The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-12-14
SIDNEY HERBERT'S LETTER.
SOME FACTS ABOUT THE LATE
MINISTER TO JAPAN.

Comment on the Proposition TO
Place "A Monument 10 Lieut.. Brum-
by in the Grounds of the Capitol
at AtIanta-A Few Facts About An
dcrsOnviIIe-Advice 10 "BiIl Arp"
Worried by "A Statement in n Book
NOtfce-A Number of other Matters
of General Interest.
Pine Crest Villa, Maitland, Fla, Dec.
13.-My spOndents have over
whelmed me with communications. and
I can only note their arrival this week.
Mr.. Martin Van Buren, Van Ness. Of
the distinguished New York family,
writes me an important Revolutionary
War letter: Comrade John Axtell of
Fleming, Ga. sends me some inter-
esting matter: Dr. w. S. Johnston of
Rocky Ford, Ga, loans me Lieut.. Tot
tens book, which 1 shall soon notice;
F. D. w, of Savannah. gives me
very interesting letter about the Vir-
ginia Military Institute which 1 shall
Use in the near future: Rev. DR.. n.
Keff Smiths welcome letter has not
been overlooked. as is the case with
several others. one of which refers to
eX-Gov. John Adam Treutlen. All will
be attended to as speedily as possible.
My SEVENTEEN birthday, on
Dec. 10, passed off very quietly, and
yet quite pleasantly. 1 had a sufficient
number of callers not to weary me,
and the letters of congratulation were
of a most encouraging character. The
gifts were not numerous, the first COM
ing from the Good Samaritan" of Sa-
vannah; but l priced the letters most
of all, the first coming from Brig. Gen.
w. H. Jewell, commander, at Orlando,
Fla, of the Third Brigade, U. c. V.
No gift of gold or silver could be val
ued by me as highly as l prize the
tender and beautiful fraternal senti-
ments of this letter from U. c. v.
to a G.. A. r.
Col A. E. Buck. the deceased Min
lister to Japan, was well known to Sa-
Vannah lawyers through his long ca
reer as L. S. marshal and clerk of
the United States Court in Atlanta.
We were born the same year in Maine,
and were students at the Waterville.
Me-, College, now Colby University. He
entered the Union army in 1861 as cap
tain in the Thirteenth Maine Infan-
try, of which Frank S. Hesseltine,
also we'll known in Savannah. was
lieutenant colonel. HIS last service
was as lieutenant colonel of a colored
regiment. After the war he lived in
Mobile, and represented that district
in Congress, and although a Republic
can he made a very good record. Lat
er he came to Atlanta, and in addition
to his political offices he was interest
ed with Gen. Willard Warner and 9TH
ers in the "Tecumseh" Iron and Coal
Company, named for Gen. VIM. Te-
cumsah Sherman. Col. Buck was
staunch Republican, yet he proved a
good citizen to Atlanta. and was an
efficient public officer. Not being of
genial. social nature. his friends were
only those intimately associated with
him, but his accomplished wife was
quite popular in Peachtree street So
cial circles.
The Morning News Is correct in OBJ
jecting to the monument to Lieut.. T.
M. Brumby, u. S. N, being placed on
the Capitol grounds in Atlanta. 1t is
true that he was a gallant officer and
occupied conspicuous place with Ad-
miral Dewey at Manila, but he was
not killed in battle, nor did he die of
disease contracted in the service. The
real cause of his death was too much
reception and entertainment and ex-
posture at public gatherings on his re-
turn home. Admiral Dewey would
have suffered the same fate had he not
declined many public honors and given
proper attention to his health. The
monument to Lieut.. Brumby is a we'll
deserved tribute from his friends, but
it is not state affair and should not
be placed on the capital grounds. Nor
should the same mistake be made that
caused the removal of Senator B. ii.
Hills statue from Peachtree street to
the Capitol rotunda, and that now
makes the Grady monument so I'M
slightly in the middle of dirty Mari
eta street. Macon and Athens and
Augusta made the same mistake in To-
eating their Confederate monuments.
If monument cannot be placed in a
square, as has been done with the Sa-
vannah monuments, it should be To-
Gated in some quiet residence street
as was done in Columbus, and with
Augustus first Confederate monument
1t was glad to see that the delegates
to the Georgia Baptist Convention
stopped over at Andersonville, en- route
to Americas. 1t was not many years
ago that the simple mention of the
name of this place was unpleasant to
the ears of thousands of people But
to-day, thanks to the c. A. r. and the
w. r. c., it is one of the attractive
spots whose scars from war have been
covered with beautiful flowers, fra
grant with fraternal odors. General
Passenger Agent Halle of the Central
of Georgia Railroad deserves great
credit for publishing his Anderson
vile; How to Reach 1t" booklet A
glance at its handsome illustrations
shows what nature and art have done
to obliterate the sad memories of that
once dreaded prison stockade and make
it lovely spot, where the Blue and
the Gray alike can meet and mingle
most pleasantly. Thousands of dollars
have been spent there in identifying
the place, and Massachusetts has
erected monument to her 767 dead
soldiers buried there, and New Jer-
sey has done the same for her zO7.
while Rhode Island is preparing to