The evening times., 1899-01-05
DOES NOT DESIRE TO
BE A BRIGkDIER
Governor Roosevelt May De-
cline the PrOffered Honor.
Alger WithholdS a Medal on Ac
count of Spitei
The Rough Rider Declines Promo
tIOn with Others Who Never
SmeIIed Hostile Powder.

New York, Jan. 5.-Friends of Gov.
Roosevelt in this city were not pleased
when they learned that the War Depart
ment had recommended TO the President
= that the Col. of the Rough Riders be made
a brevet brigadier general and that the
President would act favoring the recon-
mendation.
Il is declared that if Col Roosevelt is
made a brevet brigadier general he will
probably decline the honor and there is
reason 10 believe that the head of the War
Department knows that Col. Roosevelt will
decline.
Col. Roosevelt's friends say that what he
wants is a medal of honor. TO which he is
entitled and which the War Department is
Withholding because of the colonel's ia
nous round robin" which saved many
lives and damaged one sensitive official.
They also say that the manner in which
the brevet rank is TO be given in connec-
tion with other volunteer colonels who
We're not under fire at all is humiliating.
The story as related last night is that
Col. Roosevelt was recommended for the
medal of honor by Gen. Shafter. Gen.
Wheeler and Gen. Wood. Thus the corps
commander. the division commander and
the brigade commander Joined in the re-
quest No doubt. il was said, the medal of
honor would have been given but for the
fact that Col. Roosevelt's desire TO get the
troops away from Santiago where they
We're likely TO die OF yellow fever stirred up
the War Department from its condison of
dry rot and forced action.
II viii be remembered that the day the
famous Roosevelt round robin was pub
lished Secretary Alger talked vaguely of
court martial and made public in a gar
bled form Col. ROoseyelt's dispatch 10
him asking that he let the Rough Riders
90 10 Porto Rico
The dispatch in garbled form quoted the
colonel saying that one regiment OF
Rough Riders was worth three regiments
OF volunteers. There was a qualification
in the dispatch which Secretary Alger cut
out This if left in would have put the
colonel on record as saying that one regi-
ment cf Rough Riders using smokeless
powder was worth three regiments Of vol
unteerS armed with archaic weapons and
not using smokeiess powder.
SCme CT the volunteer regiments that
Secretary Alger did send TO Porto Rico
got the -JCrgensen rifles just before
sailing and landed 10 do battle with the
Spaniards without knowing how TO han
die the new guns.
The ammunition was also DELAYED and
when il came the men had uC he drilled 10
The use Cf the new gun in Porto Rico.
MS IS what happened TO Hams brigade
al ArrCya and was what delayed Brooke's
advance from that point
IN other ways than in the garblins OF
Coz. Roosevelts dispatch did the Secrc-
tary Of War show his spite. When inc
application for the medal OF honor was
made there was long delay. and then
came word that the application was nol
in proper form Ii was nov almost i'm
possible To meet the requirements of nc
War Department. because the Rough Rid
ers had been disbanded ANA were scatter
ed. but they have been met
The news from Washington is taken by
Col. Roosevelt's friends 10 mean that tha
recommendations OF Generals Shafter
Wheeler and Wood are TO be ignored and
that Col. Roosevelt is not 10 have his
medal OF honor but an empty title in
stead. the same as Col. H. T. Barber. OF
the First New York. who did not fight AT
Honolulu. and Col. j. b. Castleman. OF
the First Kentucky, who was in Porto
Rico AZ the time under Gen. Schwan. bur
who was not even in the fight which
SchWan had al MayagueZ