The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 27, 1898, Page 1

all This Paper not to be taken from . the Library.++++ | VOLUME LXXXIV.—NO 88. PRICE FIVE CENTS. INVESTIGATION OF THE ALLEGED MISMANAGEMENT Probcbility of Sifting of Charges Made Against the War Department. Broad Scope of the Inquiry That May Be Com- menced as to Methods in Vogue During the Recent War. JOHN A W SHERMAN. THE MAN WHOSE STATEMENTS MAY LEAD TO A SENSATIONAL CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATION. | I' 7 s Je o, SECRETARY ALGER s8R & 8 4 54 54 & RURRIRRI'TRR TO! Aug. 26.—Tt is not| n that a court of In- | 1 by the President | ral charges made | agement of the War | WASHING the President sets nn{ .stion of Secretary Al- | estigation to the methods | z the recent war with | 1 take a wid ype, with a | rovine the army of the fu- ties of this board would | inefficiency against | 1s and thefr subordi- | fleld in all branches of the ttee that might be ; Congress. The military uld cc ‘ALGER ON SITUATIO AT MONTAUK POINT| was rece eral Alger | Point, in which he said, in uation there was rea- | sa ( y. Fhe general will | Washington to-morrow. FOURTEEN DEATHS | ON THE TRANSPORTS HINGTON, Aug. 26.—The trans- Yueat Hudson and Catalina | uk Point to-day with | men from Santiago. | ships was reported | r Department to-night by sler, in command of Camp 1g the voyage four deaths he Yucatan, one on the ine on the Catalina. "SAYS CAMP WIKOFF IS IN GOOD CONDITION .NEW YORK, ger arrived in t the F terview he “I did not find the condition of Camp Wikeff nearly as bad as I expected. I cannot see t there is any justifica- tion in the taik that neither the well WAS occurred Hudson ar —Secretary Al- v to-night and is| Hotel. In an in- ci venue nor the sick soldiers are properly treated. I think there are splendid ac- | commodations for all sold who will go ‘to Camp Wikoff especlally now that so many ther have been given furloughs. Thursday I received offers from New York and Brooklyn hospitals to take at least 300 sick from -the camp.” Secretary Alger was asked: “How do yu account for the confusion and lack facilities at Camp Wikoff?" To this General Alger replied: “Dia you ever go into camp with 100, or even fifty, men? If S0, you Know there is m confusion with that number of men. What do you suppose it must be with thousands. To a person who knows but little about soldiering there | ‘may appear to be much confusion and | privation, but it is only what is to be | expected in roughing it. On many oe- | casions I myself have been in camp | and have encountered these things. I found many soldiers lying with noth- ing but a blanket between them and the ground. Still there were thou- of ations | a | and will welcome g complete Congres- sands of bags in cmf’ I asked them why they did not fill the bags with straw, of which thére was a large| quantity in-camp and so make beds for themselves. They said they had not thought of such a thing.” “Then,” the Secretary- was asked again, “you cannot see that there is Jjustification in the complaints which been made?"” one,” he replied. “If there was any lack of medicines or necessary sup- the blame would -be on those whose duty it was to order these things, The first day I went through the deten- tion hospital and later the general hos- pital, and I talked with nearly every | man who was vake. I sald to them all, ‘Bo L anything you want?’ They all answered, ‘Nothing: we are | quite co ble.’ A few of the men P, L L L L L L L R LT had fio_cots, but this was soon reme died There are some few sick men, but there is no yellow fever. There is | son oid. e tyD! I saw some men there| s yellow as any paint vou ever saw, | and nothing remained of them but skin; bones.” | Talking of the Chickamauga camp, | Secretary Alger sald affairs were not in | rerfect condition there, but to the best | of his knowledge, he said, the only men now there are those who are too ill to be moved. OFFICERS APPEAR READY TO FACE AN INQUIRY WASHINGTON, Aug. 26. — General Corbin, Adjutant General of the army, says no complaint has reached the War | Department from major general, briga- dier general, colonel or men of the army regarding want or destitution or lack of supplies for the troops. No demand has been made for supplies other than the regular requisitions for trcops .which come in the ordinary routine way. Gen- eral Corbin Geclines to be interviewed on the subject of the many stories afloat regarding destitution and mismanage- ment of the war, saying that the facts will come out in due time and people will then see for themselves what was | | | { | done. The whole department is greatly stirred up over the many newspaper accounts of what has been golng on, and it was the subject of discussion everywhere about the War Depart- ment, but apparently each head of a bureau believes that an investigation of the subject will vindicate him and his department. The officers in Wash- ington say that the accounts of suf- fering have been exageerated, but that if there has been suffering further than the incidentals of war naturally would bring about, the fault has not been with the officers in the depart- ment here. Tach officer professes to be ready and willing that there should be an investigation. Some say it is necessary sional inquiry, bringing out all the facts. No official statement is ex- pected in the absence of Secretary Al- ger, who will return to-morrow. e AS TO SHERMAN AND GENERAL MILES NEW YORK, Aug. 26.—Before ieav- ing for Washington to-night Secretary Alger was told that ex-Secretary of State Sherman had been quoted as criticlzing the management of the War Department. He admitted that he had not seen the statements referred to and refused the characterize them be- yond a meaningless “humph.” Secretary Alger was asked concern- ing the interview with General Miles, in which the general is quoted as severely criticizing the management of affairs in the War Department. He sald biuntly: “I have seen what was in the papers about General Miles' reported utter- ances, his demand for an investigation Cabinet. such conditions. $ in self-defense. truthful man. o % e P puERLINRLRREN board of inquiry to be appointed by him. and the findings would have a moral rather thas a judicial indnence. that American soldiers had needlessly suffered and died because of the neglect or incom- petence of an official of the Government, the President, acting upon the verdict rendered, That would be the extent of the punishment under If, however, the President does not order an investigation, Congress holds the power to impeach the Secretary of War, and can inflict punishment that will mean ever- lasting disgrace in case of conviction. In that case the President would be held equally re- sponsible with the Secretary for not having ordered an inquiry promptly upon the presen-a tation of charges of so serious a character. ; “In my opinion, the President will find he will be compelled to order an investigation If the Secretary of War has been guilty of incompetency and neglect, " as has been charged, Mr. McKinley cannot afford to sustain him. “General Miles is a soldier, and, like most soldiers, he is a straightforward and He is no more afraid of an issue than he is of an Indian; comes to Washington and tells what he knows, an investigation of the War Department will be inevitable, particularly as he will be corroborated by others who will be entitled to equal consideration, even if they are not of so exalted a rank.” 3 could remove the official from office. THE TWO MEN WHOSE COURSE DURINS} THE WAR MAY BE THE SUBJECT OF INVESTIGATION BY CONGRESS. IR LT R RS LR RS R LR AR TR 238 2 1) SENSATIONAL STATEMENT MADE BY @ EX-SECRETARY OF STATE SHERMAN = Charges There Was Needless Infliction of Horrible Torture and Loss of Life Among the American Troops—Demands the Removal of the Responsible Official. : WASHINGTON, Aug. 26.—A local paper publishes the following interview with ex- Secretary of State John Sherman, which has thrown Washington official circles into a tur- moil of indignation and consternation: “The man who is responsible for the mismanageément of the Cuban campaign, result- ing in the needless loss of scores of American soldiers’ lives and in the infliction of horrible tortures upon a thousand brave defenders of their country’s honor, should not be in the The President has power to order an investigation, which can be conducted by a Such board would S R L SEGE, GENEAL MILES 96 8 A not have executive power, If the board found and when he EE R R R R R LR R LR R R T R R R R R R R R 1 will say frankly that I don’t believe a word of it. I don’t be- lieve that he ever said it. A man’s en- thusiastic friends get themselves in‘ler— viewed, and he {s blamed. Now, Gen- eral Miles wanted to go to Santiago. He had a long talk with the President and with myself before he started and he thoroughly understood us and we un- derstood him. He wanted to go to Cuba, to see if he could, by advice or other- wise, help, and he dld not go to inter- fere with General Shafter, and all this talk, until I hear differently, I will put down as untr bled messages. e~ SOLDIERS CHEERED BY ALGER'S APPEARANCE WASHINGTON, Aug. 26.—The Presi- dent has received the following from General Wheeler: CAMP WIKOFF, Aug. 26.—President of the United States: 1 was very glad to hear that you would visit Montauk Point very soon. The visit of the Secretary of War bas accomplished more than I can express. He has premptly corrected evils, made valuable suggestions and given directions regarding administra- Uen. adition his personal visits to 100 slck soldiers in the hospitals have cheer- ed them up and it is difficult to ade- Quately convey to you the change for the Petter since the Secretary's arrival. The announcement that you will visit the sol- dlers has already added to this Improve- ment, and your presence here for even A Single day will accomplish a great ex- tent of good, which you can only realize after your visit. i ENGLISH COMMENT ON PEACE COMMISSION LONDON, Aug. 26.—The Times this morning, referring editorially to the American Peace Commission, says: “The commission is strong in personnel and in policy, and must be taken to represent President McKinley's concur- rence in the inclination of the Republi- can party tewards a policy of colonial expansion. The nomination of Mr. White may be due to the President's resolve not to ignore the interests and susceptibilities of the Church of Rome in the final settlement of the Philippine subject. If it be true that President McKinley 18, as he seems to be, re- solved to hold something more than Manila, the logic of the situation will probabiy lead him in the end to the oc- cupation of the whole archipelago. Moreover, bereft of Manila, the Philip- pines would obviously be nothing but a costly burden which Spain wouid soon probably attempt to relieve hérself of in a manner little acceptable to the United States, especially looking to the ifmmense war bill Spain has to pay and the Ln.b-olutev necessity for retrench- ment | and charges about withheld and gar- | REPEATS THE DEATH SCENE OF PETRONIUS Rev.Mr. Dodge Drinks a Toast and Expires. WATCHED OVER BY HIS WIFE REMAINS OF THE FIRST SPOUSE TO REPOSE WITH HIM. There Were Neither Romans nor Followers of Nero, but the Closing of His Life Was Most Dramatic. - BRUNSWICK, Ga., Aug. 26 —The death scene of Petronius in “Quo Va- dis,” with slight variations, was enact- ed by the Rev. A. P. Dodge of Fred- erica, as he passed away to-day. Mr. Dodge was a member of a wealthy New York family of that name, and turning from business twenty years ago, en- tered the Episcopal ministry. ‘While on a trip through Indla fifteen years ago his wife died, leaving him $250,000, with the stipulation that he was to have her body preserved until his own death, when they should be buried together. Bringing the body back to Frederica, a second wife helped the preacher to watch over the remains of the dead one. Last night he was ta- ken i1l and a doctor announced, that death was Inevitable. 7 “Will I live fifteen minutes?” asked the dying man. “Yes, half an hour,” was the response. “Then bring out wine and giasses and we will drink a toast,” said he. The glasses were filled. The dying P! made one supreme struggle as he man f i -arose from his bed, and, holding his glass aloft, he said: “Let us drink to the long prosperity for all present, Lord may bless them.” Glasses were drained, the dying man sank back on the pillow, and a moment later was dead. His remains will be buried to-morrow in Bi plain pine coffin vif life and that the by that of his first ————— IMPORTANT CHANGES IN SANTIAGO AFFAIRS Sweeping Reforms About to Be In- augurated—Death Rate From . Fever Increasing. SANTIAGO, Cuba, Aug. 2%.—Important changes in the civil government relating to schools, police, customs and mercan- tile and harbor regulations are in pro- cess of preparation by Generals Lawton and Wood, and a proclamation carryin them into effect will probably be issue: in a few days. The police force is to be Increased with a view of enabling the withdrawal of the military from patrol duty. The changes will aid the shipping, mercantile and industrial interests. The port duties and salaries of many officlal civil, ecclesiastical an T % cers will be reduced. PEerialom e salary of Archbishop Cr was formetly $13.000, Wil be remicaq o $00. The proposed changes meet with the approval of the better classes. General Castillo to-day had a brief in- terview with General Lawton in reference to the disbandment of the Cuban army General Castillo returned to Garcia this -“en]mtm:{ ?r'?;e :;r‘angemoms were not completed, e visit elicl 2 fopamagi ted little in: r. Eugene Ward of the Marine Hospi- tal Corps has arrived here for the :n?r‘- pose of experimenting with the Sare- nelli serum for vellow fever. The death rate among civilians. Is increasing, de- spite the better facilities for sanitation. A slight shock of earthquake was expe- here about 11:55 o'clock this morn- rience ing. ADVANCE ON OMDURMAN HAS COMMENCED The Khalif Expected to Make a Stub- born Defense of the Tomb of the Mahdi. WADY HAMED, Aug. 26.—The Anglo- Egyptian forces began to advance yester- day, moving in five parallel columns at deploying distance. They were led by in:l:\elnpf:h!ln -nl(: by bandliuf plé ers, who Ve N, was an imj - tacle. The friendl D the o natives on the - site bank of the Nile indulged in dauogygd war dances. The camp I8 now a wilder: ness of broken biscuit-boxes and other \bbish. "fi‘ha ervishes' scouts are active, and it is rumored there Is a dervish force on the left bank gt the Emirs Zekl and Wadbil- share, It'is reported that the alif to make a stand at Ke) es north 8’ Omdurman, and wi m:mm "5 tomb £0 the ast. OFFICERS S OLD DELICACIES SENT TO SICK SOLDIERS Sensational Char ges Made by the Hospital Corps on the Olivette. Treatment of the Suffering Men Declared to Have Been Outrageous and the Condi- tions Da BOSTON, Aug. 26.—The hospital corps of the Red Cross Society on the Olivette has prepared the following statement: “ON BOARD THE OLIVETTE, Lewis Wharf, Boston, Aug. 25.—We re- quest you to please kindly publish this as the bearer gives it to you, word for word, as he was one of the crew on the Olivette. As to the things put on board at New York for the sick and wounded they were never received and were sold to the officers in charge by Major Appel, and, in regard to the way the sick were served it was an outrage. If you wish for witnesses we are with him, the whole corps. “Fred Miller, Harry G. White, John A. Henderson, J. G. Mihe, Stuart Ward, Stuart Johnson, Dan Kelley, Frank Folsom, A. Rudy, O. S. Schlefield, T. O. de Deer, John Lunsca, John Wil- liams, John J. Sugal and Sergeant James Jadet.” Frederick Miller was a seaman on the Olivette, and had every opportun- ity to observe the men and the treat- ment they received on the trip from Santiago. He says: “We left Santiago In a wretched condition, and the lack of proper food and the/treatment on the voyage came near being disastrous to all the sick and wounded. I remember that one man died after we were at sea a few days, and at present his body is proba- bly floating around. I made a coffin, lined it with canvas and covered the outside with tar. No holes were bored in the box, and after it had been heav- ily welghed Major Appel ordered the men to throw it overboard. As the coffin was airtight it did not sink and will probzbly float around for months. “The treatment of the sick and wounded was outrageous, and it is a wonder that any svrvived: Those who were able to walk got food from -the gaflors and firemen, but all could not be fed that way. When we arrived at New York, ice cream, ginger ale and other delicacies were put on board for the sick and wounded. The food and drink never reached the soldlers, for they were sold by Major Appel and his officers to passengers. When we got to Montauk Point what was left of the ice cream was sour and thrown over- board. The soldiers on the Olivette suffered from the negligence of the mnable. War Department and also from the avarice of some of the officers.” e e X AT A DAMNABLE CONDITIONS IN CAMP AND ON TRAIN BOSTON, Aug. 26.—The First Maine Volunteers reached home to-night. All the men on the train tell the sgme old story of mismanagement and ineffi- ciency of the supplies and hospital at- tendance. The conditions at the di- vision hospital are described as a dis- grace to any country pretending to any kind of military establishment. Men who needed the most careful treatment were simply rolled in blankets and left lying on the damp ground, and at no time was there a sufficient store of proper food and medical supplies. The cars were in just the condition of com- mon emigrant cars, and as inadequate for the conveyance of sick soldiers as the hospital accommodations are said to have been in the Southern camp. An officer of the regiment who for obvious reasons could not permit the use of his name made this emphatic statement: “The hospitals at the new ind old camps are practically the same. I am not exaggerating it a bit when I say the arrangements are damnable. The greatest lack was in medical at- tendance, skilled surgeons being few for so large a number of men. The Government has also made the great mistake of not putting in skilled female nurses, and the policy of the Govern- ment has been carried out rigidly with the result that you see all about you on this troop train laden with death.” Chaplain Esterbrook stated that the great amount of sickness at Chicka- mauga Park was without doubt due to two . primary-eauses; the /condition of the camp ground itself, due to the un- favorable unsanitary location in a ma- larial district, and secondarily the in- action of the men. Of course the water supply was a great cause of typhoid. It was atrocious. . Lieutenant Atkins of Company D sald: ‘“The ride was one of death. The district through which we passed was so sandy that sand blew in the men's bunks, and finally became so bad we had to close the doors and ventilators. This made the conditions practically unbearable.” CREAT BRITAN THREATERS CHIN The Situation Acute and Threatening. ENGLAND’S SHIPS MOBILIZED | DEMONSTRATION AGAINST THE PEKING GOVERNMENT. & Relations With Russia Are Cordial, | but John Bull Is Determined to Extend His ‘‘Sphere of Usetulness.” Special Dispatch to- Tbe Call. LONDON, Aug. 27.—The Peking cor- respondent of the Daily Mail says: The situation has become acute. The relations between the Tsung Li Ya- men and Sir Claude Macdonald, the British Minister, are strained to the point of rupture. Sir Claude Macdon- ald has intimated that any failure by China to observe Great Britain’s wishes will be accepted as a casus belll. In support of Sir Claude Macdonald the fleet has been concentrated at Wel Hai Wei and Hankow, and all the war- ships under 5000 tons have been mobi- lized in the Yang Tse River. The naval demonstration is solely directedagainst China, as it is semi-officlally stated that the existing relations with Russia ial. “f.o(;%rdsmlsuury has abandoned the policy of the open door, substituting for it a policy of spheres of influence. Diplomatic conferences have been of frequent occurrence in the last few days. Lord Salisbury insists upon the recognition by the other powers inter- ested in China of the boundaries of Great Britain’s ‘“sphere of influence.” In the same instrument whereby Great Britain recognizes Russia’s position in Manchuria, Russia is required to acknowledge the paramountity of Eng- | land in the Yang Tse Valley and guar- antee that our territorial requirements shall be permanently respected. Great Britain is willing to drop her protest in respect to the New Chwang railway, but Russia is required to can- cel her agreement with China that the ecountry having the largest financial in- terest should arbitrate in disputes con- nected with the Peking-Hankow rail- tion to confirm the statement recently made that a compromise has been ar- rived at between England and Russia, In accordance with which Russia gets her way on the raflway question and England gets concessions in other di- rections. The relations between Eng- l&nd;nd‘Russla are very satisfactory, € Russian concessions fully mee English wishes. i o A special dispatch from Shanghai says: Violent scenes are reported to have occurred between Sir Claude Macdonald, the British Miuister, and M. Pavloff, ihe Russian Charge d’Af- faires, owing to the latter's command- ing the Tsung Li Yamen to revoke its agreement with the Hongkong Bank under pain of the Czar’'s strong dis- bleasure. The Chinese are inclined to obey M. Pavloff, seeing that the Brit- ish confine themselves to verbal pro- tests. The position is now worse than ever. All the Russian ships have re- turned to Port Arthur, while the Brit- ish vessels are assembling at Wei Hai Wei and Chefu. Extreme activity prevails ashore at Port Arthur. The action of the Russians at New Chwang indicates an intention ox their part to remain there in strong force, whether lth?' build the Tien Tsin Railway or not. FOR AMERICANS LONDON, Aug. 26.—The Daily Mail's Hongkong correspondent telegraphs: The British Consulate at Kiaung Chau Heinan has asked the American Consul at Canton to urge the Viceroy to send soldiers to Nodea, near Hoi How, to protect the lives and property of Amer- ican missionaries there, who have been obliged to flee for their lives from No- dea and seek the protection of the Brit- ish Censul at Hoi How. To-day the American Consul at Can- ton notified the Viceroy of the state of affairs and requested him to imme- diately telegraph peremptory orders to the officers of the disturbed district to disperse the rioters and protect the lives and property of the Americans, Reports just received from Heinan indicate renewed successes on the part of the Triad Society, who, strengthened by a horde of pirates, looted and burned a number of villages in the Hoi How district on August 19. The British Consul appealed to the Tao Tai to protect the threatened Americans, and soldiers were dis- patched, who succeeded in rescuing them and escorting them from Nodea to Hoi How. —_— ONLY SEVENTEEN DEATHS. Loss of American Troops Through + Illness at Manila. LONDON, Aug. 27.—The correspondent of the Times at Manila, telegraphing Fri- day, says: $ Among the American troops there have been only seventeen deaths from illness since landing. Twenty-three thousand stand of arms, 10,000,000 cartridges and an immense quantity of large ammunition have been surrendered, with nearly 15,000 road. prisoners. ‘The negotiations are confined to Pe- | There Is undoubtedly practical unanim. king. The British Embassadors at St. | ity among me pective Petersburg and Peking communication. © The Copenhagen correspondent of the Dally Mall asserts that he is In a posi- are in close tionality, in favor of the permanent o cupation of the archipelago by the Am- Nobody conceives the re-estab- m nt of Spanish sovereinty as pos~ lent o1