The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-05-04
WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK
General Miles and HIS Report

70 the Editor of The Journal.
It Is not generally known how rigid az
teel an army officers official report must
,e. If he is member of a court martial,
nay be to try fellow officer who has
Deen a life long friend, part Of the oath
le takes on such occasion is that he will
veil and truly try the case now before him
without partiality, favor or affection.
1t never occurs to the high minded,
experienced army officer to resolve him
'elf into what is vulgArly called a white
washing committee, but to state the un-
vanished truth as it comes before him,
regardless OF consequences, for anything
ess than that, to him is less than duty.
This TRADE against General Miles for his
recent report on the Philippines q "a mar
with "a grievance is most unfair.
I He has been before the public in q most
conspicuous way since the early seventies, !
when he first commenced his campaign
against our Indians, q race so forcefui,
cunning and cruel that the Filipino is |
almost as harmless as monkey III COM
parism, and yet in all his desperate en-
gagements he never returned cruelty for
cruelty1to them, nor did he allow any of
his subordinates to practice It, He was q
terrible fighter in the open and his in
structions to his command We're inyari- |
ably, never be at a disadvantage with the |
enemy, never let him get behind you. al
ways expect the worse but when the In
W
treated like human beings. This man is
too brave to-be cruel and anything SAVIOR
ing of cruelty is most revolving to him.
What a splendid record he has (not count
ing his civil war experience which was
almost ron1antic). Where others failed he
succeeded and as a consequence Won their
envy, but every man now in the Yellow
stone valley and in Arizona must bless
him in. their hearts for the peace and pro-
lection they now enjoy. We need not re-
fer to his conduct at Pine Ridge during
the crazy ghost dance, where about 5000
warriors were in a frenzy. Nor at the
riot in Chicago.
public life to-day, to whom this country
is under as substantial obligations for
doing things as to General Miles, for doing
his whole duty in the most reckless disre-
gard of self in blistering heat, in biting
frost, by night and by day-counting his
but his whole duty as everything.
This is not intended as a panegyric on
General Miles, but as reminder in the
present clamor that this man is of the
highest character, both by training and in
heritance, scion Of the best blue blood
Of New England, a child Of those who
walked undismayed the solitary heights of
duty and Of everlasting service to man
kind Fair Play.
What the Legislature Accomplished.
To the Editor Of The Journal.
They passed q large number of bills,
but whether a large proportion of them
will not cause more harm than good, 1t
will take time to tell
The one Of first Importance, and I'M
doubtedly the most popular, was the gross
earnings tax. Next in Importance is the
bill limiting the hours of continuous labor
of engineers and fren1en, on locomotives.
Doubtless no one thing has been a great
er promoter of accidents, on trains, than
the condition of men in charge thru lack
of sleep. $685.
Then the increase of state aid to the
schools is matter of Importance, and will
be appreciated by nearly everybody in
the state.
!. Also the bill looking to the adjustment
Of the grand jury, is a meritorious act.
The more simply and economically we can
have our courts administered the more
likely are we to have justice property
meted out
These are all that wou'1 consider OF
any special value to the sta but on the
other hand there are few bills which
passed, which are, in my estimation,
worse than no legislation. The. bill
creating a large number OF additional
boiler inspectors, is one of the worse
than worthless one. We. already have al
-.
would seem that the legislature had a
good many of that class on hand, for
whom they spent a good deal of time and
effort to find or make place.
Then there are a good many which are
so decidedly local, that without doubt they
will be declared unconstitutional.
p, The legislature left the board of con-
troll just as it was There should be no
exceptions Of any state institutions and
above all others, the state university and
school of agriculturure should be kept
under the board.
1t did not pass the bill to change the
constitution upon simple majority vote;
right again, our constitution should com
mand respect, and if it Is made easy to
change it, we will lose respect for it.
It did not establish a state commission
of highways nor of taxes. Good again.
On the other hand, the legislature did
not pass some of the most meritorious
bills which came before it. For example,
the bill for the suppression Of bucket
shops; the dog tax bill, of great import
ance (there are thousands of sheep killed
in the state, every year, by dogs, and
there is no reason why the owners of the
dogs of the state should not pay the loss
| caused by them. A correspondent in
tt he J ournal a few days ago made a
plea against their taxation on the ground
that a good many men had a large amount
were raising them for the market, and a
| tax would injure their business. This
very argument defeats the point which he
seeks to establish. There are a great
i many men in the state who have large
| sums of money invested in sheep Of
i valuable breeds, and are raising them for
sale, yet no one has been heard to sug-
gest that sheep be exempt from taxation
The legislature did not pass the bill pro.
| hibiting a, regent of a state institution
holding another office or position In the
same institution. This bill was eminently
right, in principle, and should have
| passed. regardless. of the press.
! The bill abolishing three Of our norma
| schools, and establishing other education.
| al institutions instead, was treated largely
! as a joke; yet we, as a state. are getting
! the least out of them, in proportion tt
| cost, of any of the state institutions, and
| they sem to be falling more and more
| into disfavor, especially since SO many
! city high schools are putting in norma
/ departments and with the additional state
aid this tendency will grow
4 Upon the whole, there was some good
some bad and much Indifferent work done
4 It would just about balance If the legis
4 lature had not met at all. the state woult
il have been just as well off, as far as bill
passed are concerned; and would hay,
4 saved the expense.
i &C. II. Norton.
4 Dodge Center.
1 Music Hail Sites.
+ To the Editor Of Tho Journal.