The evening times., 1898-09-30
a SIunder Refuted.

Secretary Alger has repeatedly insult
ed the volunteer army and cast refiec-
tons on the intelligence of our soldiers
by charging that they were like lot
of intractabie schoolboys, without sense
enough and self-restraint to refrain
from gorging themselves with perni-
cious sweets Confronted by the eyi-
dence of incompetency and neglect that
killed so many of the noblest sons OF
the nation and brought nearly all to the
brink of the grave, he has defended
himself and his subordinates by SIAN
derOus charge. On his return from a
tour of the camps. which was advertis-
ed days in advance in order to enable
negligent subordinates TO put them in
show condition, he repeated to the re-
porters the same statement which he
made before he had seen any of the
camps, namely: Il learned that the
fault was due almost entirely to the
men themselves and their officers. The
men did not know how TO take care of
their health; were imprudent in their
eating. and such things"
On the evening of the day of Secre-
vious slander, General Miles. the COM
manding general of the army, all of
| whose mature life has been spent
among soldiers, and who has been with
! the volunteers from the first. made this
positive affirmation: Those who say
| these men sickened and died because
they wished to; those who blame the
! soldiers and officers Of our army for the
| disease and death that devastated the
camps and thinned the ranks of our
army: those who assert that our SOL
diers suffered through their own fault.
insult a quarter Of a million of the braV-
| est men that ever carried arms. beneath
! the sun. These men did not suffer and
/ die because they liked il, and whoever
says they did insults our army and the
men who officered il. 1t is an affront TO
| reason"
Here is testimony from the highest
source if it We're needed. But those
who consider the character of the
young men whose patriotism inspired
them TO enlist in the army need no
other testimony than that of their own
reason. AS General Miles declares. the
charge of Secretary Aiger against our
dead and our wrecked heroes is an af-
front to reason. These men, volunteers
and regulars. were not the scum of the
earth. used to living in dirt and squa-
Ior; they were not mere children going
TO war from childish excitement. They
were college professors, seniors in the
leading universities and colleges. young
men of the professions lawyers, doc
tors. teachers, preachers, journalists
young business men from the merchant
houses. offices. transportation bureaus;
young farmers, courageous young men
Of good family who have found health
and freedom in the life of the plains.
Most of them had seen years of service
in the National Guard. with annual en-
campments. They were, in fact. the
very flower of American young man
hood able to pass the most exacting
physical examination. Among the pri-
Yates in the regular army We're such
young men as the son-in-law of Profes-
SCR John Fiske. a young man who had
made his mark in journalism and in lit
erature and rEho chose the regular
service because il offered better oppor-
tunities for fighting. and the grand
son of Nathanief--Hastherne These
are the types of thousands. of a major
ity of the soldiers who are accused of
killing or wrecking themselves with for
hidden sweets by the head of the War
Department 1t is almost incredible
that the conspicuous unfitness of this
civilian for his important Office should
be so extreme as this slander reveals
If il were not that his words have been
quoted by so many different hearers in
various parts of the country it would be
wholly incredible.
General Miles wisely and properly re-
| fuses to say who is to blame for the
defects that wrecked an army, al
though he knows and we all know. II
is not his duty to speak until he is
summoned by an investigating commits
sion But he could not allow this Sian
der. so often repeated by Secretary AL
ger. to go unchallenged. 1t was his
duty and right to speak, and no one will
deny that he has spoken with effect.
| General Lee should provide himself