The times., 1898-08-31
Private Enterprise vs-Pubiic Theft

Private Enterprise Ns.-Pu5iic Ihcft.
The soldiers in the Civil War sufferld
for want OF proper food. clothing. and
medical attendance very much as they
have in this war, although they did not.
Of course, have the additional difficulty
of the Cuban climate to contend with.
1t VIII be remembered by those who
were concerned in that conflict that
when the Government was cheated by
rascally contractors, and the hospital
patients suffered from incompetent
surgeons and nurses, the Sanitary Com
mission came to the rescue. Private
enterprise did what the Government
could not. The women of the country
knit socks, made clothing, and cooked
food for the soldiers, and organized
system by which the stores should be
distributed. 1t might have been a good
thing if something Of the sort had been
done last April. 1t was supposed by
the majority of our people that for
war which was so small an affair.
compared with the mighty conflict of
1S61-65, the resources of the War De-
partment would be amply sufficient.
Private individuals were naturally
diffident about interfering with bust
ness which seemed to need trainsd
officials for its administration 1t was
naturally supposed that the War De-
partment would be more efficient if left
entirely urthampered. 1t was lsft un-
hampered, and given practical control
Of the peoples money so far as should
be necessary TO purchase supplies for
the soldiers.
The result has been peculiar. 1t is
doubtful if honest, patriotic, and zeal
Gus private individuals could possibly
have done worse. They might easily
have done much better. This country
has usually managed to secure Trans
portation, at a very low rate, for any
number of its citizens who wanted to
go to particular place at a part cular
time, and that without knowing just
how many Were going or when they
would go. 1t has always. when such
an excursion arrived at its dest nation,
managed to have enough for all the
people to eat. An ordinary city hos
pital has usually managed to accommo-
date the sick. And in all the big en-
campments that this country has seen,
there has never been an epidemic of
typhoid fever.
1t may be that if the soldiers had
been allowed money for their rations.
they would have bought the wrong
things to eat. and made themselves i'll.
1t may be that a grown man, of ordi-
nary sense. parts with most of his
sense when he eniists in the army.
Some of the young recruits think now
that they did. But most young me-,
can manage to go on a journey, even a
camping expedition, and not come
home utter wrecks of their former
Alger had been given thirty cents a day |
to buy food, they could have |
bought enough to eat with that sum. |
right here in Washington, and the res
taurant-keeDers would have made a |
profit at that. What was the reason |
that on thirty cents day the Govern. |
ment could not furnish them, half the |
time, anything better than bareback
coffee, and bacon?
For thirty cents a day they could |
have bought, in this city, two meals of
three courses each. They could have
bought a loaf of bread, all the coffee
they could drink, plenty of fruit. and
soup or meat, if they did their own
cooking. What was the reason that
the Government, buying its supplies In
immense quantities, and paying MOTH
ng for cooks. fuel, rent, service, dishes.
table-linen, or lights, could not feed
he volunteers as we'll as a Washington
acknowledged? Of course, a man
cannot live like Sybarite on thirty
,ents day. but that sum ought to keep
lim from starvation. In fact, the ma
ority of the people of this country do
lot spend even so much as that for
heir food alone.
There has been big steal somewhere