The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-09-04
"The Conduct of the War"

neer Press, suggests thai: 1T is not
the conduct of the war that needs
any investigation" Let US ask what
constitutes 1.-The conduct Of the WARP"
No patriotic American citizen will
permit himself even to regard the
war as anything but glorious in It's re-
suits. The methods by which those
results were arrived at constitute an
entirely different matter. The United
States, through its military and naval
forces, has walloped Spain most severe
ly, but how justly is left for history
to determine The men who fought on
the battleships of Dewey and Samp-
son and Schley were every one Of them
heroes The men who fought under
Shafter and Wheeler and LaWton were
equally heroes. Their action IS not that
which shall come under investigation,
but rather the conduct of the war from
an official standpoint. Men may win
battles fighting in the ranks, even
though their officers may be guilty of
cOwardice and other offenses, but these
things are not chargeable, at all, in
any instance associated with our late
war. Officers and men alike have dis
played the utmost bravery, and no.
where in the history of the battles of
this nation will valor more radiantly
reflect itself than from the action Of
the brave fellows on sea and land who
won for us the brilliant victories in
which, as a nation, We now all rejoice.
But higher up, in the almost sane
titled realm of official dictatorship,
there have existed in the conduct
of the war just closed abuses.
shortcomings and offenses which are
discreditable to the military establish
ment of the nation. No patriotic citi-
zen, made cognizant through the print
ed reports from the seat Of war and
the several encampmentS where troops
are congregated, can deny this fact.
These may be the result Of the evils Of
a SYSTEM; they may be the result Of
individual and official incompetency;
they may be due to negligence in the
highest bureaus Of departmental pow
er; and going further than this they
may be due to the injection of de-
moralizing political influences into the
system organizing our army and con-
Quoting it's campaign.
The country has seen enough already,
and in the gaunt figures of home-re-
turning heroes, whose sufferings are
directly attributable to lack of proper
sUstenance, to convince the people
that something is radically wrong
somewhere, and that that something
has direct association with the con-
duct Of the war" 1t is quite unneces-
sGTy for the man who thinks only
along political lines to hold up his
hand and cry for q stay of procedure
when one talks Of investigating. Such
an one must remember that there is as
much patriotism under other shirt
fronts as he pretends to carry beneath
his own. The progress Of this war has
been marked by a singular absence Of
partisan diatribe. Notwithstanding
this fact, however, a feeling does exist
that in the war department particular
ly political influences have controlled
appointments which in certain meas
ure have created the deplorabe con-
ditions which now are recognized as
existing there. The personal appoint
ments Of the president, in the earlier
weeks Of the campaign, of staff and
regimental officers, approached nearly
to the point of improperly. To what
extent inefficiency may have been car
ried into the service by means OF these
appointments onl" an investigation
will devAiJp. Neglect and i'll treatment
of soldiers have occurred. Through
what processes have these results so
deplorably materialized?
The appointment Of the head Of the
I,
fit one to be made. The selection Of
Gen. Alger as secretary Of war, with
the privilege of sitting at the same
council board with John Sherman was
a gratuitous insult to the aged Ohio
statesman, who is held in high esteem
by representatives Of both the great
political parties. The reasons for that
selection by the president are we'll un-
derstOOd and need not be reviewed
here. Secretary Ayers attitude
toward Gen. Miles and the preference
shown to Gen. Shafter will, no doubt,
be completely exposed when the two
gentlemen first named shall come to-
gether face to face, either in a court
Of inquiry, a court martial, or some
other form of investigation as to the
causes of inharmony made patent by
the recently published interview with
Gen. Miles.
An investigation by order of the presi-
dent, into many phases pertaining to
the conduct OF the war" is inevitable,
if Mr.. Mckinley expects to escape in
diVidual and official censure for the
condition Of things, which have notori-
Ously prevailed. The time for that in
vestigation is the present, and a failure
tc institute it will be a reflection of
executive apprehension as to it's re-
suits. If everything is as smooth and
exempt from justifable criticism as
Secre tary Alger would seem to make it
appear, surely the administration
would not be loser, but a gamer, in
public estimation, by having the in
Vestigation go forward. Is there fear
| Of the effect upon the forthcoming cleo
tons? What evil is there at the bot
tom Of this fear?
The congressional Investigation into
''the conduct of the war; will no doubt
follow in time, and that will pursue
many technical lines Of inquiry which
the inquiry now urged Will have no
occasion to deal with. Our army is still
in the field and in the camp, and the
same powers which have caused so
much suffering to our soldiers during
the past few months continue to exist
in the war department today. Shall
they be permitted to remain in their
recognized inefficiency until congress.
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