The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-09-13

SINKS, ana constant efforts were made
TO render the latter cleaner and purer
ieSsentng the chances of contagion.
These precautions soon brought the
regiment into high reDute among the
offlcers OF the corps as one possessing
as nearly perfect sanitary arrange
ments as possible. When the One Hun
dred and Sixty regiment of Indi-
ana volunteers arrived at Jacksonvil,e
and was located near the Nebraska
camp its line officers visited the latter.
inspecting everything thoroughly, and
then laid out their own camp on SINH
lar lines.
Judging ell things according to his
democratic principles. Colonel Bryan
was never able to comprehend the class
distinction between a commissioned Of
hcer and an enlisted man generally so
rlgldly drawn and observed So no
soldier of his command was ever
treated with the aioofness and reserve
which is the usual manner of officers
towards their interiors in rank On
the contrary, Colonel Bryan endeav-
ored to establish a close relationship
between himself and his men, thus lay
ing himself open TO much criticism on
the score OF unmilitary conduct. 1t was
his ambition TO know personally by
name every member of the regiment,
ana TINS he practically realized during
the short time he was in command
should not take an interest in the well
fare of those under him as men as well
as machines, Colonel Bryan utterly dis
regarded all military tradition and ETH
quette IN this regard, treating his pri-
Yates cordially and as if on an equal
footing.
This interest took him regularly
among the hospitals, especially to the
division hospital, where all serious
cases were taken Here he paid almost
daily visits, hunting out each patient
from his regiment which was always
Wen represented in the fever wards.
his Wen known magnetism was of the
greatest service at such times, for he
never failed to cheer the men who had
set the time for their own deaths BY
ms personal sympathy and his inspir-
Ing Duoydncy. which he seemed to i'm
part so easily, he practically won over
several cases of malignant typhoid
Wnlcn mad been given up because of
the hopelessness of the sufferers them
selves. So the emaciated fever pa
tlents learned to watch for his kindly
greeting and his invigorating presence,
and they loved him for the attention he
gave them.
Colonel Bryans absolute consistency
was nowhere more marked than in the
persistence with which he sought dis
charges for his men Almost before his
war ended in Cuba, and from then on
Colonel Bryan was convinced that his
command should be out of the service.
Failing to accomplish it's muster out
as whole, he determined that he
would at least secure a release for
every individual possible. He investi-
gated personally the merit of each ap-
pilcauon for discharge, and hurried all
papers through, chafing considerably
at the long delays in Washington.
. g g
In this connection Colonel BRYAN
greatly increased the respect in which
he was held by his careful choosing of
the deserving ones from the long list of
those asking for discharges. When the
special order arrived allowing the re-
ductlon of each company roll from IO4
TO eiShty-four names it was no small
problem to select the twenty who were
most worthy of dismissal. Colonel Bry-
an knew nothing Of proper military
procedure in such matters, but he
his own measures with results
that were seldom far in error. One in
stance viii illustrate at once the
uniqueness of his methods and their
Nineteen of the twenty dis
charges allowed had already been
granted in company H. OF the large
number of remaining applicants three
seemed equally deserving. Each told
or mother at home depending on him
LOT support. Mr.. Bryan was compelled
TO decide watch one of the three should
go, and he used the following test of
merit: interviewing each man alone
ne asked how much money he had sent
home TO his mother since his enlist
ment- One man had sent $25, another
81 and the third none at all The first
man received the discharge, Mr.. Bryan
telling the others that ii was very I'M
likely that they would be of much as
sistance to their mothers at home when
they aided them so little while drawing
pay in the army.
1t was charged that Colonel BRYAN
parceled out the discharges on a politi-
cal basis, granting them where the
favor would add strength to him in his
coming struggle. but this accusation is
best disproved by the opinion of the
men left behind. Aside from partisan
backbiting there was a surprising lack
OF grumbling on this score, the general
sentiment being that the right men had
gone.
When Colonel Bryan took final leave
of mis- regiment at Savannah there was
a somewhat general expression among
the men at first to the effect that ''he
brought us here and he ought to have
stayed with u.s." but they all knew
why he was going, and very little blame
was really attached to him for his &C
ton He did not lose the love nor TIE
respect OF a single man in his regiment
by leaving it for a more important mis-
sion, for these sentiments were founded
on the just and generous acts and I'M
firing efforts of six months past on be-
half of the soldiers TO whom he had
given his Whole thought during that
period.