The evening times., 1898-08-29
JULIAN HAWTHoRNE.
He Writes On the Needless Palms Of
Oar Soldiers.

He Writes On the Needless Palms Of
Oar soldiers.
As the son Of Nathaniel HavSthorne rs
IN a sense newsaaper man. although not
regularly In the harness, u is probable
that the Secretary Of War wiR treat his
words with contempt as mere newspaper
sensal:fcnaasm. Stfil the public may be
interested fr one paragraph in his letter
+, to the New York Journal. namely:
But supposng Mr.. Aiger is right IN
his sursnase shat all vida be forgiven and
forgotten, and that the American people
will share hds opinion that no one can be
held accOuntabee. that investigation will
nos help any, and that what is past
should be ignored because matters have
improved under the fear Of punishment?
Supposing we were to find ourselves con-
fronted Win another war? When the
President called for two or three hum
dred thousand volunteers against Spain
he got them sepner chan he could use
them. Does he, think he could get them
again today II the outrages which have
been committed on them are allowed TO
go uninvestigated and unpun1shed? Does
he think he can raise an army whose
dealiest foes are to DE found In their
own camps, ON, their own soil? There
win be no. more volunteers under this
Administration unless this Admin!stra-
ton shall showhit itself resorse to follow
up the malefactors to their last dstcn
and exact from them the uttermost rec
rmpense. Their pun.shment will NOT
bring back 10 FIFE those whom they nave
destroyed. but 1t will show the nation
that its government is not in league with
or m.rsals, and may restore a confidence
to ,eeyrihlipUr nm the brink OF
extinction"
Mr. Hawthorne disclaims merely per-
sonal feelings in the matter. He says:
LAS you know. sir, son of mine has
been one Of the sufferers from the abus-
IS referred to in this letter. l submitted
his case TO you, not because l held my
son to he in any respect more deserving
Of sympathy than the sons of any other
men who served and suffered as he did.
but because he might answer for type,
enabling the public to understand the
plight of hundreds who had no means Of
making their wrongs known. My indig-
nation Is not affected by the fact that the
blow which has struck so many families
in this country has struck mine among
the rest. / do not echo the word of that
father w1rom you quote today as declar
ing that II his son died he would kill
Mr. Aiger. My son may die or he may
live: II he lives l shall be glad; out l
shall not the less remember that the sons
of many others have died, and l shall be
just as desirous to see punishment in
ficted on the guilty. This is not per-
sonal matter: II is a national wrong and
Disgrace. and should DE dealt with from
the national point of view. Those who
had no boys at the front should be as
eager to see justice done as those who
had And those who have received. in
return for the living youth they saw
march away dead body. slain not by
the enemy IN battle. but by the enemy
at home, should permS; themselves to be
ao.uated by no motive OF private revenge.
Justice, not revenge. IS what We want:
the justice of the law. impartially and
mpersonally administered. We want no
more than that. but We want no less; and
trust tha; those TO whom authority In
this country has been delegated may. for
their own sakes. be under no delusions
as to that fact
Mr. Hawrhornes letter was written aft
er ne had read the interview with Secre-
tary Alger by The Times. the whole OF
which was sent by telegraph TO New
York