Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1898-09-16
VERY POOR POLICY.
APPLY "WHiTEWASH" AND SAY
NOTHING.

Soldiers are Retained in Service
to Serve the Ambition of the
Ofticcrs-An Oversight in the
Peace Prcliminarics Results in
Dcstitution and Death i'm Cuba
Senator Burrows Dons War
Paint-War Department Loses a
Regiment.
From our Regular Correspondent.
W ASilINGTOS, Sept. 9th, ls9S.
Gag the soldiers and whitewash
every official, is the remark ,ile policy
that has been adopted 10y the ad-
ministration in dealing with all COM
plants made as to hardsbips caused
by mismanagement and inc Efficiency in
providing supplies for the troops. 1t
would hardly have been possible to
have adopted more foolish policy.
The mouths OF the men can only be
stopped while they remain in the
service; as soon as they are mustered
ont they will tell everything they were
made to suffer. The idea of those who
persuaded Mr.. Mckinley to adopt such
a shortsight,d policy is to keep the
misma nagement of the War Depart
ment from figuring in the Con-
gressional campaign. They think
that when Congress meets arrange
ments can he made 10 have an in
veStigatiOn of the conduct of the war
made hy picked committee that will
whittwAsh everybody and everything.
1t the people were all fools and there
were II" such things AS newspapers
such scheme might succeed. Mr..
Mckinley is likely to live to bitterly
regret that he di! not have every COM
plant inv, s:igAied and every man
punished who was found guilty OF
having CAUSED unnecessary suffering
among The soldiers, instead of allowing
himself tu be made to assume the role
Of aroingist for and protector of the
guilty officials.
Complaints OF serious nature are
being maze by the privates of many
volunteer regiments against their
officers, in connection with the failure
OF regiments 10 get mustered out when
the privates were practically an
imOus in their wish to be allowed
to return To their civilian occupations.
1t is claimed that in numerous in
stances the officers misrepresented the
wishes OF their men because sf their
own desire to retain commissions which
carry larger salaries than their holders
can command elsewhere, not to men
ton the petty authority they enjoy,
which is source of the greatest
pleasure to men of small CALDER. 1t
is announced by the War Department
that no more regiments will be ordered
mustered out, except for special rea-
sons, for sometime to come. Under
| their terms of enlistment the volun-
teers belong absolutely to the govern
ment Tor two years, ii the government
chooses to keep them that long, and
yet the government can muster them
out at any time it sees ii to do so.
An oversight of the administration,
in not making the terms OF peace with
Spain include immediate American
control OF Havana and all other parts
of CUBA, will cost u few thousand poor
devils, who are unfortunate enough
to be residents of Cuba, their lives.
Captain General Blanco has prevented
the landing of supplies carried to
Havana by the Red Cross Society, for
free distribution to the needy, although
he knows that thousands are ON the
verge OF starvation, and, owing to that
oversight of the administration, those
who would gladly feed those hungry
Cnbans and Spaniards must bow to the
iuhuman will of Blanco. The best that
the administration could do WAS to
announce that food for the poor would
be admitted Tree Of all duty or pro.
scription ut all Cuban ports that are
under our control, which means
Santiago, and several smaller places.
Senator Burrows, OF Michigan, came
to Washington with his war paint on,
this week. He came for the purpose
OF compelling the administration to
either keep out OF the Senatorial fight in
his State or to fight out in the open, and
he is said to have given Mr.. Mckinley
and Secretary Alger to understand
that he did not care continental
what the administration did, further
than to know it. The idea seems to
have got out among Pingree's friend
that Alger, backed by the administra-
ton, was encouraging Pingree's fight
on Burrows; also in Washington.
Burrows says he secured positive
denials from both Mckinley and Alger,
but his manner leaves one to suppose
that he still entertains doubts. IL
seems that the Democrats of Michigan
ought to be able TO take advantage of
the BurrOws-Pingree fight to elect u
majority of the legislature and secure
the Senator.
Some of the defenders of the War
Department system Of doing things
should hump themselves for awhile
and explain how it was possible under
such perfect system that an entire
regiment of troops - the Thirty-sec-
Ond Michigan-was absolutely lost, go
far rs the War Department knew, for
several days, and was only found after
spending u goodly sum in telegraph
tolls. Dem.
Another Pioneer Has Passed over.
James Pattison, who died at an
early hour on the morning of the 9th
inst, was one of the oldest residents of