The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 19, 1898, Page 19

I , o N~ Az | 2 4\ THESE PICTURES ARE THE FIRST AUTHENTIC ONES PUBLISHED FROM ACTUAL PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE BATTLE. 2 Special Correfpopdepl o ‘»\\ DEAD CARRIED To® BURIAL ONE DAY'S RUSHING SCENES ABOUT THE DESK OF SECRETARY OF WAR ALGER. Speclal War Correspondence of The Call. Y 9 o'clock in the morning the we rn corridors of the big gray building which shelters the St War and Navy Depart- ments of the United States are d with men. In every room offic! and their clerks are busy with some detail of the greatest busi- | DLYMPA, Bovys CHEERIN G BALT Morg s a tall, spare well-trimmed military beard of gray- brows. He car- s effectually con- about his well-knit deep & ries hi cealed ep and a ple: of his acquaintances s to meet. through the waiting nteroom to his private and runs through the pa- secretary has arranged at the des pers which hi for the deluge of callers. ointment to a staff position in the ticu experience, but he is a bright fellow and can soon pick up the duties of the place, and at any rate one such appointment cannot injure the service, and the President will certainly make it if the Secretary will give his indorse- | ment. General Alger interposes one or vo objections, but the Senator is in- jutant general of the army. His re- quest, or some slight variation of it, is | repeated a score of times before the morning is over. A member of the House Committee on Appropriations comes briskly in, greets the Secretary familiarly, and at once plunges into a discussion of the | | amount of money required by the War | Department for carrying on its work. | General Alger is evidently primed on this subject, for he produces typewrit- ten sheets covered with estimates, | which he explains to the Congressman. The routine business of the office is suspended for a few moments while a foreign charge d’affaires and his two uniformed attaches are ushered in to pay their respects. The attaches are marvels of brilliant cqlor and gold braid, each with a row of decorations across the front of his uniform, but it annot be said that they appear to ad- antage b e the quiet, dignified man . in plain civilian dress who is the mov- - ing power behind one of the great ar- | mies of the world. After these callers have stiffly bowed themselves out, a Western Congress- man escorts an agitated woman into | the room. The Secretary listens pa- tiently while the woman explains that her son has been court-martialed for leaving his regiment without permis- sion, and to her assurances that “Hen- ry is a good boy, and didn’t mean to do office, where he at once seats himself | tent and is sent off to see the ad- | s complexion, a | necessary for him to sign. Then there white, and a pair of kindly gray eyes appointments, and more papers to be nd enters his office | the Secretary of War must keep a con- | asant Stant mental grasp; they can convey no He makes mental strain to which he is daily and | for his inspection. Then he is rnady‘(.'mgress the funds to do it with; he | First comes a prominent Senator. The | E son of one of his friends wants an ap- | Cancmically. The young man has had no par- | {00 PV aealing with large affairs es his appear- | sistant Secreary Meiklejohn, goes over | some orders and drafts which it is/| are more callers, more solicitations for signed. These brief examples may give some idea of the variety of subjects on which impression of the intense physical and | continually subjected. All the multi- form activities of the various bureaus in his department come before him for | final consideration and review. He must keep the President informed of the work done; he must obtain from must see that it is done promptly and All this entails a great stress of mind and body, which only a man accus- would be equal to. Happily the present Secretary of War is such a man. He is typically American in this respect. He does not become excited in dealing in millions or in facing grave problems that require Instant decision. The im- pression he gives one at first meeting is that of a man of careful, conserva- tive, well-balanced mind. His manner is deliberate and in conversation he speaks slowly, almost to the point of hesitation; but he shows the ability to grasp a situation and to go right to the heart of a problem. In spite of General Alger's sprightly movements and unruffled countenance, the impression he makes on one in con- versation with him is that of a man who is very tired. One who has seen the tide of humanity that beats against him in his office and the mass of hard work that he wades through every day will readily believe that the air is not assumed. Still it cannot be said.that the wear and tear of his position is using him up. He assured the writer that his health was good, that he could not wish to feel better, and that he was sanguine of lasting through this war and a good many years of peace. The career of the present Secretary of War is as typically American as the man himself. As has been the case with many another man who has taken a prominent part in public affairs, his birthplace was Ohio, on a ploneer’s farm near the little town of Lafayette, in Medina County. His parents had moved westward from New England and came of sturdy Scotch and English stock. TUntil he reached his majority young Alger remained in the little Ohio town. He worked on the farm in summer and attended the Richfield Academy in win- - e /’?’/ EY: ANDI;A/M ISERTON, ONT: DON UUARN DEAUSTRIA AND |SLA DE CUBA AFTER THE BATTLE. the Fifth Michigan Cavalry in June, 1863. He was severely wounded at Boonsboro, Md., the following month, but continued in the army until the close of the war, when he was made a brevet brigadier general and major general of volunteers for gallant ser- vices. The young man had made a good record, but he had not got along in the world as fast as he expected. He was 30 years old and a poor man when he went back to Michigan and started in the lumbering business with money advanced to him by friends. But he did not long remain poor or unknown. He made a fortune, became Governor of his State, and was prominently men- tioned for the presidency. General Alger is fortunate in his present onerous position in having ef- ficient and experienced assistants and subordinates. The adjutant general looks after the voluminous work of or- ganizing the army; the commissary general, the quartermaster general and the surgeon general see to the provi- sion of the stores which they need in their departments; and so thoroughly is their work done that it requires lit- tle more than supervision on the part of the Secretary. Assistant Secretary Meiklejohn takes a large part of the load off his shoulders. But as a good business man the Secretary insists on being cognizant of all the details of his establishment, and just now it is by all odds the biggest business establishment in the country; of its immensity only one who has seen its workings at close range can form any conception. At present the army of the United States contains, in round numbers, 200,000 men. Within two months it has been increased eight-fold. That two- thirds of this vast host, which in single rank would form a solid line 100 miles long, was in camp, mustered into the service and organized into properly officered regiments three weeks after the first call for volunteers, was in it- self a notable achievement. But in reality this has been the smallest part of the work. It was necessary to ob- tain uniforms and arms for a great part of this hundred miles of men; to gather vast stores of supplies with which to feed them; to provide tents and other equipments; to charter rail- way trains and buy transports to carry Hébfi%x 6; Tfi/& L‘/N\PIA,/AF ) 0 ' [ i ‘//4’” / l OPINION HE Duke of Wellington, who was popularly supposed to know a thing or two about war, and who was tolerably well en- rectly gauging the fighting qualities of his soldiers and the enmemy, was not Spaniards. In a little book called “The Words of Wellington,” published in 1869 by Secribner, . elford & Co.. his views on the Spaniards and o.. warfare that can be read over again with in- terest, in view of the present situa- tion. Here are a few quotations: “National Disease of Spain—The na- tional disease of Spain, that is, boast- ing of the strength and power of the convinced that they are in no danger, then sitting down quietly and indulg- ing in their national indolence.” “Spanish Conduct of Marches—The conduct of the Spaniards throughout this expedition is precisely the same as I have ever obse. .. . it to be. They march the troops night anu day, with- out provisions or rest, abusing every- body who proposes a moment's delay for the famished and fatigued soldiers. They reach the enemy in such a state as to be unable to make any exertion or to execute any wvlan, even if any plan had been formed, and then when the moment of action arrives they are totally incapable of movement and stand by to see their allies destroyed, and afterward abuse them because they did not continue unsupported ex- ertions to which human nature is not equal:” “Spanish Energy—I don’t expect much from the energy of the Span- fards, notwithstanding all thuat we have done for them. They cry ‘Viva!’ and are very fond of us and hate the dowed with the faculty of cor-/ carried away with the prowess of the | are glven. There is much in the book | Spanish nation till they are seriously | DUOKE OF WELLINGTON'S OF SPANIARDS | vantage as in those of Spain. There is no co; n which foreigners are so much disliked and even despised, and whose manners and habits are so | little congenial with those of the other nations of Europe. The pride and pre- Judice of the Spaniards, their virtues | as well as their faults, are brought into action at every moment and in every transaction, and all tend to give them an exaggerated notion of their own | powers and to depreciate foreigmers.” | “Opinions on Withdrawal from Spain | —If for any cause I should be over- powered or should be obliged to retire | what will the world say? What will the people of England say? What will | those in Spain say? That we had | made a great effort, attended by some | glorious circumstances, and that from | January. 1812, we had gained more ad- | vantages for the cause and had ac- quired more extent of territory by our | operations than had ever been gained | by any army in the same period of | time against so powerful an enemy, | but that being unaided by the Spanish | officers and troops. not from disinclina- tion, but from inability on account of the gross ignorance of the former and the want of discipline of the latter, and from the inefficiency of all the per- sons selected by the Government, we were at last overpowered and com- pelled to withdraw within our own frontier.” Here are some other sayings of Wel- lington pertaining t8 war: “Insurgents are like conquerors; they must go forward: the moment they are stopped they are lost.” “There is nothing so foolish as to push half disciplined tro ps forward, for the certain consequence must be either their early and precipitate re- treat if the enemy should advance or thelr certain destruction.” / “The history of a battle is not unlike the history of a ball. Some individuals may recollect all the little events of which the great result is the battle won_ or lost; but no individual can ness enterprise launched in this coun- AP try since the Rebellion—the handling anything WEGDE, he'nssure! her that | ter. For two winters he varled this|the troops against a foreign enemy— | French; but they are in general the |recollect the order in which, or the ex- and equipment of an army of 200,000 | the matter will be investigated and di- | programme by teaching scheol, and | and to do it all at little more than a | most incapable of useful exertion of all | act moment at which they occurred, S rects his secretary to look into Henry's | then, with a few dollars saved, he went | day's notice. the nations that I have ever known; | which makes all the difference as to men. Along the halis hurry officers In | uniform and clerks in civilian dress, en- | gaged in some errand connected with the work. In and around the offices of the Sec- retary and his assistants is gathered a crowd of Senators and Congressmen, newspaper reporters, contractors, men with schemes and men looking for ap- pointments, all clamoring for attention. Gradually these early callers are dis- persed or directed into proper channels SECRETARY OF WAR ALGER. From a Photograph. by the uniformed attendants guard every door; but their places are taken by others, and all day long, until the big doors close against the public, the rush continyes. spot in the United States. that files through the War Department every day is probably as large as that | the army and navy. intended to subdue the Philippines. Between 8 and 10 the head of this|his desk, and, in company with As-| promoted until he became colonel of | rebellion. case. A summons comes from the President and the Secretary puts on his hat and walks across to the White House for a | consultation with the President and the commander of the army in regard | to the pending military operations. It is the busiest | These consultations are very frequent, The army | for President McKinley keeps in con- stant touch with all the operations of In an hour the Secretary is back at to Akron, Ohio, and began the study of law. He was admitted to the bar in 1859, but decided that the law provided too slow a way of getting on in the world and so went to Michigan in 1860 to _engage in business. That was at the beginning of the great struggle between the States, and young Mr. Alger was soon drawn into it. He enlisted in September, 1861, and was made a captain in the Second Michigan Cavalry. He was gradually This great enterprise has been suc- cessfully launched, and is now fairly under way. The work has been done so promptly, with so little noise and friction, that few, except those to ‘whom the task has been entfusted, ap- preciate the labor that it has entailed. It has been treated as a business un- dertaking, directed by men accustomed to dealing with large affairs, and it ranks as the greatest business achieve- ment this country has s since the ‘" EARL W. MAYO. the most vain, and at the same time the most ignorant, particularly of mili- tary affairs, and above all of military affairs in their own countryv. I can do nothing till General Castanos shall ar- rive, and I don’t know where he is. T am afraid that the utmost we can hope for is to teach them how to avoid be- ing beaten. If we can effect that ob- Ject, I hope we may do the rest.” “Kings of Spain—There is no country in Europe in the affairs of which for- | elgners can interfere with so little ad- their value or importance.” —_———— The Smiths are well up in Ireland, beat- ing such favorites as the O'Brieps, the Ryans, the Connors, the O'Neills, the Reillys, the McCarthys and the Dohertys, the four leaders of the Smiths in Ireland being the Murphys, Kellys, Sullivans and Walshs. Taking the Smiths as a whole, and disregarding age and sex distinctions, they outpumber the combined forces o the regular army and navy by just two 1 oug. « fairly tall record for one fam- iy, S d :