The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-09-05

as the following. taken from an editorial of
the New York Times:
Every gaunt and tottering figure inat
comes back from the battle with disease
raignment of Alger These sunken eyes,
these yellow and CHASTITY faces of starved
soldiers, these regiments of four hundred
shattered men that went out one thousand
strong, all these things are Algers work.
What think you, Mr.. President the people
will say of the deeds of this murderous
monster whom you keep in your Cabinet?
'fhey know his work down TO the minutest
details. They know that the filth and pes
medicine, and the commonest supplies, the
fasting and hardships that waste the body
and destroy the reason, the deaths of hum
dreds OF men who served in the war and
ought now to be with their kindred are
due to neglect, incompetence, and want of
system, for which Alger is directly respon-
sible.
The Detroit Free Press. which is not and
never has been in political accord with
General Alger, promptly protests against
the foregoing arraignment in an article
which contains so much that is pertinent
that it is reproduced:
The Free Press has no disposition to
shield Secretary Alger or anybody else in
authority from just and reasonable criti-
clSm brought on by neglect OF duty or NAL
administration of high office. If the sec
rotary of war has been guilty of using the
opportunities at his command for the
furtherance of his own political ambitions
rather than for the highest good of the
army, he certainly cannot be defended for
such a course Charity and justice, how
ever, should prompt us to reserve our Judg-
ment upon these points until the facts are
brought. to light, as no doubt they will be
eventually.
But to accuse General Alger of being to
blame for all the disease and starvation
and death that have thrown a dark shad-
dow over the sequel of our war with spain
is too monstrously unjust to need refuta-
ton. The Times takes no account of the
physical conditions with which our armies
nave had to content and for which 1t were
absurd to hold any human being respon-
sible. The scorching suns and the delug-
ing rains, the ravages Of pestilence as Wen
as the attacks of the Spaniards-sil these
things had something to do with the de-
pleted condition of the returning regiments,
the. Times will, of course, admit-and yet
tall these things were Ayers work. The
failure of supplies TO arrive, the mistakes
of subordnates, the misunderstanding of
could not have been foreseen, all these
things Secretary Ager ought to have had
the omniscience and the omnipotence to
fOreSee and prevent.
The Times knows that no man living could
have prevented large part of the suffering
that attended the military invasion of Cuba
IN the rainy season. Still it insists that AL
ger is to blame for EVERY gaunt and tot
tering figure that comes back from the bat
tie" Does our intemp erate-speaking con-
temporary believe that If somebody else than
General Alger had been at the head of the
War Department we could have raised an
army of 225,000 men. equipped and drilled
them, sent p. COO of them to Cuba in the mid
die of summer, fought a fercely energetic
campaign. all inside of fifteen weeks. with
out bringing disease and death upon thous
andS of human beings? If somebody else
were at the head of the war Office to-day,
would there not be distressing amount of
suffering among our homecoming troops
just the same?
In speaking of this kindly. generous
hearted gentleman, whose deeds of charity
and benevolence towards the poor and the
unfortunate are so well known in Detroit
and Michigan, "murderouS monster,
the Times is chargeable with two things:
First. with yielding to its weakness for
brutal ALTERATION al the expense of truth;
and. second, with accusing the President of
being to blame for sad state of affairs
which everybody is deploring.
In the same line is the comment of the
Washington Post. one of the really indie
pendent papers of the country, follows:
What is true of Chickamauga Park is. in
all proba blity, approxirna tely, if not wholly.
true of Montauk Point. The yellow jour
nails are screaming. and imprecating and
casting their vile denunciations as buSiiy as
ever. Every can4b is death trap" every
arriving transport ''pest ship" the old
reconcentrado wood-cutS are hauled out and
worked over again to furnish horror for the
multitude, and demagogue volunteer officers
are Joining in the hu1labaloo to hide their
stupidity and criminal neglect in the dust
of the abhorrent storm.