Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1899-01-16
HARDSHIPS IN THE ARMY.

Inc immense dmOuuU VI Cu11OAo,
acrid and senseless criticism of Secre-
tary Alger, Generals Sternberg, Shat
ter and others in authority in the
Spanish American war has stirred the
indignant blood of most old soldiers,
and made them wish there was pro-
vost guard to suppress yellow Jour-
nalists," and the whole brood Of fool
ish and criminal gossipers about mat
tiers of which they know almost moth
ing. No higher endorsement of the
general management of the war is
possible than that given by the Grand
Army Encampment in Cincinnati, to
the War Secretary. 1t is Of signifi-
canoe because the men knew whereof
they were talking better than any
others in the land today. They know
what war is, and what is to be ex-
pc, i; ouch a muster of green
tro 1po, as occurred in this country
at the outbreak of the war and in
such campaign as that Of Santiago.
OF course, they did not approve blum
ders in any quarter, but they know
that plumbers and more Or less incom-
potency belong to each and every
movement of SO vast proportions, and
that no one man or half dozen chiefs
of departments can SO exercise con-
troll as to avoid them. Precisely the
same kind of miscalculations and mis-
arrangements occurs in every sphere
of business, particularly when the ma
chinery is new. War is new to this
generation, and the best men, and the
best intentions, and the best efforts
could not, in the nature of the case,
obtain the ideal results. Were the
campaigns still going forward, and
the quartermaster, and commissary
and medical departments as consti-
tuted in April still at work, facility of
movement and better results might
be expected. Time brings needed
rectifcations. 1t is so in every war.
No man was more cursed, at certain
times and places, during the Revolu-
ton than General Washington, and
none in the Civil War than Edwin M.
Stanton, particularly at the beginning
of his administration; so also Grant
was a "butcher," and Sherman was
''crazy"; and there was as much and
more reason for such curses and crit
icisms than there is now shower1ng
anathemas on the men who, in the
midst of what are called the blunders
of their inefficiency, have brought the
Spanish war to a successful conclu-
sion. Nothing in the world is easier
than to be critic, particularly when
one does not know and cannot know
the tremendous difficulties which be-
set the officials criticized. Ignorance
is the stock in trade of many a critic.
Even should the present Board of In
vestigation find that somebody was to
blame here and there, it will not fol-
low that under all the conditions the
men at the head of things could have
avoided the mistakes. The incompe-
tency of subordinates is not known
until it is revealed by their acti ons.
Omniscience and omnipotence are not
attributes of military chieftains. I'm
der the hurry of exigency, a camp
may be badly pitched, or hospital
storeship may be prevented from dis
charging her cargo, or "a transport
may be sent out IN a foul condition,
Or these things and their like may
arise from misinformation, Or the fail
ure of some petty subordinate to make
the connecting link in a chain of &C
ton as he has been expected to do.
Never did a nation hurry into war
as we did last spring. Our resources
were plentiful, but they were scatter
ed about and unorganized. Men
skilled in such business were few and
haId to reach. The howl went up all
over the country for the invasion of
Cuba. The best judgment of military
men was against it at that time of
year. They knew the awful history
of mortality in previous Cuban cam
paigns by other nations. If anybody
wishes to see what that has been, let
him read the article on the subject in
the Cosmopolitan Magazine for June
of last year. Compared with it, our
experience has been but that of a va
cation holiday. And to think that a
lot of conscienceless, ignorant, civil
ian journalists should set themselves
up as critics of what they no more I'M
derstand than so many boys, and that
the country should SO widely believe
them! Was there ever such folly
known before! And here they are,
asking for somebody to Investigate
Skaters campaign in Cuba, one of
the most successfulin the worlds his
toryl If there were any adequate