The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1898-09-15
White Wash at "a Premium

every official, is the remarkable
policy that has been adopted by the
administration in dealing with all
complaints made as to hardshlps
caused by mismanagement and in |
efficiency in providing supplies for
the troops. 1t would hardly have
been possible to have adopted a
more foolish policy. The mouths
of the men can only be stopped
while they remain in the service las
soon as they are mustered out they
will tell every thing they were made
to suffer. The idea of those who
persuaded Mr.. Mckinley to adopt
such shortsighted policy is to
keep the mismanagement of the
War Department from figuring in
the Congressional Campaign. They
think that when Congress meets
arrangements can be made to have
an investigation of the conduct of
the war made by picked com.
mittee that will whitewash every
body and everything. If the peo-
pie were fools and there were no
such things as newspapers such a
scheme might succeed. Mr.. Nc
Kinley is likely to live to bitterly
regret that he did not have every
complaint Investigated and every
man punished who was found guilty
of having caused unnecessary suf-
fering among the soldiers, instead
of allowing to be made to assume
the role of apologist and protector
of the guilty officials.
Complaints of a serious nature are
being made blythe privates of many
volunteer regiments against their
officers, in connection with the fail
ure of regiments to get mustered
out when the privates were prac-
tically unanimous in their wish to
be allowed to return to there civil
ian occupations, 1t is claimed that
in numerous instances the officers
misrepresented the wishes of their
men because of their own desire to
retain commissions which carry
larger salaries than their holners
can command elsewhere, not to
mention the petty authority they
enjoy, which is source of the great
est pleasure to men of small caliber.
1t is announced by the War De-
Department that no more regi-
ments will be ordered mustered out,
except for special reasons, for
sometime to come. Under their
terms of enlistment the volunteers
belong absolutely to the govern
ment for two years, if the govern
ment chooses to keep them that
long, and yet the government can
muster them out at any time it sees
fit to do so.
An oversight of the administra-
ton, in not making the terms of
peace with Spain include imm edi.
ate American control of Havana
and all other parts of Cuba, will
cost few thousand poor devils
who are unfortunate enough to be
residents of Cuba, their lives. Cap
tain General Blanco has prevented
the landing of supplies carried tt
Havana by the Red Cross Society
for free distribution to the needy
:. although he knows that Thousand,
are on the verge of starvation, and
owing to that oversight of the ad
y ministrati0n, those who would glad
ly feed those hungry Cubans ant
y Spaniards must bow to the inhu
man will of Blanco. The best tina
the administration could do was t.
announce that food for the poo
would be admitted free of all dut,
or prescription at all Cuban port
:, that are under our control, whicl
y means Santiago, and several small
er places,
4 Senator Burrows, OF Mich, CAM
g to Washington with his war pain
Il on, this week. He came for tn
q purpose of compelling the admins
q tration to either keep out of tn
v Senatorial fight in his state or t
# fight out in the open, and he is SAL
n to have given Mr.. Mckinley AM
e Secretary Alger TO understand tina
% he did not care a continental wha
n the administration did further tha
II to know it. The idea seems to hav
D. got out among Pingree's friend
,r that Alger, backed by the admins
.s tration, was encouraging Pingree'
p fight on Burrows; also in Washing
% ton. Burrows says he secure
1t positive denials from both McKin
ley and Alger, but his manner leave
one to suppose that he still enter
IL tains doubts. 1t seems that tn
m Il ~ - NIiols.ar o,,o.bt l.