The San Francisco call., 1899-02-12
Special to the Sunday Call.


%HE president of the United
States is the commander-in-
chief Of the army and navy. 1t
is his right, not only to call out
troops and appoint officers, but
to direct campaigns. This mill
tary authority Of the President has not
been conspicuous-in in the war just ended,
= though If hostilities had lasted longer
1t might have been as necessary for
: Mr.: Mckinley to have exercised his
power as 1t was for Abraham Lincoln
in the civil war.
=. It was several months after tho war
between the North and South began, a
much longer time in fact than the en-
tire war with Spain has covered, before
Mr.. Lincoln found it necessary to take
the military reins in his hands and TO
issue orders directing movements. He
shrank at first from any such action,
because as he very frankly owned he
knew nothing about military matters,
and he did not want to embarrass his
generals. He was made the more sensi-
tive on this point because the first great
hattie Of the war-that Of Bull Run, an
unfortunate disaster-was fought at his
wish and against the advice Of the COM
= mander-in-chief of the army, General
Scott. For. several months after Bull
Run the President gave no direct or
; iers, though he would write long letters
10 his generals Of what he called "sug-
gestions."
1t was fully six months after he ap-
. pointed Mcclellan to the command OF
the. Army of the Potomac before Mr..
Lincoln could be persuaded to Issue q
= decisive order for that general to move.
If one will try to picture what would
have happened to Mr.. Mckinley last
spring if he had had an army Of nearly
: 100000 men lying within 20 miles or so
of the Spaniards for fully three months
after it was we'll equipped and pretty
:. well drilled, and had not ordered its
general to attack, he will have an idea
of. what Mr.. Lincoln endured in the
winter of 1861 and 1862 before he COM
=: PEELED Mcclellan to move on Richmond.
- Mr. Lincoln stood all the angry pres
sure, of the country because he thought
=, Mcclellan knew his business" When
=. he began to doubt that he would
make no order for an advance until
he had practically mastered the whole
subject of military tactics. No man
: eyer studied harder for a couple Of
months than Lincoln did before he as
serted himself as commander-in-
chief. He crammed on every military
: book he could get hold of. He knew
his army down to the last man. He
studied maps as Won Moltke did, down
h: 60 the smallest stream and elevation.
He summoned every military expert
- within reach and asked questions un-
til his head spun and he went away
:. wondering how the man had learned so
much on the subject. All this he forced
himself to do before he would order
Mcclellan to advance.
Even after he begun to give posi-
tive orders he allowed the largest lati-
tude in their execution. Indeed Lin
: coin never became peremptory with his
generals. His office as commander-in-
chief seems to have aroused a kind Of
/: paternal feeling in him toward all
those under him. He was their father,
and. must be kind and just to them.
, Again and again this feeling came out.
. Nothing kinder and at the same time
frahker was ever written to a subordi-
. nate that the letter which the President
sent General Hooker in January, 1868,
when he appointed him commander of
the Army Of the Potomac.
. Executive Mansion,
: Washington, D. c., Jan. 26, 1868.
Major General Hooker-General:
80. I have placed you at the head of
the Army of the Potomac. OF
course, l have done this upon what
appear to me to be sufficient rea-
sons, and yet 1 think it best for you
g to know that there are some things
in regard to which 1 am not quite
satisfied with you. l believe you to
be brave and skillful soldier,
which, of course, I like. also be-
lieve you do not mix politics with
your profession, in which you are
= right. You have confidence in your
self which is a valuable If not an
Indispensable quality. You are. am
bilious, which within reasonable
bounds does good rather than
-. harm; but 1 think that during Cen
eral Burnsde's command of the
army you have taken counsel Of
: your ambition and thwarted him as