The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-06-11
Correspondents at war.

The little war of words between war cor
respondents Mr. Poultney Bigelow and Mr.
Richard Harding Davis is still going on,
and is not without its interesting features.
Mr.. Bigelow says that "the camp at Tam
pa is a disgraeeful evidence either of polit-
zeal jobbery or of equally gross incompe-
tence" and that Mr.. Davis hasn't the fac
ulty of seeing what is going on all around
him He tells Mr.. Davis not to be a par
rot and repeat only what interested people
tell him. but to use his eyes and brain and
report exactly what the situation presents.
Mr.. Davis, on the other hand. thinks
that what Mr.. Bigelow has written and
published relative to the Tampa camp is
far away from the truth and that it is so
near treason that the war department will
probably take notice of it and call Mr..
Bigelow to account. Mr.. Davis says that
he Is backed up by officers of the army
in declaring that Mr. Bigelows state
ments contain little or no truth. Mr.. Bige-
low says that when you get at the senu-
ments of the officers of the regular army
you get exactly what he has written about
the army at Tampa.
We have no doubt that Mr. Bigelow is
sincere but may it not be that he com
pares our army at Tampa with the su-
perb military organizations which he has
seen in Europe? He makes no al
lowance for The fact that only
few weeks have elapsed since
our government began the work of
creating an army, and, that, necessarily,
there are many things to be seen at the
Tampa camp which do not meet with Mr.
Bigelows idea of what they should be. No
doubt there are many of the officers who
do not know how to discharge the duties
which are required of them. They are in
competent for that reason, but every day
they are finding out what is demanded of
them, and are, therefore, coming nearer to
being what they ought to be.
1t is probable also that there are men
who are endeavoring to get the best of the
government in every way they can. 1t
would be strange if there were not such
men. Eventually they will be found out
and then they will find themselves out of
a job.
1t is safe to say that Mr.. Bigelow is right
in saying that army officers do not regard
the army as being in a fit condition for an
invasion of Cuba but they are not going
to say that for publication. 1t is their
business to obey, not to crltcise. Natur-
ally they would prefer to go to Cuba with
soldiers seasoned, drilled and disciplined.
But there may be veighty reasons why the
invasion should be undertaken at once
in attempting to carry out prompt
ly the resolutions of Congress
relative to driving the Span
iards out of Cuba. One reason that sug-
| gests itself is that the purpose of Congress
was to relieve the distress of the starving
reconcentrados as quickly as possible. To
wait until November before attempting to
carry food to them would be practically
an announcement to the world that the
war was not undertaken for humanitys
sake, but for another and altogether diff
ferent object The hurrying of troops to
Cuba, therefore, may be in response to a
necessity of which the general public
knows nothing.
1t is likely that Mr.. Bigelow wrote his
! letter without knowing all the facts. AS
Stunning that such is the case, more atten-
ton has been paid TO his correspondence
| than it really deserves.