Arizona republican., 1898-08-27
AS TO THE WAR DEPARTMENT.

It is significant that the criticism of the war department ill connection with
 the late war comes chiefly from democratic and mugwump papers. During the war these papers
 were on the alert for opportunities to
 make political capital, but it's conduct
 was so satisfactory, and the perform
 ances of the army and navy so merit
 orious that they found mighty poor
 picking. When the war was over and the war department suddenly was con- fronted with the gigantic task of pro-
 viding for thousands of sick
 healthy cline they began a bitter and unreasonable crusade against the war department and now they are de- manding the resignation of Secretary Alger. Undoubtedly mistakes have been made by the war department. Ii was hardly to be expected that an army could be formed from raw levies and sent into the field inside of two months properly drilled and equipped to meet a powerful foe. This feat was accom- plfshed, however, and to the war de- partment largely belongs the credit. In a period of time altogether made quate the medical corps Of the army had to be enlarged to proper war foot ing, hospitals on shore and afloat had to be provided, and provision made for the quick transportation of food and hospital supplies, to say nothing of the enormous equipment required by the armies in Cuba, Porto Rico and
 the Philippines. We venture to say that no country on the face of the globe that was as unprepared for war
 as the United States was at the be- ginning of hostilities with Spain could
 nave made better showing. One Brit
 sh correspondent who added his mite
 to the volume of democratic criticism acknowledged that in one of England's
 eastern conflicts the men had beer
 suffered to go to the front entirely un-
 prepared for the rigors of a campaign
 It would be strange, we re-
 peat, if all the combinations of he war department had worked out satisfactorily. The critics of the sec
 'etary of war ignore the fact, so wei
 -nown in Washington, that the presi-
 lent and the secretary of war had tc
 'ontend with an army of politicians
 rith axes to grind. It stands to req 7on that. with thousands of applica tons for office thrust upon them thev ~ust have found places for many in McieDt officers. Abraham Lincolr
 nd Edwin M. Stanton during the civi rar gave ear to the politicians to tho
 xtent of appointing thousands of off .ers who were utterly united for com ''and. Mir. Alger is but human, and 'ouhtless with the enormous respon- ibility thrust upon him by the wa
 he committed mistakes, but he s undeserving Of the savage 'riticism heaped upon him, and the "esults of the war will bear out this
 tatement. It is significant of the 1redicament of the democrats and mug vumps that the only issue they can ring to the front, now that the war is lyer, is the alleged incompetency of he war department. They convenient | y ignore the fact that owing largely democratic hostility to the war de ,artment between 1865 and the present ear the military resources of tn ! aountry were reduced to a pitiabl, | ondition. The war department has l one pretty well against adverse condi l ;nns. and the democratic-mugwumr .utburst is bound to fall flat.