The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1898-08-04
PLACES IN THE ARMY.
Southern Congressman DO Not Think
Their Section has Been Given It's
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Washington, July 81 THE Southern
members of congress and Senators have
been quietly investigating during the
past three weeks the list of appoint
ments which have been made to army
positions since the outbreak of the war,
and their labor has been rewarded. OF
the sixty-nine Brigadier- Generals thus
far appointed, five have gone to the
South, as follows: William @. Oates, of
Alabama; Henry 7 Douglass, of Mary
land; w. M. Gordon, of Georgia; Jos.
Waties, Texas; Thomas L. Rosser, of
Virginia. OF the remaining sixty-four
Brigadier- Generals appointed, four are
from Pennsylvania, three from Ohio,
and five from New York. Nearly every
Northern and Western State has been
recognized by such an appointment,
but when the list of States South of
Mason and Dixons line was reached, it
was found impracticable to make ap.
pointments to these places. OF the
thirteen Southern States, eight were
overlooked in the appointment Of Brig
adler Generals, as follows: Arkansas,
Mississippi. Florida, Louisiana, North
Carolina, South Carolina, West Vir-
ginia and Kentucky. True, three Of
these States were given Major Generals
as follows: Virginia, Fitzhugh Lee;
Alabama, Joseph Wheeler; South Car
olina, Matthew G. Butler.
In the case of General Lee, the ap-
pointment was almost imperative. The
people demanded that he should be re-
cognized in some way, and owing to
the immense pressure, the President
finally rendered him a Maior- General
ship. The records of both Senator
Butler and Representative Wheeler,
together with the Presidents personal
friendship for them, was largely re-
sponsible for their appointments, and
they were not intended as recogni-
tion of the South.
The same proportion of appointments
to positions of Adjutants- General, with
the rank Of Major; Assistant Adjutants
General, with the rank of Captain; In
spectors- General, with the rank of Ma
jor; Judge Advocates, with the rank of
Lieut. COlonels; Commissaries of Sub
sistance, with the rank of Captain;
Chief Surgeons, with the rank of Ma
jor; Chief Paymasters, with the rank
of Major, and so on down through the
list from the Northern and Western
States have been made. For every
Southerner appointed there have been
twenty-five from the North and West,
discrimination which is strange, con-
sidering the circumstances.
Southern Democrats are preparing
this data for use in the campaigns this
fall. And they propose to call attention
further to the fact that notwitanding
the discrimination against the South in
making appointments of commissioned
officers, the men from the South have
been kept in the rear while those from
the North and West have been given
every opportunity to distinguish them
solves upon the field of battle. The
case of Major General Lee is sighted
particularly. Notwithstanding the fact
that he was more identified with the
Cuban cause than any other man in
public or private life in the United
States, together with his knowledge Of
the situation there, particularly at Ha-
vana, he has been held at Jacksonville
with his men and refused permission to
take part in the campaigns. 1t is
charged by many here that the Prssi-
dent is jealous of General Lees popu-
larity.
Only one Southern General has been
thus far sent to the front, Gen. Wheel
er. He is now 60 years of age and the
Administration does not fear his pOpu-
larity by reason Of his war record. His
nomination for President is thing un-
thought of by reason of his location
and age.
! Thus it will be seen that in the APP
pointments thus far made the South
has been practically ignored while the
North and West have been given al
most everything at the disposal of the
President. But most important Of all
has been the treatment accorded South
ern soldiers and Generals in keeping
them so completely obscured in the
, background that they have never been
heard from. This is unfair and unjust,
and it will be used in telling effect in
the comming campaign.