16 THE MORNING OREGONIAN, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1308. STEWART KNOWN AS ARM y PEST" Department Sent Him to Aban doned Post to Be Rid of Him. PRESIDENT WAS LENIENT "Impossible Colonel" Man of I'n controllable Temper, Disliked by Fellow-Officers and Subordi nates Refused Retirement. WHY 1.4 STEWART EXILED? PORTLAND. Sept. IS. (Editor Oreaonlan.) Will you kindly publleh 111 your columns ths circumstances that led to the rxlMna- of CoIomI Btewart to Fort Grant and the trs mndoue punlsthiaa; to which he Is subjected, there and oblige a number of people who went to know. INQUIRER. OREGONIAN NEWS BUREAU. Wash ington. Oct 1. Colonel William F. Stewart, of the Coast Artillery, better known as the "Exile of Fort Grant." Iff no martyr In the opinion of the officers of the United States Army. It Is rather the belief of Colonel Stewart fellow officers that the "Impossible" Colonel "got what was coming to him when he was sent to the abandoned Army post In the wild of Arizona. Harsh as the treatment of Cononel Stewart may seem, there are no officers of the Army disposed to criticise the President; on the contrary there are many who believe t'otnnel Sti-wart deserved even more drastic punishment. lias I'nbrldled Temper. Colonel Stewart, according; to the offi cial record, is possessed of an un bridled temper, and Is charged with "tyranny toward his inferiors. gross abuse of bis position as an officer, and a total disregard for the proprieties In his dealings with citizens." It la very apparent from the record that Colonel Stewart is a rare type of man. lie Is primarily a martinet, but In this respect he Roes so fnr beyond other Army offi cers of the type as to be In a class by himself. Blood does not course through the reins of Colonel Stewart: only vitri ol. His heart is of atone, and bla head Is as hard as his heart. Never has he understood or sympathized with bis fel low men. be they officers' or enlisted men of the service, or civilians with whom he has been brought in contact. The aociety and frlendHhlp of his fellow-officers has never appealed to him: he has always lived apart, making It Impossible for those so Inclined to become his friends. Medal-of-Horror Man. And yet. with all his fallings. Colonel Stewart Is a meriat-of-honor man. and was once promoted for unusual bravery exhlhited In his early Army career, while fighting the Indians In the Western coun try. It Is shown by Colonel Stewart's offi cial record that he has been a source of trouble and annoyance to the Army for the past 37 years. Hla retirement would have been welcomed long ago, but the Colonel Is nothing If not contrary, and he has repeatedly put aside every op portunity offered him to go upon the re tired list. Now it In up to the Army Re tiring Board to pa-s upon his case, and with a strong prejudice existing In the minds of Army men. It Is quite prob able that the service will soon be lid of Its most "undesirable" officer. Much wonderment haa been expressed because Colonel Stewart was never court-martialed, and the civilian has been Inclined to the view that If the Colonel is as bad a he has been painted, he Is certainly a tit subject for court martial. Yet it so happens, because of technicalities, that none of the offenses charged against Colonel Stewart are of such character as to enable a court martial to either dismiss him from the service or compel his retirement. Had he been liable to retirement, he would have been removed from the active list long. long ago. 1 Offered Chance lo Retire. About two years ago. when complaints against Colonel Stewart were piling up rapidly In the War Department, it was practically decided to offer him a chance of retiring or being relieved of the com mand of troops, but when the papers were submitted to the President be de cided to give the offender another chance. Kxperience demonstrated that Colonel Stewart was too set In bis ways to change Ms habtis, and notwithstanding the President's leniency complaints continued to come In. And so It was that on Sep tember 23. 1W7. Colonel Stewart was In formed that he could apply for immediate retirement or be relieved of the command of troops, and be sent to some ungarrl aoned post. The Colonel, as was expect ed, refused to apply for retirement, and demanded a court-martial. The depart ment Ignored Ids demand, and by order of the President, on October S. 1S""T. dl ercted bint to proceed Immediately to the ungnrrisoned post at Fort Grant. Ariz. During his earlv Army career. Colonel Stewart.- while holding minor commis sions, made himself obnoxious to all around him. He has seen service from one end of the country to the other, and everywhere he bred trouble. However, complaints were not lodc?d acalnst him with the War Department until be was promoted to the grade of Colonel in 1SU2. At the time of his promotion he was as signed to command of the defenses in tli harbor of Portland. Me. His conduct at that station was described bv Presi dent Roosevelt In his letter to Senator Rayner last Winter as "culpably remiss." Prefldont on Record. The following paragraph from the President's letter explains: la 1PVV when he wsi tn command at Fort Williams. Me-, an officer of his com mand, his quartermaster, was court-martialed, dismissed from the army and sen tenced to tho penitentiary for the perpetra tion of the most outrtftoui frauds upon the Government, which had extended over a considerable period of time. Apparently all this went on almost under the very eyes of Colon! Stewart, but he tailed to detect the crimes or the offu-er. In so doing being culpably remlm In exercising supervision ever his subordinates. While in command at Fort Williams (Portland. Me., harbor). Colonel Stewart gave the usual offense to officers and men under bis command, and became embroiled in a big row with civilians with whom be waa brought in contact. Clashing Island. In the harbor. Is occupied by a Government fort at one end and a Summer resort at the other. The only wharf la on tlie private property, but the War Department has an arrangement whereby H uses this wharf for the land ing of troops and supplies. Colonel Blew art. abusing his authority aa com manding officer, undertook to virtually monopolise this wharf, mahing It almost Impossible for the Summer resort steam ers to land passengers and freight for the- hotel. There waa no excuse for the Colonel's arbitrary monopoly of the wharf belonging to the hotel company, yet he ignored all protests and seriously hampered ' their business. Hla actions were reported to the department and re ferred to General Frederick D. Grant, then commander of the Department of the East, who reported that the unhappy conditions were due solely to Colonel Stewart, whom he described as tempera mental, and who so irritated those around him that in General Grant's opinion the only cure waa to "get rid of the irri tant, which can be done by offering Colo nel Stewart an alternative of relief from command or retirement on his own appli cation." Ought to Be Eliminated. Thus. It apr-ears that in the opinion ' of such a practical soldier aa General I Grant, Colonel Stewart ought to be J eliminated, and yet his offense could not be reached by court-maniai. But General Grant's recommendation. though approved by the Chief of-Artillery, waa not acted ' upon, as it waa thought possibly a change of station would relieve the situation. Accord ingly, Colonel Stewart was ordered to Fort Barrancas, Fla.. a few miles from Pensacola. But Colonel Stewart did not Improve in fact he had been there but a short time when hostilities were resumed, and the Colonel became in volved in a bitter row with the civil ians with whom he waa brought in contact, and complaints once more be gan to flood the department. General Duvall, commanding that department, made an Investigation of conditions, and most urgently recommended the carrying out of the recommendations previously made by General Grant. It waa evident that Colonel Stewart, instead of Improving, was growing worse as he grew older, and his con duct became such that President Roosevelt, In his letter to Senator Ray ner, described him as a nuisance to the army, incompetent and tempera mentally unfit to exercise command over enlisted men, or to control other officers, or to behave with propriety when brought In contact with civil ians. Indeed, after his career at Fort Barrancas, it was agreed that Colonel Btewart was not only the most useless, but the most offensive officer in the Army. Quarrel With Civilians. To Illustrate Colonel Stewart's, fond ness for trouble and his abuse of au thority, an incident that occurred at Fort Barrancas Is cited. Within the military reservation is a building, not used by the Government. J. E. Turtle, civilian employe at the post, had been occupying the building for years by sancclon of previous commanders. One day, when a .window pane in this building was broken. Turtle asked per mission to replace it. for there is an Army regulation which stipulates that no civilian shall make alterations or repairs on a military reservation with out authority or the commanaing 0111- cer. Colonel Stewart refused to per mit Turtle to put in a new window pane, and he furthermore refused to have a pane put in by the post quarter master. This one incident, it is said, la illustrative of the man's character. Profanity, he frequently used, and puo- llcly. He would, rebuke hla men, both of ficers and men of the ranks. In the vilest terms and in the most offensive manner. His command has been a rule of iron, but without reason and absolutely without consideration. In the study of Colonel Stewart s case an Incident was unearthed which prob ably had much to do with the exiling of this officer to his lone station in Arizona. Feeling resentful towards a lieutenant under bis command, Colonel Stewart or dered him to take an Isolated sub-station of the post, the most undesirable under his command. This officer has Just com pleted a long time there, and waa enti tled to a better station. Moreover, there were other officers available and in line for this dreaded assignment. When the War Department learned of Colonel Slew- art's order, the lieutenant was relieved nnd restored to a pleasanter station. The similarity between the case of this lieu tenant and the case of Colonel Stewart leads one to wonder if the W ar Depart ment and the President had not deter mined to mete out to Colonel Stewart the kind of punishment he dealt to bis subordinates. Follows General Grant's Advice. While responsibility for sending Colonel Stewart to Fort Grant rests primarily upon President Roosevelt, tbls action was recommended by General Fred Grant, General William P. Duvall, General Ar thur Murray, General George Davis, and the Secretary of War. Mr. Taft. Had the offenses charged against the Colonel made him liable to compulsory retire ment, he would long- abo bave been court martialed, but nfeager or formal punish ment would have been futile with a man of his type; a reprimand would have been unavailing. Nothing could have been done other than was done, except to relieve him of command, and without station; and a review of the case raises no serious question whether the President erred in punishing Colonel Stewart,' while render ing It impossible for him to do further damage to the service. The President and the officers of the army are ready to do anything that will enable them to force Colonel Stewart on the retired list. It was with that end in view that he was ordered to take the teat ride, and it was that order that led to the discovery that the Colonel was of un sound body. If the Army Retiring Board reaches the same conclusion that was reached by the examining board at Fort Land that will raise onions like these will raise vegetables of any kind in such quan tities as to net a splendid profit on the investment For every purchaser of land in the ROSE BURG HOME ORCHARD TRACTS we will agree to cultivate the space between trees with the most profitable crop, provid ing" the seed and labor without cost and harvest the produce, turning over to the owner one-half of the net profits of the land for three years. Furthermore, after Saturday, not an acre of this land may be had for the present price. A u ' : U V 0 MAN P L I Q L 0 (JEN AY S There is not a valley in the world that has the future of the Umpqua Valley. There is not a valley as rich in soil as this, where land can be had for such low prices and upon such easy terms as we are of fering. Apples nowhere reach the high color they do here; the same of pears. Fruit never attained the standard of fla vor it has until TJmpqua alley fruit was placed on the market. This valley is two weeks earlier than any part of the State of Oregon. It is a fact that scores of Ump qua Valley people are making their for tunes on 10-acre tracts. "WILL YOU JOIN OUR PARTY OF 10 LEAVING PORTLAND SATURDAY NIGHT, AT NO EXPENSE? ASK US ABOUT IT. COUPON Harding Land Co., SO Fourth street. Kindly tell me how I can own 10 acres of ROSEBURG HOME ORCHARD land and be independent for life. Also give particulars about free trip to the property tomorrow night. Name Address W. C. HARDING LAND GO., Inc. SO Fourth Street Board of Trade Building Huachuoa, Colonel Stewart will pass out of exile onto the retired list, and the army will be forever rid of its greatest pest. Good Hunting in Clatsop. ST. HELENS, Or., Oct. 1. (Special.) A party of hunters just returned from the Saddle Mountain country, in Clat sop County, reports having great suc cess with big game, having killed three elk. two wildcats, a deer and a coyote. The elk bad seven-pronged antlers and dressed 700 pounds each. The antlers and meat were packed over the rough country a distance of 20 miles to the county road near Vesper. 140 Turks Drown. SMYRNA. Sept. 30. A Turkish steam ship ran down the steam ferryboat Stam bul outside the harbor today. One hun dred and forty persons were drowned. KLAMATH COUNTY SCHOOLS IN CHARGE OF COM PETENT EDUCATORS f 0V'.ff i-- jjuiztjdiiJjay sWaaaassAistMlzazatizttzataaHtfsWBatazasI MAKES LAST STAND Foraker Big Factor, in Ohio Political Situation. STATE GREATLY IN DOUBT Joh a G. Swam, rowoty Super! a- John T. Batcher, Principal of the teadrat of Public lastrnrtioa. Klamath County High School. KI.AMATH FALLS. Or.. Oct. 1 . (Special.) An important asset of Klamath Countv in making it a most desirable place for families to locate Is the Klamath County High School, which was organized six vears ago, with a small beginning, and is now classified among the "first-class high schools of the state, accredited at the University of Oregon and the University of California. John O. Swan, principal of the school from its inception until his election aa Superintendent of Public Instruction for Klamath Coun tv a: the June election, came from Albany. Oregon, to Klamath Falls, having been assistant postmaster at the Linn County seat for four years, ard previously a successful educator of that county, graduating from Albany College. John T, Butcher, the new principal of the Klamath County High School. wTioae service began with the present school year, comes to Oregon from Oklahoma. He Is a graduate of the University of Kan sas and for tne rast six yeara haa held the prlncipalshlp of vari ous leading schoools In Oklahoma. Mrs. Butcher Is also a graduate of the University of Kansas, and they are enthusiastic over the at tractions of the Klamath section, and have come with the expecta tion of permanently residing in Oregon. Factional Disturbances Have De stroyed Normal Republican Strength Negro Vote May Be Balance of Power In Figbt. OREGOXIAX NEWS BUREAU, Wash ington, Oct. 1. Ohio, the home of the Re publican Presidential nominee, has be come the most doubtful of all the normal Republican states, and indications are that It will so remain to the end of the cam paign. The declaration of war on Senator Foraker, and the exposure of the latter In a way that will make his re-election Im possible, means that the Foraker follow ing will, to a large extent, be antagonistic to the Republican National ticket in No vember, and It Is utterly Impossible, at this time, to form an intelligent estimate of the strength of Mr. Foraker's following. Nor Is it possible to determine what part of the Foraker faction will bolt or knife the Taft ticket on election day. It is admitted, even by strong Taft men, that the situation in Ohio is most serious. There Is lack of good party organization: there Is lack of party harmony; there Is no leader big enough for the Job in these troublous times, and there is an alarming lack of enthusiasm. Harmony Altogether Destroyed. For a time, when peace had -been re stored between Taft and Foraker, the situ ation looked bright; indeed it was con ceded that Ohio was safe in the Republi can column. But when Foraker's . Stand ard Oil record was read by Mr. Hearst, and when President Roosevelt literally read Foraker out of the Republican party, and simultaneously gave out- Secretary Taft's letter to Vorys, all harmony was destroyed, and the factional fight waa fanned Into flame, and is now more in tense than at any time in the past. Senator Foraker realizes that his pub lic career is about at an end; he knows that he can not be returned to the Senate, but he blames President Roosevelt and Mr. Taft as much aa he blames William R. Hearst, and feeling aa he does towards them, he will get what revenge he can, before it is too late. Foraker will do his utmost, perhaps not altogether openly, to prevent Republican success In Ohio this Fall. He made a start In that direction when he virtually undertook to incense the negro voters against Taft. He will un doubtedly follow up this lead, and keep the negro question alive In Ohio, and in other states, right up to November 3. This is Foraker's last big fight, and he has decided that it shall be a memorable one; one that the enemy shall not soon forget. He. will go to any extent in his effort to wreak vengeance on those who have virtually exterminated him. No matter what Foraker's record Is, and no matter how damaging have been the exposures, the fact remains that there are many voters In Ohio who always have had and who still have faith in "Firealarm Joe," and these men are standing by him now. Men of this class are satisfied with Foraker's explanation of his relations with the Standard Oil Company: they do not see In them anything to discredit him as a Senator and public official. To such men Foraker is a martyr, and the martyr role has frequently been a winning one In politics. It at least gives the man posing as such a mighty advantage not held by his opponent. It will be amply demon strated during the next four weeks that Joe Foraker is still an idol with not a small contingent of the Ohio Republicans, and that his following will carry out his wishes on election day, to punish his de tractors. If for no other cause. Strong With Negro Vote. It Is not contended, nor is it true, that Foraker is as strong in Ohio today as he was before Mr. Hearst and Mr. Roosevelt exposed and condemned him. He has lost strength; any -man would, under the cir cumstances. But he has not lost all his strength, and time will show that particu larly among the negroes Foraker is as popular as ever. There are at least 40,000 negro voters in Ohio, and a very large percentage of them will be Influenced by Foraker. For the most part these negroes vote the Republican ticket, but they have come to regard Senator Foraker as their one best friend, and his advice will go farther with many than will the doctrines and principles of the Republican party. The negroes may hold the balance of power In Ohio this year, and If they do, and Foraker persists In his fight to the very end of the campaign; the Republican ticket will fail in that state at least that Is the way it looks now. The stuation in Ohio is the graver because there is no big leader In charge of the Taft campaign. Arthur Vorys, himself somewhat besmeared by an unsavory disclosure, was never a natural leader of men; he was never equipped to conduct a political cam paign. The conduct of the Ohio cam paign was Intrusted to his hands, but so far he has made a poor showing. Failures of Vorys. He has failed utterly to arouse en thusiasm to a pitch which should be manifest by this time In the home state of the Republican candidate; he has failed to get the campaign ma chinery into smooth working order, and he has left undone many of those things that should have been done and that would have been done by a more experienced politician. These over sights on the part of Vorys would have been less apparent had not the Republican party in Ohlojbeen torn asunder, for under a harmony pro gramme the normal Republican ma jority would have made Ohio reason ably safe. While there Is no question that President Roosevelt did good work in j making absolutely certain of the elim ination of Senator Foraker, there are some Republicans who would have been better satisfied had he deferred his onslaught until after the Novem ber election. Had the President re mained silent with regard to Foraker. the mere attack of Hearst would not have alienated the loyal Forakerlte vote In Ohio, and the state would have been much less doubtful. President Could Not Keep Silent. The fact that Mr. Taft wished it so is evident from the fact that he him self did not take advantage of his op portunity to jump on the Senator. But President Roosevelt, in his impulsive way, saw his chance to deal Foraker a death blow, and at the same time show to the country that Mr. Taft had no sympathy with Foraker and his methods, and he could not remain silent. The President has known, for In stance, that Senator Penrose, of Penn sylvania, is as undesirable as Foraker in many ways, and as much subject to corporation influence, yet the Presi dent has refrained from attacking Penrose; he has even consulted him on occastons regarding Pennsylvania affairs. If, for political reasons, the President would preserve peace with Pennsylvania's most undesirable poli tician, then, say some of Taffs friends, he might with equal grace, have kept silent until after November 3, with reference to Foraker. But the President thought different ly. He plays politics according to his own rules, and he probably considered the cost before jumping on to the prostrate form of Foraker. He may feel confident of carrying Ohio In spite of Foraker, but It will take time to demonstrate the political wisdom of his most sensational move. ROUGH TRIP IN TYPHOON Steamer Ioy Mara Reaches Victoria After Heavy Sea Voyage. VICTORIA, B. C, Oct. 1 The steamer Ioy Mam reached port this morning with 27 saloon passengers including Lieutenant T. Uyeda, torpedo Inspector at Yokosuka, who has been appointed naval attache of the Legation at Washington, Viscount Kuroda. younger son of Marquis Kuroda, president of the House of Peers. The steamer had a rough trip and when between Kobe and Yokohama encountered a typhoon. In this storm the steamer Duncarn foundered and the Norwegian steamer Mira is believed also to have gone down. ABROGATES THE CHARTER And Now Roseburg Has Fountain . on Its Main Street. ROSEBURG, Or., Oct. 1. (Special.) The first of Roseburg's civic Improve ments, the new drinking fountain, was un veiled yesterday In the presence of a large crowd. The fountain is a present from the W. C. T. U. and the Ladies' Mental Culture Club to the cily. In finding a suitable place for its Installation the city council discovered that the city charter forbids the plac ing of any obstruction In the streets. For a period of three months It waa the subject for prolonged and heated discussion In the council chamber. Finally the Mayor asked to be ap pointed a committee of one to see to the matter and In three days he had the fountain Installed and in readiness for operation. In case any action is Instituted against the city on account of the charter provision, the Mayor has agreed to pay all expenses con nected with such suit from his own funds. The fountain was placed In a prominent position on one of the prin cipal streets of the city. Skamania County Folr Oct. 5-10. STEVENSON. Wash., Oct. 1. (Special.) The Skamania County Horticultural As sociation has organized a permanent fair association and will hold a fair at Stev enson, October S to 10. The St. Helens mining district Is located in this county, and some very good fruit areas. A rep resentative exhibit of the county's re sources is expected. Absconder Not F. S. Woodward. BUTTE. Mont.. Oct. . (Special.) Tha Woodward arrested last night for ab sconding with Independence party funds was not F. 8. Woodward, advance man for John Temple Graves, but W. S. Wood ward, another Independence party member. Is your month similar la any way t tha abov? If mo. no ni to w.ar a wobbly, unusable partial Plata or 111-flttlng ordloarsl hrids. work. Tb. Dr. Wis. .yat.m of TKSTH WITHOUT PfcATBS" Th rult of 21 years' xric tha n.w ay o repjaclns testa la LO. nioutn tssta la fact, tselh in appsarancs. Isslb to cb.w your food upon, as you did upon your nat ural on.s. Our tore. Is so aiulud wa can do your sntlr. crowo. brlda. or plat work In a day IX n.c.ssiry. PosiUvsly pain lea. sxtracUac. Only blsb-ciasa. aclsutuia WISE DENTAL CO.. INC. Dr. W. A. Wise, Msr.. zl y.ars In Portlaoa. Rcoond tloor Falllns bids.. Tblrd and Washington stre.ts. Otflc. bours, 8 A M. to S P. M. 8undsys. I to I P. M. Palnlssa .xtractlnc. 60o; platas. fS UP- Phoass and Main zozu.