The Portland daily press., 1898-09-16
GRosVENoR ON WAR
A Plain Statement Made by Ohio
Congressman.

Freep0rG, ILL.,, september I0.-At d
soldiers reunion here today Gen. Charles
H. Grosvenor was the principal speaker.
Gen. Grosvenor said:
"Since the annual meeting of the
Grand Army of the Reublic of 1897, great
| events have happened in the United
States, events which will change the map
of the world and stamp upon the Amerl-
can character the elements of great cos
| mopolitan factor. 1t would seem fittln g
and proper that we discuss the events OF
the past year, and consider them wl6n
| reference to the history of the Grand
Army of the Republic and the soldiers OF
the war of 1S61-65.
1 know that am speaking to men OF
distinguished magnanimity OF character
and generosity Of PURPOSE, and hencel VIII
venture to say there willsbe no man IN
the United States who will receive the re-
turning soldiers of the Spanish war WlGn
greater evidences of comradesn1P tna4
will the men who marched and fought
| from Bull Run to Appomattox. Ihey
will be received in our homes ana pe
given the front rank in our hearts anec-
tionS.
"The performances of the Union
| soldiers will not be discussed by men In
comparison with the men of the Spanish
war, excepting only to show how 1mper-
feet were the provisions for our safety,
pared with those of the army Of today"
General Grosvenor defended the war
with Spain as righteous and holy war.
After detailing the suddenness with
which the beginning of hostilities came,
and the great difficulties confronting the
war and navy departments In providing
ammunition and supplies of subsistence,
he said:
"In less than hundred days, about
| two hundred and twenty-five thousand
men were mustered into the volunteer Or
ganizations of the United States and the
regular army was increased to about Co.,
| 000 making somewhere In the ne1ghbor-
hood of two hundred and seyenty-hve
| thousand men of all arms; and at the end
of the one hundred days, every man of
| them was fully equipped for war. 90
| with me now to tine camp of one of these
regiments. and see what they had. Arms
of the best obtainable character, probably
not the Mauser, nor in all cases the hIag-
Jorgensen, but in every case an efficient
weapon. Quertermaster supplies IN
| quantities beyond the dream OF poss1bill-
| ty. Go to camp and see their tentage,
their bedding, their cooking utensils and
their rations, and you will say what l
| say-that no one on earth wss ever so
we'll armed, so we'll colthed, SO well cared
for, and all this was done in period of
less than one hundred days.
NOWs W6 CUllo UH0 5OiAOAO GAN ooS
satisfactory features of this war. Men
have died. Up to the present time 1t is
| believed that the death list by bullets and
wounds and by disease has reached the
| terrible figure of nearly three thousand
men. Eleven thousand men fell dead and
wounded at Chickamauga, and more than
| 16, 600 men fell dead and wounded at
| Gettysburg. One hour at Gettysburg cost
| the American people more lives than has
this war up to the present time. There
were more men sick in the spring and
summer of 1862 in the Union army than
| have been mustered into this service, in
Guiding the regulars. This simply shows
! that war is war and that you cannot have
| O war in any other way. Let us consider
| a regiment of troops which does not see
war Twelve OF thirteen hundred young
men are suddenly called together to de-
| fend their country. and march tn the
camp of mobilization and instruction.
''As the last gun of Santiago doomed
| over the fever stricken hills of Eastern
| Cuba the flag of Spain went down never
| to rise again on the Antilles and the war
Was over.
"But sickness and death held high
carnival and now the test of the surgeon
generals department was made by a
condition of things unparalleled In the
| history of the world, that we have known
and it is not strange to hear it said that
| in some places by the medical corps OF the
| army. The American people will hold
first, that suffering caused by the act OF
God, which could not be met by the ord1-
nary foresight of man, shall not be
charged up against our officers. but that
the suffering of soldiers and the lack OF
care and attention to the sick that could
have been prevented by the utmost activl-
| ty Of the representatives of the govern.
nient, shall be thoroughly Investigated
and all the facts made known, and those
who have contributed by negligence CT
overt acts shall receive the condemnation
and punishment which crime OF this
terrible character justly demands: but we
shall not forget how weak we were in the
beginning and how the government was
driven as it was, to preoipitate sactlon,
and how faithfully the great departments
of the government have accomplished the
tremendous results to which it has re-
ferreG.''
In regard to tho questions of policy
growing out OF the war, General Gros-
venOr said:
"It will not be denied that we are to
meet the question of Cuban occupatl n
and Cuban government by a new set OF
facts which were unknown to us when
the declaration of war was made. we
shall not act precipitately, but shall give
due consideration to every new condition
WHICH uithcS luS5ll ludutlCSu anu t't eAo
end, the same spirit of philanthrophy and
civilization which inspired the war with
Spain will be brouqht into action to
settle the status of the splendid island
which we have conquered. Porto Rico is
ours, and we will take it and incorporate
it into our domain and assimilate it to
our institutions as rapidly as proper con-
ditions admit. The Philippine problem
is of the gravest moment. Their status
will be settled by the wisdom of the ad.
minstration, the action of the peace com.
mission ana the ratification by the Sem
ate or Congress, and do not care to fore
shadow what ought to be done. I trust
that the question of the Philippines and
the other territories will not become q
political one and that the report of the
peace commission will meet the views of
the administration and the American
people,