The morning journal-courier., 1908-01-08
AN UNFORTUNATE INCIDENT.

Velt ana so much that IS upHfung Tn | his presidential policies that it is pity l that every now and then he should display a distinctly unlovely and vio- lent trait of character, It would be far preferable to dwell upon the finer than upon the coarser revelations of his na- ture, but in so far as the coarser reve- lations affect seriously. and more or less disastrously, the regulations oi men who have never before had their integrity and sincerity questioned. avoidance of them would simply mag
 nifty the original injustice Even the President of the United States ought not to be protected in an unfair cru sade against men whose offense, if off, fense at all, is limited to a conscien- tious difference of judgment.
 The President has given many exam ples of his disregard for self-restraint when his path is crossed or his will questioned, but we question if he has ever shown quite the disregard for the good name of an honorable gentleman tbst he has shown in the sase of Ad- miral Brownson Q: the Cnited States navy. A difference of opinion arose be- tween the admiral and Dr Pixey, the ranking surgeon in the service. over the command of hospitn; ship. In the judgment of the sea dog the snip should be commanded by naval otii- cers while the hospital should be un- der the control of the medical depart that .he hospital ship should come un- der the command cf the medical de- partment and ranked accordingly. Ad- miral Brownson argues that suc, q disposition of the controversy is in vf- olation of established naval usage. Afrayght with danger to the efficiency M. the fleet and clearly opposed to tae intent of the law. This is what he said in respectful letter to the President
 his commander in chief. Evidently Dr Rixey, who is the White House physi- clan, got nearer the presidential ear for to the surprise of Admiral Brown son, who had reason to suppose that he enjoyed to the utmost the conf dence of the President, MT. Roosevelt tartly directed the Rixey program to be enforced. At this point Admiral Brownson, who is on the retired list though at the moment on active detail, resigned from the bureau over which he has presided with dignity His resig- nation was accepted and his successor appointed That in brief Is the story of the unfortunate incident.
 Why the incident was not then con- sidered a, closed incident we do not know. It was suddenly reopened by President Roosevelt in letter to Sec retary of the Navy Metcalfe, in which he handles Admiral Brownson and his contentious without gloves and in a spirit somewhat, if not actually brutal What made the matter worse was the suppression of the letter which the ad- nliral had written to the President and which should have been published at the same time his own letter to the secretary was published in order that the country could judge for itself as to the merits of the controversy. Its belated publication can only be ex. plained on the ground that the Presi. dert heard from the country and con cluded that further suppression would injure his doctrine of the square deal The President in his letter described : Admiral Brownson's conduct as "un- seemly,'' improper injurious, " "discreditahle, childish" "reprehen. sible," provoked by personal pique,'
 wounded vanity" fractional feeling and finally inspired by "disloyalty." A more sweeping condemnation of an of ficer in the service of the United States could not have been penned. Il walks as with brother by the side of the Presidents denunciation of for. mer Ambassador Storer and Henry NJ Whitney Admiral Brownson resigned not because he officially resented the action Of his commander in chief, but because he became convinced that the reversal of his order, which was based upon the traditions of the navy and the law as the navy has always inter. preted it, carried with it the destruc. tor of the confidence hitherto reposec fin him by the officers of the navy 'The efficiency of the fleet can only bt maintained when the officers and mel feel that the chief of the Bureau o
 Navigation has the confidence of tn, commander in chief of the army anC navy and when a strong military spir it exists in the service Under tn, circumstances he found that no al formative" was left him but to resign
 As our readers can testify. we hav' never held President Roosevelt re sponsible for the financial crisis. WI have regretted that he saw fit to us' language in discussing adverse condi