Evening star., 1898-06-13
ON THE TRANSPORTS
The Army of Invasion Which Started
for Cuba.
SCENES OF ACTIVITY AT TAMPA
Some of the Causes Which De-
Iayed the Movement.
o r d E r OUT OF AOS
ORDER OUT OF CHAOS
Copyright, 1898, By chas. NJ. repper.)

copyright, 1898, by Chas. NJ Feprer.)
PORT TAMPA, Fla, June O.. 1898.
Marine mobilization of troops such as
may be witnessed at Port Tampa is a rare
sight. 1t was not seen during the civil
war on scale like the present one. Moth
ing Of the kind may be seen again for half
a century. To send an invading force of
10000. 10000 or perhaps 100000 men by wa
ter to occupy an enemy's territory would
not have been dreamed of a short while
ago. Possibly that was because so many
of the American people liked better to
dream of peaceful settlement Of our trou-
bles with Spain. Or, it may have been be-
cause of the delusion which had grown into
a conviction that all the fighting of the fu-
ture would be done by the navieS. Events
have destroyed that belief.
In the war between the United States
and Spain the navy has been performing
Its functions the Cuban ports,
bombarding the land fortifications, striving
to clear the waters of the enemy's ships.
That work must continue, while another
duty is added. This is to convoy the troops
safely to the Cuban coasts and to protect
the landing which will be the military oc-
cupation of Spanish territory by the United
States. The navy has been called the
floating army On the ships under COM
HidIiu u AuIIlTdl sampson anu SOHlLHouoie
Schley there are 5000 seamen, including
the marines or sea soldiers, of whom
each vessel has it's complement. Fifteen
hundred marines may be on transports, but
since the sailors cannot be spared from
the ships the combined fleet could not land
a force large enough to maintain a perma-
nent occupation at any point where the
Spaniards might be massed in numbers.
To seize and hold the hostile territory is
beyond the power of the floating army.
For that reason the army itself is afioat.
Its operations for some time to come are
likely to be of absorbing interest.
EmbarkatfOn of Troops.
After several weeks cruising with the
blockading squadrons through West Indian
waters l came up to Port Tampa to watch
the embarkation of the troops for the for
ward movement. The change of surround
ings is notable. The day of MY arrival the
mobilization was we'll under way. Stores,
provisions, supplies, ammunition, heavy
guns and light field pieces had already been
loaded on the transports. Everything was
life, for the troops had broken camp. struck
tents and were moving across the sandy
country In marching order. Camp scenes
have been so fully described that nothing
remains to be said Chckamauga will fill
the ranks fast as they are vacated, and
camp life Will ripple along with its varied
incidents until the last of the military ex-
petitions sets sail for Cuba or Porto Rico
In the meantime the seasoning of the volun-
teers for war will go on and less will be
heard of their rawness and their lack of
genuine military training.
An afternoon and evening passed on shore
listening to the talk of those who had lit
tie else to do gave me an inking of the
causes which made an earlier advance on
Cuba unwse, If not impossible There
seems to have been ample ground for the
indignation of General Miles at the def
ciencies of some of the departments and at
the lack of cooperation. Probably enough
has been said on that subject to fix the
responsibility and to guard against future
negligence. 1t is apparent that the lessons
have been quickly learned and the mistakes
promptly corrected. The foreign military
attaches, vino have been going about in
their smart uniforms raising their eye
brows at the evidences of unpreparedness,
have also taken lesson in American
adaptability. They have learned how quick
ly order be brought out of confusion
and how circumstances can be made to
bend to answering policy Of pushing
ahead. The only thing lacking is a provis-
ion by which the constitutional guarantees
might be suspended, and commanding gen.
erals be given authority to hang greedy
army contractors and rapacious corpora
ton officials first and try them afterward
Doubtless that is impractcable, yet it
would be q powerful aid in facilitating the
preparations for military operations When
1t is all over and the history of hostilities
between the United States and Spain is re-
viewed q American peopIe feel kc
checking off another Thanksgiving day in
the calendar because the war was with an
extinct and mediaeval power instead of
with a modern ration.
Getting Everything In Readiness.
However. in spite of the hindrances and
vexations. the troops have been got in read
mess for the invasion of Cuba, and the
army is not in & state of half preparation.
The morning when the departure was ex-
pected Gen. Miles and Gen Shafter were
both at the port before day break watching
and directing every movement Gen. Joe
Wheeler was there also with his store
house of nervous energy uncorked, SEEM
ingly in dozen places at once, now report
ing to Gen. Miles and now to Gen. Shafter,
but always giving good account of his
volunteers. The foreign attaches, who had
sat around the hotel grounds at Tampa all
night tumbled out of the and rubbed
their eyes while they waited for the boat
to take them to the Segurancia, which is
the flagship and carries Gen. Shafter and
his staff Everybody was too busy to show
the foreigners special courtesies, and, it Is
proper to say, these attaches were not ask
ing attention. When their eyes were once
opened they took minute observations.
During the day l heard good deal Of
what in sewing society would be called
Swear talk The vitriolic spirit of Te-
cumseh Sherman and the robust nature of
Phil Sheridan seemed to be striding abroad.
Men and animals were not got aboard the
transports fast enough for the pushing
driving military officers. That was clear
Yet to the eye of the civilian the movement
seemed to be systematic and rapid. That
steady progress was made became evident
when the transports began to steam slowly
out of the canal along which the dock runs
and into the bay. Their places were taken
at once by others, and this procession kept
up until late in the afternoon. The loading
of the horses and mules is more difficult