Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-07-15
WAR LITERATURE
Stories of the Santiago Campaign
Nearly Exhausted.
WRETCHED WRITING OF OFFICERS
Complaint of Editors Who Handle
Their Copy.
A GU ESTION OF POLICY
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.
NEW YORK, July 10. 1890.
l heard something about Admiral Dewey
yesterday which gives him fresh claim to
the gratitude and respect of the American
people The Establishments and tempting
offers of enterprising publishers to write
for their publications have all been re-
jected. The admiral makes his official re-
ports to his government. He considers that
enough. His idea is that it is not the bust
ness of commanders of high position to mix
authorship with their official duties.
Everybody expected something of this
kind from Dewey, yet his stand in these
days is so novel that it excites a great deal
of comment in publishing circles War and
navy literature has become so plentiful
from the pens of commanders that there
is hardly one of a score of ephemeral mag
aZines which cannot boast of 4 cabinet Off
Ger, a major general a commodore on it's
staff l was told that the competition in
furnishing this class of matter had be-
come so keen that the fly sheets of month
lies and weekles get it al their own price,
while the higher class magazines have
reached the point where they will not
touch anything unless an article should be
secured from Dewey.
ness said to me that this development of
semi official literature was one of the dis
agreeable results of the Spapish-American
war. Years after the civil war closed some
of the leading figures in it wrote books on
their own campaigns Though the personal
narratives and "reminiscences were interest
ing, it was always a question whether
their fame would not have been greater if
they had rested it on their official reports
and on the accounts which others wrote of
their achievements. But in the outflow of
literature which came at definite period
after the conclusion of the civil conflict no
one foresaw that in the next war there
would be an inflow of literature which
would not even await the end of HOSTILE
ties
A War Editors Criticism.
At one of the clubs the other afternoon
an unhappy being whose editorial position
on certain publication makes it neces-
sary for him to pass on the Spanish war
articles, related to me his sorrows. 1t
wouldn't be so bad" he said, eff some of
these generals and commanders could write
English, but they can't. or course, We
have to put their articles in some sort of
presentable shape, and l tell you, it's
mighty hard work. If the dear public
could only see how some of the heroes miss
the whole point of their story, and how
they overland it with stuff that is of
consequence, the dear public would justify
us in never printing this kind of article.
narrative of anybody who has had COM
mand of ship that was in the fight a
regiment that took part in a battle, and we
have to meet that interest by printing their
stuff after we have edited it. Praise Heaven,
though, the interest has about all died out
and we can drop those subjects without
fear that our rivals will get ahead Of US.
The cheaper publications and the boiler
plate syndicates can have what is left, but
after a while they will quit also for lack of
demand. l hope the next time we have
war Congress and the President will pro-
hibtt anybody who holds command from
writing about his own doings for at least
twenty years. Then we can have the war
handled by men whose business it is to
write, though they may not be first-class
military commanders or strateSiSts. These
army and navy commanders are dreadfuly
sensitive about civilians undertaking to
describe their exploits"
The same editor told me he didn't believe
that one of a score or more of books that
had been published on the Santiago cam
paign would be heard of six months from
now. Though he didn't say 50, it occurred
to me that the reason was that there was
hardly enough in the campaign out of which
to make a book. Two or three weeks in get
ting from Siboney and Daiqutr into San
tiago with the fights at Ell Caney and San
Juan, while they furnished chapter or
an exciting episode Were hardly of historic
importance enough to justify writing books
about them. Everybody saw what the
weakness in the organization of the army
was, and everybody pointed it out with
frankness. Though much resentment was
shown at the time by the various command
ers, l noticed that the mistakes made in
that campaign have been corrected in the
military organization for the Philippines.
The Degrees of badness.
Another magazine editor who was review
ing the consequences which the war had
brought upon him and his helpless fellow
editors said that the degree of badness in
the various books on the Santiago cam
paign could be measured inversely by the
rank of the writer. The higher the COM
mand the worse the book. His opinion
agreed with that which was formed by
the public months ago, when book on
the Santiago campaign was published by one
of the officers who had held a command and
had received a fair need of popular APP
plause for his personal qualities. 1t was
the opinion at the time of publication that
this book was the worst one published or
that could be published on the Santiago
campaign. Though a good many bad ones
have since come from the press, that judg-
ment is sustained. This editor told me that
some of the lesser officers had written ar
ticles which showed discrimination and evil
dences of literary ability, but he found
nothing of the kind in the high commands
He was also of the opinion that what little
war literature had been evolved was 20 be
found in the letters of the soldiers in the
ranks. Anybody who will read these SOL
diers letters will agree with the magazine
editor
All the editors and the readers In the pub
fishing houses are of one mind about the
difficulty of turning the sword into the pen
though in some instances 1t might be turned
into the plowshare. The explanation which
they all give of the eagerness of the gen.
erals and commanders to write Is the fear
that their own exploits cannot be set forth
properly by other hands. 1t is a vanity
which Grant and Sherman and Sheridan
did not possess. They could all write Off
cial reports which had the literary merit of
clearness and directness in the highest de-
gree. They were too busy, however. in
their campaigns to think much of purvey-
ing to the reading public, and left that to
others. Probably when the war with Spain
broke out most Of the military and naval
commanders were thinking only of their
official duties, but they gradually drifted
into the literary habit.
Shafter and His Critics.
Gen. Shafter left Santiago with several
court chroniclers who were to guard his
fame. He and they fell out. The explana-
ton given by one of his staff has always
seemed to me the reasonable one and one