The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-06-17
POLITICS AND THE WAR.

Not lcng since Mr. Poultrley Bigelow
described the camp at Tampa as he
saw it. He saw it with keen, critical
eyes, and described what he saw with
a caustic pen. For this he was more
or less roundly denounced by many
! throughout the country, but he was
not discouraged by the denunciation.
He now takes up the cudgels and goes
after Secretary of War Alger. Writ
ing from West Point, N. Y, under date
of June II, 1888. he says;
Among the many excellent officers
with whom l have been talking here /
find but one opinion regarding the
manner in which this war is being
conducted and that opinion is not COM
plimentary to the secretary OF war. 1t
surely must cause thoughtful and pa
triotic Americans to pause when they
find that among all grades of regular
army officers there is profound dis
trust for the manner in which the
army is being handled.
This feeling throughout the regular
army is genuine. 1t is based upon
knowledge. 1t is a feeling that COM
municates itself readily to the men,
and if it is strong with the regulars
it will be stronger still among the vol
upteers.
Occasionally we hear Of a meritorious
officer receiving a promotion, but when
that meritoriouS officer comes TO be in
spected closely it is seen, 1 regret to
say, that there have been political
forces at work in his favor which were
superior TO the forces controlled by his
competitors. The great bulk of the
military promotions have been made
for merely political reasons. The sec
rotary OF war only this week informed
one of the best officers in our army
that he intended to appoint no more
officers from the regular army. He
meant to appoint them all from civil
life or militia. To explain: There is
an election impending, and the secre-
tary of war is using the army as
means of bringing political pressure TO
bear upon the constituencies of his
party.
Any number of American citizens
who are not army officers, regular or
volunteer, have a most profound dis
trust of the manner in which the army
is being handled, and their distrust
increases rather than decreases.
The important part of what Mr.. Bige-
low says is that referring to politics in
the war. He boldly charges that even
when meritorious officer receives pro-
motion it is found on investigation that
it is the result of political work. The
statement is very broad, so broad that
it weakens itself. That Secretary AL
ger is capable of using the war for po-
litical purposes is doubtless true, and
there are not wanting indications that
he has tried to do this Mr. Bigelow
directly charges that he is. The people
of the country have not stood by the |
in this war for the pur-
pose of advancing the fortunes of any
political party, and when one politician
declared that this was going to be a |
Republican war, the declaration was
denounced by the whole people, ire
spective of party, as simply outrage
Gus. And so it was
Ii it is the purpose of Secretary AL |
ger and his party leaders to make po- |
itical capital out of the war, the peo- |
pie want to know it. If such is their |
design lit seems incredible that it |
should be) then they should put the i
war first, making it such a success
that the whole country will be i'm !
pressed with its brilliant conduct. 1t !
cannot be said that at present the
heavens are full of signs that it will
De brilliantly conducted. The incom-
petents who have been in charge of af-
fairs are hardly likely to make any po-
itical capital out of the war, if so in
elined. What the people demand is a
prosecution of the war; and
hey do not want any politics mixed
Up with it.