The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-09-05
CAPT. WATERS IRONY
Writes a Letter About Governor
MOrrill's War Record.
Tells Col. Hallowell How the
Governor Missed Battles.
OTHER STATE NEWS.
A Young Man Mangled by the
Cars at EmpOria.
OTHER STATE NEWS.

WICHITA, Sept. 6-James R. Hal
lowell, of this city, recently made some
ironical remarks concerning the war
record of Gov. Morrill, These appear to
have net with a responsive throb in the
breast of Capt Joseph G. Waters, of
Topeka, for he has written a letter to
Col. HallowelI concerning them.
In 1855, after the surrender of Lee
and lighting was all over, some of the
younger men who were already grim
warriors, determined to celebrate this
forerunner of their return to civil life by
dance. They secured a suitable room
at Shields Mills Tenn, and gathered
all the available girls in East Tennessee,
rebel and union, and gave them as part
ners the victorious hosts who wore
shoulder straps. Among these were Joe
Waters, Jim Hallowell, who had even
then earned the sobriquet of Prince Hal,
and i. n. Morrill,, who then served
bacon and hard tack, beans and acid
vinegar, and rice and dessicated veget-
ables to the troops, who varied their
fighting with the less pleasing occupa-
ton, to some, of eating,
Captain Waters writes:
TOPEKA, Kas., Aug. 81, 1895.
Hon. James R. Hanowen:
DEAR COLONEL-Since the ball at
Shields Mills, have had nothing please
me so badly as your interview and criti-
cism of the war record of the comman-
der-in- chief Of the land forces of Kan
sas.
1 think you malign an older, if not
better soldier than yourself l happened
TO know you when you fit into the war.
You were nothing but callOw colonel
of the Thirty first Indiana, and, l am
sorry to say, that you have been nothing
better or more glorious since then.
The object Of your attack surpasses
you in thousand ways as a soldier. He
has missed more battles than you ever
fought into. He wore cleaner clothes
during the war than you did. He was
home more times on leave of absence.
He knew more than you did of the topO-
graphical rear of the army. He has
weighed more side meat than you ever
did. He had better grub than you did.
His war on Leavenworth is as ferociOus
and venomous, and as full of that holy
and patriotic frenzy as his conduct was
during the rebellion, and | have pre-
sumed to think. my gallant colonel, that
if he had shown the same vigOr during
the war, and been in some department
or capacity where he could have used
that vigor, as he has shown in firing Pops
from office, the war would have ended
two years earlier and the war debt been
so minimized that the silver question
would now be unimportant Had you
seen him when the guns were belching
we can say this of gun without being
vulgar, but not of a man-And heard
him with stentOriOus voice order the
cracker wagons out Of range, or, could
you have seen him, under fire, not of the
enemy, but of hungry Lincoln's hirelings
vociferatlng in chorus, Hand out that
hard tack and bacon, p. d o. there
would have been some trace of disgrun-
Element in your audaciOus criticism. He
was more of a soldier than you were, and
the prohibitionists say he is soldering
yet. He has in his scrap book at Hiawa-
tha more in number of editorial concur
ring enconiums on his personal valor
during the war than he ever issued boxes
of hard tack to a veteran or bars of soap
TO a recruit Probably these editorial
perfumeries were all printed before the
election.
He was in the commissary department;
and which took he odOr off of STAYING
at home, and incurred but little of the
hazard at $13 a month at the 'front.' where
they worked the buzz saw. have heard
IL said that influential and blue blOoded
parents sought such positions for able
bodied sons
Your victim never fed from a battle
field; the truants in their flight to the
rear became exhausted aud dropped in
the vicinity of where he established his
headquarters He never ran during the
war, has some since, but I guess his
sprinting days are over.
It is best, Colonel. for you to lat him
alone and attend religiously to your own
secular affairs. You may be gangrened
and disgrunted at his splendid success,
governor now, and aspiring to be vice
president If I could make him vice
president right now l would do it in d
holy minute, and so would Jim Trout
man.
But for mercy's sake don't unveil your
miseries and try to confide in a generous
public sorrows personal to yourself thai
heaven alone can heal.
Ever thine Colonel,
Insr-prI q ALBA