The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-06-29
SIDNEY HERBERT'S LETTER.
MANY YOUNG WOMEN BECOMING
TRAINED NURSES.

Memorial Day in Ha~aii-Gen. Miles
Not SIig hted in Not Being Sent to
Witness the Maneuvers of the Ger
man Army-HoVv Gen. Miles Came
10 Be PrOmOted-WattersO Flo
quent Tribute TO Soldiers of the
"TippecanOe" Campaign some
Comments on Mrs. FeltOn's Criti-
cism of Gen. Alexander's West
Point Speech-Commencem Ex-
ercfses at the Virginia Military
Institute-other Matters of General
| Interest.
! Pine Crest Villa, Maitland, Fla, June
2s.-Stephen Habersham Elliott should
have been non-graduate, not war
graduate" of West Point, in my last
letter. The experience of wo-
men as nurses in the army hospitals
has led many young women of wealth
and culture to become trained nurses.
There have gone from this place, one
being now an army nurse in Cuba.
Miss Rosa Montgomery of
Rome, Ga, who was sponsor for the
! Georgia U. c. V. at Dallas. Tex, has
gone to st. Lukes hospital in New
York, to become a trained nurse. Her
father is a brother of the late Justice
Montgomery of Augusta, and uncle of
| Gen. William Montgomery Gardner.
file was appointed a lieutenant in the
| Third United States Artillery, in 1857,
! but resigned and entered the C. S. A.
| in 1861 Gen. Chaffee's son
has been appointed cadet at West
Point, where he will find the sons of
Gems. Macarthur and Fred Grant, and
| Capt. Reilly, who fell in the China
campaign. But they are not treated
any better at the academy than the
poorest and humblest cadets. Parent
! age and wealth don't count there. Even
Fred Grant, when his illustrious father
was general-in-chie of the United
States Army, had no special privi-
leges.
DR.. Robert P. Myers of Honolulu H.
l., kindly sends me a copy of the Com
mercial Advertiser of that city of May
81, which contains an elaborate &C
count of Memorial Day exercises in our
new territory. An editorial discusses
the question, us Memorial Day Lee
gal Holiday" in that@ territory? 1t
seems that all the public buildings were
closed for the afternoon and the United
States Court and Federal Offices were
not open. The question was raised,
however, in the Circuit Court ROOM
| where case had been given to the
jury. The consensus of opinion was in
the negative, as there is not any United
States statute creating a National Hol-
iday of any kind. Thanksgiving Day
is observed in response to an appeal
| or allYa1 aff ion fpnr ha
but not under any law of Congress.
The matter of holiday legislation
is left to the states and territories, and
they vary in their selection of men and
events to be thus honored.
The friends or enemies of Lieut.. Gen.
Miles seem to be going around with a
microscope looking for implied or sup
posed Sights" or insults to that Of
fcer. The thing has become a NUS
ance that should be speedily Wbated.
1t is not customary to detail the COM
manding general of the army to go
abroad to witness the maneuvers OF
foreign armies, so Gen. Miles is not
sighted in this matter AS to West
Point. the Secretary of War had nc
occasion to class Miles with Corbir
and Chaffee. The latter came up from
a private in the ranks of the regular
army, while Corbin started as a sort
of recruiting second lieutenant of vol
unteers. But Miles entered the volun-
teer service as a captain, and while
he was a good fighter he was never
and never will be-a good general. His
success in promotion, etc, was largely
due to the Sherman and Cameron in
huence, he having married Gen. Sher-
mans niece and Secretary of Wal
Camerons wife's sister. Instead Of
being sighted. Miles has had more
/ a n no deserved
a weak vessel"
The Springfield, Mass, Republican,
advice to Col. Estill is timely anC
right to the point. I fail to recall
in my fifty years of journalism, a sin
gle editor who really won added fam,
in political life. The most noted
Greeley and Blaine-could have wOI
more enduring fame If they had giver
all their time and talents to journal
ism on its highest plane. While l d.
not indorse the mutilated saying: "Th'
Pen is Mightier than the Sword" II
most cases the greater honor comes II
properly welding the former. Wher
nv old friend Col John w. Forney
of journalistic fame, was offered the
majority of the city of Philadelphia, he
graciously replied with his hand upoT
his heart, HE that maketh a good
newspaper is greater than he that rul-
eth a city" So can Col. Estill com.
fort himself with the ennobling thought
that "He that maketh a good newspa-
per is greater than he that ruleth g
state" There is no mere politician ir
Georgia who could have made such q
canvass as Col. Estill did and win from
all sections of the state. and from out
side its borders, more sincere and de-
served praise. He is to-day known
and respected from "Tybee light to Ra-
bun height"
Under a newspaper picture of z
Miss tombstone" of Georgia, l read
that she is a relative of Gen. Albert
Sidney tombstone" 1t is funny how
names get tinkered by careless or ig.
norant writer's. Even Gen. E. d. Keyes
u. s. A, in his Fifty Years Observa-
tions," over and over again refers t
Gen. albert Sidney Johnson" anc
vet both were West Pointers and ole
army officers. Other writers put it Gen
Albert Sydney Johnston or Johnson
Gen. Keyes seems to have been yer.
careless in writing his Observations,
as he says he was Intimate" witt
Senator e. D. Baker of Oregon, and
then adds: when the war broke out
he was commissioned a brigadier gen.
eral and fell at Bulls Bluff" And ye
; Col. Baker was never commissioned {
, brigadier general, being only colone
commanding a brigade. In a very ole
Army Register l find the name of Gen
David Z. Twigs." In another place
! find the name of Gen. Robert Edward
Lee put down as Robert Edmund