The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-08-31
A THREE-CORNERED CONTEST
FOR THE SUCCESSION TO THE PO-
SITION OF COMMANDER-IN-
CHIEF.
CHANGES IN LAWS AND RITES
Are Also to Be Considered by the
Highest Council of the Mill
tary Order.

! Maj Thaddeus S. Clarkson. Of Ne
4 braska, and John C. Linehan, of New
/ Hampshire. Admiral Meade's friends
/ are pushing him hard, and are using
1 the argument that, inasmuch as the
/ position of COMMUNICATIVE chief has
never been held by a naval officer, it
j ought to be given to one now Ad-
miral Meade is certainly the candi-
! date Of the naval officers and men in
the Grand Army. He is a member Of
| Lafayette post in New York city,
| and will come West with the hearty
| support, it is claimed, of all New York
and a great many Of the other Eastern
! states.
T. S. C1arkson of Omaha, was a can
| didate before the Louisville national
encampment last year, but finally de-
clined to enter the race against Gen.
Walker. He is well known and well
liked in the Grand Army, especially
so in the West, and will doubtless
make a strong battle for election.
John c. Linehan, of New Hampshire,
claims the support of a great many
of the Eastern veterans, and his friends
| are confident that he will come to the
encampment with as much If not more
voting strength behind him than is
behind either of the other candidates
Linehan is especially well known in
the Grand Army as one of the plain
soldiers, who take so great an interest
in the organization. He fought through
i the war as a private soldier in the
j Third New Hampshire volunteer in
| fantry. He Is especially popular with
the veterans in his own and adjoining
states. He has been commander OF
his own state department, and his
friends are confident that he would
make an efficient commander-in-chief
Of the grand order
Rear Admiral Meade was last brought
| before the public through the trouble
he had with the navy department Of
ficials, which ended his duties with
| his squadron, at his own request. Ad
niral Meade had been ordered in May,
| 1895, to take his flag ship, the Cincin-
/ NATL to the Norfolk navy-yard for
some necessary repairs, the Norfolk
yards being shorter of work than the
Brooklyn yards Admiral Meade, how
! ever, wanted to go to New York, and
requested Secretary Herbert to order
| him there. The secretary was not in
| Washington when the admiraPs re-
| quest reached the department, and AS
sistant Secretary McAdoo did not feel
| warranted in changing the order or his
| chief. When Secretary Herbert re-
/ turned he issued orders to have Adj
/ miral Meade's ship intercepted. AID
| ordered to New York as he had re-
quested. This order had no sooner been
sent out, however, than q request was
received from Admiral Meade asking
| that he be detached from the squadron.
The request was quickly granted. On
| reaching New York Admiral Meade
gave to one of the newspapers an in
| terview, severely criticising the navy
department.
Admiral Meade was repeatedly COM
| plimented for bravery during the war,
| and 1d Xo n
deserving way. In the battle of Stone
| River, South Carolina. Christmas day,
1862 he handled his ship in so gallant
a way that Admiral Dahlgren issued a
general order of thanks to him, which
| was read from the quarterback Of
every ship in the fleet: Another oc-
casion on which Meade was compli-
mented for bravery was in 1872. Feb
| ruary of that year he assumed COM
| mand of the Narragansett on the
| Pacific station. Sailing in March to
the west, he began a systematic cruise
| of the Pacific, and for 413 days the
| Narragansett was under way, sailing
| almost entirely under canvas, and
| covering more than $4,000 miles. Har-
bors and islands were surveyed, treat
! les were made, and from the natives of
| the Polynesian Islands Commander
| Meade collected money indemnity
for indignities inflicted upon American
citizens. On all this voyage Of $4,000
| miles there was not q death or casu
| atty In letter to Meade, Robson,
the then secretary of the navy, said the
admiraPs report was the best ever sent
| in, and that his ship had performed
more professional work than any other
had ever performed in the same time
| The end of the voyage brought great
| public interest and congratulation to
| the commander.
| Tn ho "a q MALIGNANT attack
| of Mexican fever, and in 1863 he was
| declared disabled and invalided and
sent from the Mississippi river to New
| York. In 1890 he was made member
of the government board of manage
| ment of the Columbian exposition and
in that capacity supervised the design
| ing of the battle ship Illinois.
| Though Meade was born in New York
| he crossed the continent before he
! crossed the sea. He was taken to Cal
| ifornia during the days of the gold
fever, and in October. 1850, six days be-
fore his thirteenth birthday, he went
aboard the practice ship Preble, a mid
| shipman United States navy. His
| fourteenth, fifteenth, sixteenth and
seventeenth years were spent on the
| Mediterranean aboard the San Jacinto
| and the st. Louis. He witnessed the
| Kosta affair In Smyrna In 1853. The
next year he went aboard the Columbia
| in w est indian waters, ana late In 1880
| entered the naval academy at Ann
| apolis and passed as fifth In his class
In 1857, before his twentieth birthday,
he was appointed acting master and
went aboard the Cumberland, cruising
| along the west coast of Africa. He be-
| came master one day in 1858, and the
| very next day was commissioned as a
| lieutenant, though he was yet under
| tWenty-one
In 1852 Meade had charge Of the iron
clad Louisville, which patrolled the
Mississippi from Memphis north when
the guerrilla warfare was extremely
| troublesome. He did good service and
won the hearty approval of his super
iors. One Of the most brilliant ex-
ploits In his career was on the Marble
head Another OF his spirited encoun-
ters was with the Delphini. After the
| war Meade was stationed at the naval
academy until 1868. Secretary Whit
/ ney, after commencing Meade In two
Of his annual reports, made him, in
| 1887, commandant OF the Washington
navy yard About this time the mans
peevishness and petulance began to be
unbearable. As commandant he was
known as q disciplinarian, strict be-
| yond all reason. Some OF his regula-
tions would have been considered too
severe even in times Of war. No civ
| ilian could go out Of the navy yard
unless accompanied by an officer. To