The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1898-08-10
The War Department.

the critic performs with an alacrity
that is born of joy in an opportunity to
prod somebody. The less the censor
knows of the subject of his criticisms
and attendant conditions or circum-
stances, the easier his work is likely to
be and the more fluently rolls the tide
of fault-fnding. Very likely this thing
is true of great deal of the adverse
comment on the administration of the
war department in the existing conflict
with Spain.
1t is true that the department man
aging the general affairs of the land
forces in this war is the subject of a
great deal of criticism, ranging from a
mild expression of doubt as to the eff
cheney of the department in general, up
to fierce denunciation of the chief ad-
ministrator and certain of his subordin-
ates as culpably incompetent, and re-
sponsible directly for every i'll that has
befallen the army in its campaigns.
There is nquestionably great deal
of disappointment in the achievements
of the war department., not in the
valor and success of the soldiers in the
field, but in raising, equipping, arming,
transporting and supplying the soldiers,
in administering to their comfort in the
field and mitigating their sufferings
when sick or wounded. The Nations
pride in its military strength has been
wounded by the general result of the
efforts of the men in authority to raise
and equip an army. The belief had
been general that, within generation
from the close of war the most extern
sive ever waged, when the men at the
head of civil and military affairs, from
the President down through all grades
of the service, from the commander of
the army down through all its ranks
and departments, were those who had
served or held high official station in
the Union army,-the belief had been
general, under these circumstances,
that the work of raising an army, put
ting it in the field and arraying it
against the country's enemy would be
undertaken and proceed with degree
of despatch, order and efficiency that
would astonish the world. The men
responded to the call for volunteers in
numbers and with an alacrity that full
filled every expectation. To this ex-
tent the Nations pride was fully sat
isfed. When, however, the work of
organization, supply and equipment was
encountered, there was delay, confu-
sion, disorder, and apparent absence
of sagacious foresight, although the
cloud of coming war had months be-
fore risen on the horizon and day by
day had been extending its shadows
over the land. There had been a con-
fident belief that when the storm broke
events would disclose preparedness
for war, on the land, that the civilian,
engrossed in the vocations of peace, had
not dreamed of. But this idea was an
illusion and it was soon and rudely dis
PEELED. The country quickly began to
congratulate itself that it was to power
80 poorly prepared to attack by land as
was Spain the gauntlet had, at length,
been thrown down.
The people as whole have been pat
riotic. They have been making gener-
GUS allowances for the magnitude and
difficulty of the tasks of the war depart
ment, but there has all along been a
strong undercurrent of feeling that the
departments great need was another
Edwin M. Stanton; that the President
should have met the emergency pre-.
sented by the failure of the head of the
military administration to fully meet
the supreme requirements of the situa-
ton as Lincoln met a similar crisis in
the early months of the civil war.
Simon Cameron, secretary of war, was
asked to resign and Stanton, the incar-
nation of energy, push and foresight,
the possessor of administrative abili-
ties adequate for the manifold and
colossal responsibilities of depart
ment maintaining million men in
arms and conducting military opera
tons on gigantic scale along line of
twenty five hundred miles, was APP
pointed his successor. There was
henceforth no hitch in the administra-
ton of The war department Energy
and foresight almost superhuman met
every exaction of the commanders in
the field, and supplied to the soldier
every need and mercy within the range
of human provision.