Evening star., 1898-10-07
Who is Responsible:
To the Editor of The Evening Star:

| Since it is shown that theye was so much
| less sickness and suffering among the reg
| ulars than among the volunteers, many
| men and newspapers are blaming the Pres
! ident and Secretary of War for not ap-
| pointing officers from the regulars to COM
| mand the volunteers, and claiming that If
| that had been done the camps and the men
| would have been much better cared for.
One paper publishes long editorial
! blaming the Secretary OF War for all the
| sickness and suffering, in which it says
| Why We're not regular officers appointed
! to command the volunteers?" Another
| writer in one Of the magazines of the past
| month insists that all the officers down 10
| lieutenants should be regulars.
Do not these people know that the r@a-
| son why it was not done was because the
! bill for raising volunteers was amended ty
Congress SO as to give to the governors of
the states the power to appoint the regi-
| mental officers? If they don't know 1t, they
are exceedingly ignorant; and if they do
know it, as some of them certainly must,
they are exceedingly dishonest.
When they complain of the inefiiciency
or neglect of the officers of volunteers they
should know that the fault lies with the
governors of the states who appointed the
regimental officers, including no less than
500 of the surgeons.
There can be no question that a large
portion of the sickness and suffering in the
camps was due to the ineXperence of these
officers and their neglect to pay attention
to the suggestions of the surgeon general
which We're published early as April 2t
How absurd and unfair, then, to blame the
War Department or the administration for
this. The change in the bill was insisted
upon by members who sought to make
political capital for themselves by using
their influence with the governors of their
states to secure the appointment of their
political friends. 1t is these very men who
have since found much fault with the
management and who are today disgraclng
oati in a tfpTn Mi n fn
make political capital in the pending cleo
tions by repeating these charges of mis-
management ard holding the Secretary Of
War, the surgeon general and the PreSi-
dent responsible for the failure of voun
teer officers, with whose appointment they
had nothing to do.
The bill ought not to have been so amend
ed. The appointment of the officers be-
longs to the executive, and the law should
have provided for their appointment by the
President Had that been done, much of
the trouble would have been avoided. 1t
would then have been right and reasonable
to hold the administration responsible for
the failures; but as it is it is simply out
rageous to blame the general government.
The remedy for these troubles lies with
the people themselves. They should send to
Congress men who will look to the interest
and welfare of the nation, instead of their
own political interests. 1 venture to say
that we will see a repetition of this same
spirit IN the. coming session. The increase
of the standing army, all admit. is ma
tional necessity, and yet it will be opposed
by this same class of men and papers.
The hearts and desires Of the mass of
the people are all right. The great danger
Is that they will be rnsled by inis-epre
sentatlons. Naturally, those who have lost
sons and brothers in the war feel sore and
with such misstatements they are inclined
to hold the government responsibe The
remedy for this lies In getting the facts
fairly before the people, and it is a pity
that the Investigating commission had not
been sooner appointed, so that their report
could now be before the public. Now, as
IN the last presidential election, there will
nave to be campaign of education among
the people: whose sober second thought
1t Is hoped will now, as then, prevail.
octoper p, 1888. CITIZEN.