The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-03-23
SIDNEY HERBERT'S LETTER.
col. BEN. GREENE's ARTICLE ON
GOODWIN SMITH.

rhs Youngest Volunteer in the Civil
war-The Reference to Gen. Hugh
..cCau CONNIE nded-COmment on
.he Presidents Veto of Bills Re-
moving Charge of Desertion-A
Reform Respecting Certain Names
Rccomme nded - Commissioner of
PENSIONS Evans and His Critics.
solid Plank i'm Sol. EstiIFs Plat
form-Data From Major Cumming.
some other Matters of Special In
terest.
Pine Crest Villa, Maitland, Fla,
March "a see that Mr.. Ben Greene
g after Goodwin Smith with "a sharp
st,ck" for his abuse of the South but
e is a case of useless waste of good
ommunition on bad game. Sensible
neople long ago learned. to treat this
nreiudicial writer with silent con-
+ampt. Mr.. Greene has favored me
With copy of his little book on politi-
cal economy, and it clearly shows that
he is a pungent and ready writer.
- Another youngest volunteer in
the Civil War" has come to the front
ont in Kansas City, Mo-, and his pic
+ures. as he appeared as a drummer
how in 1862, as a courier in 1866, and
az citizen in 1901, are published with
q sketch of his career, in the San Fran
cisco Chronicle. He went into the war
at 10 years of age and came out in 1865
only 10 years of age, yet with record
for heroism that commended him for
a Medal of Honor" There are so
oil Y1tS hnnnp Of ho
ing the youngest soldier" that
Philadelphia lawyer will be puzzled to
decide which one is really entitled to
the honor. 1t is not unlikely that
other claimants may appear.
am not losing any sleep over the
Nathaniel and Nathaniel Greene mat
engraving Of TrumbulIs portrait of
mai Gen. Nathaniel Greene" pub
Ushed in 1884 by the American Acad-
envy of the Fine Arts But the auto
graph of Gen. Greene, underneath it,
is simply "Nath Green which corre-
spends with one of the early official
army records of his name. A
very prominent Confederate veteran in
Georgia writes me as follows: l thank
YOU for your article in Sundays Morn
ing News about Maj Gen. Hugh Nc
Call" After referring to the action
of the Joseph Habersham Chapter, D.
A. R., and adding that the matter was
twice brought to the attention of the
state librarian. he adds: you are
the only one who has substantiated the
statements made to him, and 1 am glad
to see it done by such high authority"
This gentleman is correct in his adj
vocacy of a correction of all such SEEM
ing errors. In some cases, no doubt,
there may be no error discovered and
ftao frtTfl 1Nn 6r,,a
established.
Every brave and patriotic soldier of
the old Union armies will applaud
President Roosevelt in putting his veto
to bills removing the charge of deser-
ton" from the service. An honorable
discharge" is a priceless legacy for the
veteran to leave to his children, and no
door should be opened by Congress 10
let into this noble army of old soldiers
an unworthy or disgraced comrade
More than this; Nearly every such de-
serter is after pension, an undeserved
reward for his cowardice or bounty
jumping. Pension sharks are sending
H out circulars stating that the charge of
desertion can be removed and a PEN
sion secured. 1t is to be hoped that
President Roosevelt will not be infu-
enced tc 'let up" on this class because
of any clamor from congressman in be-
half of their constituents who seek this
kind of relief. see by the Congress
sional Record that the House calendar
is flooded with private pension bills
and bills for the relief of deserters.
Why. | ask as an old Union soldier
ever faithful to the flag, should we
have a Pension Bureau if Congress is
to be made a channel to secure PEN
sions that cannot be secured through
the proper channel because the claims
TQ1I .
some cases calling for special legisla-
ton and to these l do not refer; but
more than half the private bills are
not of this class.
Col. Thomas j. Appleyard of the
Lake City (Fla) Index, who was IN
the Confederate navy and army from
Virginia, seems to have "camped on
my trail" as he says in his spicy pa
per- of March IA. Maj. Sidney Her
bert's letter, in last Sundays Savan-
nah News, refers to William Z. wick
ham as a Confederate general. The
Major is so accurate that we must
suggest he put an s. on to the VIII
liam and make it read Williams {.
Wickham'" Now, Tom used to set
my copy some thirty years ago, and
he is first-class, all-round printer,
but he ought to know that not one
printer in a thousand will set up Will
Hams Rutherford, or Johns Hopkins,
or Phillips Brooks and not leave off the
IS" which never should be allowed on
such common names. Only printers
who know of these persons ever set up
their names according to copy. So far
as General and Congressman Wickham
is concerned, the Rebellion RECORD"
and the official list of Confederate con-
gressmen from which / obtained my
information, have plain William.
| am in favor of q law forbidding the
use of any such front names as Will
hams and Johns and Phillips.
The report that at last Pension
Commissioner Henry Clay Evans is q
"go"-well. may go within the next
few months"-is amusing. After years
OF fighting against him by a horde of
hungry pension sharks and their
hackers, with a few honest old sol
ders who think their claims have not
been fairly treated by him, we are told
mat he is to be promoted, or "let up
easy into a higher and better posi-
uon. This looks like a poor way to
punish an official who has been as
fcundly denounced as Commissioner
Evans has been for years past. Gen.
Dan Sickles came to Cleveland, and
uncorked his Walls of wrath" into the
" A. r. National Encampment but
the next day asked to withdraw all
ne had said. The pension committee, in