General Frederick Dent Grant on the Army
(.Copyright, 1904, by Frank G. Carpenter.)
HICAGO, Aug. 18. (Special Corre
spondence of The Bee.) I met
General Fred Grant this morn
ing in the army headquarters, lot
(tie ruilman building, lie la ii
churg: of tlie trooi9 here, and wears, a4
the regulations require, the uniform of his
rank. As we talked other uniformed oft
fleers entered from time to time for order
or to have the Keneral pass upon the mili
tary business which had ween entrusted to
them and our conversation took place dux
Ing the intervals of this work.
General Grant has his mind well In hand. -He
Jumps from ono thing to another with- '
out friction, and, returning, takes up the
first where he left off. I remember a
former interview I had with him under
circumstances peculiarly trying. It was
when he was one of the New York police
commissioners, and as such was acting as
Judge In the famous Sherry dinner scandal
trial. At this dinner a fair but frail actress
had been called in by soma of the swells
of the fast set and In light attire had
danced a nnutch dance before them to the
horror of Christian New York. While the
testimony was being taken General Grant
talked with me about his father, giving
mo graphic descriptions of his life at home
and on the battle field and at the same
time keeping the witnesses and crowd In
check, lie carried on tho two lines of
thought simultaneously; and bis talk was
a most excellent one.
General Fred Grant grows dally mors
like his father. He has the same stocky
frame, the same plain, honest features and
the same blunt manner. Ire Is Just as un
assuming as his father was, and he has
much the samo quiet common sense. He
talks but little, but, once started, his words
are full of meat, and his experiences have
been such that he views the world In the
broad.
General Fred Grant Is like his father
In his fondness for military life. Ills fa
ther was his hero, and it was at his own,
request that General Grant took him as
a boy of 12 to the battlefield, and later on
sent him to West Point. Little' Fred was
With his father during a great part of the
war. He took part In five great battles,
was twice shot and had many narrow
escapes. He was on tho flagnhlp of Ad
miral Porter when the boats ran the bat
teries at VIcksburg, and bo was wounded
during the VIcksburg campaign. His
wound was in the log. It was only a flesh
wound, but his leg la still paralyzed where
the bullet struck. He told me once how it
felt when the ball cut him, saying that
the first sensation was that of a breast
blow, following which wus a pain like a
beo sting. He thought at first that he was
killed, and upon his showing his wound
to one of the officers the officer told him
to move his toes. This lie did. Where
upon tho officer said that lie was not badly
hurt. Young Grant thereupon wrapped a
cloth around his leg and remained in his
addle until the battle was over.
After his graduation at' West I'oint Gen
eral Grant was assigned to the Fourth
cavalry and rose to bo its lieutenant colo
nel. After ten years' service lie resigned
and afterward became minister to Austria.
He re-entered tho army at tho beginning
of the war with Spain, served in Porto
Itlco for a year and then went to the Phil
ippines. I met him when he was leaving
Porto Rico and afterwards visited him at
Angeles, in Luzon. He there had a large
military district under his charge and wo
traveled over It together, visiting his sev
eral posts. Over mountain and valley,
with a band of scouts In front of us to
draw the fire from Filipinos In ambush,
we rode, passing through many towns and
Tillages, visiting camps In the wilds of the
mountains and fording streams. The ride
was a hard one, for much of it wus through
the beds of rivers so heavily wooded that
we could scarcely see the sky for the
branches overhead. At other timos the
grass was higher than our heads as we
rode through It on our horses. I remem
ber I had to hold my hands in front of
my face to keep the grass blades from
scratching It
The trip almost wore me out, but Gen
eral Fred Grant 'throve upon It and was
fresher at the end than at the beginning.
That was in 1S99, when he was about 0
7ear of age. He Is now 05 and seems
to be younger thun ever. He succeeded
well In the Philippines. He was engaged
In several battles, and In the guerilla war
fare which followed the active fighting1.
He was tho first to bring his district to
accept civil government. After I left him
he was sent to northern Luzon, then to
southern Luzon, and later to Sainar and
Lcyte, where he received the surrender of
the last of the Insurgent forces. About a
year ago he returned to the United States
and took charge of the Department of
Texas. Since when he lias been sent to
Chicago.
I asked General Grant to give me his
pinion of the future of tho Philippines
based upon his stay there. He replied:
"I think the Islands a valuable possession
and that they will eventually be an im
portant self-sustaining, colony of the United
I . .
-.it
GENERAL FRED
States. They are of large extent and their
soil Is very rich.
"So far the political conditions have been
such that there has been but little incentive
to develop the island. Under the Spanish
rule both church and state worked against
rather than for the good of the commoD
people. Wages were low and the oppor
tunities of the poor so few that there was
but little incentive to work and practically
no hope of a poor man becoming rich by
his labor. This is now changing The
projects under way to build railroads will
result In cheap transportation and there
will be a rearrangement of values all
around."
"Will the people ever make good Ameri
can citizens?"
"I think they will, although It will be. a
long time before they will be able to gov
ern themselves. If their government was
left to them as they now are revolutions
would be of frequent occurrence, and I
doubt if the people would not soon be as
badly off as they were In the days of the
Spaniards. They need education, and this
we are giving them. We are protecting
their interests in every possible way, and
I think they begin to realize it."
"Ho you think the Islands are naturally
rich?"
"Yes. Nearly all have excellent soil and
there Is much magnificent timber. Luzon
has valleys which will raise sugnr and rice,
and these' crops might bo greatly Increased
by scientific cultivation. At present the
farming Is done in the rudest way, some
of the sugar mills being operated by water
power or by wuter buffaloes. There is
also much undeveloped country, and the
mountains are said to contain valuable
minerals. The islands have never been
carefully prospected. As to the best for
ests, they have never been touched. The
woods are of many kinds, including some
which will take a polish like mahogany.
"One of the great values of the Islands,"
continued General Grant, "is their locatl n.
They lie right on the. trade route to Aus
tralia, China, Japan and India, and are
thus a good base for pushing our trade
In the far east. I see no reason why
they should not grow more and more val
uable as time goes on."
"I here turned the conversation to the
Russian-Japanese war, but this General
Grant refused to discuss, saying he was
an officer of tho United States government,
which held an absolutely neutral position,
and It would, therefore, be improper for
him to criticise cither army or to discuss
the possibilities of its success or failure.
Said he:
"We are friendly to bote tho Japanese
and Russians and have been so for many
years. We deprecate the war they are
waging, but we do not feel that wo have
the right to Interfere with either nation
nor to criticise It."
"But general, can you not point out
some of the peculiar features of their war
fare. This Is the first war of the twen
tieth century, and It Is being waged after
twentieth century methods, have not
many new Inventions been brought Into
D. GRANT IN 1S04.
use and new ways of fighting developed?"
"If what we see In the papers Is true I
might Bay yes to that," said General
Grant "Cut we have no reports as yet
that can be absolutely relied upon, and
none upon which one would dare to base
an opinion. New and powerful explosives
seem to have been discovered, the wireless
telegraph has been operated for the first
time and other new things are, it is said,
in use. We shall get the. facts as to such
matters through the Information bureaus
of tho army and navy, but that will not
be before the war is over. It will then be
time enough to express an opinion."
"What is the present condiilon of the
United States army?"
"It is steadl'y improving. Our soldiers
are better trained from year to year. They
have better habits, there Is lss drunken
ness and they have higher Ideals."
"How about profanity. General Grant?
It Is said that the United States soldier
is the wickedest swearer on earth."
"I don't believe thit," said General
Grant. "I know we have many Boldiers
who use profano language, but they are
individual cases. There are many who
do not swear at all. Profanity is, as you
know, prohibited by the army regulations."
At this point the conversation turned to
profanity among the officers, and I asked
General Grant as to whether the stories
that his father used profane language
were true. Ho replied that they were not
and that he had never heard his father
use a profano word. Said he:
"My father once told me that he had
never uttered an oath in his life, I know
iva.. he did not ubo even the ordinary
expletives and that he was averse to slang.
I once' heard him say 'thunder and light
ning and once or twice say 'thunder,' but
ns he drew toward the latter part of hla
life he did not use even such expressions.
He was a man of much natural refine
ment. Ha never told a vulgar story nor
would he listen to one if he could help
It"
"Then you think our soldiers are grow
ing better?"
"Yes. The character of our army always
improves when the army has something to
do. Since the Spanish war we have had
our hands full, and there has been plenty
of active service. Army life is now busier
than ever. The people have a higher re
gard for the soldier tlian they have had
during the latter years of peace, and the
eoldlers feci it. The profession of the
common soldier is more desirable, and I
think I may say we are making better
soldiers from year to year."
"Would yon advise a young man to go
Into the army?"
"That would depend much on the man,
upon his character, his condition and his
ambitions." said General Grant. "If he is .
anxious to make a fortune the army is no
place for him. If he has natural business
ability he can perhaps do better outside,
but if he has a desire for the service and
is anxious to Improve himself In it, I
think it offers many advantages. The
common soldier Is better paid, better fed
and better clad than the majority of ftfci
same rank outside the army. He gets bisl
lodging, food and raiment free, and haj
$13.60 a month, out of which he baa Uk
pay only his wash bills. If he is a good
man he can make a great deal more oat
Bide that. So you see his condition is bj(
uo" means a bad one."
"Has he any chance to become an of
fleer?" (
"Yes, Indeed, The army Is always ad
vanclng those of the privates who ar
, worthy. There are regular examinations)
for promotion, and the young man who
would rise can do so if he has it in him.
"How many soldiers have we now in thsl
army?"
"About E3.000." I : .-.'i'l
"Is that enough?" I asked.
"We could use more; and when the for
"trfications now building are completed w
. shall require more."
: "How about the military spirit among
our young men; docs it grow 7"
"Yes. It has become associated with the
(Schools, both public and private. We are
drilling school cadets by the tens of thou
, sands every year all over the country, and
t are training them in case we should need
, them in the wars of the future. The mili
tia is very strong everywhere. Indeed,
' we have now a vast amount of reserve
1 material upon which we can call should
'it be needed. The American, trained or
untrained, is, you know, always ready to
enter the army if his country needs him.
In this respect the United States has a
Strong fighting machine. If all our men
from 18 to 44, which should bo considered
;the military age. were in the army, we
should In round numbers have 16,000,000
' fighting men. Of these, about 11.000,000
.would be white, and the balance colored.
"How about the military systems of
Europe, where every boy Is required to
spend so much of his life in the armyt
'Would they be good for this country?"
"I do not think our people would con
sent to that, and our geographical situa
tion Is such that we do not need it. There
are, however, advantages In the military
systems of Europe. The armies there are
great schools In which the young men are
taught obedience to law and good citizen
ship. They are taught sanitation and the
laws of health, and by the exercises and
drill forced upon them the nation individ
ually and collectively is greatly improved.
These are some of the compensations for
the loss of the young men for several years
to the nation. I do not wish to say that
the system ought to be adopted here."
"Does tho army have much trouble In
securing recruits, general?"
"No; thero are always men who want to
be soldiers. We treat our soldiers better
than almost any other nation, and we have
little trouble in recruiting. When the times
are hard the applications increase."
"How about the desire to be officers?"
"That seems to be born in a large pro
portion of our American boys. There are
always ten applicants for every vacancy
at West Point."
FRANK G. CARPENTER.
Pointed Paragraphs
A silk hat that's worn all night loses Its
nap. .
Sunbeams of wit quickly melt the Icq of
sarcasm.
A girl who uses paint isn't necessarily the
picture of health.
Too much knowledge has been known to
strangle happiness.
When a man gets too forward he is apt to
be given a setback.
The charity of some pcoplo is confined to
heartfelt sympathy.
Poverty is no disgrace; the disgrace be
gins when you are unable to hide it.
Card playing should be confined to either
the drawins room or the anteroom.
A. man never realizes how high a fence
he can Jump until he is badly scared.
It may not be easier to coax a woman
than It is to drive her, but it is safer.
A man may be master of a dozen lan
guages and still be unablo to control his
wife's tongue.
The saints may have the best ,of It here
after, but the sinners seem to have the
most fun here on earth.
A wise man never stumbles twice over
the same stone; when he parses that way
again the stone Isn't there, Chicago News.
How Elephants Sleep
"That elephant," said the circus man,
"has slept standing' up for a year. He is
90, and what little sleep he requires he
takes on his feet.
"An elephant in his prime only sleeps
five hours a night, and the older he grows
the less sleep he needs. This good fellow
hore practically needs no sleep at all. At
whatever hour of the day or night I come
to him, he stands patiently in Ids place,
rocking from side to Bide. I know he
sleeps a little, but for years now his naps
have been so short that he hasn't bothered
to lie down for them. Nearly all old ele
phants are like this." Louisville Courier
Journal.
