The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1884-05-29
HOUSTON CELEBRATION.

|, GALVESTON, May 2l.-The charp
: r.. . by the st. Louis Post-Dispaie
:. thu unfairneSs and favoritism ws
4 practleed by the judges of the Int,
D state drill at Houston, by which tn
l Light Guards secured the first priZ
|, and which was copied in the Galve.
ton News of Monday, is denounced b
| all parties as very ungenerouS.
Capt. w. X. Hall, who commando
the Washington Guards at the drill i
considered an expert upon militar
matters. In answer to interrogatorie
propounded
CAPTAIN HALL SAID:
Il have read the extract publishe,
Monday morning in the Galveston
News, taken from the st. Louis Post
Dispatch, in reference to the treat
ment of the visiting military in Hous
ton and the fayoritism practiced il
the award of the prizes"
Il think it is simply the croakine
OF some sore-heads. and don't believe
the Tredway Rifles had anything tC
do with 1t. The visiting military
were treated as well as they could be
In Houston. think the Light Guard
won the prize squarely. This was ap-
parent to every one who saw both
companies drill and who knows any,
thing Of military tactics, 1t is true
it took more time for inspection Gof
the Tredways than the Light Guards.
but L suppose there existed some rea-
son IN the TredWayS requiring this.
The Light Guard won the prize
fairly and squarely, and the idea that
the judges INDUCED in any preferences
or Iavoritlsms is simply preposterous
and scandalouSly untrue. The visit
ing military had all the attention
shown them in Houston they could
possibly expect, and ought to feel
proud of their reception there
Lieutenant Ziegler, of the Washing
ton Guards, in answer to questions
propOunded, said:
81 was not present when the Light
Guard and Tredway Rifles drilled, but
from statements made to me both by
members of my own company and
other visiting military organizati ons
ut Houston, | am satisfied that the
Light Guard won the So 600 prize upon
the merits of the respective drilling of
that company and their competitors.
As to the treatment received by the
visiting military in Houston, 1t could
not have been better. The attentions
shown by the Light Guard to the Wis
iting companies from other states is
deserving of especial praise L think
it in very bad taste to publish the
clipping referred to from the st.
Louis Post-Dispatch without offer
ing word in defense of Houston and
the interstate drill"
Mr.. Dan J. Buckley, city clerk and
q private of the Washington Guards,
said:
81 saw the competitive drill at
Houston for the $1,000 prize. 1 saw
the Light Guard and the TreadWay
Rifles on the field. From what saw
think the Light Guard deserved the
prize which was awarded them. Their
drilling was superior to the Treadway
Rifles, especially so in the manuel of
arms.
THE treatment of the visiting mill
tary at Houston was very good, in
d cd, and the ladies especially were
conspicuous TJr The kind attentions
shown by them to the visitors
Mr.. E. j. Mccullough, who is first
sergeant of the Washington Guards,
was found at his place of business,
with Thompson & O1mstead, and in
answer to inquiry, he said:
81 saw the Tredway Rifles and the
Houston Light Guards drill in the in
ter-state contest at Houston. In my.
judgement the Light Guards won the
prize fairly and squarely by superior
drilling. Especially are the Light
Guards superior to the St..Louis COM
pany in the manual of arms. In the
field movements there is very little
difference in the proficiency of the
two companies. l think the judges
were fair and unbiased in their action.
The treatment of the visiting mill
tary by the people of Houston was
very good indeed, and saw no cause
of complaint on this score. l suppose
the News published the extract re-
ferred to just because they wanted
something to fill up with. 1t was
certainly a hard hit on the Texas
boys, and Houston especially. So
far as L have heard them express
themselves, the members Of the Wash
ington Guards regard the contest and
award of prizes as fair. have never
heard any of them question the action
of the judges in awarding the Light
Guards the prize. believe our COM
pany won by superior drilling, which
is certainly the case.
Col. w. NJ. Stafford, a well-known
military expert, said: 81 regard the
statements in the publication referred
to as a scandal upon the people of
Texas, and especially upon the people
of Houston, whose enterprise, public
spirit and generosity has become pro-
verbal"
He said: 81 went to Houston on
Friday morning, and saw the Light
Guards, the Tredway Rifles and the
Columbus Guards drill in the inter-
state contest. ! did not see the COM
panies that drilled on Thursday.
When the Light Guard completed
their drill, 1 went to Capt. Scurry to
congratulate him, and made the re-
mark, in the presence of Capt. Price
Williams, of the Mobile Rifles, and
Capt. Lloyd, of Houston, that there
were not twenty-four men in the
States that could beat the Light
Guards score of that day. l after
ward saw the Tredways and the
Columbus Guards drill, and stated to
number of persons, including w.
d. Cleveland, Representative Upton,
of Fayette county; Col. Bedell, of
Hampstead; lack Hogan, of Hous-
ton, and Capt. Boyce that the score
between these three companies would
stand as follows: Light Guards. first;
TredWay, second, and Columbus
Guards, third. This was the day be-
fore the sham battle and the an
nouncement of the result. / also
made the statement, which am still
willing to bear out, that the Light
Guard made the best score at Hous-
ton ever made by any company at any
Interstate drill where the maximum
and minimum fixed by the judges
were the same. L denounce
the charge of unfairness
OF bias on the part of
Judges as totally untrue and mali
cious, so far as the drilling, which 1
saw, is concerned. The Light Guard
won their merit by very considerable
odds, and the judges, who were very
painstaking and accurate in their
scoring, rightly decided it so. 1t is
proper to say that ! went TO Houston
prejudieed against the Light Guard,
because 1 did not wish any Texas
company to take off the first prize. /
wanted to see visiting company from
some other state get it for the sake of
my hospitable sentiment III the mat
ter, but when saw the three compa-
MES mentioned drill, / unhesitatingly
said that the Light Guard were entia
tied to the first prize. Their generos-
ity in proposing to distribute the
$4,000 between the companies which