The record-union., 1898-10-23
THE ASSAULT BY INNUENDO.

~As)N1~A-
The head Of the War Department has
silenced it's detractors by giving it to
be known that he desires all persons
related to it to speak before the Army
| Investigation Committee, regardless of
whom their testimony may hit in the
department, from its head to it's hum
blest clerk. 1t is also added that no
matter what the testimony of officers
may be, their right to promotion will
not be affected by it.
How humiliating it is that depart
ment Of the Government should be
driven by the ISLANDERS and outrageous
charges Of a sensational press to thus
pledge itself that it will not be affected
in its action toward employees by their
testimony before a Board OF Inquiry
created at the request of the Secretary
Of War.
The Secretary himself must feel this
humiliation, indeed, it must rise to in
dignation on his part; yet it is thought
TO be necessary in order to silence his
detractors and secure absolute Justice
Whatever the truth the people demand
that it shall be brought out. The Ad-
nlinistration has taken every step it
can to have this disclosure made COM
plete and exhaustive; yet on the stump
and in the press, the opposition makes
continual sneering and malicious insin-
uations that the Republican ticket in
this State should be defeated and the
fusionists given the offices because
there have been sickness and suffering
in camp and in field
No one has denied It, but that the
stories Of neglect and inattention have
been greatly exaggerated has been and
still is asserted. The assertion comes
from eye witnesses and from the Cen
erals of the regular and the volunteer
army who We're on the ground, and
know whereof they speak. Of course
more men out Of the 25O,OOO have died
in camp than have been killed on the
field, since very few fell in battle, as
We have had very few battles In the
death rate would be greater among
such a large number of men than the
fatalities in the few armed conflicts
we have had.
Yet these fusion orators not daring
to openly charge the President and his
councillors with inhumanity and neglect,
continue to assail by innuendo, and to
assert that because there have been
mismana cement and incompetency on
the part Of volunteer officers and sub
ordinates. because disease has invaded
camps and the plunge Of an unaccli-
mated army into a tropical country in
the deadly fever season, resulted pre-
cisely as every one we'll informed ex-
pected it would, therefore the fusion
candidates in California should be
elected.
In thus presenting the case these
demagogues thereby admit that defeat
or the Republican ticket would amount
to rebuke Of the Administration and
tend to cripple and embarrass 1t, since
it would be taken throughout the Union
as q verdict of want of confidence on
the part Of California in the policy and
Administration that have achieved for
the nation such momentous victories.
and placed the nation before the world |
in new and exalted position. Even
Mr.. Mcguire has fallen so low as to
indulge in this assault by innuendo. In
his speech in this city on Saturday
evening last he said:
No, my friends, the glories of the
war belong to no party. They are the
common heritage Of the whole people.
The glory was won by a non-partisan
army and navy. But the mistakes of
the war were not made by them. The
mistakes Of the war were made by
those in charge Of the civil admins
tration Of the war of the Commissary
and Quartermasters' Departments. and
Medical Department Somewhere be-
tween the Secretary Of War at the TOP
and the army mule at the bottom, that
responsibility lies.
There is no other construction TO be
placed upon these words than that it is
innuendo, an attempted thrust beneath
the ribs. a malicious attempt to i'm
press upon the mind of the hearer that
the Administration Is so far blame
worthy for possible mistakes in the
war, that it should be punished by the
election to office of it's opponents in
California