The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-05-09
Three Of Them.

From the Boston Herald
A year ago his relations with Secre-
tary Alger were thought to be of an
exceedingly strained character, since he
General Merritt) had been officially
connected with certain unpleasant cpl
sodes in General A1ger's career during
the war of the rebellion. 1t will be re-
membered that when General Merritt
was ordered to the command of the
expedition to be sent to the Philippine
islands he practically declined to go
with the soldiers that the secretary
of war had assigned to this duty, and
asserted that he must have consid-
cradle share of regular troops before
venturing upon what seemed not I'M
likely to prove a hazardous business.
1t was said at that time that Secretary
Alger wanted to send General Merritt
out of the country in this ill-prepared
fashion in order that he might be
humilated; but il that was his design,
it was certainly thwarted by General
Merritt's refusal to go, except upon
| his own conditions. This antagonism,
| whatever it may have been, if. indeed,
| it actually existed, has certainly been
brought to an end. We have heard
| what General Merritt thinks of Secre-
| tary Alger, and we dare say before
many days are over we shall also hear
| what Secretary Alger thinks of Cen
| eral Merritt and it will not be strange
| if in this statement which is to come
| it is found that, in the opinion of
| the secretary of war, General Merritt
is eminently fitted to serve as general
commanding the army Of the United
| States
| From the Philadelphia Times.
| Gen. Wesley Merritt has given Gen.
| Russell A. Alger a certificate of char
| acter This is the same Merritt who
recommended the same Alger for dis
| honorable dismissal from the army
during the civil war. This is the same
| General Merritt also who, after parti-
| cipating in the assault on Manila,
where the Spaniards made only a pre-
tense of resistance, came home to get
married and take his ease on Governors
| Island, leaving the arduous task of sub
| DUNG the Filipinos to officers Of lesser
rank.
| It would be interesting to know just
| why the major general, second in rank
| in the whole army, came home SO soon,
| leaving practically all the work in the
| far east undone. Perhaps Alger who,
| Merritt says, is the best secretary of
! war the world has ever known, can tell.
| After Merritt'S remarkable deliverance
| at the banquet at Detroit Tuesday
| evening we are not surprised to hear
| that Alger has scheme to remove
| General Miles from the command of
the army and put Merritt in his place
| It would be strange indeed if the heart
of the discredited and disgraced Alger
did not warm towards any one hardy
enough to declare that he is the best
secretary of war the world has ever
known.
From the New York Evening Post.
One of the most painful features of
this expansion craze has been the
readiness of many of even our fore
most men to turn demagogue to please
either the war inebriates or the Nc
Kinley administration, to abandon the
political principles of their lifetime and
degrade the sacred name of patriot
ISM" The latest illustration is, we re-
gret to say, General Merritt's trip tc
Detroit in order to whitewash Secre-
tary Alger The main features Of AL
gers administration of the office are
known to tens of thousands by results
they are known to many hundreds by
personal contact with him. There Is
not a single incident of the late wal
better or more widely known than thai
Alger has conducted it as politicians
war. We have heard him pronounced
"unspeakably base and corrupt by E
man of the very highest character, who
, was in clost contact with him during
the whole Cuban furry.
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