The Savannah morning news., 1904-02-07

Wis has introduced bill for ma
tfonal soldiers home in Florida; Con-
gresham Sparkman has followed with
a bill to make the scene of the awful
Dade massacre a national park; Hon.
Frank Clark, a candidate to succeed
Congressman Davis, has pledged him
self to introduce, if elected, a bill to
make a national park of the famous
Olustee battlefield.
My friend Frank NJ. Jolly, formerly
of the Plant System, but now with the
P. and o. Steamship Company, at
Jacksonville, writes me that there is
"a little controversy among the boys
in the Office as to the rank Of Gen.
Gordon" and he appeals to me for a
settlement of the question. AS 1 have
recently stated in these letters, there
is no cloud of any kind on Gen. Cor
don's title to the rank of lieutenant
general in the Confederate States
Army. Whether his commission
reached him or not, at the surrender
he held the undisputed rank and COM
mand of lieutenant general, and was,
in fact, nearer to Gen. Lee at that
period than any other lieutenant gem
eral. But every once and a while
some Smart Aleck' pops up and says
he did not get his commission and
therefore was only a major general.
And the same is said of Brig. Gen.
Francis S. Barlow, who is often called
a colonel yet he fell in battle COM
handing his own brigade, which Pres
ident Jefferson Davis said to me was
better than any commission he could
have signed. The rank and titles of
Gordon and Barlow admit of no ques-
ton.
oil fVia
u. S. A. (retired) is now president of
a new gun company, promoting a
wonderful cannon invented by
a Cleveland, o., genius; a gun that
has no recoil, and for which he ex-
poets great things. Now let him get
hold of political 'gun" that can be
fired at the approaching presidential
campaign that will have no ''recoil."
Most of the guns now being fired by
Watterson, Bryan & Co., appear to
have part OF deadly 'recoil" Sing
ularly enough however a Cleveland
man (Grover) seems to fire a gun with
little If any "recoil." 1t is
more and more evident that Gov. Ter
rell made a big blunder when he de-
clined the detail OF retired" army
officer to duty with the adjutant gen.
eral of Georgia. Several retired"
brigadier generals some being West
Pointers with brilliant service records,
have been detailed to other states. In
my humble judgement" as Gov.
Brown used to say, | think 1t a bad
practice to detail army officers to duty
in their native states, where. possibly.
they may have friends to reward and
enemies to punish" They are better
disciplinarians when on duty among
strangers, so far as my observation
goes.
The Navy Department at Washing
ton does not appear to consider that
the United States 'is'' a nation. Gem
Orders No. SOL. of June o. 1900, says:
THE United States of America ac-
knowledge and protect, in hostile
countries occupied by their forces, re-
ligion and morality" According to
this the United States ARE" a nation.
How great minds, as well as high au-
thorities, differ on this question.
Chief Mcguire has no doubt
noticed the newspaper reports OF de-
structive fires recently IN schools and
colleges, in some OF which the pupils
were burned 10 death. badly injured.
or had very narrow escapes. In the