Although the Deficiency estimates were submitted to the 
 Committee on Appropriations, the regular fiscal year estimates 
 were submitted to the House Committee on Military Affairs. I 
 suggested to General Lord that in the preparation of the esti- 
 mates for the F. Y. 1920, of which he, as the Director of Finance 
 was in charge, we should save the time of the Committee and 
 embarrassment to various Bureau Chiefs by having "dress 
 rehearsals." This plan was carried out and for a number of 
 weeks we held daily sessions with the heads of the different 
 Bureaus and the assistants who prepared their estimates ; they 
 were grilled in the same way in which we felt they would be 
 
 102 
 
examined at the hearings, the weak points in their estimates 
 were developed and the necessary data to support the estimates 
 were outhned in advance ; in consequence, when the hearings 
 took place, the requests for information had been anticipated 
 to a large extent and much time saved. 
 
 To use an Army expression, "the eagles sprouted on my 
 shoulders" as a result of the following order : 
 
 War Department, Washington, October 31, 1918. 
 Special Orders No. 255 : 
 148. The appointment of the following-named officers in the 
 
 Quartermaster Corps, United States Armj% during the existing 
 emergency, with rank from October 29, 1918, are announced. 
 
 To be Colonels. 
 Lieut. Col. George M. McConnell, Quartermaster Corps 
 Lieut. Col. Samuel H. Wolfe, Quartermaster Corps 
 Lieut. Col. Kenneth P. Williams, Quartermaster Corps 
 
 (21-.2. A. G. O.-Q. M. C.) 
 By order of the Secretary of War: 
 
 Peyton C. March, 
 General Chief of Staflf. 
 Official: 
 
 P. C. Harris, 
 
 The Adjutant General. 
 
 The Armistice was signed November 11th, 1918, and it was 
 interesting to note how unconsciously every emergency officer's 
 efiforts were relaxed. It was one thing to serve your country 
 while it was at war, but an entirely different one to serve in 
 the Army in peace tiines. The work of the Finance Department, 
 however, still continued at a high pitch, for demobilization 
 brought with it almost as many problems as mobilization. In 
 those days Roy O. Kloeber, the Assistant Director of Finance, 
 was a tower of strength to General Lord, as he always had been 
 during the many years in which they had been associated. 
 Kloeber's knowledge of War Department precedents was almost 
 uncanny and his value to General Lord and the Finance Depart- 
 ment was inestimable. 
 
 Early in April I felt that I could be spared from the Army 
 and therefore requested mv discharge. This was granted April 
 2nd. 1919 (Par. 2. S. O. 75 P.S. & T. 1919) and I left Washington 
 that day. 
 
 It was a great satisfaction to feel that for twenty-two 
 months I had been permitted to serve my country as a com- 
 missioned officer in the Army ; to feel that the work I had done 
 had been of a constructive nature for no matter how badly the 
 Bureau of War Risk Insurance was handled, it marked a mile 
 stone in the assumption of liability by a Government on behalf 
 of its soldiers and sailors ; to feel that my efforts had been 
 appreciated as shown by the three promotions which I had 
 received in so short a time. 
 
 Shortly after my return to civilian life I received from the 
 War Department an official copy of a communication from 
 
 103 
 
General Lord "in appreciation of your services as a commissioned 
 officer of the Quartermaster Corps," as follows : 
 
 April 4, 1919. 
 201-FP-2 (Wolfe, S. H.) 
 
 MEMORANDUM for the Director of Purchase, Storage and Traffic. 
 Subject: Services rendered by Colonel S. H. Wolfe, Q. M. C. 
 
 1. Under date of April 2nd, 1919, Colonel S. H. Wolfe, Q. M. C, 
 Assistant to the Director of Finance and Executive Officer, at his own 
 request, was discharged from active service as a commissioned officer 
 of the United States Army. 
 
 2. Shortly after the declaration of war. Colonel Wolfe applied for 
 and received a commission as Captain, Quartermaster Reserve Corps, 
 and was assigned to duty in Washington in the Office of the Canton- 
 ment Division. Colonel Wolfe is an insurance actuary in civil life, and 
 one of the best known in this country, and his equipment was immedi- 
 ately called into play in connection with the insurance interests involved 
 in the construction of the cantonments. General Littell, at that time in 
 charge of such construction, states that Colonel Wolfe was personally 
 responsible for saving to the Government something more than $500,000 
 by his intimate acquaintance with insurance matters. 
 
 3. While on duty in the Cantonment Division, he was called upon 
 to assist the commission which, under the direction of the Secretary of 
 the Treasury, was formulating a measure to provide for the dependents 
 of soldiers and insurance for commissioned officers and enlisted men, 
 and resulted in the War Risk Insurance Act, which became a law Octo- 
 ber 6, 1917. On the completion of that work he was sent to Canada and 
 afterwards to England and France as the special representative of the 
 Secretary of the Treasury to study relief and compensation systems of 
 the Allied Governments, and while in France, on that duty, put in effect 
 in the American Expeditionary Forces the provisions of the War Risk 
 Insurance Act, which became a law while he was abroad. 
 
 4. Returning to this country he was detailed as the special repre- 
 sentative of the Secretary of the Treasury in connection with the 
 workings of the Bureau of War Risk Insurance, and was responsible 
 for the institution of many procedures and reorganizations that resulted 
 in relieving, to a great extent, the congested condition that existed there 
 at the time. 
 
 5. On the conclusion of that work, he was detailed in the office of 
 the Director of Finance and made Assistant Director and Executive 
 Officer. To this task he brought a splendid equipment and a familiarity 
 with financial problems that proved of the greatest assistance. 
 
 6. Colonel Wolfe is a man of almost unerring judgment, has a very 
 wide knowledge of afifairs, is indefatigable, and an officer of the very 
 highest character and of very unusual ability. 
 
 7. It is requested that this letter be made a part of his military 
 record and that he be furnished a copy for his own information. 
 
 H. M. Lord, 
 Brigadier General, 
 Assistant to the Director of Purchase, 
 Storage and Traffic, Director of Finance. 
 
 104 
 
XXIII 
 
 I had expected that when I was discharged from the ser- 
 vice in April, 1919, I had made my last official appearance 
 in khaki. 
 
 As an officer in the Reserve Corps, the President of the 
 United States had the power to call me into active service for 
 fifteen days in any calendar year, and on July 14th, 1921, I 
 received instructions from the Adjutant General directing me to 
 report to the Chief of Finance in Washington for duty. When 
 I did so. General Lord put me in charge of the preparations of 
 the retrenchment program and the preparation of the 1923 War 
 Department budget to conform to the requirements of the 
 Secretary of War. 
 
 The post of Director of the Budget had been created and 
 its first incumbent was Brigadier General Charles G. Dawes, 
 who at a great personal sacrifice gave up his banking connec- 
 tions in Chicago and devoted his entire time to "squeezing" the 
 appropriations made to the various Government activities, in 
 order that demands upon the Treasury might be limited to 
 actual necessities. 
 
 In addition to Major Browne and Captain Denning of General 
 Lord's Staff, two representatives from the General Staff — 
 Colonel J. B. Allison and Lt. Colonel Edwin A. Hickman — were 
 detailed to assist in this important work. All in all. it was one 
 of the most interesting details which could have come to any- 
 one. It gave me a better insight into the true relationship 
 between Congressional appropriations and Departmental dis- 
 bursements than I could have obtained in any other way. I 
 was relieved from duty on July 29th, 1921, and proceeded to 
 Lake Placid. 
 
 This memorandum would be incomplete did it not record 
 what was the greatest honor which has ever been paid to me. 
 
 On November 10th, the President of the United States sent 
 to the Senate my nomination as Brigadier General, Finance 
 Reserve Corps, Army of the United States, and on November 
 22nd the Senate confirmed the nomination. 
 
 105 
 
XXIV 
 
 As indicated in the Foreword, many of my Father's papers 
 were lost by shipwreck, and in order to obtain a definite record 
 of his services during the Civil War, I asked the Adjutant Gen- 
 eral of the Army to furnish me with an abstract from the 
 official records, which he did, as follows : 
 
 WAR DEPARTMENT 
 
 THE ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE 
 STATEMENT OF THE MILITARY SERVICE OF 
 
 Solomon B. Wolfif, or Solomon B. Wolfe, in the Civil War. 
 
 Official records in this office show services in the Civil War under 
 the name of Solomon B. Wolfe, or similar names as follows, all the 
 services having apparently been performed by the same person. 
 
 Solomon Wolff was enlisted August 27, 1861, at Newport, Kentucky, 
 in the General Service of the United States; was appointed Hospital 
 Steward September 2, 1861, and was honorably discharged as Hospital 
 Steward August 3, 1863, at Bowling Green, Kentucky. 
 
 He was mustered in as Solomon Wolff October 18, 1863, at Nashville, 
 Tennessee, to date August 4, 1863, as Assistant Surgeon, 7th Regiment, 
 Kentucky Cavalry Volunteers, to serve three years. He tendered his 
 resignation as such November 29, 1863, at Nashville, Tennessee, on 
 account of domestic affliction, and was honorably discharged in Special 
 Field Orders, No. 335, Par. 2, Department of the Cumberland, dated 
 December 14, 1863, to take effect from that day. While an officer of this 
 regiment, it appears that he served at different points in Tennessee and 
 Kentucky, being for a time Medical Director of East Tennessee, at 
 Knoxville. 
 
 He entered into a contract February 3, 1864, under the name Solo- 
 mon Wolff as a Contract Surgeon, United States Army, and performed 
 duty in that capacity at the Medical Director's Office, Department of 
 the Ohio, at Knoxville, Tennessee. The contract was terminated June 
 3, 1864. 
 
 He was mustered in June 14, 1864, at Cincinnati, Ohio, under the 
 name Solomon Wolff, as Assistant Surgeon, 165th Regiment, Ohio In- 
 fantry Volunteers, to serve 100 days, and was mustered out and honorably 
 discharged as such with the regiment August 31. 1864, at Camp Dennison, 
 Ohio. While a member of this regiment he is shown to have been on 
 duty at different times at Sandusky, Ohio, Johnson's Island, Ohio, and 
 Covington, Kentucky. 
 
 He was mustered in October 22, 1864. at Columbus, Ohio, under the 
 name Solomon Wolff, as Surgeon, 181st Regiment Ohio Infantry Volun- 
 teers, to serve one year, and he has been recognized by this Department 
 as having been mustered in as such to take effect from October 14, 1864. 
 He was mustered out and honorably discharged with the regiment July 
 14. 1865. at Salisbury, N. C. as Major and Surgeon. As a member of this 
 regiment he served in Tennessee, and was later, January 14, 1865, detailed 
 for duty under the Medical Director, District of Western Kentucky, at 
 
 106 
 
Paducah, and was relieved from that duty April 10, 1865, and directed to 
 report to his regiment, which he joined May 24, 1865, at Salisbury, N. C. ; 
 was detailed June 23, 1865, at Salisbury, to take charge of the Field 
 Hospital of the 22nd Division, 23rd Army Corps, and was announced 
 June 27, 1865, as Medical Director of that Division. 
 
 This officer's name is variously borne, also, on the 7th Kentucky 
 Cavalry, and the 181st Ohio Infantry, as S. B. Wolff, Sol. Wolff, S. Wolfe, 
 and S. B. Wolfe, and he signed his name at different times as S. Baird 
 Wolff. 
 
 By authority of the Secretary of War; 
 
 (Signed) P. C. Harris, 
 
 The Adjutant General. 
 
 After my Father's death, I found among his papers the 
 following : 
 
 Headquarters, Distr. North Alabama, 
 Medical Director's Office 
 Decatur, Ala., November 23, 1864. 
 Surgeon S. B. Wolff, 
 181 Ohio Inf., 
 
 Chief of Operating Staff. 
 
 Dear Sir: — 
 
 Allow me to thank you for your valuable services today in the hos- 
 pital and on the battlefield. It affords me great pleasure thus to be able 
 to testify to your professional worth and acquired skill. My thanks 
 are also due to your assistants ; you will convey these to them in my 
 name. From them, I learn of your wonderful coolness at the operating 
 table, a trait which one would hardly expect to find in one so young. 
 Believe me, my dear Doctor, to be as ever 
 
 Your friend, 
 
 (Signed) Job J. Stephens, 
 
 Medical Director. 
 
 P. S. : — General Granger desires me to inform you that honorable men- 
 tion has been made of your name in his dispatches to the De- 
 partment. 
 
 J. J. s. 
 
 107 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS if, 
 
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