Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1898-08-16

papers are calling for his removal.
Among these are Harper's Weekly
and the New York Times The latter
says: The president can excuse
himself for retaining the secretary of
war in his cabinet only upon the
ground that the war, in spite of Gen.
Alger, being now successfully over.
Gen. Alger can do no more mischief
The Chicago JoornaI condenses what
a great many of the republican papers
are saving in milder language. when
it goes for the secretary of war as
follows: A wise and profitable re-
suit of the squabble with which the
closing days of the war have been
disgraced would be the resignation of
one Russell A. Alger. For the lesson
OF Ayers career has been completed
People who NAV not have known it
before know now that 4 rich man Ia
not necessarily great and that sue
cess in private business does not
assure success in public business.
knowledge of the prophecies of life
were not expected of Alger. Every
body knew that he would avenge old
wrongs on Merritt. that he would
pay political debts with army APP
pointments and that he would
publish secret communications to the
department. But good many peo-
Pile thought that when it came to the
purely business work of the cam
paign he would be luminous success.
That is where they were wrong.
II NAV be inyidious to make COMPARE
Sons OF failures among so MANY and
so wonderful. but if Alger failed in
one respect more than another, it was
in the arrangement of those details
that called for the display of business
intelligence. Never did an army
suffer from worse commissarv.
Never was one so poorly equipped for
campaign. Badly shOd. badly
clothed. badly fed. badly sheltered
the troops in Cuba were fairly thrust
into the jaws of death Whole regi-
ments went - hours without a meal.
When food arrived it was rotting salt
horse or timed beef-the worst pos
sible sustenance in tropical climate.
Supplies landed on the beach remained
there for DAYS because means of car
rving them to the front had not been
provided. There were no tarpaulins
to protect the supplies from heavy
rainfalls. The troops were obliged to
ldiscard their thick wooden clothing in
order to survive the march. No to-
| bacco was supplied. The men were
| unable TO purchase such delicacies as
could be found because no money had
| been sent tothe pavmasters. If Shat
ter had been miracle of generalship
and If the sanitary administration had
| been perfect, neither one nor the
other could have made anything but
a horror out of the march to Santiago.
| As it WAS, only the splendid courage
Of the Individual soldier and the phys
zeal stamins of the race prevented the
triumphant progress of American
arms from being transformed into
disaster that would cause Americans
to blush for their country. And in
spite Of the fine condition OF the men
when thew went to Cuba, today IS
per cent of Gen. Skaters army is
sick or eOnvalescins. Bad nourish-
mcnt, bad clothing and bad shelter
have wrought twenty times the dam
age of Mauser bullets and schrapnel.
The army is conquered in the mo
mont of victory bv disease brought
on by the worst NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
known since the Crimean war
The blame lies at Ayers door.
When scores of soldiers are dying and
thousands Riling from yellow and
malarial fevers, the secretary of war
would be more decently employed if,
instead of attempting to advance his
political schemes. ne were devoting
his time 10 a letter of resignation"