The sun., 1910-01-22
new MEDALOF HONOR SOCIETY
Gen. KING LED IN THE SPLIT
FROM TIE Old LEGION.

Gen stcsSIes Head oG the New Order--se-
ccssl0nIsts say the Old Body was Tee
Anxious 10 Extcnd Its LInes-Aecuss
u OF Lobbying Tor Personal Pront.
A rupture that has been impending
for a considerable time has split the
Medal OF Honor Legion. and a new order
OF Medal Of Honor men has been estab-
lished. Gen. Horatio G. King Of Brooklyn.
| Gen. Daniel T.. Sickles OF New York and
Cen James NJ Sohoonmaker OF PhilA-
delphia, among others, have withdrawn
from the Medal OF Honor Legion and
with the cooperation Of other veterans
have formed the Military Order OF the
Medal OF Honor.
The trouble eliminated after the annual
meeting of the Medal Of Honor Legion
at the Hotel Astor last September. At
that meeting an attempt to elect Cen
Schoonmaker president for the new year
was attributed to Gen. King. Gen.
Schoonmaker was defeated by Major
Walter Thorne of Brooklyn. Major Thorne
charges that Gen. King was overam-
bilious in his desire to put Gen. Schoon-
maker in the presidency and that Gen.
King withdrew in a huf and presently
began the organization Of a rival in
stitution. Gen. King says that the
electoral skirmish was merely incidental
to a greater battle for a principle on
which the membership was divided.
The causes OF division, Gen. King said
yesterday. had existed in augumenting
force for three years and only reached
their elimination after the last annual
meeting. The chief of the causes, he
said. was a difference OF opinion as to
who should be eligible TO membership
| in the Medal OF Honor Legion. Cen
King and his friends hold that those
/ only should be members who received
the medal Of honor voted by Congress
for distinguished service in action, where
as, Gen. King says. the other faction
wishes the inclusion OF men who have
received the Congressional medal OF
honor for such other heroic feats. for
example. as saving person from
SO when the more inclusive party won
command, Gen. King and others with
drew and organized the newer order.
Before this was an accomplished fact
ing him that report credited the General
| with such a purpose and declaring that
this action win justify the very serious
charges OF treachery and treason The
Major therefore invited the General TO
deny or to make an explanation, This
the General declined TO do and resigned.
| He said yesterday that there had been an
| effort to force him 70 make charges against
certain members and that his refusal TO
| do this contributed to his determination
| to send in his resignation.
/ Gen. King said that the Military Order
OF the Medal OF Honor was established on
October 30 last and that number OF other
former members Of the Medal OF Honor
! Legion had resigned from that body and
; Joined the new order besides Gen. Sickles
Gen. Schoonmaker and himself. More-
over, he said, some men who had always
/ refused to join the Legion had come into
! the Military Order
Gen. Sickles is president of the new or
der, Gen. Schoonmaker vice. president
| and Gen. King, secretary.
Gen. King said that one OF the chief
| objections of those who had resigned
to the old order was that it had practically
resolved itself into a body TO effect a
a bill might be put through Congress plac-
ing all medal OF honor men on the retired
list with the rank and pay OF captains.
! amo uniting to $500 year.
| Major Thorne said that this was not
true and that Gen. King was suffering
from disappointed ambition in not having
been able to elect his presidential candi-
date last September.
Major Thorne has issued to the legion
a circular In part az follows:
IL Is deplOrable that this grand orsanI-
zation. which should go down to posterity
as the embodiment OF bravery, dignity and
manliness. should have It's worldwide rep
utation land incidentally those OF every
individual member Of IL, living or dead)
sullied and marred by efforts at class
distinction and narrowminded, selfish jeal-
ousy as the result OF disappointed am
bition.