Omaha daily bee., 1899-04-14

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An unsigned note. doubtless from some
army man, takes The Bee to task for
ascrlbing to a volunteer a deed OF uncom-
mon bravery in one Of the earlier battles at
Manila. The item In question referred to
the fearlessness of Corporal Reno in going
beyond the firing line and r~escuing Private
Dayicki, who was closely pressed by the
enemy. The conduct of the corporal was
all the more praiseworthy because he was
a raw recruit, and this fact led the writer
to believe he belonged to one OF the volun-
teer regiments. The unknown correspond
ent says he belongs to the Fourth cavalry.
His deed adds new lustre to the history
Of American soldiers, regular and volun-
teer.
The poem Of John Jerome Rooney on
Chaplain Fitzgerald Of the Twenty-second,
published in The Bee last week. is founded
on the following incident Of the Santiago
campaign:
AT the reception given by the Aid society
to the Seyenty-frst regiment, New York
volunteers, Major Frank Keck, who led the
boys in the charge on San Juan, was asked
to tell of some notable exhibition Of personal
courage on the battlefield. The brave SOL
der, universally loved and respected by his
men, said:
Ion July ., while the fighting was going
on, l sent word to our chaplain to come to
the front to offciate at the burial of COM
rades who had been killed in action. For
some unexplained reason he failed to re-
spond. a Catholic priest, the chaplain of
one OF the regiments of regulars in Lawton's
division. volunteered his services, which
were promptly and gratefully accepted. AS
he was reading the service over the body
a Spanish bullet struck his left hand, in
which the book was held, SCATTERING it horri-
bly,. Without a change of voice the book
was dropped into the right hand and the
services continued without a moments halt.
TIE mutilatel and bleeding hand dropped. to
his side. Having finished the burial services
he asked If he could be of any further serv-
Ice. My answer was a detail to get him to
the held hospital as quickly as possible and
my sincere, heartfelt thanks
IN answer to a question as to the name
OF this chaplain and the regiment to which
he belonged, Major Keck replied: 4 do no,
know either, but | think he was the chap.
lain OF the Sixth or Sixteenth. A more
heroic deed was never witnessed on a battle>
field"
a note from General Lawton, accompany.
ltg tho poem, said the chaplain of the
Twenty-second was the hero.
A correspondent, prompted by reports of
soldiers of the Spanish war applying for
pensions, writes TO inquire whether Colonel
Bratt OF the First Nebraska and Colonel
Bryan of the Third Nebraska have applied
Tor pensions, insinuating that it would be
a very ungrateful people and nation that
would not grant pensions to such brave.
patriotic and loyal soldiers" The Bee is
not aware of these gentlemen having applied
Tor pensions Most of the applications filed
came from members of regiments mustered
out. AS the First and the Third are still
IN the service it is probable their ex-colonels
have not applied for Uncle Sans bounty.
mere are enough applicants without them.
Dispatches from Washington report that
fully 1000 applications have already been
filed and all the pension attorneys have not
been heard from. OF this number 1,S35
came from five regiments, as follows:
Thirty-fourth Michigan, 39S; First District
of Columbia volunteers, 352; Eighth Ohio,
349; Thirty-third Michigan, 319; Second
Massachusetts, 81. These regiments, ex-
cepting the Second Massachusetts, were not
the ones which experienced the hottest fire
of the enemy. They are the regiments
which suffered from disease. The First Dis
trict of Columbia and the Eighth Ohio both
landed during the truce. 1T is a surprising |
as well as a disagreeable revelation" writes
the Washington correspondent Of the New
York Tribune, that from 20 to 25 per cent
Of some of the regiments which did not lose |
a man in battle or on the skirmish line al |
ready seek to be enrolled in the army of
pensioners. For example, no fewer than |
thirty-eight pension claims for the benefit
of survivors or relatives of the members of
a single company of an infantry regiment
which spent four weeks in Cuba and four
months in actual service and never took
part In a battle have already been filed in
the pension bureau. These claims represent
moro than one-third of the entire muster
roll of that company. The regiment of
which this company was n part arrived at
Santiago Cafter some weeks spent in camp
at Alger, ChiCkamauga and Tampa, after
the fighting was over, but was exposed to
the hardships which other troops there suf-
fered, until 1t was sent north to Montauk
point, and from there to the place where it
was organized. A furlough of sixty days
was then granted, at the expiration of which
the regiment was mustered out of the serv-
ice. 1t is understood that this regiment
has already yielded about $50 applications
for pensions, OF which between fifteen and
twenty are in behalf of officers who bore
commissions. There is reason to believe that
a considerable proportion of the claims FLED
are based on just ground and will be favor
ably adjudicated, but neither is there ground
for a belief that the early appearance OF
these claims or a large majority of them Is
not due to the diligence of the forehanded
and thrifty pension claim agents., whose
emissaries were sent to Montauk as soon as
the camp was established to ply their voca-
ton and who have haunted every military
camp where volunteer troops were stationed
which were to be mustered out of the serv-
ice"
Personal y OTHERWISE.
Havana's new census gives a total popu-
lation of PIG 100.