The Glory and the Dream: A Narrative History of the United States 1932-1972

p. 13

When Army General Douglas MacArthur was preparing in the Capital to crush the ‘Bonus Expeditionary Force,’ the World War I squatters who were destitute and wanted their congressionally promised bonus early (because they were starving now), some argued that “it was highly inappropriate for a general to become involved in a street-corner brawl. The general disagreed. ‘MacArthur has decided to go into active command in the field, ‘MacArthur declared. ‘There is incipient revolution in the air. . . .’ He was going to use tanks. Everybody sat back and sweated–everyone, that is, except MacArthur. This is the first recorded instance of the general’s remarkable inability to perspire. He remained cool, poised, and starched. It gave him an immense psychological advantage, and there were those who bitterly resented it.