Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1899-05-12
ABUSES IN THE ARMY.
Why There Is No Harmony in Our
Military Establishment.
There Are Too Mnny Independent
Bureaus Whose Heads Are In a
Measure Not Responsible
to Anybody.
Lsncclnl washIngton Letter.l

| ne army INol 'i''f ~
which so much has been said in the
| newspapers, is measure which has not
been analysed SO that everybody can
| understand il.
That the army of this republic is in
disorgauized condition must be mani
fest to all of the people; and IT is not
putting it too strcng to say that the
condition of our army is disgrace to
this nation before the peoples of the
civilized world.
| This condition, which has brought
about all of the war department scan
das results from the everlasting con-
flct between the secretary of war and
the general commanding the army.
Every general commanding the army
has found himself handicapped and his
power of command taken from him by
the civilian secretary of war, no mat
Ter whether the secretary of war knows
anything about military affairs or
not
When Grant was made lieutenant
general he so well understood how our
armies had been handicapped by orders
from Washington that, in the presence
of the cabinet, he accepted the COM
mission from President Lincoln, say
ing that he would not retain that COM
mission unless it carried with 1t the
full command of the army. Grant was
so great and powerful at that time that
President Lincoln gave him the COM
mand; and from that moment all Of
the federal armies moved under one
impulse and direction.
When Sherman became general in
command, after Grant became presi-
dent, he assumed command, just as
Grant had done, and issued orders for
the appointment of his staff officers.
Sherman expected 10 have full COM
mand, of course. But Gen. Rawlins was
secretary of war, and he Influenced his
friend, President Grant, TO take the
staff officers from the command of the
general and place them under the COM
mand of The secretary of war. Presi-
dent Grant did so. He would not have
taken that stand for anybody on earth
except Rawlins. who had been his warm
est friend and almost his guardian angel
in his days of trouble and peril
When President Grant took that
stand, Gen. Sherman left Washington
and took up his abode in st. Louis, be-
cause he did not want to be mere fig
uehead in the war department at the
national capital Years went by, and
Sherman made his home in ST. Louis
occasionally visiting Washington as .
mere matter of form. But he was never
In actual command of the army.
The result of Grants orders has been
the dsgraceful and scandalous condi
tons, increasing in disgrace and acri
mony from year to year: so that wher
the war with Spain began our regular
army and our volunteer army did not
pass to the command of the senior ma
ior general Of the army, but all of them
were placed at the mercy of civilian
/, secretary of war, and staff officers who
were Independent of the general under
whose command they should have
served.
This brief statement contains the ker
mel of the causes of all the needless suf
. ferings and deaths to which our sol
diers were subjected. 1t makes no diff
ference who may be the secretary o
war, whether his name is Alger, Nc
Creary, Lincoln, Endicott, Proctor o.
Jones; it is improper that civilian sec
retary of war should he allowed by Law
to supervise duties Of which he mus
nece ssarily be ignorant, while the gen