Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-03-02
RENO.

Post Interpreter Gi,uy1 Hrites an ODe,
Letter to the Major-He Indicates Con
siderable Contempt for TIE Person II
! idd"esses-Cosca"dice, Nendacity, Fan
ttY AID V"tgarity -dnong Girard's IN
| 9ssteHdoes.
The following open letter to Maj. Reno ap
pears in the Bismarck Tribune:
ITO Maj. Marcus A. Reno-Major: In th
issue OF the Chicago Times of Jan. you ar
represented as testifying in your effort to acqui
yourself of the charge of cowardice, that 70,
discharged Girard from the government service
in the latter part of 1875 because you believed
him to be guilty of stealing. Those who d,
| not know you, sir, may not make due allowonc,
! Tor you, and may do injustice to place
absolute confidence in your veracity. To cuarc
| against such an error, take the liberty of con
fronting you with your worst enemy state.
| ment of fact. You did discharge me as post
| interpreter May g. 1876, assigning as a reason
That you expected to 60 out of command of the
| Lincoln column, that you must economize anc
that you could employ three teamsters for my
| salary.
CAN NOW UNDERSTAND THE ECONOMY.
IN dlscharging an interpreter, as you probably
toresaw that there would be no occasion 70,
one, so far as your relations with the Indians
were concerned.
Gen. Custer, contrary to your plans and ex-
pectatlons, returned and assumed command
and' after hearing your reason for my dis
charge' restored me my position on the 18th OF
the same month Why did you not make official
complaint to your superior or institute pro-
ceedlngs yourself against me? The fact is
you displayed another trait of character al
ways associated with that which distinguished
you at the battle of the Little Big Horn
petty tyranny. Custer you could not harm,
but you could his humble friends, SO YOU dis
charged Girard. Major, what evil genius
tempted you to suggest comparison of char
acter between you and me? You, whom too
generous country educated and trained for an
honorable profession-to see you conspicuous
only Tor meanness and unmanliness in your
capacity OF commanding officer at Abercrom bic,
where your insults and prosecutions of a broth
er officers wife aroused
THE INDIGNATION OF THE WHOLE COUNTRY
and eliminated in your dismissal from the
military service, for conduct unbecoming an
officer and gentleman-you, say, do your
self an injustice in contrasting yourself with
an humble interpreter, whose simple ambition
never arose before the humble discharge of his
humble duty. Your name, since this tiascol
has secured to itself some prominence by it's
association with chief whom you BETRAYED.
and this has ended in an inquiry into Your
IN
your prudence IN this course if not in Others
as more than two years and a half elapsed be-
1ore your wounded honor asserted itself and
asked Tor court of inquiry, the coveted re-
glme. You are safe at last sir, and safety ia
the goal you have been striving for most of
your lie; put remember, major, you once Sc
cured certain kind of safety: was it worth
the price? Your modesty would not allow YOU
20 70 imagine that your feat of horsemanship on
that occasion would excite such profound in
terest IN the minds of your countrymen. nor
did you believe, -
WHEN BEHIND THE BARRICADEs ON THE HrIr.
where you so strategetically elnded the sight
OF your command and ting fire of the Indians,
that you would be exnnsed and paloriea 90 qn,k
have been in Chicago. Pity for yoa prevented
your comrades from charging you with 4 ouaji-
ty of which the public verdict convicts Won.
too commisserate your condition and gladly
award you all the benefit of the doubt implied
by the Scotch verdict, ';Not proved You are
not my ideal of the representative American
officer. 1 cannot recall any illustrious Der
son in our military history to whom you bear
any resemblance. And yet [ am informed YOU
sometimes assume Napoleonic attitudes. but
tney are only attitudes, and are not significant
OF anything warlike. Major, among the other
amusing elements of your statement before the
court was your attempt to criticise Clusters
military abilities. What must his comrades, ed.
perlaily Gen. Merritt, have thought, as you,
with your limited capacity and narrow, be-
clouded horizon, attempted to criticise a SOL
dier whose life is challenge to your own dead
level, and whose death you will never emulate?
In answer to a question by Recorder Lee, YOU
state that you heard was then at Little Big
Horn.
WAS THIS THE SOURCE OF YOUR INFORMATION?
Perhaps SO. 1t is in keeping with your recollec-
lions of the memorable 25th of June, 1876, and
you swore you would not believe any report
brought to you by me on that occasion. Major.
the question will naturally suggest itself, Upon
what have you been feeding that you have
grown SO great in your own esteem? You for
get, Major, that you were
NOT BEING TRIED BY sNoBs.
but by an American constituency who will place
just estimate on your snobbish ssumptions
of superiority, and with that constituency j
leave the question as to who did his duty, YOU
or l. on the occasion referred to. In leaving
| you Major, let me correct any impression YOU
may have that am arguing with you on points
OF facts, or matching my veracity against yours
Wy respect for myself and my friends will not
permit me to do my reputation such injustice
| merely call your attention to a few naked
truths with which you are perhaps already
familiar, but which, with characteristic modes
! ty wherever the truth is concerned, you would
leave for some one else to push forward. iE5
| F. f. GIRARD.