The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-07-25
LACK MAIL AND RATIONS
REGULAR ARMY SAID TO HAVE
SUFFERED AT SANTIAGO
Letters Received at Smelling From
the Third Regiment Indicate
That Letters Are Delayed and
That the Troops Have Suffered In
the Trenches for Want of Proper
Food.

If there does not come a row out Of
the manner in which the government Is
mismanaging at least the smaller de-
tails OF the campaign IN Santiago, it
will be because the soldiers appreciate
the fact that they are a part of the
American public and are expected to
suffer without kicking.
month or two ago it was officially
announced that arrangements had been
made for field postOffices, and there
would be no difficulty in getting mail
through. There was a postmaster ap-
pointed to go with the troops, and the
public was instructed how to mail let
tiers. There has been about a ton or
more of mail sent out of ST. Paul TO
the men in the Third infantry, U. S. A.
1t hcW transpires that the men in the
regiment Gid not receive any mail at
all from the time they left Tampa I'M
I'll after the battle of Santiago. Pos
shly they have received none vet but
the last advices received here show that
there had not been a letter or newspa-
per seen in the regiment from June 5
until in July. The rela tives of the
men at Fort Smelling have received
letters within a few days, most of them
written about the 1st of July, in which
the writers complained because thew
had not heard from home. Some mail
was put into the hands of the men
about July 8. Thare was about a.
hundred sacks in the delivery, and 1t
was Shown that the mail which had
been received at Tampa for the Third
United States infantry was, by mis-
take, delivered to the TRANSPORT carrv
ing the mail for the Third Ohio yolun-
teers. 1t took that lot a month 10
find its way to the Thii d.
From private letters received at the
fort from some of the men, it appears
that the postoffice is not tie onlv do
partment that is at fault The men do
not write in a complaining tone. for
they could not well criticise their supe-
r:ors. When they set a chance to talk
out the truth will be known But it is
quite evident THAI the commissariat is
being grossly mismanaged. The gov
eminent has not lacked for money or
transports for food supplies, ard it has
been repeatedly stated that the gov
eminent was feeding the Cuban
tramps. At the time this food was he
ing given to thousands of reconcentra-
&c s the men Ct t Anne lean army. who
! were lying in the trenches before San
tlago, were not being fed at all half of
the time. They were making forced
marches through the Jungle. SUFFERING
frlghtful tortures from the heat and +
times were left for twenty-four hours
without food of any sort. This when
the road was clear for the sending for
ward of provisions, and there was said
to be plenty at the point of debarka-
ton of the troops a few miles in the
rear.
The rations that were served consist
ed solely of gre,n coffee. for the roast
ing and grinding of which there could
be no facilities, raw bacon and hard
tack. The prevalence of illness in the
ranks is likely to be due in a measure
10 the fact that most of the men were
obliged to eat the bacon raw with their
bareback. One man wrote: I've didn,t
expect pie to eat in the trenches. but
this Is tougher than anything that we
ever looked for with plenty of supplies
OF all kinds within twenty miles of us. :"