The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-11-01
sfs-sf7 First Avesne.

ana hatred, the AmeS1eaa people
sh0uBa rehoke the aa1ln1stFa-
sion IN charge ~ these peaee Me-
gotiaaioas and place . hostile
hOuse and senate IN Walking
toni God fovbsA3 whea . Deo-
pie show such 1nconsfsncy, sueh
childish Aekse1ess - ehoa. their
career ~ q power among natiDns
IL = memory.
But. IL possible, war turks ia the future.
what them Shall We forsxke our leaders
Al the close OF campaign OF glory and On
the eve Of new campA1grs for which Il has
prepared. Yet. that Is what he SUCCESS Of
the cpposition 10 the government means.
What LIZ that old AnytnU about the idiocy OF
him who changed horses while cro1ing
stream? II would be Ike discharGtng
workman becauee he Was efficient and true
II would be like court-mzrtiaiing Grant
and diminishing his heroes In disisonor be-
eanse they took Vicksburg.
Heroes wsr1hy ~ NJ.
All. The heroes Of vicksburg and Peach
Tree creek, Atlanta, Mission Ridge. the
| Wilderness and all those fields OF glory Of
suffering and Of death. Soldiers OF 81. A
generation has passed and yon have reared
race OF heroes worthy OF your blood
heroes o. FL Caney. Gan Juan and Cavfte.
hundred thousand more al brave - they
who waited in their camps with an agony
Of impatience the call 10 battle, ready TO
ss the hsIIi.h hsra.hiP q the sssnsn che;
fight for the flag. For every tented field
was fun Of Hobsons. Raoneveits. Whealers
and hflesr nSen: full Of the kind Of soldiers
thai. In regiments OF rags. starving. with
bare feet in the SHOWS Of winter, made Val
ley Forge immortal: fun Of the same kind
Of boys that endured the hideous bardships
OF the civil war. drank from hithy swamps
Of death. ate food alive with weeviIA and
even corn picked from the honses' camps.
slept In the blankets OF the blast with
sheets of sleet for covering. breakfasted
with danger and dined with death and
came back-with n laugh and a shout and
a song OF JOY. true American soldiers. pride
Of their country and envy OF the world For
that II the kind Of boys the soldiers Of 1895
are. Notwithstanding the SANDERS Of poait-
cfans and the infamy or leprous press.
which tries to make the world believe that
our soldiers are sucking babes and woman
ish weaklings, and our government In war
corrupt machine fattening or the suf-
ferings Of oar armies.
In the name Of patriotism ! ar
raigh these maligners Of the sOl-
aicrh0Od of our nation. call
% the witness staAA that DayaEa
Of our armies. Gen. Joe Wheel
er. ! call that Hotspur Of the
South, Fitzhuwh Lee. ! call the
2OO.OOO men, themselves, who
went To vsar for the business Of
war. And put all these against
the vanaals Of politics who are
blackening their fame ~ sol.
diers and ~ men.
call history to the witness stand. In the
Mexican war the loss from every cause
was IS per cent. and this IL on incomplete
refurns: in the present war the loss from
every cause Is only per cent In the Mex
lean war the sick lay naked on the ground
with only blankets over them. and were
buried with only blanket around them.
or the volunteer force 5.s2s were discharged
for disability and 3.e29 died. from disease.
When Scott marched TO MEXICO only &c men
were left out OF q regiment OK Loo. Tho
average OF Mississippi company was re-
duced from 20 to ~ men, From Vera Cruz
20 Mexico traH OF sick and dying marked
his line OF march. Gen. Taylor publicly
from sickness for every man killed In bat
tie The three moni5as' men lost nearly per
cent. the six months men. y per cent: the
men enlisted for the war lost 81 per cent:
81, sii soldiers enlisted for the war and IL si4
Of these were lost. OF whom 1853 are un-
accounted for.
In the war for the union-n0,
there In mo- need OF figures here.
Go ask that old veteran how fe-
ver's f~tid breath hreathed ON
them and disease rOtted their
blood. Hut In the present war,
thank God. the loss md suffer-
ing IL less than In any war I'm all
the history Of the world.
And IL any needless suffering there has
been any deaths from criminal neglect, any
hard condition not a usual incident OF sud
den war by peaceful people has been per-
mittet William Mckinley will see that the
| responsible ones are punished. Although
| aar less was less than the world ever knew
| before although the condition OF our troops
was better than III aay conflict Of our his
| tory Mckinley. the just has appointed
| from both parties a commission Of the most
! eminent men In the nation TO lay the facts
before ai:sa
Let the iavestigation go on;
and when the report In made the
| people of America viii know how
/ black midnight - the stn of
/ these who. for purposes OF poll
! ties. have shamed the hardIhooA
/ Of the American sOldiers before
| tho world. demoraIiHed our army
| Ia the face Of the enemy. and liz
| bcicd the government at WASH
| ington 10 delighted and envious
| nations.
| And think 81 what VAS done. Two tun-
/ drcd and Atty thousand rsen suddenly cali
| 81: 10 arms men unused to the life Of
camps: men fresh from the soft comforts
~ the sest homes % the rsene~ nation on
/ earth. These men equipped. transported TO
/ camps convenient for instant call 10 bat
/ tie; waiting there .se command which any
moment ra.rhs have hroagtit: supplies par
chased In every quarter CT the land and
/ carried hundreds. even thousands. Of miles
uniforms procured. arms purchased. am
/ fnan.tson hcaghs, citizens drilled into the
/ fsr~s- ssSf'r~e' ~ she globe: n war fought
! In the ieaalIest Climate IN IRE werjf De-
ntAsn q sun wnoss wavs mean madness
ard ia Spanish surroundings. fostering
| VIII fever.
| And yet the Iesst suffering and
the ieNc.t loss ever known In all
/ the chronicles of war. What
I woutd have been the result ~
| those who weuid have plunged
.> into war before we could have
| prepared at ali rsuld have had
/ their wsys What would have
! happened IL those warriors at
pence who denounced the pr~s-
/ td- At as traitor when he weuld
net sena the now~r of our yoath