The times., 1898-09-12
HE DENOUNCES RED TAPE
Rev. I'll. n. COuden Arraigns
Incompetent Officers.
A WORD ABOUT CHAPLAINS
If the Men i'm the District Regiment
Do Not Love Their Colonel 1t Is
HIS own Fault-It LIS Criminal TO
Allow Soldiers to Go Hungry
Compared With the Civil War.

At the religious services held yesterday
In the Home for District Volunteers, es-
tabIished by the Ladies of the Legion OF
Loyal Women, at No. sl3 Ninth Street
northwest. addresses were made by Lu-
cius D. Alden, Rev. Henry n. couden.
chaplain of the House of Representatives.
and others.
DR.. Couden said, among other thii1ss'
that if the soldiers of the District Regl-
ment did not love their colonel. it was his
own fault, for. having been soldier in
the late Civil War, he knew by experience
that if a commanding officer treated his
men only half right they would love ana
idolize him and be willing to lay down
their lives for him. DIR. Couden also crit
tcised the red tape methods of the COM
rnissary department. and said if occasion
should arise again he hoped the American
soldier would not be rationed with red
tape instead of plenty of wholesome food
He said il was not his purpose TO crtu-
else anyone. and he did not know what
other chaplains Of regiments had done,
but he would say that if Chaplain Dud-
ley acted as postmaster for the District
regiment, as he understood that he did,
he neglected his duty. Anybody, he said,
could be postmaster, but anyone could
not I'LL the position Of chaplain
He thought il to be the duty of a regi-
mental chaplain to circulate among the
troops continuously, in the trenches, the
tents and in the hospitals. The chaplain
should know every member of his regi-
ment personally.
Nothing Personal.
In an interview later DR.. Couden said:
81 had no intention of criticising Chap
lain Dudley in my address TO the boys of
the regiment was speaking of chap
leins in general and only referred to
Chaplain Dudley because l understood
that he had acted in the capacity Of post
master. ! do not think chaplain should
do that unless commanded TO do SO.
"A chaplain should write letters home
when the boys cannot do it themselves.
He should read to them and comfort the
sick in the hospitals. A good chaplain
can do a great deal Of good in a regiment,
but a poor chaplain is worse than no
chaplain at all.
Referring TO the matter of red tape,
OF which I spoke, feel that we have seen
too much of IL in the home camps. OF
course in the field. when the troops Were
before Santiago. there might have been
some excuse for apparent neglect and in
surmOuntable difficulties 10 prevent the
movement Of commissary supplies to the
front but It seems to me that there
should be no excuse for any scarcity in
this country.
1.-The first duty of a soldier is TO obey.
Soldiers after awhile become machines,
as it were, and act just as they are di-
rected and go where they are told. The
first duty of an officer is, on the contrary,
not to strut about like peacock. but to
look out for the care of his men.
Incompetent Officers.
''In my judgment this whole trouble in
our camps and army has arisen out of
the incompetency of many of the officers.
Not that they did not want to help their
men. but because they didn't know how
TO do it.
zone great trouble, / think, has come
from taking so many officers out of the
various militia orga nizations. who endeav-
ored TO make volunteer soldiers in too
short a time become regulars, that is. to
put them on the same footing as regulars
They are theoretical officers. and when
they come to put their theories into prac-
tice they fail abominably.
''Irhe soldier in general is a great hand
on discipline. He likes discipline. when
it is properly administered. The ordinary
soldier would make a hero Of his Officers,
and if there is a commanding officer IN
any branch of the American army that
has the disfavor of his soldiers he must
be an extremely poor officer and he must
certainly be, among other things, over
bearing.
'It is simply criminal for an officer
TO allow his men to go hungry, when h'
is in reach Of raions. Red tape or no re-
tape the American soldier should not g
hungry. This red tape business, Of which
we have heard so much in the Tariou:
camps, is simply nonsense. and if | were
a commanding officer ] would break opeT
cars if necessary to obtain the food witt
which to feed my men, if it were a
hand"
During the Civil War, the regiment il
which 1 served, the Eighth Ohio. had NJ
such trouble. We marched more thar
three thousand miles in three years, and
only lost fifteen men during that entire
period"
Chaplain Dudley Interviewed
A reporter called on Chaplain Dudley
last night at st. Stephens Church, OF
which he is rector, and asked him if h
wished to make any statement in repl!
to the words of Chaplain Couden.
1Ou may lndl i was pIAtESA u
act as regimental postmaster by tn
colonel commanding said Chaplain Dud
ley. LAS a soldier / thought it was m!
duty to obey orders and l did so. l va
not compelled to transact the business 0
postmaster alone or to do any of IN
manual labor connected with the work.
81 always had one assistant and some
times two. / was appointed simply I
oversee the work of distributing the let
ters AS to any other neglect of dut,
with which / may be charged | wish L
say that / am perfectly willing to leay
the matter entirely TO my colonel, and
he sees fit to call me to account for m.
conduct / am satisfied to abide by his de
cision. ] do not see how the Rev. Nj
Couden, or anyone else who knows moth
ing Of the circumstances. can tell whethe
or not 1 neglected my duty"
THE ADMIRALS' ULTIMATUM.