The times., 1898-10-15
shnfter and Rreckiprtdre.

The story of Skaters intended re-
treat from Santiago, and its prevention
| by the good counsel and splendid SOL
dierly courage of General Breckenridge
constitutes the national sensation of the
day. 1t will rouse public sentiment and
| it will be not without results when Con-
gress meets. Before it leaked out to
the public. il was the sensation of the
Administration circle, and ii had an
immediate and powerful result in that
quarter. General Breckenridge was
promptly deprived of his rank of
major general in the volunteer service.
He had committed the objectionable
sin of averting a national disgrace,
| which il now seems certain was in con-
temptation by three hundred pounds
of sick (and very blasphemous) flesh"
The paid Washington organ of the
War Department and the Alger Re
lief Commission, on yesterday produc-
ed a labored defense of Alger's action
in attempting to humiliate one of the
bravest and best general officers in the
service of the American people. In this
effort it made the fatal mistake of sug-
gesting the existence of a deliberate
purpose underlying one of the methods
of Algerism, to practically abolish the
| inspection department of the army dur
ing its organization for and utilization
in the war with Spain.
The intention of the space rate argu-
ment, of course. is to show that it was
a mistake to make major general of
volunteers out of the inspector general
| of the army, and thus, with the pros
pect of field command, divert his ser
vice from the general staff. The paid
organ emphasizes the necessity that no
| toriously existed for an efficient corps
| of inspection at time when small
military police force was being expand
ed into a large army. If this necessity
was so obvious, We are afraid that the
| people will wonder why it was so re-
| ligiously ignored by the head of the
War Department, and wickedly suspect
that there were reasons why anything
| like proper system of inspection
would be inconvenient. Such suspi-
| cion, however unkind, might seem to
derive support from the now general
| influential in debating the policy and
methods of the department, had finan-
cial interests in and derived profit from
| such matters as the sale or charter of
| transports, the selection of the Miami
and other camp sites the rotten meat
contracts, and deals for mules, cloth
| ing, ammunition, medicines, hospital,
and field supplies. not to mention the
| highly productive subject of the trans
portation of troops in box, cattle, and
coal cars.
The conclusion which the paid organ
apparently desires TO grind out is that,
the war being over and jobbery and
rascality on a stupendous scale being
no longer practicable, IT is recognized
that public interests demand a prompt
reorganization of the inspector gene
rails department, inconsistent with the
| idea that its head should wear two
stars on his shoulders, instead of one.
We may be allowed to dismiss the
double edged plea of the organ as at
once ridiculous and pitifully injurious
to the cause of Algerism, which it seeks
| to defend.
Other major generals have been al
lowed to keep that rank in the volun-
teer service even after their retirement,
for age, from the regular army But
no one of that class, as far as we know,
has been guilty of any offense against
Algerism, such as declaring that he
would die before an American army
under his command should run away
from an enemy on the Fourth of July.
Eere was where the imprudence and in
delicacy of General Breckenridge dis
played itself. Shafter was much the
better diplomatist. He knew that moth
| ing but praise and promotion could
result from executing the favorite STRAIT
egic movement Of chief whose proud
fame rests upon the superb discretion
\ he is understood to have displayed at
the battle of Charlottesville.