The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-03-24
heads Of other bureaus would dispute

heads Of other bureaus would dispute
such an assumption.
Nevertheless, 1t is impossible for con-
gress to try to treat the bill imperson-
ally, and most of those who vote for
or against IL will do so on grounds
personal to General Corbin, who. dur
Ing the last two years. has officially
been placed in a position to favor or
offend nearly everybody in both houses. j
There Is no question as to the ability
of General Corbin or of the energy
with which he has performed his duties.
No man in the civil, military or naval
service has Worked more hours or car
ried more responsibilities for the last
two years than he, and very few could
have endured the extraordinary phys
| ical and mental strain that has been
| imposed upon him. Even his bitterest
| critics concede his ability and fidelity.
and it was a fortunate thing for the
| government that there was a man of
| Corbins Drawn and brain at the head
| of the adjutant generals department
at the time of the war. He never gets
ratified, never loses his temper has an
| abundance of nerve and Is not subject
to fattery.
| 1t has been one of his chief duties
to act as buffer for the president and
the secretary of war, and, although
he has secured and retained the conf
dence Of President Mckinley and Sec
retaries Alger and Root, the public
who were disappointed In securing
what they wanted have often accused
him of misrepresenting and betrayiny
those gentlemen. They loaded upon
| Corbin every disagreeable duty they
| wanted to escape, and by their orders
he has had to bear the odium OF refus-
ing many favors that personally he
| would have been glad to grant. 1t
| was one of Corbin's unpleasant duties
to say mo- hundred times to every
"yes." Every officer of the army who
failed to get the assignment or the
detail or the promotion that he desired
blamed Corbin, and as a result he has
many bitter enemies.
Secretary Root remarked to a friend
the other day: 81 myself have heard
the most violent invective against Cor
bin and know of men who will never
forgive him because they ascrlbe to
him the refusal of favors by my own
peremptory orders made without con-
sulting him and without his knowledge.
AS for me. | have found during my
short official life as secretary of war
that every suggestion of Adjutant Cen
eral COrbin has been in the direction
of good discipline and effective service
and in favor of fair treatment to the
men in the field who have nobody In
Washington to speak for them. The
best men in the line of the army whom
I know, the working and fighting men
of the army, so far as I can learn.
hold Corbin in high esteem and regard.
"Now" continued Secretary Rott.
''as to his personal merits as a staff
officer. He was not appointed to any
soft place in Washington: he has been
here but two years; he was appointed
after the sinking of the Maine, when
war seemed unavoidable, and the ap.
pointment was the most difficult. la
borious and harassing in the army.
He was not appointed through favorit-
ism. but by the extraordinary process
of promotion by seniority. because. on
the retirement of Adjutant General
Breck on reaching the age limit, Corbin
was the senior colonel of the adjutant
generals department. Fortunately he
had the physique, the industry. the
resolution and the administrative ca
pacity to fill the position. I have been
pretty careful student of the condi-
tions which existed in the city of
Washington in 1898. and. in my judg-
ment, the United States owes a greater
debt of gratitude to Adjutant General
Corbin than to any other man connect
ed with the army"