The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1898-07-20
Editorial in The Daily Item.

Editorial in The Daily Item.
The foregoing communication from
the officers of the Sumter Light
Infantry is self-expianatory If they
had taken the trouble to state facts
at the outset and had thus given
those who criticised their action fair
opportunity to form their own opin-
ion cf the circumstances, there would,
perhaps, have been less criticism.
From the showing now made by
the officers they were empowered by
the committee to use their own dis
creticn in d stribu,iDg the money, but
this was not our understanding of the
matter from the most Trustworthy ip-
formation obtainabie here and from
the men in camp who refused to
agree to the distribution proposed
by the officers. 1t was stated TO Us
that the committees letter that &C
companied the check distinctly and
explicitly stated that the money
should be distributed pro rata among
the men that the telegram authoriz-
ing the officers to make such distri E
button as they should deem best was
an after.thought. suggested by one
of the officers that the said telegram
was not signed by The conn ittee,
but by a gentlemen who was not
known by the privates and non com
missioned officers to have had aoy
voice in the disposition of the money,
that the officers. when asked by the
men if the telegram was not in re
Spouse to letter from the officers
suggesting that they be given this
authority. refused to give satisfac
tory answer, OF at least one of them
did 1t was this information, derlv
ed from several trustworthy sources,
that gave rise to our criticism We
may baye been misinformed. but the
preponderence of evidence thus far
adduced Appeals to substantlate this
information
The letters from which the officers
quote show on their face that they
were written after and not before the
privaies aud Don.commissioned Off
GERS Of the company protested against
the action of the commissioned OH
GERS. What was written by the com
mittee subsequent to the refusal of
the men to agree TO the officers dis
tributiou Of the money is. not in issue
and never has been. Had Captain
Carson read the letter. which he
quotes with such evident self copg1at
uia.ion, to the men at the time he
ou,liped his plan of distributing the
money, we are satisfied the men of
his company would have cheerfuily
acquiesced without single word of
objection But this letter was not
even written at that time, while the
letter that was read to them stated,
so we are informed, that tie money
should be distributed pro rata.
Therefore the objections that were
made to the plan proposed by the
officers
1t would have been more to
the point had the officers quoted
fsom the original letter from the
committee aud DOT from AZ explanatory
letter of a subsequent date. for it was
the original letter tnat gave rise to the
entire Misunderstanding. if shsre was
aoy misuudersta nding, aud whatever OF
uppieasautoess tha, has resulted there
from Il is .carccIy probable that all
Of the mer, oers Of the company could
have imagined tea. The original lefier
stated that TIE m,uey should be dis
tsibuf.d pro rata among the men, wbe"
10 fac; it did not so state, ADD the fail.
urc of the officers to quote from that
letter epti,ies the men TO the 5eDeht OF
sov doub, oo that point that may exist,
I: is DC, pleasant 10 engage 10 con.
uoversy win any cpe. even though
.hey be commissioned officers, con-
corning ustier that involves issue,
essentially petty aud snail 10 degrees
and go have been drawn into this as a
result of ,Dere statement OF facts.
brought about in the FIRST instance BY
,be publication 10 sootber paper of q
statement emaDatiDg from the camp,
and We God it as dis'asteful as the off