The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1899-07-29
CARPING CRITICISM.
The Aguinaldist PreBH of This Coun-
try Is still Railing at the
President.

Several papers which are friendly to
the administration not only assume
that Gen. Otis needs more than 10000
men, but suspect that he expressed the
opinion that 10000 men would be
enough after having received the init
nation from Washington that such a
report or opinion would please the
president. In other words, they init
mate that the president, who is re-
sponsible, in large measure, for the
conduct of the war, has privately IL
formed Gen. Otis, who is held response
BILE for the immediate success of the
campaign in Luzon, that he should
notify him, the president, that 10000
men are all that he needs, even if he
believes that $4,000 will be required!
The most malignant of the late Agui-
naldo press and the most sensational
of the New York newspapers could not
have placed President Mckinley in
more unfayorable attitude before the
people than do the papers which have
been printing the innuendoes alluded
to. Such papers assume that the presi-
dent would take the risk of a protracted
and doubtful campaign rather than
furnish more troops to prosecute the
war vigorously. They assume that Gen.
Otis, an experienced officer, would. to
please the president, make report ask
ing for a much smaller number of
troops than his Judgment believes to
be necessary for the work. The mo-
tive for this conspiracy between the
president and Gen. Otis is the alleged
discovery by Secretary Alger that the
calling out of 10000 or Is, 900 men would
react upon the republicans in the fall
elections. That is, if Gen. Otis, who
has been managing the Philippine cam
paign wisely, should discover that it
would be better to have 10000 men in
stead of 10000, his discovery and re-
quest would cause the people to vote
against the presidents party when, if
he had called for but 10000, they would
have voted for it. This motive makes
the American people as frivolous as the
suspicion of bad faith on the part of
the president and Gen. Otis makes them
INSCRIPTIONS and false.
Quite a number of persons in this
| country have come to the conclusion
that larger army is needed in the
Philippines. Self-interest has led some
to this conclusion because they wish
to go to the Philippines. There are
editors, however, who, without mill
tary experience, assume that they are
| better able to command armies than
any general in existence. 1t was SO
when Gen. Grant was commanding vast
armies. Then there were half dozen
editors who never saw skirmish who
could have ended the war in single
battle. The same class of geniuses are
now in editorial rooms. They have not
| been within 5000 miles of Manila; they
have never commanded fancy home
| guard company; they have. not seen a
battalion more than half dozen times,
yet they know better what is required
in the Philippines than does Gen. Otis,
who is there, and who has spent his life
in the army.
All the reports from Manila indicate
that Gen. Otis has all the troops need
ed for the purpose of fighting the enc
my. The difficulty is that the Filipinos
run rather than fight, so that, if any
thing is needed, it is small army that
can run faster than the enemy. If the
critics or fault-fnders can devise some
scheme that will enable our troops to
round up Filipino army they would
render Gems. Otis and Lawton a sig
nal service. Gen. Lawton has pursued
the fugitives with vigor, but they es-
cape when his skirmish line appears.
If the critics cannot do this they
should, at least, credit those who are
directing the war with ordinary intel
| nce.-Indianapolis Journal