The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-03-02
Gossip From the
 Nations Capital


 washinston. March. l.--It cusht o to ncrthesn P:Esoa who ustsrsd3 tscs3,y 11ccnad soWsrd
 ns Sn sos'e os sAs .'te consssssrats as:s:s ' ss have been in ths custody cf sas wss ws Department, beginning with lsSs. Mas . soldier of the union, htgh in author dis s vssr s wss az %sGs Hc9sssSs eesa dsnersl ss
 Drum, and during cieveisnd's first ad- ministseticn, Mho wrote q .sstsr so
 ns Rs fss. ss 6ssssisnd Ga 'ns the idea and afterwards, upon examtna- ton of his authority for the act, con- ciuded he did not have IL, II was Foraker. who had been q captain Tn the union army, and was an ambitious Ohio Republican politician, conceived thi. vas folly that ought to .S De saos ,ssa with fiery ferocity. There were some who said that MT. Cleveland was some what 6eterred by the Foraker speech
 the r:rf. n s the not ss:A sna ns se adopt the suggestion of General Drum uptil after. Captain Foraker had spok- on about It.. The flag affair was very
 and ss Il s0S Sens a oi ss.n ai have then q majority of Democrats. with the Solid South" in the saddle, resolution s was , adopted M ealing ln,,fsS foS
 standards and colors in the possession of the War pepartment, and that brougth out the whole story.
 letter from or ,S the HeS.s of Wsr told that 1t began in isss to be the GUS tom of generals commanding union ar mics In the heid to send to the War
 ssop %s ; hs ss: sna q Ss . were s44 Confederate flsgs and 2se union flags which had been captured by the Confederates and recovered by ties tns s'lia They % were at first stored in an attic room attached to the War De-
 seventeenth street, and there remained sn M wns ns. tssn St hs ns ssg were at once stored In subbasement of the building devoted to the state, War and Navy Departments and there found that boxed and stored as they were the flags were liable to decay. of the War department end of the on a'i sheives. stuck iss pigeon holds and leaned aganist the walls of the room. Congress, in isl4. passed an act giv- ing authority to the Secretary of War
 
 mics of the country in any public place ting $500 for the purpose. The secre- tary of War, in his response to the administration. said that he and his predecessors had always construed the act of 1874 as relating only to the flags
 forsgn enemies Of the Hatsd NaHY ment had acted also upon this assunp-- tion with regard to the flags that had come into its possession;
 The letter stated that flagss saken ken been turned over to the West Point Military Academy, and number oth- CTS captured in the same war had been public buildings in Washington in 1874. The flags taken from Mexico during the war with thai country went to the military academy. It was also stated lowed ioS. 0a any ' of the sfiass of the he civil war to go out of the custody of the War Department. and these had been loans for purposes of exhibition, all of
 them. with one exception. having been
 The letter from Adjutant General Drum to Secretary Endicott, suggest ing the return Q the flags of both the below, and dated April 30. issT: w. C. Endicott, Secretary of War. Sir--I have the honor to state that
 there are now in this ofhce (stored in 6 number of Union flags captured in action, but recovered on the fall of the Confederacy and forwarded to the War Department for safe keeping. together which the fortunes of war placed in our hands during the late civil war, ? While In the past favorable action Sssn assn 6r sa etaaa os flags to organizations representing survivors of the military regiments in the service of the government, I beg act of anticipating future requests of this nature, and I venture to suggest the propriety of returing all the flags, Union and Confederate, to the authorit- the regiments which bore these ooiors were organized for such final disposi- ton as they may determine.
 While in all the civilized coufa- against foreign enemies have been carefully preserved as proud memen- toes of the nations military glories, wise and obvious reasons have always ternecine troubles which. by appeals to the arbitrament of the sword. have disturbed the peaceful march of the people to their destiny.
 lover twenty years have elapsed since the termination of the late civil war. Many of the prominent leaders, both civil and military, of the late Con- federate States, are now honored repre- sentatives of the people ip the national councils, or, in other emifeht positions, lend the aid of their talents to the wise administration of the affairs of the several states composing the Union are now united, treading the broader road to a glorious future.
 Impressed with these views. I have the honor to submit the suggestion made in this letter for the careful con
 sideration 1t will receive at your hands"
 The Secretary of War considered the letter and returned 1t to the AdJutant General with this indorsement:
 The within recommendation ap- proved by the President, and the Ad- jutant General will prepare letters to troops carried the colUrs and flags now in this department, with the offer to return them as herein proposed. The history of each flag and the circum" stances of its capture or recapture should be given.
 The indorsement of Secretary Endi- cott was dated may 2e. 1887. On June I, 1887, General Drum sent circular letter to the governors of the states interested as advised informing them of the desire to return the flags. Then came President Clevelands letter to the Secretary of War revoking his approv- al as follows:
 care than when the subject was orally presented me the action of your de- partmenu directing letters to be ad- dressed to the governors of all the states, offering to return, if desired, to