The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-02-02
SIDNEY HERBERT'S LETTER.
AN INQUIRY ABOUT GEN. WILLIAM
MALONE.

Some Comment ON the Gubernn-
torfaI situation Superintendent
sheats' scmi-AnnuaI Report-The
Prevalence of the Military Spirit.
The Song Books Full of Soldier
MeIodies-Gen. Lee and ScOtt's
Stakeholder Matters of General In
terest.
Pine Crest Villa, Maitland, Fla, Feb.
IAN ex-Confederate officer, absent
from the country, but who gets the
Morning News in his distant home,
asks me if Gen. BILLY" Malone was
rot at one time in Congress. He was,
but as a senator from Virginia. Maj.
Gen. James A. Walker, also brave
and honored Confederate, became Il
Republican representative in Congress.
Maj, Gen. T. l.. Rosser has recently
become a Republican and aspires to
represent Virginia in the lower House
of Congress. 1t is a singu-
lar fact that the position of National
Railroad Commissioner, soon to be va
Gated, has been filled by three illus
trious Confederate generals. First by
Gen. Joseph e. Johnston of Virginia,
then by Lieut.. Gen. Wade Hampton of
South Carolina, and lastly by Lieut..
Gen. James Longstreet, who is to re-
tire, although Republican. Johnston
and Hampton were appointed by Pres
ident Cleveland as Democrats. The
office is a fat" one, and considered a
. soft snap" for the lucky occupant.
A gentlemen, who has honored his
profession (medicaD in war and in
peace, and who belongs to a noted
Southern fighting family, writes me
in this complimentary style: Your
letters are my chief pleasure in the
Sunday Morning News, and l look for
ward eagerly to their coming-I read
with interest your account of the late
ex-President Franklin Pierce, but was
always told that he was a courageous
man, and a gentleman of the finest
type. Although he was Democrat
my father, who knew him, thought him
brave, gentle and courteous" l have
no doubt my Cousin Pierce, whom I
never saw, was all that this Wing gem
.tleman thought him to be. in my
mention of him 1 only gave public
rumors regarding his ability and his
conduct in the Mexican War. This was
before the Civil War, during which he
was severely censured for being
Southern sympathiZer," or Copper
head" He was a cultured, courteous
gentleman, and the fact that he rose
from a colonel of volunteers to be a
brigadier general of regulars, and from
congressman to be President, ought
to indicate that he was a soldier and a
statesman of greater courage and abil-
ity than public rumors would seem to
indicate.
The Columbus (Ga.) Ledger wants
to know If Joe Terrell,in case he is
elected Governor, will run for the
United States Senate in 1906, and adds
that the governorship is the stepping
stone. to the Senate. anyhow" That
if Terrell is elected, should be big
IF, as. South Georgia will present a
candidate for Governor who cannot be
suspicioned of having a senatorial
bee in his bonnet" Col. ]. H. Estill
is not an aspiring politician, nor a
chronic officeseeker, but a first-class
business man, who can lift Georgia out
of her present financial troubles and
see that her public school teaehersAare
promptly paid the salaries due them
Then, again, the Ledger forgets that
no man has gone to the Senate sim
ply as governor since the surrender
Senator Brown was the most famous
and Gov. Colquitt and Gov. Gordon
went to the Senate on their military
records. Cows. James Johnson Jen-
kins, Bullock, Smith, Mcdaniel North
en-. Atkinson and Gambler were not, or
are not senators, or to-be-senators.
1 must find grain" of fault with
the printer who made me feel my
oats" in the letter of Jan. 10, by MAX
ing horse-feed out of Gen. Oates. But
it is a reminder of my early acquaint-
ance with that one-armed Confederate
hero, then Col. Oates of Abbeville, Ala.
He was a candidate for Governor, and
so was Col Barnes, now deceased, of
Opelika. l was then editing the Tracy
Messenger and favored Barnes. One
day / put this little item into my pa
per: mo sensible farmer should think
of raising Oates until he has put UP
Barnes" The next time l met Col
Oates he said: Herbert, that durn fool
thing you put in your paper has gone
all over the state, and will defeat my
nomination" l simply replied: "But it
is not a durn fool thing; it is a very
sensible idea" The convention met.
and although largely composed of plain
farmers, and Oates and Barnes were
plain, blunt men, the supporters of
each were so "sot" in their minds that
neither side would give in, and they
finally united on dude lawyer from
Mobile, who went on the platform and
accepted the nomination wearing a
flaming red necktie, with blazing
diamond pin, and having ON kid gloves
But when the election came off the
plain people voted for a plain, practi-
cal man on the Republican ticket, who
was elected Governor. Nor was this
the first nor the last time that farmers
have been unwise in the nominations.
Hon. William N. Sheats our superin
tendent of public instruction, has
kindly sent me his biennial report of
Florida schools for the term ending
June 30, 1900, and l find ii a very able
and comprehensive publication of Flor
ida's educational institutions, both pub
lie and private, as well as Protestant
and Roman Catholic. AS special aide
to the COMMUNICATIVE chief of the Grand
Army of the Republic, in charge of
military instruction and patriotism in
the schools, ! am greatly pleased to
see that many of the pictures Of school
buildings show the Stars and Stripes
noating above them, or over the school
grounds. This is true of Barlow. of
Orlando, of St. Petersburg, Of Sanford.
of Leesburg. of De Land, of Maitland
of Winter Park, OF Gainesville. of San
Antonio, and probably others not pho-
tographed. St. Petersburg seems to
be the model public school, as we'll as
the most patriotic, as the picture
shows some hundred or more flags in
the hands of the pupils in front of the
building. There Is also a fine cadat