The San Francisco call., 1898-05-27
GEN. MERRlTT'S RESPONSIBILITY

1 / ENlAIN statements reported to have been made by General Merritt in regard to the Phil
 1ppine expedition together with his known ob-
 Ject1on to venturng upon that campaign with the
 force originally designed, have subjected him to
 more or less severe criticism on the part of con- siderable number of newspapers It has been charged that his action sayored of insubordinaton, and that he has set bad example to the army under his com mand by even limiting at objection to obey orders and go wherever commanded
 The criticism is i'll founded. The duty of unques- t1onlng obedience does not apply to commanding officer on whose foresight and military sagacity de- pend the lives of his soldiers and the cause of his country. On him rests the responsibility of success failure, victory defeat and that responsibility not only gives him the right to weigh and consider every circumstance and detail of the movement he is to undertake, but imposes upon him as high duty to it that the force and the equipments pro- vded for the work sufficient to accomplish it without taking desperate chances in the hazard of 
 General Merritt IS subordinate officer He
 is not one of those who have no right to criticize the conduct of war. He holds higher rank than any other West Pointer in the service He has been chosen to command expedition which is to take thousands o Americans to far off land separated by wide ocean from their base of supplies, where they will ind themselves surrounded by alien pop uation of millions of more or less warlike people Under such circumstances he would have been lack
 ing n a of the responsibilities of his command if he had gone at once without taking account of the dangers and difficulties before him and the means by which he could overcome them
 It will be remembered that when at the outbreak of our Civil War General Sherman said 100000 men were needed for the Army of the Ohio alone he was regarded crank. Such statement on his part yraS sidered criticism, on +t,e conduct of ;. superiors and came resulting in his retirement from the service The event proved that he was right. In the end than 100 900 men were found necessary to drive the Conederates out of Kentucky and Tennessee
 General Merritt, in demanding a larger force for the invasion of the Philippines than was at first as- signed him, clearly much in the right as was Sherman in 1861. The Government at Washington has itself acknowledged the justice of at least one of its claims for 1t has increased the strength of the regulars n the force from 1000 to 5000 Doubt less other of his representations will have equally good results, and the Philippine expedition will go out equipped for certain victory and not as for lorn hope o daring and courage
 America has reason to be proud that she DOS | thousands of brave soldiers who go to the front not counting the cost and careless of the con sequences. It is gratifying to have loyal heroes who know that in times of danger it is "theirs not to req son why theirs but to do and die" Nevertheless it is also good for America that she has generals who do the cost and not careless of consequences Rash critics who stay at home may shout "On to Cuba and "On to Manila" with impunity. They are not going to suffer The brave boys who are to make the expedition however fortunate in the fact that they to be under commander who knows that war is not matter of romance and who will see to it that they go to the front under conditions which will enable them to do something more than die there