The evening times., 1898-06-07
REPLY TO Al ARMY CRITIC.
1t Is Held That American Sol
diers Are Well Fed.
STAFF SYSTEM COMMENDED
The Charges That Our Troops Arc
Poorly HOu.ed Are Answered by
the Omcials Of the War DEPART
meDt.

"You may say for me that this maj
Poultney Bigelow. whoever he Is, is -
please use that word-he Is a -. and
say this not SO much in personal resent
ment as from Indignation at the unneces-
sary alarm that this man is bringing &c
the fathers and mothers Of the men In
camp of whom he is writing
CommIssary General Egan made this re-
mark touching the allegations made In a
current number of an illustrated weekly
by Mr.. Poultney Bigelow upon the pro-
vision. or rather lack of provision, made
by the Government for the volunteers in
camp.
These charges were severe. and when
partments Surgeon General Sternberg.
Quartermaster General Luddington and
Commissary General Egan were indig-
nant. They said they desired to Day the
facts before the people. and would be sat
isfied, with the exception of Commissary
General Egan, who continued:
This man Bfgelow is -" he said,
''when he compares the German staff sys-
TEN with the American STAFF system. He
will find that the staff system of America
Is unsurpass Our soldier Is a helpless
individual; he has the adjutant general TO
keep his records. the Ordnance Depart
ment to furnish his ammunition, the COM
missary general to furnish him his food,
the quartermaster general to furnish him
his tents, clothes, etc. All he is expected
to do is to look after his ammunition and
the cooking of his food and to stand up
and fight when the time comes.
I'VE have no large plants" continued
Gen. Egan, "for putting into the field a
large army promptly; our care is for
here within thirty days We have put a
larger army in better fighting shape than
was the case within three months after
the beginning of the civil war.
''The food supply. of course. is uniform
to every regiment. 1t is only needful to
read as far IN the Army Ration as one
and one-fourth pounds of beef and eigh-
teen ounces OF bread per day for each
man to get at a basis. Everything else
is issued on a plan equally liberal. The
rations are more than ample
'As to the comfort of the troops from
California both Gen. Shafter and ! ac-
companied them, and they were amply
provided for
Surg. Gen. Sternberg. when he noted
the demand of Mr.. Bigelow for few
feet of flooring for the soldiers at Tam
pa. said; ~....
why, soldiers at Tampa don't want
fioored tents this time of year. Besides,
they propose to go to Cuba shortly. The
question raised concerning bath houses
seems ridiculous when the ocean beach is
right before them. The Government is
not supposed to furnish a soldier with
cologne for his toilet. There ought to be
necessaries, but there ought to be hard
en;ng Incidents properly belonging to a
soldiers life The percentage of sickness
at Tampa is less than two per cent"
Quartermaster General NJ. /. LuddinSton
was disposed to ignore the criticisms,
preferring he said, to dismiss them all
with mere giving of a detailed list of
supplies that had been sent to the diff
ferent camps.
w. S. Patten, major and quartermaster
took out the list of equipments that had
been sent to the volunteers at Tampa, the
supply being based on 2o.ooo regulars and
1900 volunteers. This much" said
Major Patten, has already been sent:
Blankets, II. 600; blouses, 1880: forage
caps, 500; canvas fatigue coats. 5000: can
vas fatigue trousers; 5000; Summer draw
ers. 1900; gauntlets. LOCO; campaign hats.
6,96S; canvas hats, 166O0: leggins, $500;
ponchos. rubber blankets 25. 600: dark blue
flannel shirts, 700; heather shoes, 1883;
foot trousers. 1900: mounted trousers.
200; cotton undershirts. 50 900; hammocks,
12.675; sufficiency of implements, tools
and cooking utensils: shelter tents, IS, S2S;
common tents, 260; conical wall tents. 155; ;
hospital tents. &c. wall tents, 169; tents of
various kinds, 365.
THE same proportion" Major Patten
added, "applies to Chickamauga, Jack
sonville. Dunn Loring. Va; Mobile and
New Orleans.