Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1881-03-03

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i the country are proposing 70 rang W
in the White House a portrait Of lMrs.
Hayes in recognition Of her zeal in be-
half of their cause, Hayes himself
gets loud praise from the teetotalers
Tor hisaalle2ed devotion to their prin-
EciplekN They honor him as the one
Icold wafer occupant Of the White
* No doubt Hayes has made great
IshowS OF temperance in his White
HOUSE banquets The guests at his
table have Been compelled to satisfy
their thirst with cold water, cold milk,
milk and water, tea, or coffee, or
chocolate. Of wines they could get
none, unless perhaps on a single occa-
sion currant wine or gooseberry wine.
Hayes was particularly severe on
drunkenness inMthe army. Hek an
nounced his purpose to deal with il
with the greatest severity. He was go
ing to Danish whisky drinking from The
military service and make of the army
a sort of TEMPERANCE society on large
scale. How@sa to think that our
young men in shoulder straps were I'M
der the influence of the example of
\ older officers who freely used the in
toxicating cup!' That was the lament
we heard from the White House.
But how has Hayes carried out his
avowed purpose and INDICATED his tenn
peraLce, principlesso far as the army is
concerned? He has done more than
any previous Executive to encourage
drunkenness in the military service.
Instead of treating drunken Off GERS
with just severity and with an equal
justice, he has pretty uniformly COM
1nuted their sentences, as imposed by
4 <~ 81 40
! duty. y ~ ~ a ~
Even the gravest offenses against
military order and military discipline,
and common decency as well, whether
/ committed under the influence of drink
or otherwise, have been leniently re-
garded by this pretended temperance
advocate; Crimes which outrage the
sense of honor Of alt decent men, and
spectacle people have found ready
Z An officer Who had long Sdisgraced
the military service would at last be
kbrought,to trial, and the evidence pre-
Isented to show beyond question his
lguilt Of outrageous offehses. Hewoald
be-senteneed to Dismissal Thereupon
<he or'his Ohio friends would journey. to
Washington, and lobby ahoutthesVhit
House until its temperance occupant
| restored the offender to duty. That
Ehas been the RUE, and everyAdismissed
officer. no matter how fragrant his of
! lenses, has had good reason to expect
that it would be applied TO his case.
His military associates might prove
| his guilt incontestably. and get rid
OF him for a time as nuisance and
man unfit for decent society; but
HAYES would see that they soon had
! himback. again. Since Hayes worked
his subterranean way into the White
House. he has confirmed the convic-
tons of only nineteen officers out of
sixty found guilty of gross ofienses,
most of them involving drunkenness on
duty. Forty-one of the convicted Off
GERS have been retained in the army by
HAYES personal order -
He began the work soon after getting
/ into the White House, and has kept it
,fup steadily ever since. In November,
1877, he issued q general order to the
army, in which he delivered sermon
on drinking. mo person addicted to
it, "5said Hayes, '.can expect to be
trusted with any responsible duty; and
/ a person who cannot be trusted had
4 better not be continued. in otfice.''
Sc After this, solemn warming" he said.
in closing the order, g a rigorous execu-
ton Of the sentences imposed in due
course BY courts martial may be ex-
| pected.' 1 ...,., 80.
And vet, on the very day of its issue.
he set that order aside! He committed
sentence of dismissal for drunkenness.
ON duty to suspension for three months
only. The next day he again set SEN
AI,<
oftense was of kind he had previously
declared was unforgivable. The officer,
in order to escape court-martial, had
given his word as a gentleman to alb
stain from Intoxicating drinks, but had
afterward broken it. q as,ca.-ss igt
In the spring of 1871, commenting
upon two cases of this sort. Hayes had
said that if 3llch officers were retained,
''the high reputation which the army
has always held for honor and dig
nifty, as well Us integrity, would soon
be a thing of the past But in No
vember, 1877, when the case Of an Of
/ ficer dismissed for that very offense
came before him. he committed the sem
tence to Suspension from rank and
command en- halt Pay, for eighteen
months.''s Fsf f'.t.af'f $50
And at short intervals HAYES has been
putting drunkards and repr,bates back
in the army from that time TO this. No
matter how gross or nasty the proved
! charges and specifications, he has taken
the culprit to his embrace and treated
| him as if he had committed some trivial
offense only. What ismean, contempti-
BILE. odious and disgusting behavior in
the eyes of decent men generally. seems
to strike Hayes as very pardonab!e con-
duct. gs csatr,4t ,sf tes.gs AZ 81 s.r -.4J
i In one Of these cases where HAYES re-
stored the dismissed officer to the army
the details of his .ot!enses. as recited in
| specifications. of which he was. proved
| guilty, are too filthy for publication. In
another the officer was found guilty of
withholding from large number of en-
listed men money due them for extra
duty, and which he had received for
their benefit. In still another case the
officer was convicted of gross cruelty to-
the sick men of his command, causing
the death of one and inperiling the
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