Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-04-02
WAS OUSTED
BY RING TRICKS
1t Is Said the War Department
Will Ignore Harrison's
Claims.
NO PUBLIC CHARGES ARE MADE
Case Will Probably Be Taken Into
Civil Courts.-Tried and
Convicted.

Harrison. son of the late Benjamin
Harrison, has returned to Washington,
ana is pressing his claims for vindica-
ton and reappOintment in the army.
One or both he seems bent on la wing.
He was here all last winter. haunting
the lobbies and corridors of the Capt.
tOl building and button holing the SEN
atOrS from Indiana and other states
at every vailable opportunity. He
had little to say then for publication,
but admitted that he hoped for Il COM
mission. and for some action on his
application for a court of inquiry to
Investigate the reasons for his dis
charge from the army. 1t is not
easy to get at the merits of the con-
tIovprSy. which has been brewing be
tween Harrison and the war depart
ment. If the former carries out his
threat TO push his case in the civil
courts, some additional light may be
thrown on the affair. The story goes
that General Harrison, a short time
before his death, wrote letter to a
friend in Washington. announcing his
purpose TO take appropriate legal steps
to vindicate the family name. 1t is
said that this letter was intended for
the secretary of war: but Adjutant
ceived. General COrbin says the de-
partment does not intend to pay any
attention to HarrisonS demand. AS
TO his reappOintment in the service.
that rests entirely with the president.
Convicted in Secret,
Harrison and his friends admit that
there are no formal or public charges
against him: but they claim that there
are charges ON the secret records of
the department. They maintain that
he was tried and convicted in the star
chamber sessions of the little ring OF
officers who control the affairs of the
army. They say he was then dis
charged by telegraph. he being at the
time in Porto Rico. where he was
serving as inspector general of vOlun-
teerS. This course. they say. was
contrary to all the practices of the
army. the usual method being to give
due and formal notice 10 an officer
that his services will terminate at Il
certain date. He is usually furnished
with travel pay and permitted to re-
turn to Washington or some other
place convenient to him before his
service ceases.
Victim of AdminIstration's DispIeasure.
The reasons for the harshness of the
department toward Harrison are vari-
ouSly explained, the more popular one
being that the son was selected as 4
victim to the administrations diSpleas-
ure at the utteranceS of the former
president on the subject of Porto Rico
and the presidents colonial policy
The fact that the discharge came sim
ultaneouslY with the famous utter
auceS on this subject lend plauSibility
to the charge. Men who profess to
know the inside of this affair say the
political utterances of the former
president had nothing to do with Rus
sell Harrison'S discharge. They say
there is no great mystery about the
case. and nothing very serious in the
conduct of either Mr.. Harrison or the
officials of the war department. Ac-
cOrdinG TO these people the trouble
with Harrison was that he ''was eter-
nally getting on the nerves of his fel-
low officers" They admit that he
might have meant well. but they could
not tolerate his personality. He lacked
tact they say. He never did any
thing that could be made the basis for
charges. but he was always doing
something to make him disliked.
Incident in Havana.
They tell about an occasion when
there was some sort of formal turnout
of the troops i'm Havana. All the ar
rangementS had been made. and things
were going along smoothly. when UP
galloped Harrison with n provost
guard. He demanded to know tC
what part of the procession he had
been assigned. As a matter of fact he
had not been assigned. He was. SC
the story goes. taken aside and re-
QueSted to return to his quarters. Ac-
cording to those who tell these stories
there We're happenings of this sort
all the time. 1t seemed to be Har-
rlSon's nature to be forever treadine
on somebody's toes. 1t was never any
thing fragrant, hut the accumulated ef-
feet of them all was not to be borne
His case" said one man. lis not un-
like that which came before the civil
service commission once when Il post
master in a Georgia Office insisted OF
whistling Marching Through Georgia.
II annoyed his fellow employees whose
traditions and breeding were southern
hut ii was not against the regulations
of the department. Or another case
of a man who insisted on wearing the
regulation cap hindforemost The
men were within their technical rights
but they had to be discharged
Department Might Have Waited.
1t is pointed out by friends of Major
Harrison that his term of service was
almost at an end and that if the
charges were so tflNlai Ine uepaftmeEt
might have waited and saved him the
humiliation of being Summarily
dropped. In any event they want the
whole matter aired. If there are no
serious accusations they want il
known. and they feel that the son OF
an ex-president has as much right to
an appointment in the army as the
son of some congressman or politician.
May Be ReinStated.
Z Chicago. April "A special froL