, 1898-09-03
THE PITY OF 1T.

1t almost passes belief that any por-
tion Of the American people should be
deceived or mlsLed by the trans parent
falsehoOds spread acros the front
pages of our yellow contemporaries.
Does n man with a grain OF common
sense believe THAT because a debilitated
soldier falls in a faint on the street the
head Of the war department is to be
charged with neglect and cruelty?
Does any one believe that because few
er patients are not permitted by ply
sicIans to satisfy abnormal cravings Of
appetite the secretary Of wan is to be
charged with conniving at the starva-
ton Of hundreds OF soldiers? Does
even the most malignant enemy of
General Alger believe that the secre-
tary Of war would countenamce a con-
spiracy to destroy the American army
through neglect or through insistence
on bad sanitary conditions? And yet
all these things are charged to the ex-
tent Of columns by the yellow jour-
mails.
The first effect of the sensational
clamor about alleged abuses is to lower
the tone of public sentiment. AT the
beginning of the war and all through
the war Americans stood together in a
way to excite the admiration. of the old
world. Foreign critics were in the
haibit cf saying that a people moved by
30 unselfish a spirit OF unity deserved
10 conquer. II the sensationalists right
ly represent the people now, our critics
abroad would be justified in saying that
Americans who cannot appreciate
either organization for victory or VIC
tory itself do not deserve success.
The second effect is to dtscredit the
army. When wal was declared the
government intrlsted the selection and
management of camps to the most ex-
perienced general officers i'm the regu-
lar army. The management was not
left to ~subordinates or to inexperienced
enthusiasts. In every case a major
general of long service and splendid
record was placed in command. except
IN the cases of Lex at Jacksonville and
Wheeler at Tampa. At the time these
selections were made 1T was universally
conceded that the night men had been
hOsen and that the mistakes of 1861
would not be REPEATED Now, II there is
one iota of truth in the charges of the
sen~sationalists. these officers know
that b. criticism is for them. If the
camp sites were bad, as the sensation
mongers say they were; N the sanitary
conditions were no what they ought to
have been, the finest officers of our
regular army are less competent than
the most rattbe-brained youngster Of
the yellow press
The third effect rs to create false i'm
pressioms as to the volunteers and their
oficers. The logic Of the sensational
charges of the yellow Journals Is to the
effect that the volunteers have no
nerve. no stamina; that they cannot re-
shst exposure or the temptations of
Ca1Lfp, 'uudA Ulcy CdQpuUL OUuuTc even
the hardships of camp life at home,
much less the rigors Of campaigns in
an enemy's country; that they are
poorly ofhcered, helpless In caring for
themselves. hsubordinate in the mat
ter Of regulations. and disposed 10 re-
gard all untoward conditions as griev-
ancea- The people are not willing that
our splendid young fellows in the vol
unteers AhaN rest under such impu-
tations. but what care The sensational
h1? They would sacrifice the reputa-
ton Of every volunteer Ito carry their
point.
n the seueatdon mongers can make
the people believe Whist they say
asslnst the war department they can
make the same people believe all that
is .tntimated ~u5nst the volunteers.
The result o6 taAs would be that the
nsxt waE. would be fought mainly BY
FskuAEu. seasoned By exposure ana
trained to uncoupaakndng sceptanos of