The times., 1898-07-26
The shafter-Garcia Letters.

The Shafter-Garcia Letters
We are reminded of a once popular
street ballad which, like all its fellows
long ago got religion and joined the
Salvation Army. The opening words
OF its first pathetic stanZa occur to US
when we observe that There's a letter
in the candle and it points direct to"
Secretary Alger 1t is the communica-
ton alleged TO have been sent by Gen.
Garcia TO Gen. Shafter, the text of
which is so devoid of Spanish color, as
measured by the exalted Toral stand
ard, that great doubt has been thrown
uponits authenticity. In fact. on Sunday
night, War Department officials were
particularly frank in discrediting the
document. as well as another. purport-
ing TO have been sent by Gen. Shafter
in reply, and which was originally pub
lished in The Times. The New York
clusively
One reason assigned for disbelief lay
in the statement that the general COM
manding at Santiago had not reported
receipt of any written message from
Calixto Garcia announcing an intention
TO quit and return to his native wilds.
That might dispose of the first letter,
except for considerations to be men
toned later. As to the Shafter note,
the authorities were inclined to take
higher ground and TO declare with pro-
fame particularly that the nearly total
absence of illiteracy apparent in its
composition branded it as forgery.
Notwithstanding these governmental
expressions, the public generally will be
apt to assume that both the Garcia and
Shafter letters are briefed, taped, and
filed in the War Department, until ad-
ditional proof to the contrary has been
produced. It will be remembered, as an
illustration of. say. duplex department
al methods. that. on Friday night last
past, Secretary Long asserted that no
report Of Commodore Schley's victory
of Santiago had been received from
Commodore Sampson. On Saturday an
extract from that report, relating TO
an incident of the battle, and of un-
questionable authenticity, was shown
to a member of The Times staff by one
of the chief officials of the Admfnistra-
ton. Why the Navy Department
should distinctly deny possession of
document which it intended to utter
within a few days. or as soon as it
could be edited and expurgated to ac
cord as far as possible with an indig
nant popular sentiment, we are at a
loss to imagine. 1t is of course, now
known generally that SIMPSONS report
of the engagement came to New York
by the auxiliary cruiser st. Paul, and
was delivered in Washington on Fri
day, as stated in this journal the fol-
lowing day. The conclusive evidence of
this is that what purports to be the
document Itself was given to the press
last night for publication tomorrow
morning.
We offer these remarks in no spirit of
-captious criticism. There is nothing in
the world like verbal prudence to pull
an Administration through the rough
seas of such a situation as the present
Every precept Of legitimate strategy
admonishes US to delude the enemy in
war times, even at the expense of what
may be called truth arbitrarily consid-
cred.
1t is obviously allowable to treat the
public as public enemy in this re-
spect, whenever necessities of state de-
mand that knowledge OF facts much
desired by the people shall be kept
from them. AT this very time it may
be extremely desirable to conceal the
truth concerning the Shafter- Garcia
friction, while we can easily understand
how official reserve may have been
considered justifiable in the case of
Sampson. No doubt it presented q deli