The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1898-05-24
Our Mastery Inactivity


| l read with much interest your'edtoria
criticising Gen. Alger, secretary OF war
and would be glad If you would give the
whole particulars in regard to his cour'
martial by Gen. Merritt.
In this same connection, you may moi
know that Gen. Corbin, the present adj
jutant general of this army, was so averst
to having his body stop rebel bullet that
he was tried for cowardice in the face OF
the enemy and dismissed from the service
but was afterwards reinstated through po-
litical influence
1t seems a strange thing that men OF
acknowledged ability, like Gen. Merritt
and others, should be placed under the
command of men Of such absolutely DEM
onstrated incapacity.
OF course 1t is an easy thing to criticise
the course of this war, but think 1t is
apparent to everyone who has looked over
the matter that as long as the naval ofiic-
ers are within reach of Washington they
are allowed to do practically nothing. 1t
Is more than a month since war was de-
clared, and of course it had been anticipat-
ed for two or three months, so that there
should have been no delay in regard to the
action of Commodore SIMPSONS fleet. In
stead of helping the Cuban sufferers. we
have been a positive detriment to them
and undoubtedly thousands of people have
starved on the island through our "mas-
terly inactivity"
1t Is a fact we'll known that since the
declaration of war the Spaniards have
vastly increased the strength of their bat
teries, particularly on the north coast of
Cuba, and more especially in the vicinity OF
Havana. These Notifications were I'M
doubtedly in such a condition a month ago
that they eould easily have been absolutely
disabled by our fleet, without running any
IRISH whatever. If Admiral Sampson was
afraid of injuring one of his vessels so as
to make him less able to cope with the
Spanish fleet, he could surely have run
the very small risk of posting one of his
monitors within two and half miles of the
Havana Notifications, with orders to fire.
say, once every five or ten minutes, a shot
from one six or eight inch gun. A shot
fired at this interval permits careful ex-
animation of its results, and all old soldiers
remember how a shell fire persisted in de-
moralizes force which Is practically una
BILE to reply. I say practically unable to
reply because I do not believe that one
Spanish soldier out of a thousand would, be
able to strike a monitor held bow on at a
distance of two and a half miles, and the
loss of ammunition to Mr.. Blanco in the
then depleted condition of his magazines
would have been doing him the greatest
injury.
One other fact, If you will forgive my
expressing it, is that this war so far has
apparently given no opportunity for those
H.
pense by the United States at West Point,
and who have been in the army all the way
from five to twenty-five years. These men,
having made war their special study,
should, in my opinion, have been made by
brevet rank bestowed upon them, the field
officers of the volunteer regiments which
have been raised. This would not be popu-
lar of course, with the citizen soldiery,
but it would be wisdom in the end, and reg
iments SO Differed would in a much shorter
time have become efficient.
This criticism, of course, lays the blame
largely at the door Of President Mckinley,
who, having been soldier himself during
the war of the rebellion, undoubtedly must
know that the course he is following Is not
the wisest one. One word of commenda-
ton, however, is due him. When part of
the California delegation in Washington so
far forgot itself as to recommend Don M.
Dickinson for a position as brigadier gen.
eral, when his demonstrated incapacity
was made apparent to him, he unhesitat-
ingly turned him down.
Those Of us who are old enough to re-
member what immense loss of life and
damage to the cause was created by politi-
cal appointments to military positions
In our last war, will certainly feel that the
thing ought not to be permitted to occur
again. The lives of the young men who
have so nobly volunteered from this state
should not be lost needlessly, and some
concerted action should be taken to revise
a system which permits incapacity to hold
office. =.
Los Angeles, May %. 1898.