Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-07-20
GENERAL ALCEH'S RESIGNATION.

gave 10 Tie NlOItAld pubic lle INTEREST,"
ing bit of news that General Russell A
Alger mad rendered to the president of
the United States his resignation as Sec
rotary Of war. Our Geographic advices
We're received at too late an hour to cover
many details of the situation, or to spec
ulate at length over the question of that
MIR. Alger had resigned was given with
the usual promptness of the Inter Noun
tain in being the first in the field with
the important general news of the day.
1t would have added interest to the inn
portant information from the seat of gov
ernmen yesterday had we been able to
say hat Mr.. Ayers resignation was
caused by the demands of the Anaconda
Standard and the Butte Miner. But this
was not positively known to the public
until the editorial confessions of those
tive influential organs were given to the
world this morning.
Some days since the inter Mountain n
cidentally remarked that the secretary of
war had a right TO feel tired if he was
compelled to read all the editorial COM
ments on his personal conduct that APP
peared in the daily democratic press, for
with the possible exception of Lincoln
and Grant and Blaine no public official
has been more pers@stently bounded day
and night than'Mr. Alger. With his un-
timely taking off, the jackals of the DEM
ocratic press lap their chops and begin
to repeat to themselves that venerabla
query-"Who killed Cock Robino"
Purely as a matter Of local pride in home
institutions. we are willing to acknow1-
edge that Alger did not resign until after
the Anaconda Standard and the Butte
Miner took up arms against him.
-
While few if any of MI. Ayers friends
have ever looked Upon that gentleman
as the equal of many truly great man
who have embellished history in the port
folio of war, they have been conscious of
the fact that the criticisms affecting his
integrity as an officer have been cruelty
unjust. There has been nothing in his
career in the cabinet tending to show
dishonesty of purpose IN the administra.
ton Of affairs. Nor is it in evidence tina
he has made any mistakes OF serious mo.
ment to the country. Notwithstanding thu
extraordinary conditions which his de
partment of the public service has beef
called upon to meet.
No secretary of war ever escaped VIC
lent criticism during the progress of hos
that should be adopted for the suppress
sion of the foe, and politicians are al
ways on the alert for an opportunity t
arouse prejudices against the party i
power. The desperation Of the demo
cratic party, which saw a triumphan
campaign waged against Spain by
country wholly unprepared at the outse
to meet the exigencies of a foreign wal
led it to extraordinary lengths to see
political capital out of the cheap sid
issues of the contest. and later on out q
the unavoidable troubles that arose i
the Philippines.
Naturally, Mr.. Alger became the cen
trail target for the poisoned arrows c
democratic oppression, being the respon
sible head of the war department.
does not follow. however, that the genera
laid down the duties and responsibilitie
of his portfolio in response to hhe crit
cisms hurled at him by the cheap repre-
]sentatives of political intrigue. Doubt
less sue attacks wearied and disguise
him. No man with enough brains to b
sensitive would be wholly Indifferent t
such a fusilade. But it is not unreasor
able to say that his senatorial aspira
tions might have led to his ~resignatio
some time ago had he not been undo
fire, as he expressed it, and pride lie
him to remain in a position that had be
come thoroughly distasteful to hmm.
Many republicans desired Ayers re
tirement from the cabinet, not for per
sonal, but for political reasons. The
realized that the democratic press ha
charged up to that official every actua
or assumed mistake made by the gov