The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-03-05
THAT "RouNp-RoRIN..

It takes a long while for the public to
get correct knowledge of contemporary
historical facts. Even those who pretend
to teach the public are not as careful about
facts as they should be. For instance, the
Washington Post has just felt it neces-
sary to say to the Times Democrat, OF
New Orleans, that 1t ought to make itself
acquainted with some of the leading facts
of the war with Spain before undertaking
to comment on that war and matters per-
tanning to 1t.
1t seems that the Times-Democrat criu-
cised the administration severely for max.
ing public the dispatch from Admiral
Dewey. in which he called for the Oregon
for political reasons" In that connec.
ton the Tlmes-Democrat said:
1T will be remembered that the war de-
partment made a similar egregious mis-
take in publishing a document during the
hostilities in Cuba. The document was a
'round-robin' request to the department
from several of the regimental officers
asking that their troops be recalled home
or athe- climate would kill them off. And
the department was idiotic enough TO pub
lish the thing; and naturally the publica-
ton gave the Spaniards heart of grace to
continue the hostilities, in the hope that
disease would drive the American soldiers
out of the island"
The Washington Post proceeds to point
out that the war department did not give
out the famous "round-robin;" that it was
sent to the newspapers by the Associated
Press from Santiago. 1t, therefore, assures
the Times-Democrat that the administra-
ton in that instance at least was not quite
so ''idiotic'' as it would like its readers to
believe Then the Post proceeds TO say:
I'VE quite agree that the 'round-robin'
was a mischievous and wicked blunder
Ii is our firm conviction that had such
an incendiary and demoralizing utterance
been circulated in the days of U. S. Grant
and Edwin NJ. Stanton, every one of the
sIgnatories would have been courtmar-
tailed and dismissed from the service in
disgrace"
But was the "round-robn" such an In
cendiary document after all, and did 1t,
in fact, cause as much horror and misery
as the Post says it did? If what Gen.
Shafter says about 1t, it wasn't regarded
by him and his generals as a matter of
much consequence. What he says about
il in his article on the Santiago campaign,
in the February Century, is this: He re-
ceived from the Secretary of War a COM
munication to the effect that the surgeon
general had suggested that the army re-
main in Cuba until all danger from the
yellow fever was past. Gen. Shafter was
of the opinion that If the surgeon generals
advice were followed the lives of thou
| sands of our soldiers would be sacrificed.
He called The general officers of his army
in consultation with him. and asked them
for their opinion on the subject. They all
agreed with him that the army ought to
be removed to the United States at once.
Gen. Shafter says:
'I babe them good afternoon. and as
they were about to go Gen. Bates asked:
General, would you not like to have us
embody our views in a letter to your
replied: 1T Is good idea, and l shall be
glad to have you do So He answered.
We viii go out and prepare a letter. They
went into the front room, and after a
while came back with a letter which re-
ceived the signatures Of all the general Of
fcers. the paper that has been called the
'round-robln.' 1 understood later thar
Cen Wood drafted the letter"
According to this statement of shafter's
does 1t not appear that the Post would be
benefited a little by looking up historical
facts before recommending a contempo-
rary to do so. In the light of Gen. Shaft
er's statement the signers of the round
robin" did nothing for which they ought
to have been courtmartialed