The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-08-08
Retirement of Miles

and technically commanding the army,
the fact has been apparent that he has
had no more influence than his own
office boy. 1t would be stretching
point to say that Gen. Miles has had
a fair deal. for he has not. His recent
trip to the Philippines was that of
man with a sore heart, and doubtless
he was blinded by prejudice Of
which he himself was not aware. His
reports were discreditab1e. to the army.
and they were discreditable to Miles.
1t should have been his pride to sustain
| the officers and the rank and file, but
| he seems to have searched out every
fault and to have exaggerated the
fault when found. Much can be for
given him.
| Nelson A Miles entered the army
from civil life when hardly more than
a boy. AT the age of twenty-five he
| was commander of a corps. His rec
ord was that Of the brilliant and patri-
otic American soldier. When peace
was declared between the North and
/ the South Miles had reached the dig
nifty of brigadier general of volun-
teers. He did not return to his old
calling, but elected to stay with the
army. His advance was won on merit.
During the years that elapsed between
his humble start and his appointment
as lieutenant general he had been ac-
| tive in the service. He was in many
| campaign among the Indians, and al
ways with credit to himself and his
| troops. Ever was he the dashing, i'm
petuous soldier He undertook the
pursuit of Geronimo after the vaunted
Crook had failed, and he soon had the
Apaches and their murderous chief SUI
ing for peace. He was never placed in
a position of danger where he flinched,
| nor had to face a military emergency
4 H. I, L
was on the field. 1t was in the time of
4 profound peace that Miles lost some
| thing of his hold upon the popular es-
TEEN. He was ambitious, a man of
! fine presence; possibly conceited by
reason of his success in battle. AS
| senior among the major generals. he
| was named as the lieutenant general.
| and while there was not the slightest
ground for opposing him, there was
! opposition So far as authority was
/ concerned, he was set aside by Corbin,
/ just as the heroes of the navy were
| Shelved by Crowninshield whenever
| this was possible. If he made a sug
| gestion it was thrust aside. If he gave
an order it was ignored. SO this strong
man fretted and fumed: knew that he
was being sighted. and denied the
privilege of specific protest.
Not long ago Gen. Miles made a
horseback ride of ninety miles in rec
| ord time. He had the right to do this.
He was out on a tour of inspection,
and the privilege of travelling as he
| pleased certainly belonged to him. Yet
! there were sneers. and insinuations
that he was trying to be spectacular.
Nobody smiled when Miles rode fast
| and far on the trail of hostiles. There
were no shrugs when he was pushing
| into the mountains of Arizona where in
any shadow death might lurk The
fashion Of scoffing at Gen. Miles is in
| imitation of a cheap and thoughtless
pattern. He is a good soldier, a good
/ citizen and his army career shows this.
1 He has made some mistakes of tenn
! per; been misled by the promptings Of
foolish friends; irritated and CALLED by
the snubbing received at the hands of
those whose i'll opinion another man
would have brushed aside. The fact
remains that the people of this country
appreciate Miles. and that they resent
the abuse Of which he has been the
victim. He wall retire with their good
Will.-Tacoma Ledger.
Jubilation will start among the war
/ bureauerats Friday night, for on the
next day Lieut.. Gen. Nelson Appleton
4 Miles will retire from the active list of
! the army. and S. B. M. Young will be-
! COu1e Cu1eI OIL the general stan aCIdch-
! ed to Secretary Roots desk, the title
OF lieutenant general ceasing to exist
1 with Gen. Miles retirement. There will
| be, however, sincere regret that born
/ fighter, real soldier, and a man with
a superb record should depart from the
| command, which he won by genuine
/ heroism, and whose duties he per-
! formed with singular patriotism, cour-
! age and honor, despite the persistent
al nlyC of ha 1ayriO
the civil list. The people will follow
Gen. Miles with esteem wherever his
/! lines may fall. They will watch with
doubts that may be resolved the opera
lions of the bureaucratic scheme to
keep army affairs Theoretically sealed
! within a department conducted by
clerks, who would sicken at the dis
tant odor of powder.-Pittsburg Post.
/ Why Gen. Miles took his famous ride
he tells himself as follows: l wanted
1 to satisfy myself as to the character of
| the horses with which the cavalry is
| being supplied, and the effect of diff
ferent roads on their riders. l wanted
to compare the cavalry horses of today
with those of the past, and draw con-
illusions that might be of benefit to the
army There have been some COM
l
taken in the selection of cavalry horses
as formerly, and that this has been a
| cause of assertions in that arm of the
service. By riding nine horses selected
at random over ninety-mile stretch.
believed that 1 could best secure all
4 of the information l wanted, and 1
did" Something of an accomplishment
1 for man sixty-four years old, what
! ever his Observation-Disclosures Union
/ With the retirement, this week, Of
/ Gen. Miles, account of his having
/ reached the age limit, the United States
army loses one of the best men that
| ever commanded our troops. A
| bluff old fighter and blunt old talker
| he won the hearts of the people and
| the love of the army by his honesty
and fairness. Brave in the presence
of physical danger, he was equally
courageous to speak for what he con-
sidered the under dog. Hence the dis
favor with which the high and mighty
| in officialdom regard him--Jordan In
dependent.