Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1873-12-24
62nenai @. @. Howard.

a few days ago Fernando Wood re-
newed the. bitter attack on General @.
O. Howard which he commenced in
the Forty first Congress, and attempted
to commit the House TO condemns
ton of the absent soldier without op-
portunity for defense Mr.. Dawes
promptly moved such uninstructed re-
ference as is usual in such cases, and
the House, by large majority, sus-
tanned the motion.
While the numerous personal freinds
of General Howard throughout the
country would deprecate malicious at
tacks upon his character, all they ask
and all he himself demands is an i'm
partial investigation of the charges
against him.
The occasion for this renewed vim
dictiveness toward General Howard by
the Democratic newspapers and legis-
lators is found in recent communication S
OF the Secretary of War and the Attor-
ney General. wherein the accounts of
the Freedman's Bureau show an ap-
parent loss on old accounts of about
100000 The Attorney General as
sumes that General Howard is Pc
cuniarly responsible for these alleged
losses, though no reasonable man sup
poses that penny of the amount was
held by Generrl Howard dishonesty.
The charges of malfeasance are sub
stantially those which were disproved
before large and intelligent commit.
tee of the House of Representatives
in 1870. The committee not only ex-
onerated General Howard, but eulogiz-
ed him. It was on the occasion of the
discussion of their report that the Hon
Washington Townsend, Of Pennsyl
vania, administered to Fernando Wood
(the bitter assailant of G eneral Howard
and mover of the investigation such
fagelation as win be remembered by
the ex- Mayor Of New York until his
dying day. AS military court, such
as General Howard has demanded, can
not sit upon his case on account of
some legal technicalities, these accu-
satians are again spread before the tri-
bunal which has already passed upon
them, and again published to the coun-
try through press kilograms. General
Howard asks no shield. He will in
terpose no obstacle to the free course
of investigation into his own conduct
as Bureau officer or that of his sub
ordinates The sly insinuation in the
special of a certain Chicago paper that
his freinds cleared" further develop
ments, as they (the Developments
could but "hurs his reputation as a
Christian soldier" was, of course, the
work of personal enemy at Washing
ton. General Howard has not only
had clean hands as regards public
money, but has conscientiously and
generously applied his private fortune
for the benefit Of the despised race
with whom his name has been so long
identified. His bureau work having
been completed, he applied recently to
General Sherman for an assignment to
a ctive duty, and received most cor
dial reply. He has repeatedly demon
strated that his empty sleeve does not
unfit him for duty in the field or office.
We trust the Military Committee,
to whom this subject las been sent,
will discharge their duty faithfully,
and if irregularity or defalcations shall
be proven that the blame will rest
where it belongs.
FIGHT WITH INDIANs--SAN AN
TONIC, Texas, December 18th. = To
Lieutenant General Sheridan, Chica-
go, H.: Lieutenant Hudson, 4th cav
airy, sent from Fort Clark, with forty
men to intercept a band of Indians
raiding on the lower Neuces, found the
camp where they left the animals going
down, and eaptured thirty horses and
mules. On the 10th inst he struck
the band on their return, killed nine
(bodies found) and wounded a great
many more, captured eighty-one ami
mails. His own casualties was one
man wounded, three horses killed and
one wounded. Detailed report not re-
ceived This fight was on the west
foot of the Nouces.