Arizona citizen. [volume] (Tucson, Pima County, A.T. [i.e. Ariz.]) 1870-1880, 1876-06-24
The Alta and the Army.

Francisco Alta and To branch off there
from into comments upon the army
and the inefiiciency and mismanage
ment" therein The Alta thinks We
showed lack of courtesy and gratitude
to itself and the army. We didn't show
b any lack of courtesy or gratitude to the
Alta. We recognized that that disioInt
: ed exponent of delinquent assessments
f; had been as friendly to Arizona in the
; past as the nature Of San Francisco
b newspaper would allow. We didn't
, ascribe any selfish motives 10 the
b friendship of the Alta for Arizona.
We didn't say that the Alta in Il lack
I OF matter for space and in the interest
OF grasping San Francisco merchants.
who have never thought of Arizona
only as an object of plumber. saw fit to
call upon the government to use some
Of It's expensive military police in pro
tecting American citizens in Arizona
before they were quite exterminated.
7. We generously acknowledged that the
Alta had been well disposed toward
Arizona, and we tried to return the
kindness by taking it for granted that
1t was honest in its Understanding
advocacy OF the army, and as the sup
position Of honesty rendered the dens
est Ignorance the only possible corol-
larry, we tried to relieve that ignorance
with little light We spoke of the
inefiiciency, tritling, uselessness and
worse, which people on the frontiers
I see existing to such an extent in the
army, and we deprecated the transfer of
any farther powers or trusts to such
body, in its present stale
Instead of treating Us with equal
courtesy, the Alta insults us with a
lying suggestion that can have no pos
sible weight with any one who knows
the character Of this paper and its
management, and which could only
have emanated from mind corrupt
in itself. The Alta asks:
( Are the CITIZENS denunciatiOns of
the army, and its opposition to placing
the Indians in the keeping of the mil
itary, instigated by the civilian con
tractors, agents and Indian iObbists,
who find rich pickings through the
machinery of the Indian Bureau
those very patriotic gentlemen, whose
Christian love for both whites and Ind
dams Is measured by the amount Of
money they can tilch from the Govern
ment in The name of Indian supplies?
This San Quentin method of putting
this and tIat together is quite revcla-
ton. especially coming from so unex-
pected IL source, and the di>agreeable
but consecutive superstition arises
that we have possibly been mistaken
in the character of the San Francisco
Alta, and that its fiippant suggestion of
dishonesty in THE CITIZEN is simply
the emanation of its own method of
thought and action. If we have been
mistaken in our previous estimate of.
the Alta we deeply regret having made
connection with it and any interests
which we value
As to the much talked of gratitude,
which we are so constantly reminded
is due the army:-It is very remark
able that atteryou have given IN officer
an expensive education, "a fortune in
itself) after YOU have clothed and fed
him for years and given him life
tenure office, Ia thing utterly rcpug-'
nant 10 every principle and condition
under our form of government, after
all this, it is something remarkable. .
we say, that the moment the officer
does anything for which he was Great.
ed, fed and educated, that moment YOU
are placed under an almost unbcarablc
debt of gratitude to him. We must
not only honor him with brlgadier-
generalships, and peans Of praise for
service performed in the line of duty,
but we must forever groan under
peOnage of gratitude, and must not
complain though the former servant
become the most corrupt and eXacting
of masters Let us make compar-
ison: We venture to say that had one
tenth of the means, expended by the
army IN subduing the savages in Ari-
iona, been expended by the govern
ment in arming, provisioning and
Transporting the citizens of Arizona
for the same purpose, the Indians in
this Territory would long since have
been transferred to the happy hunting
grounds or transformed into Christian
statesmen.
We are not ungrateful to civilian or
soldier who does his duty well and
faithfully. We make an especial point
to discover and note the deeds Of
good soldier and to place them in
strong contrast with the deeds of an
unworthy one. If the press of the ma
ton would stop its fulsome fiattery Of
the gallant little army" and endeayor
by harsh but kind comment TO weed it
Of its evils. we would soon have an
army a. gallant in fact As a large por.
ton Of it is now only gallant, or even
honest in name.
THE san Bernardino Argus says
\ gentleman from san Diego passed
through our place on yesterday morn
inr MOVING his aDiar- 10 Arizona .