Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1899-02-09
ALGER and BACAN
Now York Evening Post.

| Some people profess not to under
stand the heat with which the .Algcr
scandals arc discussed. Why should
| distinguished officers of the army grow
white with rage as they talk of the
Secretary of WARP Why should officers
of the navy take so deep an interest in
the affairs of department not their
own, and speak as they do, with
mingled contempt and dread Of Mr..
Alger? Ho is but one example more Of
Incompetence in office. Maadminis-
tration and the smirch of politics on
public business are not such startling
novelties A country that has seen
Simon Cameron in the War Depart
ment need not start and gasp ut
Russell A. Aiger in tina: Office. II
Mckinley would turn him out, as
Lincoln turned out Cameron. the whole
thing would DO over. Why such excite
ment, such fury, about one poor blum
| dering Secretary smeared with politics?
The answer is that there is far more
than question Of personality involved.
Alger and his methods and his hackers
stand for an assault upon the army
more deadly than any armed enemy
could ever deliver. They are for break
ing down its prestige and morale. For
| their own personal and partisan ends,
they would prostitute the one trained
| service the country has. That is why
/ regular army officers are reused TO in
| dignation at the mention of the name
| OF Alger. He has trampled on the most
cherished traditions of their profess
sion. For merit he has substituted
favoritism. He hns stuffed the service
with civilians. Boys he has putover
gray-haired veterans, Just as used to
| be the case when commissions in the
army were openly sold. Assignments
to duty are made, under the Alger
| system, orders are given, not to get the
4 work done in the best military manner,
but to make places for dependents, to
pay political debts and create political
obligations. 4. Ayers is the dirty hand
/ OF politics fouling profession that
has been peculiarly the home OF edu-
Gated gentlemen. No wonder the
gentlemen display some heat when
speaking Of one who is their official
superior, but whose intrigues and
tricks and receptions and base uses Of
the army fill them with loathing for
the man and with fears for the future
of the service. y
| army, the attempts Of its officers to
/ hoeP eAiO iiOuDl VI tllDlE uucullltb
and to punish and expel black sheep,
are meddled with and thwarted by the
| political bias and motives of the head
| of the War Office. The Secretary
allows o court-martial, but the verdicts
| he hangs up or reverses according to
the underground political influences
which the accused can bring to bear
upon him. We say nothing of the
pending Eagan court-martial. When
we see an honest verdict in that case
enforced without fear or favor, we shall
believe in it. But the court-martial
of Capt. Garter has already become a
public scandal, SO outrageously have
the President and Secretar Alger, in
! connection with it. interfered with
the regular course of military justice.
That officer was tried by court martial
In December, 1897; he was found
guilty OF corruption in engineering
contracts, was sentenced to dismissal
from the army, the court also recon-
mending that criminal proceedings be
brought against him. What has been
the result? The President and Secre-
tary of War have kept the papers in
their possession all these months, and
have been straining every nerve to find
some way of letting the inculpated
officer escape full punishment. Reason?
Political and social "pull." Capt.
Carter is an Ohio man to start with;
he is rich and has rich relatives; he
has powerful political friends, in
| Guiding Senator Platt. !. In desperate
hope to save so well connected an
| offender, the President employed Mr..
Edmunds to review the proceedings, to
see If some legal flaws might not be
found. Mr.. Edmunds' bill OF SIS, 400
the President then had the etfrontery
to order paid out Of the National De-
fence Fund! This was too much even
for friendly Comptroller of the
| Treasury, who said he was unable to
SEQ what Capt Carter's case had to do
with the war with Spain. Yet people
wonder that under such President
and such a Secretary and such de
bauching and dishonoring methods,
regular army officers should not think
everything for the best in the best
| possible Of worlds.
| Why navy officers should also make
forcible remarks about Alger is now
getting to be plain. They fear that
his Shiny methods will soon invade the
navy. Already the first step has been
taken or attempted. The Senate has
amended the navy personnel bill SO as
| 10 permiD inc secretary 10 appoint
civilians direct. Officers of the navy
are frantic at the proposal. They
would rather sec the whole bill fail.
1t is plan to Algerize the navy. This
is the sort of thing which makes the real
Alger peril apparent. Nothing is too
fine, no traditions or systems too
sacred, for his sprawling hand to seize
upon and subdue to partisan schemes.
He is ready to take the last step in
political degradation and corruption,
and make Of both army and navy
politicians machine instead of an
honorable and secure profession. And
when anybody says Alger, he means,
of course, Ayers master. The Presi.
dent is reported to have said that he
and the Secretary must stand or fall
together. So they must; and it will
not be long before the Indignation of
army and navy at the demoralizing
and defiling work of Alger will begin
to burn hotly against the man who is
both legally and morally responsible
for what his underling does.
I