Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-12-22

ed and observed, while there, do you
thing there was at any time
SUFFICIENT MEDICAL SUPPLY"
Gen. Miles-"Of medical men and
materials?'
Gen. Beaver-"Yes."
Gen. Miles-"No, sir"
The witness stated that the hospital
accommodations were only OF a tenn
porary character. He said that the
shelter was bad The shelter tents did
not shelter Questioned as TO the char
acter OF the facilities for Transporting
the wounded, he said that they were
taken in wagons.
Gen. Beaver-"DO you know II any or
the wounded were lying exposed to the
weather.
Gen. MILESTONE were exposed in
being sent down to the hospitals. l
saw one train of wounded men driving
along in the drenching rain with moth
ing to shelter them"
He had:taken measures personally to
correct matters, and on August II had
telegraphed for we'll equipped corps
of pier and bridge builders, ETC., and
had ordered places burned. Gen. Miles
said the transportation facilities were
used to carry supplies to some 15,000
to 10000 refugees from Santiago, and
about 5000 Cuban troops. This, he
stated, in answer to a question, was
not expected, because | had
CAUTIONED GEN. SKATER
to keep his men out of the Spanish
buildings of every character, and to
keep the men away from the natives.
Had he not done as he did the army
would have been much better supplied.
His army in Porto Rico, he said, had
been supplied in a way with quarter
masters and commisSary stores, but not
in the best way. At Porto Rico he had
asked that fixed rations be SENT but in
stead they were sent down in bulk,
without invoices or bills of ladlng, and
in many instances stores were spolled
in the hold and thrown away. rms
caused great embarrassment and loss or
stores and deprived troops OF food. lie
asserted that the scarcity of 1000
largely caused the distress OF the
troops. He had advised against the
shipping of beef to Porto Rico. both
because there was abundance OF 1t on
the island, as we'll as because OF his
belief that it was defective. He char
acterized the refrigerator beef, OF
which there was 327 tons sent as EN-
balmed beef" and said the canned
dressed beef, of which $4,000 pounds
had been shipped there, was condemn
ed by officers whose commands USED IL.
"Who fixed that beef as an army ra-
tion?"
you'll have to ask some one here IN
Washington. You had better ask
THE SECRETARY OF WAR
oral n
sent as food. If they had not taken
that they would have had to go nun
cry. Ii they had sent paymasters
down there, as l asked, we would nave
bought food, but they did not do that.
Gen. Miles suggested that the food
was sent to his large army under pre-
tense of an experiment.
Gen. Miles called attention to the
fact that good fresh beef could be
bought in Porto Rico for six cents
pound. American money, and he sug-
gested it might be interesting to COM
pare the cost of the refrigerated beef
together with the expense of transpOr-
tation.
He said he did not know but that
the chemicals used in treating the
beef were responsible for the great
sickness in the American army. he
ports which he had received concern
ing it were to the effect that this beef
had an odOr like an embalmed dead
body.
CAPTAIN Howell: Were these re-
ports ever brought to the attention OF
the commissary general?'
Gen Miles: Reports were frequent
1y cpnt in IN him Rnt
HE SEEMED TO INSIST ;
that the beef be used
Captain Howell: Was the matter
ever brought to the attention OF the
Secretary of War;
Gen. Miles: 81 requested that no
more of it be sent. If a supply Of it
were sent to the men in this country
| would prohibit their use of it. | am
having an investigation now of the
matter. l thought yeu gentlemen
would get onto it.
He said he had never complained to
the Secretary of War as to the condi-
Tion of the beef, but had asked that the
supply be stopped.
Gen. Miles stated the first plans for
sending troops to Cuba were not MS,
as he was opposed to sending troops
there until Cervera's fleet was located
The question at the outset was a naval
problem; and the despatch of troops, in
his judgment, then hinged on which
feet shoald destroy <s1e other. If the
Spanish had destroyed the United
States fleet, the United States would
have been blocked for a, number Of
years. IF we had had a force in Cuba
then we would have lost it, as it would
have been impossible to get it back
here"
He was opposed also to sending a
large force to places like Havana or
MatanZas, because of the large per-
centage Of yellow fever deaths there
He said the destruction of
CERVERA'S FLEET
settled that problem. He said he
wanted to operate with a small force
against the Spanish forces by harrass-
ing them during the sickly season.
aiding the Cubans, and not endanger-
ing the lives of his own force. He also
at first favored taking Porto Rico 10
prevent the Spanish from using that as
base Of operations. Gen. Miles gave
details of the Porto Rican expedition,
organization and obstacles. Conclud-
ing with his opinion of camp sites, ne
said the first he knew of the selection
Of Camp Alger, Va, the most object
ID0ablo camO in his ODipiOu was