Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1897-11-26

her friends and relatives" And fur
ther, shat he (the commandant) and
his family and friends fare s%umptuously
at the states expense, and eat from
fine porcelain and silverware, with clean
table cloths and fresh napkins, while
the veterans who facedthe battle storm
at Antietam, Charlottesville and Get
tysburg, who climbed the nights of death
and glory at Lookout Mountain and Mis-
sion Ridge, who did double duty On
half rations during the most brilliantly
heroic campaign of all history, and
drove before them twice their number
of the enemy to the very gates of his
Gibralter at Vicksburg, often fare
%scantily and neglectedly, and eat off
dirty oil cloth with tin spoons and
broken and dirty Dishes"
The dramatic eloquence in that final
charge causes the reader to almost
loose sight of the main point-the
specifications" But so far as all of
these charges against the management
OF n Home go. we cannot in any way
give them credence. for we cannot learn
that they are in the least true, on the
contrary we must admit that the re-
verse is true. 1t is but Justice to Com
mandant Linn, and to the people, that
we state the case as we are best able to
judge it, SO long as W. feel it necessary
to mention it at all. We certainly are
unbiased i'll the matter, for politically
we strongly opposed a change of COM
mandants and were probably one of the
most disappointed to have Captain Lu-
cas removed. And we want to say here
that we cannot endorse whatever re-
Elections may have been made upon his
administration in comparison with the
present. OF curse there were COM
plants when Captain Lucas was COM
mandant, as there are nowhere NAV
have been some cause, and there NAV
be some cause now-but from all that
n can learn from general inquiry the
Home has been a most pleasant home
for the veterans under both Una
ments. Each sought in his own way
to enforce the rules, and particularly
the one f%orbidding drunkenness. Col
onel Linn and Captain Lucas are per-
sonally very different men, and their
methods of government are conse-
quently different. Those who might
personally prefer IL for commandment
might not enjoy the other so much, but
as to their management of the Home
all but a very few have gotten along
nicely with both and have nothing but
praise for either.
The charges made against Colonel
Clough. as president of the board of
managers is even less worthy of atten-
ton than those against the command
ant. They are no charges at all. Col
onel Clough is sufficiently we'll known
throughout the state to not need any
defense from the silly specifications"
against his official conduct.
AS to Mr.. Hopkins. who is the author
of the pamphlet, it seems that he feels
called upon to interest himself in hav-
ing the Home run according to his no.
tions. He says in "a private letter
made public" addressed to the w. r.
c.: "And, lest you misapprehcnd me
las most other people do, let meinform
you that / am under solemn promise
to God, to myself and to this Home
family that will stand guard forthem
as long as it and / endure.''
In the same letter he stated that:
"There is not for this one reason alone
1.-THE lack of Il woman in the dining
room u single soldiers home in the
American Union worthy of the name.
These two quotations will indicate to
the public very plainly the condition
of Mr.. Hopkins, mind. He is, perhaps,
Il subject deserving of sympathy, but
no sane person could read the mass of
baseless and sensless stuff in that
pamphlet without wondering, after he
had finished, what it was ever printed
for, and what 'charge" the author had
really intended to make. No case is
made out, and it seems to us n would
belittle himself by encouraging such
things. Whenever anything palpably
wrong and detrimental to the purposes
and best interests of the Home is shown
to the board, or the people, it would
not require much argument to secure
y just verdict, for the people want the
old boys treated right. But regardless
of the political proclivities of the man.
agement no honest and fair person can
encourage aud approve of every "kick''
that may be registered. The position
of commandant is a trying one at best.
and it is an unworthy motive in any
one to encourage making trouble be.
tween the commandant and those I'M
der his command.
However, VIZ don't think anybody
,,o,,ll DL;nok IN co so-o,k..A--