328 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



to exact this of the volunteers. The Min- 

 neapolis Tribune, in its editorial comment 

 on this subject, suggests that, as there are 

 plenty of volunteers who are willing to do 

 garrison duty, a vote might be taken 

 by the regiment and if the majority of the 

 officers and men of a certain regiment de- 

 sired to remain, the regiment could be re- 

 tained for garrison duty, recruits being 

 sent to fill the places of those who desired 

 to be mustered out. In this way the mat- 

 ter could be settled to the satisfaction of 

 all concerned. 



The Return- No reat cam P ai g n was ever 

 ing Heroes, carried on, no reform was ever 

 inaugurated but what the chronic grum- 

 bler had "some kick coming, "to borrow 

 a phrase that is expressive if not elegant, 

 upon the way the affair was managed. 

 But the universality of the "kick"' against 

 Alger, the unanimous agreement between 

 rival newspapers on this subject, indicates 

 that there must be some foundation for 

 the charges of incompetency made against 

 him, for it is a true saying that ''where 

 there is smoke there must be some fire." 

 When our soldiers landed at Montauk 

 Point, after enduring the ravages of dis- 

 ease, the hardships of the field, the perils 

 of battle, and the privations entailed on 

 the homeward trip, upheld by the blessed 

 certainty of finally reaching "God's coun- 

 try" where such suffering would be un- 

 known when, after enduring all this with 

 patience and unequalled fortitude, they 

 reached the Mecca of their hopes and found 

 inadequate surgical aid, no shelter for 

 many, and lack of the necessities of life 

 they must have been forced to draw com- 

 parisons between their condition and that 

 of the Spanish prisoners who were faring 

 sumptuously at Annapolis, and possibly a 

 doubt as to Alger's fitness for the responsi- 

 ble position he holds crept into their 

 minds, as appeals to Washington for help 

 met with no response. A veteran of the 

 civil war, who saw the first tattalion of 

 the 71st New York regiment land at Mon- 

 tauk Point said, "I've seen some pretty 

 tough looking regiments, but I never saw 

 'em look like that; not just like that not 

 with them faces and them eyes. Why, I 

 tell you, half of 'em ought to be on lit- 

 ters." But instead of being on litters 



many of them spent the night in the rain- 

 while the surgeons and attendants fairly 

 wrung their hands at their powerlessness 

 to do for all of those who came. 



The fleets that did such good service, 

 were welcomed at New York with an in- 

 novation that was as enthusiastic as 

 it was deserved, but if reports are true, 

 and even the best that we hear is bad 

 enough the failure to provide adequately 

 for the needs of the soldiers at Montauk 

 Point is a disgrace to the man who should 

 have seen to this matter and we feel 

 ashamed to think that the hardships en- 

 dured by these noble men were but little 

 less in this civilized land than they were 

 in the deadly wilderness of Cuba. 



To the administration in general belongs 

 the heartiest praise for the manner in 

 which the war has been carried out, 

 but Alger seems to be the "round peg in 

 the square hole." 



Some A. P. Austin, chief of the 



Interesting - 



Statistics. Bureau of Statistics, Treasury 



Department. Washington, has kindly sent 

 a statement regarding the commerce of 

 the fiscal year, from which it is learned 

 that the western parts of the country are 

 decidedly on the gain from a commercial 

 standpoint. The rivalry between the 

 coast cities for the honor and profit of 

 handling a satisfactory proportion of the 

 foreign commerce has been unusually sharp 

 in the past year or two. The rapid growth 

 of the carrying trade along the chain of 

 great lakes and thence by canal or rail to 

 the coast, the sharp competition and re- 

 duced rates by rail from the great grain 

 fields of the West to the South Atlantic 

 ports and the increased rail and water 

 facilities of transportation between tin- 

 upper Mississippi valley and the Gulf 

 ports, together with improved harbor 

 facilities at various points, have produced 

 material changes in the drift of the great 

 bulk Of the grain and provision product of 

 the country which goes to Europe; while 

 our increased commerce with Asia and 

 Oceanica has materially and advantage- 

 ously affected the business of the ports on 

 the Pacific coast. These facts, together 

 with the claims that certain, ports enjoy 

 special advantages in railway rates and 

 terminal facilities have made the interest 



