Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1899-11-02
Denounced by His Own Men as a
- Skulker.
LACKS EVERY S0LDERLY QUALITY.
Opinions of Several of the Tenth Boys
Who Saw Him at the Rear, But
NeHr in Front of Battle.

columns. Following are some ex.
tracts:
Where the - is Lieutenant Colo
mel Barnett?" exclaimed Colonel Haw-
kins, of the Tenth regiment, mopping
his face, overheated by leading his men
in the thckest of the battle at Gui-
guinto, in the Philippines.
I'm the rear, as always, behind a rice
dyke" answered some of his men,
whose only rebuke from the COM
mander was a grim smile. But pres
emily he shouted to William T. Hayes,
of Waynesburg, and others:
- him; go find him and tell him
to come up!"
Members of Barnett's regiment tes-
tify to these and similar outbreaks of
the commanders justifiable anger on
occasions of the lieutenant colonel's
alleged skulking when he was needed to
help Hawkins in forming lines or ad E.
vancing on the Filipinos. q declare
most positively" says a Tenth man,
Barnett did not come near the Gui-
guinto firing line until all was over,
and many others in different compan-
les know this as well as | do, and they
say so, although generally, from vari-
GUS motives of policy, they do not go
into print at present"
RICE DYKE JIMMY.
mo wonder" says Private Albert
Grouse, of Waynesburg, that even in
Pittsburg, upon our return for the re-
ception, the Tenth's boys exclaimed in
the streets: Hello! Here comes Rice
Dyke Jimmy. Look out for the long
range gun!"
Grouse adds: 1--WE been a lifelong
Republican, but | wouldn't vote for
that skulker, Barnett. He lacks every
soldierly quality. No Republican SOL
dier around here will vote for him
If l can help it. l see that some men
claim for him 200 of the 800 votes in
the regiment. | do not believe that 80
will vote for him. and they will be
constrained by what they are deluded
into regarding as loyalty to the party,
just as If the welfare of the party de-
pended upon a towards political fate"
ACCUSERS CORROBORATED.
Company X men, of Waynesburg, al
though part of Barnett's battalion,
l, of Greensburg who tell of their see
ing him lying well protected in the
Buffalo wallow," near Guiguinto rail.
road bridge, some hundreds of yards
In the rear of where Hawkins and
Major Bierer were forming the firing
line at the fights beginning. Com
pany | men say all the rest of the regi-
ment were ahead of them when they
passed "the crouching lieutenant colo
nel"
Company K mems stories, particu-
larry that of William T. Hayes, who
was detailed to the hospital corps, fit
into the narrative of Private John E.
Clark, of Washington, who describes
his helping to carry wounded and
dying man of the Tenth far to the
rear, where he saw Barnett Lying
low behind mound while Hawkins
and Bierer, the latter being commander
of the other battalion, were in the hot
test of the conflict, which ended
quarter of an hour later without the
lieutenant colonel's appearance" The
following statement is made by one of
the soldiers, prominent professional
man, as to the opening of Guiguinto's
battle, about 40 miles from Manila:
BOYS DENOUNCED FOR SKULKING.
I'VE were ambushed about O'Clock
p. M, March % or 90 AS we filed
across the railroad bridge the Fill
pinos opened fire from the thicket some
hundreds of yards ahead Before reach
ing the bridge we saw Barnett standing
and watching the opposite side, where
the insurgents were supposed to be. |
saw no more of Barnett after that dur
ing the fight, but heard many of the
boys denouncing his disappearance
when Hawkins. who was at he front
with bullets whistling around him.
needed help in forming the line. The
boys didn't have much respect for Bar
nett after that day, which inspired the
song about long range, rice dyke jim
my although 1t was not the first en-
gagement which they accused him of
avoiding in the shelter of rice dykes
far to the rear.
THE boys told me Barnett was lying
behind rice dyke in the rear, with
two privates, whom Company men or
others heard him order to look up and
see where 1.-The niggers were" or what
they were doing. In a previous en-
5'oSbiSAt, at lIc Id lJOIld CnulCut
think, when in like comfortable po-
sition, the boys said that he made a
similar request for reconnaissance
in his behalf, and one fellow exclaim-
ed: Let the -- - look up himself
After the Filipinos retreated we camp
ed there that night, but | did not see
Barnett until the next day, although
the boys were joking over his reap
pearance just after the fight"
BARNETT A TIN SOLDIER.
Private Albert T. Hayes corroborates
the story of the inquiries of a person
on tugboat beside the transport
Senator, In San Francisco bay for
Colonel JIM" and of the shouted re-
sponse from the Tenth's boys: ID
you mean Long Range Jimmy, of rice
dyke fame? Where would he be but
in the rear?" Hayes adds: Barnett
had reputation for cold footedness, )
which means cowardice. But for Pop
Hawkins | can't guess what would
have become of the Tenth. / never
knew Barnett to do a brave act The
men could have almost killed him for