The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1900-12-27

\ correspondent of the Boston Tran
script says the famous rebel war song,
Maryland, My Maryland, is parody
on song composed in 1889 during the
bloodless Aroosto0k war i'll this State,
and quotes from memory several stanzas
Of the original song, Of which the fol
lowing is a specimen:
The despot's heel is on thy shore,
Maine, dear Maine.
His torch is at thy temple door,
Maine, dear Maine.
Avenge the patriotic gore
That stained your land in days of yore,
And be thy battle cry once more
Maine, dear Maine, my own dear Maine.
1t is dollars to doughnutS that the
Boston Transcript has been imposed
upon. No one seems to have ever
heard of this alleged original song, and
if there is any proof that it was writ
ten, printed or circulated at the time
indicated it should be produced. James
r. Randall, the author of maryland,
my Maryland" was born in Baltimore,
Georgetown, D. c., College. When
quite young man he went to Louis
lana and engaged in journalism; and
the poem in question, with others, was
written in New Orleans in 1862 Later
he was engaged in newspaper work in
Augusta. Georgia. He is the author of
many poems of even greater merit than
Maryland" and there is not the re-
hottest possibility that he could ever
have seen or heard of the alleged poem
of the Aroostook war, which took place
i'll the year of his birth. 1t seems evi-
dent that the transcripts correspon-
dent has parodied Randall's poem to
perpetrate a literary hoax
Mrs. Custer says in Harper's Bazaar
that she was with the 18th Cavalry that
marched and camped and secuted on
the route laid out for the Kansas Pacific
railroad. The food was monotonous,
and those on the march over the barren
country would tell tantalizing tales of
the good things they had eaten in the
States. The habit of hospitality, how
ever, was so fixed that the soldiers
would merely add plate for the visi-
tor, or give up their own if there was
not enough. An old officer, in crossing
the plains, invited brother officer to
dine with him, not knowing that his
supplies were so low. The striker"
put the only two dishes on the mess
IL %ol Nl,N ho, Tor f10
ted bill Of fare at glance, and said:
If you don't care for rice, help your
self to the mustard
With all due respect to Mrs. Custer
she has simply spoiled a true story of
an incident which occurred before she
was born. The original story may be
found in Ph9nixiana, by John
Phoenix" Lieut.. Derby, U. S. Az, and
we should republish it had not our
copy of the book turned up missing
We have met some of the persons men
toned in the book, which gave great
offense to many of the authors brother
officers at the time it was published.
How many Of those who are declaim-
ing against the army canteen know why
it was instituted, or how managed?
Very few, we are sure. The New York
Tribune says:
As conducted according to regulation,
the canteen is at once the soldiers club
and cooperative store. The sale of
beer is only an incident. No spirits in
any form are allowed They are abso-
lutely prohibited by law. The canteen
gives the soldiers a place to gather So
dcially, engage in innocent games (gamb.
ling is absolutely prohibited), read good
literature, write letters, buy whole
some luncheon, with coffee, tea, choco,
late and all kinds of soft drinks at
low cost. The soldier may also have
his glass of beer; but to procure it he
must 90 to room set apart for that
purpose. 1t cannot be sold or drunk in
any other part of the premises. 1t may
not be generally known, but it is never:
theless fact, that the first opposition
to the canteen came from the retail
liquor dealers, whose business was seri