The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1901-08-08
FROM WASHINGTON
An Interesting Letter of the Workings
Of This Government.


pretending to be fair, the Navy
Department, as represented by
Rear Admiral Crowinshield and
Assistant Secretary Hackett in the
absence of Secretary Long, is do
ing it's very best to annoy and
hamper the friends of Admiral
Schley. Nothing else, of course,
was to be expected of Crowinshield
but better things mad been hoped
for from Mr.. Hackett. The lat
ter, however, has refused the re-
quest of Schley for modification
of the fifth peroept, which assumes
the disputed question of dis
obedience to orders, and refused it
in language that is little less than
insulting In his reply to the
Admiral, Mr.. Hackett still assumes
that the disobedience was a fact,
but admits that possibly Schley
"did not wilfully disobey" orders,
or that he might have been "justi-
fed in disobeying them" and there
fore refers his objections to the
court. This, however, is only the
beginning of the petty persecution
to which Captain Parker, Schley's
representative here, is being sub
jected. He is at work on the log
books of the Spanish War, occupy
ing for that purpose the office of
Secretary Long, which is otherwise
entirely unused during the absence
| of the Secretary. Nevertheless,
Crowinshield restricts him to a
small table in one corner of the
room, refuses to allow him to re-
ceive visitors, and has stationed
two sentries to keep a close espion-
age on him to see that he abstracts
nothing from the logs. Captain
Parker is a retired officer of the
Navy and such treatment was never
resorted to before when counsel for
an officer sought information from
the files of the Department. The
valuable logs of the Civil War
period have been open to persons
without the espionage of officers
acting as private detectives, and
it is contended that in so import
ant case the honesty Of the coun-
sci should not be impugned by the
scrutiny given his work through
officers detailed by the Depart
ment.
Recent consular reports to the
State Department which are being
held in the secret files of the Gov
ernment until the close of the
South African war show that in
creasing bitterness is marking the
course of that struggle, the chief
causes being: The hanging OF
"Cape rebels" by the British
The burning of Boer houses and
the gathering of the Boer women
and children into concentration
camps: The use of Kaffirs by the
British: The charges of killing
wounded men in cold blood. Thus
a conflict which at its beginning
was marked by exceptional hu.
manity is taking on some of the
bitter and cruel aspects of pro-
longed partisan warfare. The use
of Kaffirs as scouts by the British,
as stated in Lord Kitchiner's latest
dispatches, is full of dire possibili.
ties. Heretofore both the Beers
and British have used Kaffirs al
camp servants, hostlers and in q
few other menial capacities
There was tacit agreement OF
both sides that they should not be
employed in military duties. II
this is to be violated and the tens
of thousands of natives are to be
drawn into the struggle, murder is
likely to replace the less barbarous
code of recognized warfare. The
reports giving descriptions of the
reconcentrado camps in South
Africa are so plain spoken that the
Administration does not dare to
allow them to become known.
I 1t will be interesting to watch
and see what becomes of the cases
of gross extravaganza in the Army
transport service recently disclosed
in reports by the Inspector-Gener,
al's Office, and referred to the
Quartermasters Department for
explanation. 1t will be remem.
bered that during the Spanish war,
General Breckenridge, the Inspec-
tor-General, was hampered in every