The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1898-10-28
M,kINLEY,s RESPONSIBILITY

The fever-stricken soldier Of the
Eighth Ohio-"the Presidents Own
who yesterday made the above remark,
only voices the feelings of countless
!! thousands. of brave fellows wearing
their country's uniform who are still
in possession of their faculties. ~
Each days story of official blunder-
ing and incompetercy and of gratuitous
misery inflicted upon, the troops is
worse than the last. Brave men who
freely faced death in their country's
service reel and faint and die under
the infliction Of needless su%fferings;
mothers weep and wall for sons, and
the American people gnashes it's teeth
in indignant rage; but those in high
places close their ears alike to groans.
pleading, remonstrances, de%nunciation
and the blood-curdling tragedy goes on.
The men of the presidents Own"
marched from the camp at Montauk
to the railway on Tuesday, and were
held nearly nine hours in the blister
ing hea waiting for a train. Sick sol,
diers tainted, others were Frustrated
and others still, driven to madness, in
lirious. Colonel Hard denounced the
failure to have transportation for the
men as "a dastardly outrage" When at
last they embarked, and after an ex-
hausting ride reached Long Island City
in the night, it was necessary to carry
n oo~ of thu WAN frnro tho a rc md
some had to be left behind in the
hospital. And Surgeon Genera Stern
berg, who saw the men arrive at Long
Island City, expressed amazement that
soldiers in such physical condition had
been permitted to leave the camp.
Kinley, who had promised special
transportation for his "own," or the
deputy q~uartamaster general, or the
quartermaster general himself, or the
secretary of war? The evidence indi-
Gates that it was Secretary Alger who
had neglected to notify the quarter
master general Of the presidents prom
Use. At any rate, here is a regiment
which went to Santiago more thar 1900
strong and, while it never went into
battle, goes back to Ohio 752-weak.
Do the powers hat be learn anything
from such experiences, which have be-
come, alas! but too familiar? Nothing.
Read in this mornings Herald the
story of the awful sufferings Of the
First Illinois-Chicago's crack regiment
and your blood will tingle with indig-
nation. Horrors on horrors head &C.
cumulate.'
This sort Of thing has now been going
on for weeks and weeks. Appeals, pc
titions, protests against the blupdering
incapacity of the department of which
Secretary Algec is the head have poured
in upon President Mckinley. All have
been ignored. Dispatches, letters from
members of congress, and governors of
states, AVE apparently been tossed into
the waste basket at the White house.
At first the people were inclined to
shield the president. They argued that
he had been misled into making vicious
appointments; that he had been ILL
advised, but hat he meant well, and
would cd his duty as soon as it should
be made plain to him. The people are
now convinced that they were too OPP
timistic-visionary, in fact-ip expect
ing this, and the time has come for
plain speaking.
1t is a simple axiom of the law that
qui facet per alum facit per seize
who does any act through another does
it himself. Secretary Alger-who by a
curious coincidence leaves Washington
just as Genera Miles reaches the cap
tails being denounced from n end
of the land to the other as responsible
for lack of sicperity and intelligence in
the administration of the war depart
ment, and the consequent chaotic state
Of the army and the suffering n
death among the troops while upon
their own friendly soil. But the people
are now asking, if Secretary Alger is
responsible for this, who is responsible
for Secretary Alger? and the answer
is, the president. In colloquial balance
sit is now up to Mr.. Mckinley" and
the question is, What do o propose
to do, Mr.. President?
The notion that by ignoring the aw-
full facts which are moving the heart of
the country to its very core you will
succeed in lodging the responsibility
and that the storm Of public wrath
will elbow over Is %fatuous. From the
commanding general Of the army and
the governors Of the states-republicap
as well as democratic-down to the
humblest private in the ranks and to
the most obscure citizen. comes the