The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1917-05-18
From Mondays Daily.

| uc OcCOlu IS6luCuI uduu, MiuhC-
sofa national guard, will be located
(, in Mankato.
If Lieutenant Herbert Nj. Hauck oil
Company H desires at once the cap
taincy of Company H, his appointment
| is ready for him.
! The publication of the Thompson
leteter in The Free Press did not in.
fuence Colonel Mollison in making
! appointments.
These facts developed during visit
of Colonel w. T. Mollison of :. Fari
| bault to Mankato yesterday. The
colonel held conference with sew
eral well known Mankato gentlemen
yesterday afternoon at the Elks' club
house. Colonel Mollison wanted it
distinctly understood that he was not
placing the band in Mankato as q
peace offering" to this city.
There were present at this meet
ing C. r. Holbrook, DR.. A. G. Liedloff.
Wallace Sterling, r. M. Currier,
John c. Wise, ]. E. Reynolds, Lieu
tenant Cyril Spicer of Company H,
and Captain HI. s. Nelson of Owa-
tonna.
Colonel Mollison went into a history
of the old question in regard to Com
,, pany H, why he appointed a captain
outside of Mankato. He first appoint
ed Donald Mckenzie of Faribault,
thinking he was a proper man. The
colonel claimed, however. that he did
not appoint him because he was from
his own town.
Colonel Mollison made the state
ment that when the men went down
to the border, Captain Scott was in
command of Company III and later re-
signed. Colonel Mo1lison said he
looked over the ground and was of
the opinion that Company III was not
disciplined up to the point that it
should be. He said he had not ac-
quainted himself with the efficiency
of the other officers in the company.
He said he was not acquainted with
either Lieutenant Hauck or Lieuten-
ant Spicer. He was not acquainted
with their military experience.
Appointed Donald Mckenzie.
At that time the colonel decided to
appoint Donald Mckenzie, but not be-
cause he was from his home city OF
Faribault. The colonel claimed that
he did not take that into considera-
ton at all, but was thinking of act
ing for the best interest of the COM
pany. The colonel went on to say that
at that time, Mckenzie was on re-
cruiting service in Minnesota, and
did not accept the appointment, in
asmuch as he expected to retire from
the service.
Then Colonel Mollison went on to say,
he appointed Lieutenant Cosgrove OF
Company K at st. Peter. He did this
wholly with the idea of making more
efficient the company. Afterwards,
when the company took its hike OF
a number Of miles, the colonel dis
covered that Lieutenant Hauck was
very good officer, but inasmuch as
he had appointed Cosgrove, he could
not very we'll rescind the order. Ref
erence was made also to the tele-
gram that was sent from !. the war
department inquiring into conditions
prevailing in the Second regiment.
The colonel made the statement that
Iif anyone desired to ask any ques-
tions, he would gladly answer them.
The Thompson Letter.
J. E. Reynolds asked him If it was
not fact that the publication of the
famous Thompson letter had caused
the colonel to make statements to
certain parties that he would show
Mankato that that city was not run
ming his regiment, that the Mankato
people could not tell him what he
should do and that he was going to
appoint somebody outside of Com
pany III to command it; also that his
attitude toward Mankato and Conn
pany H was based on the Thompson
| letter. II
Mr.. Reynolds stated that The Free
| Press had no apology to make for
| the publication of the Thompson let
| ter, but there had been a misunder-
standing on the part of the officers
of the Second regiment and some
people in Mankato, that the criticisms
made by The Free Press were not
directed against the officers of the
regiment but were directed against
| the general government, and that In
asmuch as the regiment had been
stationed at Fort Smelling for sever
al weeks and the government knew
| where this regiment was going In
Texas, it seemed that conditions
ought to have been better to receive
the members of the national guard
than they were.
| Entitled to Good Treatment.
| Mr.. Reynolds further stated thai
young men who were taken from
| American homes were entitled te
better treatment and to be received
iunder better conditions than was the
lease with the members of the ma
tional guard when they went to the
Mexican border. Young men taker
from American homes and brough
| up as Americans ought to be treated
| like Americans. Mr.. Reynolds salt
/ that while he recognized the fac
that soldering is a cold bloodet
| business and that soldiers must pu
Iup with difficulties and hardships, a
4 the same time the government wa'
1 open to criticism for the manner IL
(which the national guardsmen wer'
dumped into Texas.
+ Mr.. Reynolds went on to say tina
4 other letters, equally as critical a
/, the Thompson letter had been re
Iceived by the people in Mankato. Blu
had never been permitted to see tn
light of day.
1 Colonel Mollison stated that he ha,
never made any statements /as al