The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1898-04-08
ROSE TO THE OCCASION
AIger Leaves a Sick Bed to Pre-
pare for War.
MICHIGAN PREPARED TO FIGHT.

l
Enough Surviving Veterans G., Drill an
Army of $4,000 Men I'm Two Weeks
What Senators Mcmillan and Burrows
Say of the Gathering War Clouds Will
| lam Alden Smith Declares in Favor OF
Speedy Intervention In Behalf of Cuba.
| Washington, April 5.-"While it was
difiicult to drill great armies at the be-
ginning of our civil war;" says Secre-
tary Alger, sit will be easy enough to
drill great armies now You may re-
member that at the beginning of our
civil war we had only the West Point
| graduates to depend upon for drilling
raw recruits, and they were assisted
| by survivors of the Mexican war. These
drill masters were about equally di-
| vided between the north and the south.
But today we have not only our
West Point men and the sergeants Of
the regular army. but we have veter-
ans of the civil war, all Of them capa-
BILE Of drilling raw recruits and put
ting them in condition to take the
field without great delay.
The boys who spend four years at
West Point learn all about the science
Of war, and they secure broad educa-
lions, but as drill masters they are not
one whit superior to the boys who
fought four years, wearing blue and
grey uniforms. / believe that we have
enough surviving veterans in Michigan
| to drill an army of $4,000 men inside of
two weeks. 1 believe that the veter-
ans north and south could drill and
make effective an army of 1000 900 men
within period Of a month. and make
good soldiers of all of them"
Should BE Proud of Alger.
Every Michigan man should be proud
Of General Alger for his splendid de-
termination of character Although he
was seriously i'll for two months and
was critically i'll a part of the time,
as soon as great national crisis came
upon us he arose to the occasion, con-
quered the disease by exercise of will
power and went to the war department
every day to supervise the work of
preparation for hostilities. The officers
and bureau chiefs of the war depart
ment speak Of him and Of his working
capacity in terms of esteem and en-
dearment.
This afternoon, in his office, General
Alger said: 1T is especially crafty
ing not only to me but to the president,
and believe that the whole country
would be pleased, to see the letters
from old soldiers rendering their serv-
ices. Even James Longstreet, the old
fighting character upon whom the
Confederate General Lee principally
relied, writes that although he is al
most so years old, he would gladly
take the field for this country, and he
states his belief that he could render
good service.
Moreover, I have received letter
from the son Of General Grant, mod
estly expressing his desire to serve his
country in the army. He says in his
letter that he has seen military service
He was with his distinguished soldier
father in the memorable siege of ViclSs~
burg, in the Chattanooga, Wilderness,
Spottsylvania and Richmond cam
paigns.
Served i'm Indian Campaigns.
HE also went to West Point, served
four years, and was graduated in 1871.
He then served in several frontier In
dian campaigns, and was also a staff
officer at army headquarters under the
command of General Sherman and
Lieutenant General Sheridan. He
says: The records Of the war depart
ment will show where and in what ca
pacity 1 am best fitted to serve, and
1 am. ready to accept any assignment
which may be given to me by the Sec
rotary Of war;
General Alger spoke of this letter
from the son of his old commander
with great feeling. He also said: II
have received q number of personal
letters from Michigan soldiers, some oi
them having reached the scriptural age
of three score years and ten, who say
that they are ready and willing to
fight for their country. l have also re-
ceived personal letters from Democrats
and Republicans in Michigan, saying
that, although they served in Michigan
regiments in their boyhood, they are
now less than 60 years old, and believe
that they can render good service in
the field
Michigan Ready for War.
There is no mistaking the feeling
of the people Of Michigan" says Sen
ator Burrows. My correspondence
shows that they are all ready for war;
and have been for some time. Per-
sonally, / am sorry to see these war
clouds gather l have prayed from the
first that there might be no war. The
cost of human life, the sufferings Of
bereaved wives and children, the cost
OF treasure to the country, all these |
must be considered But when war is
forced upon a peace-loving country, 1t |
is gratifying to see the spontaneous
patriotism of the people. Michigan was |
foremost OF the northwestern states in !
the civil war, and her people will not
be backward on this occasion nor on |
any occasion when the federal govern
ment needs the services of her sons"
Senator Mcmillan says: mo con- |
sentative man in either the senate or |
the house of representatives has de- |
sired war with Spain or with any other |
country. 1t is a shame that the United |
States should be confronted with such |
an emergency, without having a more |
formidable navy. Nevertheless, we will |
probably give a good account of our |
selves. My correspondence also shows !