The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-02-02

pupils. Florida and Georgia and South
Carolina have quite number of col
leges where this system prevails. And
yet very few of the cadets find their
way into the regular army or navy.
The records of West Point Military
Academy, the Annapolis Naval Acad-
envy, as. well as those of the famous
Virginia Military Institute and similar
state institutions, all show that the
students who choose a military career
in life are few in number. Even West
Point, whose purpose is to make sol
diers, has given nearly half, If not
more, of it's graduates to peaceful pur-
suits.
Nor does the martial spirit stop
with our public and private schools and
colleges. All of our church hymn ana
song books are full of soldier melodies.
Such popular ones as Onward, Chris
tan Soldiers" and Hold the Fort and
Soldier of Christ, Well Done" are IA
miliar to everybody. Then we have the
helmet" and the Sword" and the
shield" and the "armor," and are
urged to fight the good fight OF faith,
and given other warlike inJunctlons IN
the Holy Scriptures. In our Sunday
schools we also have Little Soldler
songs, and parades of seml-milltary
character. Hundreds of juvenile or
ganizations have the military feature.
In the January issue of the American
Bow of Detroit, Mich, are several me
nhoto-engraving of the Total Abstl-
hence Cadets of Chicago, fully armed
and uniformed, and in camp at Crystal
Lake Mich They belong to the Ro-
man Catholic Church, and present
most attractive and orderly appear
ance They are all temperance boys
and would make good soldiers Wheh
needed.
am surprised that any old soldier
from the Army of Northern Nirelhla
should call in question the veraclty o.
Gen. Robert r. Lee ana ye, ms
l. done nv one whom / too highly es-
teeno to give his name, but who writes
me as follows; You criticise Col. NC
r1,re,s article on Gen. Lee ana ueny
tbat he was on Gen. SCOTS stan. tltz
Lee in his interesting and authentic
life Of the Great Virginian, on page 90
most surely and plainly says ne was on
Gen. Scott's STAFF NOW, relet ~ -
IN NV criticism in the Sunday news
~ Ian. 10 will show that / backed up
NV statement with an extract from
a letter written to me by Gen. hopert
II lee himself. and which l still nave,
in which he says Il never peIoheeu
70 the military family OF Gen. scout,
or served near his person, except when
in Mexico, where | was attached 70
the general staff Of the army IN that
connfrv" I stated that in Mexico he
was chief engineer on Gen. WOOD
staff. / will take Robert r. Lees
word against "FitZ" Lee or any other
man" En- regard to this matter. MY
critical would-be corrector refers 10
"Fitz" Lees book as "authenuc, ana
~ this be true-which j deny-N SIM
nlv raises "a question of veracity be-
t1yeen the nephew and his uncle, with
the uncle's veracity unimpaired.
This "Fitz' Lee episode leads me to
caii attention TO the fact not we'll
known. that editors and writer's for
the nress are often censured for errors
an biographical and historical articles,
and vet the real offender, In not
few cases, Is a relative OF the person
written about. or who first related the
narrative which proves TO be incorrect
10 "A certain extent. ! have three times
noted the case or Col. klchard refers
of Atlanta, who stated that his grand
father. cant. Richard Peters, was "ap-
pointed Secretary OF War by President
Warrington / presume he sincerely
believed this 20 be the fact, and yet
Cant. Peters was simply elected one or
the commissioners OF the War Depart
ment. Some years ago J wrote series
Of articles for the philadelphia Times
on Soldier Preachers, they being
graduatos Of West Point. A prominent
Pennsylvnnin physician wrote me that
1 hnd overlooked his father-in-law, an
eminent and learned divine. but 1
soon convinced him that his father
in-ihw never graduated. Another man
wrote me that be father, q preacher