Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-07-25
The Pomp and Circumstances Of War
Lacking Here.
NO GUARDS At THE DEPARTMENTS
The Adutant General a Hard
Working Man.
CIV IN FLU E n G E

| aspect of things in this city. There is no
| clatter of saber and clink of spur. There
| is very little of the trappings and the show
| of war. Instead of the grim visaged front
| there is a rather sad benevolent counte-
| nance, which finds 1t difficult to hold an ex-
| preston of sternness. We are not used to
| being harsh and have few of the habits of
! war. We haven't even got any style about
| us-we are utterly deficient in military air.
| The French martinez would tear his hair in
rage that the noble art of looking a SOL
der should be SO disregarded, and the war
| lord of Europe, could he be here, would
| say: Yes, surely they are snopkeepers and
contractors. They haven't even the air of
| soldier off duty" Then he would think
| of Manila, the bloody waters and shattered
| ships near the harbor of Santiago, of San
Juan Hill and Santiago, and ponder. The
| easy, neglige way with which private SOL
der walks into the War Department-the
war office, the center of dignity and dis
| cipline-the awkward attempt of the volun-
teer to salute his superior. the lack of all
pomp and show. would make the war lord
| ponder and wonder how it could be.
No Military Ceremony.
| 1t took an order by the Secretary of War
| to make the army officers on duty here to
| wear their uniforms, Just as a matter of
| convenience in the. transaction of business.
| The officers of the navy on duty at Wash
| ington do not wear uniforms. The clank
| of a sword is not heard in the War De-
! partment. There is no military guard over
| the White House. No sentry stands
at the entrance of any public building.
| The ordinary civilian messengers sit at
| the White House. The ordinary civil
| ian messengers sit at the doors of the
| Secretary of War, of the headquarters of
the general commanding the army, of the
| adjutant general. of the Secretary of the
| Navy and at the door of the office of the
| war board. They are not there to block the
| way, but simply to take in cards or to
answer questions or to respond to the call
to carry a message from one room to an
| other. The ante rooms are open to every
| body, and the men who are conducting a
war may be seen leaning over their desks
working like clerks. Any one having bust
| ness can walk into the presence of the
| great military chiefs in his turn, without
| hindrance or ceremony; The general com
| handing the army did not wear his uni
| form at all until he went to join General
| Shafter at the front Nowhere is there any
| military display; nowhere is to be found
| the theatrical attitude of war
| A Hard-worked Man.
| Probably the hardest worked man In the
| United States at this time is Adjutant Cen
| eral Corbin. Everything has to come under
| his eye. The head of every department of
| the service has his duties to perform but
all must come before General Corbin in the
end. The work of the department is done
through him. He connects the army in the
| field with the department service and the
| executive authority. His work begins short
| ly after o'clock in the morning, and ends,
| sometimes at l o'clock the next morning,
| but generally at O'Clock or later. He
| receives dispatches, transmits orders, at
tends to the organization of the army, sees
| that the needs of the army are provided
| for by the quartermaster general, the COM
| niissary general, the surgeon general or
| the paymaster general, as the case may be:
| looks after the matter of recruiting and
| appointment, receives all visitors and lis
| tor to the appeals for favor or the anxious
| inquiries of friends to the welfare of
those to the front. Every detail of the war
| GENES under his observation. During the
hours that the building is open to the pub
| lie his office Is nearly always crowded.
There senators and members of the
House seeking commissions asking fayors
| for their proteges; officers awaiting instruc
lions, consulting about details of the cam
paign petitoning for this or that assign
mcnt there Is the sister or the brother
| making anxious inquiries about the boy
| at the front" and the mother, with sobs
| and tears, pleading for son who has fallen
| IN disgrace and is under the shadow of the
| court-nlartiaL Meanwhile there is pile of
| kilograms more than foot high the
| generals desk, to be carefully read and
answered letters to be written, orders to
be given, delays and embarrassments to
be overcome and every demand of the serV
| Ice looked dItef. Attending 10 all 1nlS is a
man in undreSs uniform, with star on
each shoulder. with almost unlimited power
and the authority to command and to be
harsh if he so willed. Yet the officer who
comes to seek favor above his brother Off
GERS is about the only one who IS ever
treated with severity. With work and worry
almost enough to set an ordinary man
crazy, General Corbin manages to maintain
an equipoise and to transact business with
out losing his temper his clever good
judgment. 1t is not all dash end glory, this
making For the most part 1t is right
down drudgery for those who have respon-
sibiHty.
Civil Influence.
With US there is a peculiar mixing of the
civil and the military in the matter of max
ing war Civil suggestion cannot always
be lightly set aside and civil influence is
not to be dspised. The soldier who is a
citizen is not like the soldier wRo is
merely subject" degree of independ-
ence goes with the ignorance of the raw
recruit and there are many things to be
considered that military discipline does not
contemplate. A certain young man who
has been favored with a commission has
fingered about Washington long while.
At breakfast he has crumped his morning
paper at the table of his boarding house
and with frown and impatient curl of the
lip complained of the spirit of inaction
! which kept him here while there was so
much to be done at the front, and while,
we'll, that which was being done might be
better done if certain people-not named
could have hand in it. 1t happened that
a certain general officer of the regular
army, unknown to the young volunteer,
was among the boarders who were attract.
ed by his impatient patriotism. This Off
Ger has great influence in the department.
and it occurred to him that he might be of
service to the young man. Without men,
tioning the subject, he went to some one
high in authority and suggested that the
young man ought to be given a chance.
What? Who?" exclaimed the high au-
thority why since the war began 1 have
been trying to get him to the front. He is
a personal appointee of and has
more influence than l have 1t is all being
exerted to keep him out of the way of
harm"