The Savannah morning news., 1902-10-04

that this is the custom prevailing in
the regular army. You know that this
is a necessity; that it is just and fair.
| becarse soldiers. on their home range
are familiar with every point on the
skirmish ground from constant prac-
tice and would therefore have an UNI
| fair advantage over visiting teams.
This applies TO Sea Grit. for the Jer-
sey team goes into camp with the
state troops every year just before the
! interstate matches, and practices upon
that range for contests held later.
| Gen. Spencer fully recognized and in
terposed no objection to this practice:
| he TESTED with Col. Brooks about the
visiting teams being out on the range
in the evening and early in the morn
ing. He knew their purpose was to
estimate distances. You cannot be
ignorant of the fact that at Sea Girt in
1899 and every other year that you
were there, men of every team were to
| be seen ranging over the grounds early
and late trying to locate objects by
which they could locate the distances.
The skirmishers were marched behind
the mess-hall in 1897. This programme
was repeated in 1899 and will doubt
less be repeated again; 1t is done SIM
ply for the purpose of surprising the
men as to the location of the
| targets. No, we have nothing
/ to deny as far as learning the
! skirmish range is concerned; we will
say that we used every fair effort To
| get all the information we could. The
truth of the matter is. and you we'll
know 1t. that the team with the best
! information about the skirmish range
| is very likely to win ths match, and
1 each team tries to outdo the. other in
this respect. When the team captain
was called away from Sea Girt in 1899,
! knowing change in the skirmish
range to be usual and probable, he in
| structed the members of the Tegimental
team to thoroughly acquaint them
selves with every locality where il was
possible to run the sldrmish. All other
teams, including yours, were getting all
the information they could. How Nir-
tuous you grow as YOU become more
malignant against the Savannah team,
and how your "honor pricks you on"
/ to defame and malign the Georgia mill
| itary and to defend the management
at Sea Girt in robbing Georgia of her
victory. We can say. in the language
of Jack Falstatf, about your honor,
What is honor? A word. What is
that word? Air A trim reckoning" If
it consoles you, so be 1t. You are very
easily consoled.
But after all said the main question
in this controversy remains to be con-
sidered. All YOU have said and writ
! ten-all we have written in following
you in your efforts to dodge the real
question is of little moment. Although
nature has limited your sight by eX-
banded blnkers yet you get glimpse
Of the danger presented by the editors
and try to run away. You seized hold
| of the Savannah team and held them
| between you and the editor to escape
the blow. 1t must not be forgotten that
| we had not spoken a word. We had
! not called in question your "honor,"
/ nor by word or act claimed to be the
| defenders of Georgia's honor. Still. as
you have dragged us into your quar-
rel with the editors and made the
| question of honor. we will take the
place of the editors and meet the issue
you have thus made. We wish it dis
| tinctly understood that this is not an
issue between Atlanta and Savannah.
nor between the military of Atlanta
and Savannah, but between the Savan-
nah team and YOU individually.
| or you and such other
members of the Horse Guard. If
there be any such, who indorse your
course towards the Savannah team.
You were at Sea Girt In 1899 You
| knew then what occurred--how a part
of the Georgia team was treated. You
were as indignant, apparently, as any
! Georgian there. You knew that bulls
eyes We're marked ON target number
eight where no bullets had gone
through. You knew that target num-
Der eight bore conclusive proof of the
fraud. You knew all the other facts
which tended to establish the fraud
on the Georgia team. Yet from 1899
to 1902 you have been laundering, hon.
ing, longing, yearning to get back to
| Sea Girt. You saw the host play the
game with an ace up his sleeve and
cheat his guest; yet you ache to get
under his roof again. You saw the
! stakes snatched out of the hands of
! your comrades in arms; yet you longed
for Sea Grit, to be the guest and asso-
ciate Of the snatcher. You saw the
door shut against three of the Georgia
team, one of them being Atkins Of your
| troop, without a trial, without notice,
without a hearing yet your honor
| does not even vince at such lawless in
justice. You still mourn for Sea Girt.
You were made to vomit at Sea Girt
in 1899, and 1900 finds you trying to re-
turn to your vomit Georgia's military
were kicked out of Sea Grit in 1892 and
you longed to abase yourself and be
kicked out again. You saw the host
play the game with loaded dice, and
yet your honor" itches to get into his
game every year.
Why this indecent humiliating cry
for Sea Grit? The Governor refused
your petition in 1900. But you are be-
witched by Sea Grit. You must get
there even if you have to go hat in
hand. In 1901, the Governor of Georgia
declined the invitation extended by the
Governor of New Jersey to the Georgia
troops to send representatives to Sea
Grit, for the reason, as you are fully
aware, that Georgia was defraudcd in
1889. This year you applied again for
permission to go. The Governor said,
put in your application regularly. You
put 1t in, of course. 1t came to Col.
Meldrim, commander of the First Cav
airy. He would not approve; he was
silent. Your honor saw nothing in
that implied disapproval-no; nothing.
1t went to Col. Cam. the inspector gen.
eral of rife practice, G. S. T. He
disaproved 1t. What of it? You
were stretching for Sea Grit. Fifty
hours in Sea Girt were worth a cycle
in Georgia to you. And so you went
and came as you went, winning moth
| ing but contempt.
Yes, return to Sea Grit. No honor
| will be sacrificed. for from nothing
nothing remains. Return to your wal
| low, but not in high beavers and
Prince Alberts. the negro minstrels
| regulation suit. Put on sackclothe
and ashes and return as Flagellants-
as Lazaruses-and eat the coveted
crumbs thrown to you by the hands
that thimble-rigged you in 1899. We
pray you do not pose as a soldier-as
a Georgia captain. Go as a summer
| tramn. as a stray neOphVte in Run-