Evening star., 1947-05-13
By GEORGE Kennedy

By George Kennedy
Harry patterson stepped into the
place Of the fallen first sergeant
and called the roll.
chisholm (silence), Maupin ISL
lence), Smelling (silence), Brown"
present"
Cornish"
Present"
Fifteen answered present. The
roll caller turned to Col. Leroy
Heron and said:
Lieutenant, the company is all
present or accounted for
That was last night at the 49th
anniversary dinner in the May
flower Hotel of the mastering IN OF
the Morton Cadets as Company G
of the lst District Of Columbia
Volunteer Regiment in the Spanish
American War.
Average Age 68.
Their average age was SO, and
in 1898 it was 10. The Morton
Cadets were Washington's pride
before the Spanish h-American War.
They carried out the military ira
dition Of Washington's high schools,
from which they all came. They won
drill prizes at San Antonio and
They even won the
Galveston Cup for the best military
drill performance OF any company
in the Nation.
They were named after Levi p.
Morton Of New York, Benjamin
Harrison's Vice President.
On evenings like last night, back
in the 9os, Washington residents used
to gather on the curb in front OF
the old Arlington Hotel where the
Veterans Administration now is
located and watch them drill on
Vermont avenue N.W. between I
md H streets. And when the var
came, they showed they weke not
play soldiers. Ninety -eight per cent
Of them volunteered.
On May 10, 1898, they were mus
tered into the Federal service. They
took the trolley out to Dun Loring
and encamped on the outskirts Of
Falls Church. They named it Camp
Alger after Russell A. Alger Of Michi-
gan, the Secretary Of War. They
were the first there. 1t became a
big camp in the next few months.
Reviewed by Mckinley.
When they returned to Washing
ton in their regiment to entrain for
the South, President Mckinley re-
viewed them. They embarked from
Tampa for Cuba in July in what
was considered a reckless military
movement because Admiral Cervera's
Spanish fleet, which could have
wiped them out, was still fleet in
existence"
They landed east Of Santiago and
invested the city. There has been
. tendency of present-day writers
to make fun Of that campaign with
3O0-pound Maj. Gen. william r
Shafter riding his burro up from the
beach and 1t. Col. Theodore Roose-
velt jumping of 80 minutes ahead
of zero hour to be sure that his
Rough Riders would be the FIRST tc
encounter the enemy.
These teen-age boys from Wash
ington did not have quite the ex-
periences of Washington National
Guard units of the 29th Division
in the use-Argonne in 1918, OF
the Washington men in the same
division who waded in at Omaha
Beach and crashed through at
st. Lo, or of the 5th Marine
Reserve Battalion men who went
from Washington to Guadalcanal.
But 1t was real war to them. They
were under enemy fire-sniper and
artillery. But they never were de-
ployed into . position where they
could fire at the Spaniards.
Yellow Fever Struck.
They were on the outskirts Of
Santiago when the city surrendered.
There were only 50 of them. That
was the table Of organization In
1893. They were marched back to
camp on Kettle Hill where the
yellow jack struck them. It was
Just fever to the Army doctors. One
Of their number died there-Socrates
Maupin. They brought his body
back with them to Montauk Point,
Lcng Island, and he is buried in
Arlington Cemetery.
Last night much Of the dinners
ceremony was given over to me-
MORALS Of John A. Chisholm, their
first sergeant in Cuba. Mr.. CHS
holm, a plate printer at the Bureau
of Engraving and Printing, brought
them together every year. He died
two weeks after last years dinner.
1t was his place Mr.. Patterson was
taking.
"He was not . man Of great
affairs" said John Bethune, an at
torney whom President Hoover sent
to Europe ON q tariff mission. HE
was great man"
Col. Heron, advertising direc-
tor Of The Star, was second lieu
tenant Of the company In Cuba.
He didn't get back to Montauk.
He had the yellow fever and a
hospital ship delivered him to an
Army hospital in Boston to die. His
father, j. Whit Heron, then busi-
ness manager of The Star. arrived
and rescued him. He Is the only
surviving oficer.
Glover Henlein last night tele-
phoned from Seattle, Wash. his
home, to say he would be at the
50th dinner next year.
Rest Of Roster.
| Here is the rest Of the roster Of
those who were there last night:
Capt. George Gilman, who became
. proof reader On Tns Baltimore
sun: Clarence Brown, who @ super.
tntendent of the incinerstor at thu