Evening Star Newspaper, August 31, 1898, Page 14

14 HOMEWARD BOUND The District Soldiers Embark for the United States, PRIVATE HARRY SCOTT'S LETTER HOME Message to The Star Written in the Cuban Camp. FHE ARMY A WRECK On Board Transport Hudson, August 21, 1898. “Hurrah! At last we have started for the United States and every one ts happy. We broke camp Friday morning and marched to Santiago, carrying only cur haversacks, canteens and-guns. Our rolls were carried in the wagons and all the sick men rode. Only two battalions of us came, the other one will follow in a few day: ‘The large tents were left standing. Early fm the morning we were each issued two suits of underclothes, three pairs of socks and a pair of shoes. We then changed our clothes and took the old ones down and burned them. At 10:30 o'clock we started out on the march. We could not have struck a better day for it. The sun was right warm, but there was a nice breeze blowing all the time. It was only about a three-mile march, and after we got into the city there were so many sights that we id not mind the march. “Santiago is one of the dirtiest towns I ever saw. The streets are something on the order of Alexandria, but iney are real natrow and rough. The sidewalks are oniy wide enough for two to walk abreast, and tbe homes are right on the street. Most of them have porches to them and are patnt- ed blue. There are some real pretty Span- ish women there, but they do not come out im the streets. We couli see them behind the window bars. They have no window glass at all, but have iron bars over the windows. Every one of the ho segs There are a & he main street and t Saw several signs beer” was ses looks lke a t many saloons cn drug stores. I saying that ‘American ja there. We marched to the eenter of the city, where tnere was a large circular park with stone benches in ft; here we sat down and rested for a few utes, then marched to the wharf and stopped in @ large storage house. Our transport was Rot in and we thought w- would have an hour or two to wait, but we oniy stayed there for about half an hour, when we Marched down and got on a lighter and Were taken out to the transport_ The Sick Keguiars. “All the men went the first trip, and the second trip the baggage and food was brought on board. Besides our men there. @re a number of regulars who are sick, who are going back. We breakfasted in the morning at 5 o clock, and did not get anything more to eat untfl that night about 8 o'clock, when we were issued five hard- tecks and a cup of coffee. There were two Spanish transports in the harbor loading with Spanish prisoners, and a lot of Ameri- can transports waiting for ovr troops. I can't say that J blame Lue officers for kick- ing on the Catania, as this boat fs a palace for them to what she was; but the accom- Mo@ations for the men are not half so good. On the Catania we slept in ham- mocks, but here they have built some bunks. I would not sleep in one of them but sleep up on the deck There is not even a place for a man t. wasn his face and hands, so I guess we will be right @irty when we land. “We lay in the harbor until 5 o'clock Gat- urday morning and then started out. I cannot tell all about the harbor. I would Hike to, but I never saw one that could be £0 ezsily defended against an attack by water. The entrance is not over fifty yards wid>. and Morro €astle Is right over it on @ big rock, about 200 feet in the air. The rock is triangular shaped, and the castle is built in the same shape. Just inside the harbor we could see the wrecks of the Mer- rimac and a Spanish gunboat that had been @riven on the rocks and sunk. Just outside the harbor one of our large cruisers was anehcred. keeping guard. “We did not make very good time er- Gay, as we had a strong head wind, and when w2 struck the Windward Passage the Water got right rough and a great many men we seasick. About midnight the wind changed and the sails were set, and we tra under steam and sall both. The wind has been fayorable all day, and the satls are stil i some of tke Bahama near €nough to see the houses on them. Our company goes on guard tomorrow. I will write more later on. Had Fair Weethee. Wednesday, August 24.—So far w2 have had pretty fair weather, but the boat rock- ed considerably last night. Monday night we were on guard, and it rained right hard. There are some sick negro regulars on board. The night w2 were on guard one of them was awful sick, and I gave him medl- cine every hour until morning. There are a great many of the men sick, including over haif of our I have the fever again and can’t get anything to stay on my stomach. W:2 only have canned beef and and they are not fit for any one with a weak stom Monday morn- ing about sunrise w a burial at sea. “The artificer in Company L died Monday at 2 o'clock, and was buried by 5. ed up in his bi and shelter The ship hort burial . id overboard on B board, and we sts . 1 hear that we are not & afd off until we are mustered out paid the men off at Long Is! ‘would lea’ for home. can I want you to s Ming to eat, some tow eng We destination. about 12 ¢ t eight hours time. I have gotten over my fever € rignt good. I made a map arbor. It is not very good, give you some idea of how ft is Situated. I will expect a box of stuff in- side of t is, if you get this let- ter. a letter to you just before but I guess you have not 2 won't get to as we have course. Frank t as rosy- un climate did ut if some of the mothers could see sons now they would not know them. There is one of our sergeants right sick of typhoid fever, He is out of his head most of the time “Don't forget to send that box right away, and put plenty of good things to eat in it. We have been living on canned beef md beans since we have been on this boat, and are sick of ail kinds of army grub. The best of it is none too good. eae STILL IN CAMP. Hope Followed by Disappointment the Rule for Ten Days. A member of the Ist Regiment wrote The Star from the camp near Santiago as fol- lows, under date of August 17: Eager hope, followed by bitter disap- pointment, has been the lot of the District soldiers for ten days. This, in a greater or lesser measure, might also apply to all of the troops who have been here, although thos: in the United States are un- doubtedly happy and contented because they are at ‘home.’ ‘Twas not homesick- hess which attacked our boys here, but it was that loss of spirit oceasioned by Surroundings. “What is here now of Shafter’s army is @ wreck, physically, and in esprit de corps. While the fighting lasted—yes, as long as men could see ahead a prospect of fight- ing, all were contented, all were healthy @nd well. Santiago surrendered, and then paid nothing in thelr guftering, the word ‘yellow/ meaning e] ever, — fed, ‘and. the my knew that read disease had appeared som its midst. It started at El Caney, ing of which cost many a gallant Refugees Responsibl “What caused it? “Refugees from Santiago and who had been fed on soldiers’ rations were first smitten with the disease and spread it rapidly. Why were they allowed to go to Caney? Why were they not sent away toward Holguin? “After all, the soldiers would have been satisfied had they been taken north with- in a reasonable time, but for long, dreary days they were kept confined in their camps, not allowed to once enter the city they had conquered, and no word from home given them for days, when each man had been told there was mail in plenty at Siboney. Iraction a Hardship. “Had there been fighting in prospect no hardship would have been too great to be endured, and that tncomplainingly, but every man in Shafter’s army knew well that there would be no fighting in eastern Cuba. “Phe colonel himself has been sick twice. While this fever is not dangerous in itself, it weakens and prostrates to such an extent that ‘yellow’ is but a step away from all who have been sick. Dys- entery, too, has ravaged fiercely. ir. Mercier, one of The Star's corre- spondents here, is in a hospital in Santi- ago. The physicians say he has ‘yellow. but Mercier, chipper as a bird, says no. ‘The physician assures him he has passed through it without knowing it. Again Mercier laughs and swears he will resume his professional duties tomorrow. “The Washington lads could by now have been miles toward home, on the Catania, but Col. Harries did not think she was safe, and refused to embark on her. A board of captains and engineers from other transports pronounced her safe and seaworthy, and she has started north with 450 sick and wounded.” Sergeant Page to His Mother. Sergeant Thomas T. Page of Company F recently wrote his mother detatling his experiences in camp. An extract from the letter is as follows: “SANTIAGO DE CUBA, August 17, 1808. “Cuba, as you have no doubt gathered from the papers, is not a paradise at this stage of the game. It is intensely warm, and at the present moment the perspriation has transformed your tall and slender son into an elongated waterfall and his ‘tously army shoes into receiving reservoirs. The country {s undoubtedly beautiful, but so are other countries that are not so blamed hot. “There has been more or less sickness among the regiment of a slight nature, mostly fever, called mountain fever by the doctors. It is very weakening, but only lasts, as a rule, for four days, and there is nothing dangerous about it. There has deen no indication of yellow fever in our regiment, and with the exception of the effects of rain and heat we are doing very well, “You would swell with pride {f you could see your heroic son armed with a large bamboo club trying to impart energy to a decrepit-looking apology of a horse, cap- tured, at great loss of life, from the Span- jards, and loaded with canteens and files, on his way to the spring for water, cover- ing himself with mud and glory. “About all we have to do these days is guard duty about once a week, eat, sleep and then repeat the program. There is nothing to write about, as you can see by the foregoing, and I should not be sur- prised if we were in the states by the time you get this letter, as they are getting the troops off the island as rapidly as possible. I have been transferred to Company & and promoted to sergeant—not a great deal, but less work and more pay ae eee Defense of Secretary Alger. To the Editor of The Evening Star: As a veteran soldier I feel indignant at the outrageous assaults upon Secretary Al- ger. He ts blamed for the helplessness and incompetence, not only of the officers, but also of the private soldiers under him. Competent officers wer? not to be had, for they did not exist. They did not exist even in the regular army, for they were totally unaccustomed to the exigencies of war. That magnificent machine with which I marched to the sea, and which almost need- ed no officers, had passed away, and even its traditions were forgotten. Such a ma- chine was th> product of three years of act- ive war, and cannot be improvised. Every part of the machine knew every other part perfectly and what every man, company, regiment or corps could be implicitly relizd on todo. We were thoroughly weaned from home by our long service, and had become veterans. It takes not only competent offi- cers, but also competent and experienced men to go through a campaign well. I do rot call the helpless mob which has enlisted in this war soldiers, for they are not, and could not be until long service and priv tions had made them such. They are not at all weaned from hom: living, and are pam- pered, insubordinate, careless and helpless. An army has to work together a good while before it knows itself and can work its own commissary, medical and other departments smoothly and 2asily. Napoleon could not have saved those officers and men from their own ignorance and incompetence. Nothing but long service could make the machine work smoothly. The rations which were brought up with such frightful labor, end which could not b2 replaced, at Siboney were thrown away by the excited men. A little battle was such an immense event to them and so unusual that they were afraid to carry a pound of weight. We never threw ‘away our rations or water in battle, nor even our blankets. There were plenty of supplies, but no- officer knew anything. Theic minds were on other matters and o1 the excitement instead of on their busin: The whole machine was a muddle to them. The amateur surgeons had nothing. Why didn’t they sze to it themselves, before they left for Cuba, that they had everything with them? Such an amateur and incom- petent mob is enough to drive a Secretary of War crazy. In the civil war the only trouble about army rations was whether we could gat them or not. We wanted no better. The hardtack we got on the At- janta campaign, with fifty maggots, four or five weevi! and two or three centipedes to ch cracker—I do not exaggerate in th> least—and the meat, green and with worm- holes all through it, would not suit the gen- tlemen of this war. We did not write to all ‘spap2rs or impeach Secretary Stan- . We knew that Sherman was giving us the old stores that had baked for a year in the sun at Chattanooga and was replacing them with fresh. A green regiment happens to be twelve hours without rations, and it forthwith riots and plunde Often I have gone twenty-four, forty-eight and several times seventy-two hours without a bite. My horse on entering the battle of Mission Ridg> had been four days without food. At Savannah the 5,000 horses of our division (Silpatrick’s) were eight days without one bite, and that in a pine country, where they could not browse bu: In the cold winter of 1863-64 we were from November till March tn the cold country of East Tennessee, without even shelter tents, and moving every day. We turned into the woods or fields at night and lay down in tha snow or mud, often below zero. Not one- tenth of that time were we supplied with rations, and the country was poverty- stricken and in deepest misery around us. Hardships far excseding any of the present war were bountifully sprinkled all through our service. We did not have one little af- fair like Santiago, where we were all laud- ed as “heroes,” but w2 had ft hot and heavy with a worse enemy than Spaniards for three long years. No food except army rations was provided for our hospitals by the government. All beyond that was provided by fairs and pri- vate associations. T2n thousand letters a day were not written complaining of food. Our letters were about our battles and marches. The whole of the present army gives every sign of officers and man totally inexpertenced and raw, incompetent to take care of themselves and expecting dolica- cles which war s2ldom or never affords. No THE EVENING STAR, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 81, 1898-14 PAGES VICTIMS OF CAMPS he ee aie ed neral Wheeler's Effort to Save the Men at Montauk. 5 PITEOUS STORIES OF THEIR HARDSHIPS Insanity From Starvation and Deaths From Neglect. THE HORRORS OF WAR gees From the New York Journal. CAMP WIKOFF, Montauk, L. 1, August 2.—General Joseph Wheeler has set out to cut more of the red tape that has been re- sponsible for the misery in Camp Wikoff. He beran teday by calling down the sur- gecns who have been letting men die be- cause they would not or could not get medi- cines. It was reported to General Wheeler that there was a scarcity of medicines in camp. The report came from Dr. Wood of General Ames’ division hospital. Gen- eral Wheeler rushed up to the general hos- pital and had a talk with Colonel Forwood, who is in charge of the medical depart- ment. “How about this?” he said, sharply. “If you have no medicines here it is your own fault. These doctors say they can’t get medicines,”” “There's plenty of medicines her plied Colonel Forwood, “but the doctors won't send for them.” “We'll see about this right now,” said the general, and he summoned all the di- vision surgeons to the general hospital. They all sald they were getting medicines in better shape now. “Well, Colonel Forwood has plenty of medicines,” said General Wheeler, “and I don’t want any surgeon to say tomorrow he is without a proper supply.” He summoned all the surgeons together again this forenoon. Dr. Wood was the only man who said he had been unable to get medicines. He had made requisitions on Colonet Forwood, but the medicines did not come. “How about that, Forwood?” asked the general sharply. “The requisition was all right, sir, but Dr. Wood would not send any’ horse to take the medicines away.” Dr. Wood ad- mitted this, but said he had only one horse, and needed three to carry the medicine “See here,” said General Wheeler, “if you don’t know enough to send your one horse three times for the medicine, then you have no business here.” The general jump- ed to his feet and pounded the table with his fist. “This nonsense has got to stop. here are supplies enough of all kinds right here in camp, and ff the soldiers don’t get them it’s your fault. Men are dying for lack of medicine, because of your petty ways of doing things. If it 1s not stopped at once, I shall hold you personally responsible for every death that occurs from lack of care. I will eccept excuses about lack of medi- cines from no one. Worse Than at Siboney. The Rey. J. H. Sage, chaplain of the 334 Michigan, says that the conditions he found existing In the detention hospital here dis- count that infamous hospital back of Sibo- ney. He says: “It is shamefully worse than at Siboney. I found typhoid patients there simply wel- tering In their own filth. There is a shame- ful lack of nur: When I came in with my men on the Catania I wanted to send a detail of the well men to look after the sick. This was refused. I went to one of the men in charge and said: ‘This thing must stop. There is a God in heaven; President McKinley is in the White House, ard Secretary Alger will be appealed to if I don’t get my men looked after better. Alger is interested personally in this regi- ment, and he will not see the men abused.’ That day I got my detail sent to assist at the hospital.” A Grave Charge. Grave charges sre made against certain officers in the Fospital at Montauk by a gentleman who visited the camp on Sun- In a jester to the Journal he says: “T have sean such sights today as I never saw before, and I doubt if any one else ever did; men, sick tnto death, stretching out their poor, bony arms to attract attention, One poor fellow, a member of the Sth Ohio, Eave me a scrap of peper with the address 0: a friend in New York uporf it, which it had taken him four hours to scribble, and said, weakly: ““For God’s sake, young man, write to them and tell them to come and get me. Tell them not to send me anything. I wen't get It, for the officers take all those things. But tell them to come and take me away from here. J don't mind dying, but It is hard to die like thi: “Beside the poor fellow there sat a small tin cup filled with hominy. I could see live maggots in it. This was the food given to a sick soldier of the ration. I saw a cap- tain of the regular army, with an orderly beside him—I had no way of learning his name—break open a box which was ad- dressed to one of the Michigan men in the hospital, and, after tasting the rich grapes and wine which topped off the little bundle of delicacies, teli the orderly to take tha box to the officer’s quarters. “There are fifteen men who will make affidavit to :imilar offenses. “The men of the Signal Corps are slowly starving to death. They have no meat; nething but decayed hominy and colored water meant for coffee. All this three times each day, and they are forced to dig refuse wells and sinks and to clean horses. Spoiled Supplies Sent. From the New York Herald. A lot of supplies was being loaded on board freight cars In Long Island City yes- terday for Camp Wikoff. A large part of the goods was spoiled. According to men who worked on the loading of 1,923 bags of oats from lighters to cars at the foot of 3d street, the oats were useless and not worth the cost of handling them. They were moldy and musty and smelled so bad that no horse would eat them. They ap- peared to have been wet at some time, and seme of them were wet yesterday when they were reloaded into the cars. At the same pier 450 large cans of beef were heing ioaded into the cars. Some of these had been burst open by rough han- djing and rough usage, and the meat in the burst cans had spoiled, but they had to be leaded in with the rest. Tho stench from the spoiled eans made the longshoremen sick. The oats, and also the meat, it is said, had been to Cuba on the Vigilancia, were unused and brought back. Lighters in Newton creek were yesterday unloading hay into freight cars. The hay, like the oats, was ruined. It was musty and mildewed, and some of it which had been soaked continually was decayed. This hay had also been sent out on one of the troop ships and brought back. The hay was covered with filth. Apparently the men on the ship had used the hay stored in the hold as a sink. Oats, beef and hay, bad as they are, will go to Montauk, More Horrors of War. ° From the Philadelphia Press. NEW YORK, Avgust 20.—The return of the 7lst Regiment brought the war, the hardships of the soldiers and the incom- petency of either a system or of some per- scns in authority controlled by & system, home to the people of this city as no de- scription, nor the occasional appearance of weak-limbed and pasty-complexioned gol- Giers upon the streets has been able to do. Its experiences while on the way from Camp Bleck to the Pennsylvania, railroad station gave a hint of what was to come. Through some mismanagement, it was stalied in Jersey City for thirty-six hours, without any rations, and much surorise one expects invalids in hospital to chew Fardtack and fat pork, but unless the hos- pital cooks are worthless or lazy almost enything can be made of the army ration. The trouble is not in the least with Secre- tary Alger, but with th: imperfect machine he has under him. When the machine has been licked into shape by hard service and has become automatic it will be different. Even then thse fellows won’t get what came the reaction. Conditions which be- fore had not been noted forced themselves brazenly to the front, and hardships, ex- Posure and privation already endured be- Gan to tell on the men, who had manfully ‘ wy <a they want, but will have plenty of hard- ships. They have got to get used to hard- ships. The boot is on the other leg. It is not the Secretary, but the raw army which should bear the blam>. ANDREW VAN BIBBER. Cincinnati, Ohio, August 27, 1908, was expressed that its colonel, now Gen. Greene. in command of a division in Ma- rila, did not order a company or a detail to g out upon a foraging expedition and take enough food to keep the pangs of hunger away from its men, Only four months ago these men went away, full of ardor, every one of them a splendid type of physical vigor and Amer- ican marhood. They little dreamt what was in store for them, nor could any of the citizens who saw them march away in May kave pictured the change which the brief campaign at Santi and the horrors of the transports would effect in these men. They are through with war, for they are all to be furloughed for sixty days, id at thst time are to meet in the ‘ » those of them wh left, and x ive their fences ie rt a a 10 ith the ime le in the ge ig Cl sad left hind, or there dte af their hom any who are despera: Pe with fever 0} epgaeery and it is in lelirtum of of ese that Ye eam Better we h able t6 do by an¥ wor = spaken 0 those men Who have their reason their sufferings were. Insane From Starvation. For instence, Scott Cénover of Company #, Was reared in everytcomfort thet is to be obtained by those Who iave consider- able wealth. His fathers one of a firm of New York merchants Which: has a reputa- tion even beyond the eity. The boy was rot of age when he enlisted, but his pa- rents gave a reluctant consent, because they feared that he mtght enlist without that consent unless it were given. He wrote from Santiago after the battle upon a scrap of paper which he found some- where in the jungle. He wrote again sev- eral times, -and his letters were always. cheerful. Not one word of complaint did he make in any of his correspondence. After he got to Camp Wikoff a friend saw him by the pond scrubbing his face and then holding the towel off, looking at it mechanically, and grinning with that sad expression which betokens com- ing illness. The friend greeted him, and although he talked rationally, yet it was clear in a moment that his mind was not under control. He laughed constantly, but it was a laugh in which there was no hu- mor. At last reason gave way entirelygal- though he had not been at the hospital, and the doctors declared that he was a victim of what is known as walking ty- phoid. In his delirium he told truths which he had before concealed. As, for instance, when the nurse gave him milk he asked where he got the money to pay for that water, adding that he thought he paid his last 15 cents to the steward for the last drink of water that he had. Then he beg- ged the nurse, who, in his delirium, he im- agined was his “bunky,” to go through his clothes again and see if he could not find 15 cents more for himself so as to get the price of another cup of water to pay to the steward. Then he made a motion as though shaking his handkerchief, and the nurse made out that he was in’ his deli- rivm again on the transport searching for a little more money in order that he might buy of the steward or some one on the transport something to eat or to drink. He had kept his money tied up in his handkerchief. Death From Hardships. From the New York Herald. Edward McCullo.gh of Company H, %th Regiment, died at Bellevue Hospital yes- terday. He became 11] while in camp, and was brought to Bellevue on August 15. McCullough was thirty-two years old. He lived at No. 619 Hudson street with nis wether, who ts eighty-one years old, and a widowed sister, Mrs. Rose King. He was the sole support of his mother. McCullough joined the 9th Regiment on May 11. He went to Chickamauga, and suffered there the privations which have so often been described. He succumbed to the treatment, and was honorably lis- charged on August 11, because of disabil- ities. He had written that he and many others night after night had to sleep on the wet ground without a blanket. He ate salt pork and bad hardtack, and the only good food he got was what he bought out of his own scanty earnings. When McCullough got home he went to Lis sister, Mrs. Curley, of No. 510 West Zith street. She did not know him. When he went away he was a robust man. When she saw him at the doorthe was gaunt and ill. He was taken to the hospital and the surgeors found he had Hasig consumption, He never rallied. Mrs. McCullough Gid not know yesterday morning that her son had» died, and she was preparing to go to:see him in the afternoon. Mrs. King’s son, who {s twenty-one years old, is in the 9th Regiment. Another Victinn From the Philadelphia Inquirer. Frank Marren left his home in Ashland, Schuylkill county, a strong, courageous young man, anxious to serve: his country in her hour of peril. Last evening, while the litte borough was wrapped in darkness, his cold, emaciated body was taken from the train which bore it fromthts city and laid in the home which the young soldier left to suffer in a southern camp.” His mother and sister, who were at his bedside when he breathed his last in the Episcopal Hos- pital, also went back home, where the in- valid father awaited their coming and that of the body of his boy. There have been stories told of fathers who have said over the prostrate bodies of their sons killed in battle that they thanked God that they had died in so honorable a cause; stories of mothers who have given their sons to the country of their allegiance gladly and have even been able to glory in the heroism of death, while their grief was yet new. But these sons were killed while fighting for their country—Killed by the bul- lets of an enemy. Frank Marren was brave enough to die a hero's death on the battle- field, but he had not the opportunity. And if his death must be answered for it will not be by an enemy—not by an avowed enemy—of his country. Not many hours before Marren died his cousin, Dr. M. J. Costello of 4142 German- town avenue, sat by his bedside and listen- ed to the dying soldter’s pitiful recital of his wrongs. He was hungry. He was sick. But so weak that he could hardly stand, he was obliged to participate in the drills under the burning sun. No doctor came ‘to him to administer relief when his illness be- came such that he had to have treatment. No, he was directed to follow another, to go to the physician in person and receive the medicine which ought to have been brought to him as he lay suffering. . He wanted water to drink—pure water, of which the world contains enough for every one of God's creatures. But, unable to obtain it, when forced to the expedient by the tortures of thirst, he knelt by a stream where he had to push away the scum from the surface while he drank, and when he had finished he put a piece of to- bacco in his mouth to take away the taste ot the water. Neglected at Huntsville. From the New York Herald. BALTIMORE, Md, Monday.—Dr. 8. 8. Houlton, one of the physicians on the state hospital train that brought the sick mem- bers of the Sth Regiment from Huntsville, tells @ story that shows gross mismanage- ment and neglect somewhere. He said: “The camp at Huntsville is high and dry, but I am told the hospital is in a ravine, subject to all the drainage of wet weather. I did not see the hospital, but I saw what came out of it. I had charge of two cars, loaded only with typhoid patients. It was @ pitiable sight. ~ “Two of the first men who came on my car were typhoid patients, almost unable to help themselves. In their weakened and desperate condition, what kind of food do you think these men were carrying with them? Nothing but a hardtack biscuit and @ piece of salt meat each “The idea of feeding sick men on such stuff is prima facie evidence of something wrong, but for typhoid patients to be fed on such truck was little less than mur- derous. These men told me that this was all they had had for several days. “These same men had been lying in a hospital tent in which stood several feet of water. The tongues of the typhoid patients were so parched and cracked that they looked like alligator skim. They had had absolutely no proper medical attention, and in fact were reduced to such @ condition that we fully expected many to die. I heard of only one medicine in use in the camp, and that was pills of camphor and opium. These pills were supposed to be good for all pos from cramps to fever and back ——_—-+0+_______ ANARCHY AROUND MANILA, Insurgents Are Hunting and Pillag- ing the Spaniards. A dispatch to the London Daily Tele- graph from Manila, dated August 27, says: “All the outskirts of Manila are in a state of complete anarchy. The insurgents The Manila correspondent of the London Times says: “General Wesley Merritt's last official act before leaving was to sign a emissary represen! pro- ceedings of the Paris grand commission. General Aguinaldo has sent an agent to Hong Kong to inform Filipe Agoncillo, the insurgent leader, of his for this duty.” eee eee A CHANGE OF VIEW The Japanese Premier is Now Against Subsidies, THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF OFFICE Between the Hammer and Anvil as to Position. RADICAL CHANGES EXPECTED Correspondence of The Evening Star, : YOKOHAMA, August 5, 1898. A decided change is apparent in the tone of the utterances of Count Okuma since the responsibilities of the premiership have fallen upon his shoulders. As simple Count Okuma, and even during the periods in which he held minor offices in the cabinet, he was always outspoken and free, and never seemed so happy as when he was singing the praises of his beloved country. But Count Okuma was not only a talker; he was also a hard worker and true believ- er in what he said and did, as testified to in the time he has given and the money he has spent from his own private purse in the cause of education and science, and the many institutlons with which he is con- nected which have for their object the ad- vancement of the people. Hitherto he has been one of the greatest optimists of Ja- pan, and in some of his speeches he has even outdone his predecessor, Count Ito, in his memorable speech delivered during his last tour through Europe, in which he described Japan as being “in everything prosperous, the finances excellent and edu- cation unfversal.” It will, therefore, be seen that in all things Count Okuma has always been sincere, his love for his coun- try genuine and his loyalty irreproachable. We may take it for granted, then, that the caution which has _ characterized the speeches of the premier since his accession to office is the result of information ac-. quired since he has held the highest posi- tion in the state. In private life he has been a great advocate of subsidies and the like, and to his ardent advocacy is in a great measure due the existence of several undertakings which are kept up entirely by subsidies. A Change of View. But in an interview he had the other day with the directors of the largest commer- cial companies of the country he gave them a splendid lecture on the necessity of mak- ing their industries self-supporting and the lack of patriotism on their part in petition- ing the government for help and assistance on every possible occasion. This was, no doubt, very good advice, but it was not relished by the directors of those compa- nies which had been brought into existence solely because the government had thrown out such tempting inducements. In fact, it was considered by some of them as an at- tempt to evade responsibilities which had been most solemnly undertaken. Again, to a deputation of the political agent of the government party ‘he counseled them to put aside their own interests and to leave the selection of officers to those most com- petent to judge of the fitness of candidates for the various positions to be filled, for only by so doing could the government hope to be able to accomplish any of the great reforms which were necessary for the progress and prosperity of the country. This is very good in its way, and is exci lent advice for such men as political agents, but {t is not such as is likely to keep a political party in power in Japan. Au Official-Ridden Country. Next to China, this ts the most official- ridden country I know of, and every posi- tion in the government and under the goy- ernment—almost down to the very scaven- gers—is held by favor. And so much so has this been the case that for years past the lower classes have been clamoring egainst clan rule and the clans which hold all the profitable posts in government pay. It will, therefore, be seen that Count Ckuma already finds himself between the hammer and the anvil. Count Ito wonid not have resigned the premiership if he could have found any possible means of adjusting the revenue and expenditure so as to be able to submit to the diet a sat- istactory budget; and it is evident that Count Okuma finds it difficult to improve the position of his predecessor unless he can reduce the subsidies. Taxation may and can be increased to a Certain extent— and especially by a government which has the support of the people—if that increase is necessary for the proper development of the natural industries of the country. But it will not be granted if {t is to be used in paying subsidies to concerns which are really not neceSsary and which only benefit a few. Count Okuma must either withdraw or modify these subsiGies most solemnly guar- anteed by previous governments, and in so doing bring about the collapse of the steamship services to foreign ports and several other of those large undertakings which have made Japan almost a surpris2 to foreigners, or else he must leave things to go on from bad to worse, as all his prede- cessors have done for the last four years. On the other hand, if he dismisses all the clan officials from their posts—some of whom have already been asked to resign— he will find himself with a new lot of offi- cers, entirely ignorant of their work, and all clamoring for the best positions, irre- spective of their ability to fill them, and the government must for a considerable time remain in little less than a state of chaos, with these powerful clans harassing them at every point. Not an Enviable Position. But should he not dismiss them, he will be .considered as failing to carry out the program which has been the very life and soul of his party ever sincc the first repre- sentatives of the people who composed the first diet were so discourteously treated by the clan government, then in power. It will, therefore, be seen that the position of Count Okuma is not an enviable one, and that it will require a master mind to overcome these very great difficul- ties which he must encounter at cvery turn in his’ new office. To most men the task would be positively insurmountable. But Count Okuma, is the very man for the occasion, for he is a man of excep‘ional energy and perseverance, and the more complicated matters are the more inter- ested he becomes in the study and solution of them. Consequently, we may look for- ward with great interest to the politics of Japan, as likely to produce some radical changes which may closely concern many American and Britigh interests. —— CAMP THOMAS NOT SO BAD. Gov. Black of New York Finds Condi- tions Better Than He Expected. Governor Black of New York was seen last night by an Associated Press repre- sentative at Chickamauga, and was asked as to the conditions as he found them in the camps of the New York regiments, as well as those at division hospitals. ‘ Governor Black said there appeared to be “a perfect hydrophobia” among the news- Papers over the condition of tho soldiers, that the press bristled with such phrases as “hollow-eyed” and “starving” in art eles descriptive of the troops. He gave it as his opinion that the matter was exag- gerated, “manufactured in newspaper of- fices,” and “the outcome and result of un- Journalistic knavery. “My impression,” said Governor Black, “of the camp of the New York troops at Chickamauga is not half as bud as I ex- pected it would be. The unfavorable condi- tion of the camp and hospitals has, beyond a doubt, been very greatly exaggerated by the papers. “The division hospital in which the sick soldiers of the 9th New York Infantry are quartered is certainly in a very bad condi- tion. Tho present state of this hospital ought never have been permitted to exist, and should be corrected also. “I think that the troops at Chickamauga Park should have been moved long before sg Ser ed broke out in the ranks. = Sternberg Hospital is in excelient condition. I do not see that it could be made id better. as admirable, both in plan and management “As pe mays aoe troops at —— mauga, I mean as many Lo New York as I can. I shall also endeavor to have as many mustered out as possible, and those that I cannot have mustered out will smploy, every endeavor to haye moved oO pe TH Camps at the earliest possible rt e hospitals of the Sth and 14th New York regiments are much better tn every rgopine than the one in which the sick ef ie th New York Infantry are quer- The case of Private Nunn of the ambu- lance company, who was transferred froin the #th New York, was reported to the sov- ernor by Capt. O'Connor of Company A, 9th New York, and was reported by the governor to Washington for investigation. Capt. O'Connor's statement was that he had found the body of Nunn lying naked in a division hospital two days after death, infested by maggots; that an autopsy had been held, and that no preparation had been made for the care or interment of the body up to the time found by O'Connor. The-affair bas created a great stir, and It will result in the trial of Capt. O'Connor by court-martial, a "Anglo-American Needle Trust. The London St. James Gazette says it is report@@ on the stock exchange thai an Anglo-American trust to control the out- put nd sale of sewing machine, knitting machine and all other kinds of needles is being formed. Severai American and two midland firms are reported to have sold their business to the combination. The cap- ital, it is further announced, will be £1)50),- 000 | ($7,500,000), divided into preferred and ordinary stock. Removal of the Ausxgleich. The negotiations between the Austrian and Hungarian prime ministers, Count von Thun and Baron Banffy, for a renewal of the Austro-Hungarian ausgleich, the agree- ment under which the cost of the admin- istration of common affairs in the Austro- Hungarian monarchy is borne by both par- tles in a proportion agreed on from time to time by the Austrian reichsrath and the Hungarian reichstag—subject to the ap- proval of the emperor-king—have been con- cluded, and the Austrian government will convene the reichsrath for a prompt con- sideration of the renewal bill. AUCTION SALES. AUCTION SALES. ROS, AUCTIONEERS. TRUSTEBS’ SALE OF ELEGANT BRICK DWET ING IN FINE WocaLiT’ . 1440 8 STREL NORTHWEST, OF “SEVEN “HOOMS, ND MODERN IMPROVEMENTS. ‘ot a certzin doed of (rest, reconied 2181, follo 83 Metrict of in front of the premises, on Tilt PER FIRST, A.D. 1808, lot 47, in square 207, 42 feet deep and 16. and on the west line of said lot imprevements stand! ag on th erms: One-third cash, balance Fears, with interest at six (6) hum, p-yable sewi-annually. $200 requir of sale, and the purchaser allowed 10 days froma date of sale to complete the parchase. CHARLES F. WILLIAM 11 KM, anid eal HEN AMIN. TRUSTEE SALE Tun BRICK HOUSE, NO. 305 NINTH Ne - a eT NORTH Virtue of 2 certain deed of trust, recorded in + No. 2133, follo 271 et sey... one of the land records of the Distr Columbia, we shall sell ja front of the premises, on THURSDAY, SFI" TEMBER FIRST, “AD. "1808, AT HALEPAST FOUR O'CLOCK "P.M. parte of lots 3 and 4 Square Y8S, fronting 18 feet, with a depth of 1 feet 11% inches, together With the iniprovement thereon. Terms: One-third cash, balance In one and two years, with interest at six 6) per centam per an num, ‘payable semi-annually: ) required at tin of sal CHARLES F. ENS AMIN, WM. H, DUNCANSON, ‘Trustees. FUTURE DAYS. DUNCANSON BROS., AUCTIONEERS. TRUSTIES’ SALE NO. 1318 KIGHTH Es STREET it y virtue of @ cert recorded tn Liber No. 2220, folio 373 et #eq., of the land records of the District of Columbia, w in front of the premises, KEK SIXTH, A/D. Ines O'CLOCK PM. the 10-feet depth next to the north 6 Si, with the improvenents ‘Terme: One-third balance tn one and two Feurs, with interest at #ix (6) per ceutum per Au num. payable wemi-actualy. "$100 required at time of sale, WM. HH DUNCANSON, JAMES F. SCAGGS, ‘Trastees, shall sell, n TUESDAY, SEPTEM T HALF: front by A of lot 26, x audl-d&ds THIS EVENING. Marcus Notes, Auctioneer. The entire steck of Dry Goods, Ladies’ and Gent's Furnishings, of L. Cohen & Son, at public auction. On WEDNESDAY, AU- GUST THIRTY-FIRST, at TEN O’CLOCK,I will seli,at 816 7th st. n.w., the entire stock of Dry Goods, Fur- nishings and Notions, be- ing the stock of L. Cohen & Son,who are engaging in the manufacturing busi- ness, Stock valued at $10,- 000, and embraces, in part, Dress Goods, Ladies’ and Gent’s Furnishings inlarge variety; Notions --in all about 1,000 lots. Sale will continue daily at 10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. until entire stock is sold. Sale positive. Chairs provided for ladies. Dealers and private buy- ers attend MARCUS NOTES, Auct. u30-tt FUTURE DAYs. JAMES W. RATCLIFFE, AUCTION (Successor to Ratcliffe, Sutton & Co.) TRUSTEES’ SALE OF A THREE- STORY BRICK STORE AND DWELLING, No. 1239 7TH STREET N. Ww. By virtue of a deed of trust, duly recorded In Liber 1933, folio 253 et seq., of the land reco: for the Dist of Columbia, and at the reqoest of the party secwed thereby, the undersigned trustees will offer for sele, by’ public auction, 1 fre nt of the premises, on TUESDAY, SIXTH DaY OF SEPTEMBER, A.D. 1868. AT HALF-PAST FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. the following described real estate, situate in th- city of Washington, Dis. trict of Columbia, te wit: Parts of lots twenty- three (23) and twenty-four (24) of corporation of Washington, subdivision of square four bundred and forty-eight (448), as per plat recorded in rhe office of the surveyor for the District of Colun in Liber N. K., folio 275. Beginning ¢ feet four (4) inches south of the nort of lot twenty-four (24); thence east and five (105) feet to an alley; thence south on said alley fourteen (14) feet eleven (11) tue thence west one hundred and five (105) feet to 7th street west; thence north fourteen (14) feet eleven (11) fuches to beginning. being the south five (5) feet eight (8) inches of sald lot twenty-four (24) and the north nine (9) feet three (3) Inches of said lot twenty-three (23), together with ll the lui- provements, rights, etc. Terms: One-fourth cash, the balance in one, two and three years. with interest from the lay of sale at 6 per cet per annum, payable sc a nually, secured by deed of trust on the Property sold, or all cash, at the option of the purchaser. A deposit of $200 required upon acceptance of bid. Terms to be vomplied with within fifteen days from day of sale, or trustees reserve the right to resell the property, at the risk and cost of the detaulting purchaser, after five days’ advertise- cnt of such resale in some newspaper published Vashington, D.C. All conveyancing, recording, stumps, etc., at the purchaser's cost. MYER COHEN, Trustee, 926 F st. nw. SIMON WOLF, Trustee, au26-d&ds 926 F et. nw. DUNCANSON BROS., Auctioneers. TRUSTEE’S SALE OF THE YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTI! ASSOCIATIO: BUILDING, NO. 1607 LITH WEST. By wrtue of a certain deed of trust, recorded in Liber No. 1748, follo €4 et seq., of the land tec- ords of the District of Columbia, I, as surviving trustee, will sell at public auction: in tcunt of the premises, on TUESDAY SEPTEMBER SIXTH, A. D. 1898, at FIVE O°CLOCK P.M., the follow: ing described real estate, situate in the city of Washington, tn sa!d District: All of lots four (4) and five (6)' of Daniel S. Harkness’ subdivision of square three hundred and thirty-six (336), as the same is recorded in Book **B,” of the records of the surveyor's oifice of the District of Columbia, tugether with the Improvements, con- sisting of a two-story brick building with back building, suitable for occupancy for business pur poses. Terms: One-third cash, balance in equal in- stallments, at one and two years, with interest at six (6) per cent per annum, payable semi-annn- ally, from day of sale, secuted by deed of trust upon the property sold, or all cash, at the op- tion of the purchaser. ‘A deposit of $300 will required at Ume of sile. conveyancing, reve- nue stamps, ete., at purchaser's cost. Terms to be complied with within ten days, otherwise the surviving trustee reserves the right to resell at Fisk anu cost of the defaulting purchaser. FRANCIS H. SMITH, au23-d&éds Surviving Trustee. THOS. J. OWEN, AUCTIONEER, 913 F ST. N.W. TRUSTEES’ SALE OF VALUABLE BUILD! LOTS ON I STREET BETWEEN TWENTY- SIXTH AND TWENTY.SEVENTH STREETS, AND ON TWENTY-SIXTH STREET BE- TWEEN H AND I STREETS NORTHWEST. By virtue of a deed of trust to us, duly recorded among the lend records of the District of Colum- bia, in Liber 2121, folios 122 et seq.. we will, at the’ request of the helder of the notes secured thereby, sell, at public auction, in front of the «mises. at HALF-PAST FOUR O°CLOCK P.M., N FRIDAY. THE NINTH DaY OF SEPTEM: ER, A-D. 1806, the following described real es. tate, situate in the ety of Washington, District of Columbia. to wit: All those certain ‘pieces or parcels of land — premises. known and distin- ag THOS. J. OWEN, AUCTIONEER, 918 F ST. N.W. TRUSTEES SALE, HY AUCTE LI ESTABLISHE! ROG STPOK i 101 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE NORTHEAST. By virtue of a certain “d trust, duly re- corded in Liber 2208, follo 274 ex seq. one of the land records of the District of Co . and at the request of the party secured we will sell, on the premises, at public a . ou FRI DAY. SEPTEMBER NID AT TWo O'CLOCK P.M., the Stock, Conten Good Wim, including Lease. an entirety of the Drug Store located at 101 M. . ave, Ne. Terms cash. Store open daily for tn R. NEWTO. WILLIAM B. REILLY, Attorney for Trustees. au2T-dte JAMES W. RATCLIFFE, AUCTIONEER. (Successor to Ratcliffe, Sutton & Cu TRUSTEES’ SALE OF VERY VALUABLE REAL ESTATE IN THE NORTHWEST. By virtue of 4 decree of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, passed in Equity Cause No. 18870, the undersigned. trustees, will offer for Rublic cuction, in’ front of ‘the respective the property named herein at the time and date. as follows: Om SATURDAY, ‘TH! TENTH DAY OF SEITEMBER, A.D. 1808, 41 ; -M.. the premises in the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia, to wit: Original ‘lot numbered twenty-four (2i), in square numbered one huncred and eighty-three (188), together with all the improvements thereon, ete.. being the southwest corner of M and 16th streets northwest. This property will be sold. trust of $6,060, sale. wever, subject to Full particulars at the time of AT HALF-PAST FOUR CK P.M. the premises, ste In the elty of Washington, in the District of Columbia. to wit: Lot * in St. Vincent's Orphan Agylum's Jota in square num eleven (211), Provements, rights, etc.; sa’ 1422 Rhode Island ave., betw: n.w., and improved by a briek house. This property. however. will be sold eubject to « prior deed of trust for $3.00. Full particulars at the time of sale. ‘Terms: One-third cash. the balunce in one and two years. with Interest from the date of sale at 6 per cent per annum, payable semi-annually, secured by deed of trust on the property cold. oF all cash, at the option of the purchuser. A de posit of $200 required on each piece “of property upon the acceptance of bid. If the terms of sal complied with in ten days from the tay the trustees reserve the right to resell the perty at the risk and cost of the defaulting purchaser, after five days’ advertisement of «uch resale in some newspaper published in Washiag- ton. D. C. All conveyancing. &c.. at purchaser's cost. JOHN 3. DOLAN, ‘Trustee, 408 Sth et JAMES T. HUNTER, Trust 425°G st. nw. C. G. SLOAN & CO., AUCTIONEERS, 1407 G ST. CHANCERY SALE OF VALUABLE IMPROVED MPROVED REAL ESTATE IN THD ITY OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF CO- LUMBIA. | | By virtue of decrees of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, passed on tbe 12th days of December, 1895, In equity cause N. 5 wherein Lee E. Turner and others are complainants and Emily A.” Moxler and otuers are def 18, the und-rsigued trustees will sell at public auc: tion, in fromt of the several certain pieces or jur- cels’ of land and premises hereinaft lying avd being in the elty trict o1 Columbia, the respective pal ises hereluafter descrived on the respectively named, that Is to SDAY, THE SEVENTH DAY OF 3 » A.D. 1898, at the hour of HALF- AST FCUR' O'CLOCK P-M., the south 24 feet front of lot 186 and the north 'I2% feet of all in square No. 1196, formerly known as No. 26 in that part of the District lately known the city of Georgetown, said parts of said ke being improved by three two-story brick houses, and fronting on the east side of B0th street be- tween M atreet north and the Chesapeake and Ohto cwnal. ‘Thereafter on said day, and at the bour of FIVE O'CLOCK P.M, the west 20 feet of lot 69 by a depth of 86 feet. in square No. . formerly known as square No. 98 in the late city of Geo town, Improved by a two-story frame dwelling fronting on P street at its intersection with Street West, or North street. ‘Thereafter, and ou the same day, and at the hour of HALF-PAST FIVE P.M., part of lot, 3 aquare No. 19, unimproved, being the west 2S front of said’ ot by the ‘depth of 7 Street between 25th and 26ch ‘Thereafter, and on THURSDAY, THE Elt DAY OF 8 EMBER, 1888, at the bour « O'CLOCK P.M., lot 17, im square 38, improved hy two-story ‘frame ‘dwellings, known as Nos. S and 2310 L street northwest, and Thereafter, and on said last mentioned day, at the hour of HALP-PAST FIVE 0'CLOCK Pa. | the north 2u feet of lot 10 by the depth of SX fe 4% inches, in square No. 48¢, fronting on Gth street between N and O streets northwest, aud improved by a two-story frame dwelling. ‘Terms of sale as prescribed by the decree: third of the purchase money on each pa to be paid in cash, and the balxnce in two equat fustallments, payable in one and two yeurs re- spectively, with Interest at six per cent per an- num from’ the duy of sale, the deferred paymeuts to be secured by deed or deeds of trust on the nw. au20 ¢&ds de premises sold, or all cash. at the optim of tho purchaser. A deposit of $200 on each piece or parcel of property sold will be reguired at the me of sale. Terms of sale to be complied with within ten days from day of sale, otherwise the trustee reserves the right to resell the property at the risk and cost of the defaulting purchaser or purchasers, after five days’ advertise:natt such resale in some newspaper published in W« ington, D. ©. All conveyancing, recording, Ac., at cost of purchaser. EDWIN FORREST, Trustee, 317-319 4% of GEORGE E. HAMILTON, Cras au25-d&ds 6th and F st THOS. J. OWEN, AUCTIONEER, 9183 F ST. TRUSTEES’ SaLE OF VALUABLE UNIMPROV REAL ESTATE ON THE EAST SIDE OF BRIGHTWOOD AVENUE. By vittue of a deed of trast to us, duly recorded among the lend records of the District of Columbia, in Liber 224, folio 134 et seq., we will, at tbe juest of the holder of the note secured ‘thereby, gell at public auction, a front of the premises, at HALF-PasT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. ON THURS. DAY, THE EIGHTH DAY OF SEPTEMBER. 4.0. 2806" the following Seecribed, real, estate, sitaats in the county of District nm Yorwits “AU! Ghad certala plece or parcel of land known and_dist as and be- “Girl's Portion,” farm of the late Abner C. P. for the same at 2 stone on ‘ood avenue, suid stone being the southwest corper of said farm, and beli also the southwest corner of the plece of hereby described, and running thence along the east side of Brightwood avenue north 4 minutes, 10104 fect to the intersection ot said guished ag a ee Oe Sd e jenior’s, subdivision mn ter of street proposed; alitedt it anita tee-i y sume aoe Le ong the center of said treet Gdice ef the surveyor of the District of Columbia, | PEooeT fect to ite intersection with the center of | OF Bigbth, street 5 “ ter W,_F;."" folio 158. Also lots lettered | of said th street C06.05 feet to the ." “E" and “F." in Brooke | gouth of. the farm of the said Abner C. ‘Kall. ‘juntor’s, subdivision of part of origiual | >. shoemaker, being also the -south boupdary of lot numbered seven (7), in square numbered seven- | Ciara A Newman's portion of sald estate thence teen (17), as recorded in the office of the sur- | with nid south Yesor of the District of Colambie, tn Liber “-W. boundary worth 61 minutes west 1,127.53 feet to the point of w 57. together with the improvements | ning, together with the improvements and appur- ‘thereunto belonging or in any- One-third cash, balance in one Bo folio, and appurtenances "item of sales” and two Years, represented by the rotes of the | chaser, bearing aser, hearing 6 per cent interest, peyable Pemtansualis, and secured by a deed cf trust upon sold. or all cash. at the option of th: parchaser. A deposit of $250 required Serckecss A eon of $104 on, each lot remtrad | bate. Ali cipreganclng end recording at the at the risk and after five days’ advertisement of reasle fn some newspsper published ton, D. C. ws JOHN B. LARNER. Trostec. autt-c&ds SL Rae tepances thereunto, belonging. ‘Terms of sale: One-t ‘cash, balance in one and two sears, represented by notes of the pur- interest at six per cent per annum, payable seml-annualiy, secured by a deed of trust upon the property sold, or all cash, at option of time of cost of purebaser. , Terms of to be complied with Within ten “days from date of sale, otherwise the