Arizona weekly citizen., 1883-12-01
RATHER FRESH FOR A SMALL. MAN

takes. The man whom Reads verse , made a great hero, took 1t all home {,
 himself and much more of the same sort
 General Phil. Sheridan is not q Rrea man, nor Is he great general. He WA
 Tor time accredited with turning ,
 defeat at Winchester into a victory. bu
 later and more accurate reports failed {,
 substsntiate what had been claimed fo,
 him General Sheridan Is a good
 cavalry officer, however, and can dc
 good service with brigade or a divi.
 sion, but It is not generally believed by
 those who are best informed that he
 could successfully command an army.
 While he may not be looked upon as
 one who has risen by chance, yet We all
 know that there were a certain few in
 the army during the war who were
 favored in every way possible, and that
 promotions were made in rapid success
 sion, when there were no good grounds
 for such promotions. General Grant
 conceived the idea of having men Of his
 own creation about him, and no
 obstacles were allowed to interfere with
 the promotion of men he had set his heart upon. General Meade, General Thomas, and others, who did greater service for the cause of the Union than Shermsn or Sheridan had no show at army headquarters. Sherman's men, moirs will not pass as history nor will Phil. Sheridan's egotism make him great general.
 A late dispatch from Washington gravely informs us that General Sheri- dan proposes to have settled at the ont start, by the President and cabinet, whether he or the Secretary of War Is m command of the army. Should they not decide, he will refer the matter to con gress."
 This assertion, which may be Sheri- dams first act, outside of the regular routine of official duty, is anything but credltsble to him and will not raise him 1 in the estimation of the people. It l shows at the outstart, that he is ignor- | ant of his duties, and that he has not l yet read the Constitution of the United | States, or if be has, he has utterly failed l to comprehend its plalu words. Article II, sec. ?, Of the Constitution of tbe | United States reads as follows:
 ''The President shall be Commander | in-Chief Of the Army and Navy of the | United States, aud of the Militia of the | several States, when called into the | actual service ot the United States: be . may require the opinion, in writing. of the principal officers in each of the 4 Executive Departments, upon any sub ject relating to the duties of their res pective offices; and he shall have power to grant raprieves and pardons for of fences against the United States, except in cases of Impeachment"
 This section cf the constitution .eayes no disput, -u be settled 6y Col.res-, and # We mistake not the Presiden. aid CaD.4ot will give General Sheridan such a re3uke as he never Def re had,auG one that will las. through .Le remainder oi his official life
 The Secretary of War Is The represen- iativ- of the President oH all important questions iu connection wltb the army, and no important action Is taken by him that does moi meet the approval of the President. As to ihe remainder of General Sheridan, statements, which be seems to regard as an argument in hIs favor, ,o-wit: That as the general Of the army, he receives over double the salary received by the Secretary of War in our opinion, IS a fit subjectfor Congress to act upon. We have but a handful ot the duties of the General are trifing, and on the average will not oc cupy more than two or three hours of his time each day. His duties are noth- ing like as arduOus as those of the Sec retary of War, and 1t will not take c 'n- gress long to cut General Sheridan's salary down, SO that 1t will be within the bounds of reason. It costs nearly as much to maintain the few officers and regiments called the United States Army as 1t does the nations of Europe to maintain armies fifteen times as large as ours. It would not be out of place 10 enter on a season Of economy, and there is no better field to work upon than the army.