Evening journal., 1898-09-07

the responsibility Of anything and
everything short of a willful or culpa.
bic negligence. Unjust as the late war
undoubtedly was, II was perhaps rem
dered doubly so by It's insistence at a
pernicious period of the year. But
then. no sane man would dream Of
holding Mr.. Alger responsible for the
recent war having been conducted at q
alth-destroying. death-dealing per
iod. The onus of each and every death
in question resfs, and rests heavily,
upon Congress, not upon the shoulders
Of the present incumbent Of the War
Office To find fault is perhaps of all
things in the world the easiest. more
especially when the subject in hand
happens to relate to the conduct or
management of a war, war with all its
complex details and intricate ramifca.
tions. What, we wonder, would havi
been the general order Of affairs had
these wiseacres-theee men who un
ceasingly cavil at. and verbally casti-
gate. Secretary Alger-held the man
agerlal reins OF the Spanish-American
war? Perhaps, under their benehcent
rulership, the late war would have re-
solved Itself into picnic, sort OF
family excursion party. where disease.
suffering and death would have been
conspicuous by their utter absence, and
where the petty annoyances incidental
to a "hard-taclI" diet would have been
obviated by the substitution Of such
edible p,easantries as mocking birds
and nightingales' tongues. The only
wonder to us Is, that all such men, such
bloody wonders" are not made Seore-
taries of War, instead of being com
PEELED to hide their refulgent light be-
meath either this or that obscure bu-
shell. Seriously speaking, however,
Secretary Alger-upon whom the oner
oua duties of an ever all-important, but
thankless, office have rested heavily OF
late, and who has discharged those du-
ties faithfully and conscientiously-
will be a wise man, an exceedingly wiGi
man, II he altogether ignores the irre-
sponsible mass OF slander directed more
against the office than the man: and
his wisdom would become Gtlll more
accentuated were he to permit the
aforesaid abuse to no more disturb his
official equanimity, and TO no more di-
vert his end and purpose, than does the
proverbial descent Of water upon a
ducks back. Someone or other hae
very wisely said: THE man who enters
the political world should be possessed
Of an exceedingly tough epidermis, one
that would remain impenetrabe tc
thorns, daggers and even harpoons.'
We believe that the recent experience ol
the honorable gentleman, the Secretary
Of War, will gladly suhstantiate tho
wisdom and truth Of the above quota
ton.
All the world knows how Lord Mel
son, on the eve of the naval battle o
Trafalgar, delivered himself of that al
, together unnecessary eXordium. Eng
land expects every man this day to d'
his duty" We employ the phrase al
together unnecessary" because the mei
in question would have done their dut
Just the same without Nelson's some
+ what bombastic injunction. And ther
r can be no doubt whatever. notwith
standing the present inane outer
against the Secretary OF War, but wha
Mr.. Alger will be able to lay this fiat
q tering unction to his soul. namely, the
Y amid the multitudinous and harassin
4 complexities incident to the manage
ment Of a war-complexities Of whic
the outside public can Of necessit
know little or nothing-and amid tn
fierce light OF criticism that beats upol
office, he, like Nelson's men, not Onl
r did his duty, but that he performe
= his duty in a manner commensurate
with the dignity Of his high Office, an
in a manner that will eventually,
not to-day, compel the universal appro
baton and gratitude of his fellow
t countrymen. Meanwhile, and with =
4 perfect, so lofty a reflection abiding 4
a him, the Hon. Russell A. Alger, Secre
tary of War, can well AFFORD to trea
. with a contemptuous contempt the thou
= sand and one sensational lies, the cor
y temptible personalities, the distorte
Z versions OF his Civil War record, an
& the envenomed thru6ts OF his puny an
scabious detractore.
Referring to the comments on pal
and current events. and which CON
J ments have from time to time appeare
y in this column, we beg to acknowlede
r with the most respectful courtesy n
e ItttipL bl COMMUNICATIONS llDm NA
a following notabilities: His Excellenc,
! the President Of the United States; I
r. H.. the Prince of Wales: the Rigl
e Hon. A. J. Balfour, NJ. p, First Lord ,
n the Treasury; His Grace the Duke ,
e Norfolk. X. G., premier duke Of Enl
n land; senor Luis Polo de Bernabe, al
sentee-Spanish minister to the Unite
States: the German Ambassador to III
9 United States; the Hon. Robert Tod
n Lincoln, ex-United States Minister
r. the Court Of st. James. son Of Abraha,
d Lincoln; DR.. Patton, President
p Princeton University and the FrenC
- Transatlantic Steamship Company.
ERNEST ISITT.
Philadelphia, September 4, 1898.