The western recorder., 1898-06-23
ARE HARD TO SUIT.
PRESIDENTS ADVISORS DIsA-
GREE.

Iosnsr.i Bsses Dlsapprovss Of = Mig CamI
- Fsrnandins-opr e>itioa to Gsnsrs
coppingsr-No ExpsdIsien to spain.
Chicago. June ia special to th'
Record from Washington says:
In a multitude OF counselors thcr'
may be wisdom. but there Is usual,
n good deal OF confusion also, ant
President Mckinley has learned by ex
pcriencc. He Is n man of nbundnn
caution. and while he may he too de
libcrntc TO suit many people he tnke'
4 the ndvicc OF Davy Crockett and u
sure lie IL right before he goes ahead
For that renson he summoned Genera
Miles from Tampa. much against Inc
lnfter's wishes. although the genera
should consider II n compliment 10 bt
called 900 miles back 10 tnlk with M
commandcr-in-chicf. As stnted IL
these dispatches last night, nothing has
been definitely determined about the
expedition to Porto Rico. The secre
tnry Of war and his subordInntes had
formed pretty plan, with all detnils
but the President declined to approve
II until he had consulted General Miles
The latter arrived this morning In his
private cur. with Its porcelain batl
tub and other luxurious appurtennncef
that have been the cause OF criticism
md comment. but instead of settling
the open question In a speedy manner
he threw the whole game In confusion
and upset the calculations of the rest
OF the department by the objections he
rnised to their plans.
There has been n good denl OF fric-
| fion between General Miles and the
secretary OF war from tho beginning
MS I have frequently stated in these
dispatches. and there was never more
than at present. The Alger plan IN
brief Is to mobolIze 10000 or 35.OOd
troops at FernandIna. Florida, and ship
them to Porto Rico from that point I'M
der command OF Major General Cop
pnger.
In the first place. there hns been con-
siderable objection to Coppinger. He Is
n foreigner: he IL not n graduate of
West Point: he wns not citizen of the
United States until he became brlga-
der general, and even then took out
naturalization papers only for the pur-
pose of joining the Loyal Legion; he
is Catholic, and II Is argued he
should not be sent In command OF
troops TO Catholic country like Porto
Rico. But General Coppingcr has
strong friends. who contend that the
objections raised contain the very best
reasons why he should be selected. He
has the strong backing of General
Miles and AdJutant General Corbin.
and, although when he was appointed
a brigndier general four or five yenrs
ago, he did not stand very high profes-
sIonally. II IL claimed Mt the War De-
pnrtmcnt no man In the list of depart
ment commanders has made n better
record than he. II is almost certain
that the President will accept the rec
concentrations OF Miles and Corbin and
let Copplngcr lead the Porto Rican ex-
pedition.
General Miles. however. will not nj
low himself to he drawn into the rail-
road fight. and has made n recommen-
dation which, although II upsets the
plans OF the War Department. seems
to he practical and sensible. He rec
ommends thnt the troops and supplies
now nt Tampa be shipped from that
place, where temporary facilities have
been provided. and the experience OF
the Cuban expedition has taught many
valuable lessons. He sees no reason
why these facilities should be aban-
doned and the troops and supplies
transferred TO another point simply for
the purpose of Ioading them on trans
ports. He suggests that the troops and
supplies Mt Jacksonville be started
from Fcrnnndinn. those at Chicknmnu-
gn from Brunswick and those mt
Washington from Newport News or
Baltimore or equally convenient ports.
General Miles argues that II Is use
less expense to take troops out of one
cnnp and establish them in another
unless they are TO remain permanent
ly AZ the second place. Nothing can he
gained. for example. In taking troops
from Chickumaugn 10 Fernnndlna and
allowing them to remain there until
they are ready to go TO sea. He urges
TINT they be retained at Chicknmaign
until the transports nre ready to re-
celve them, so that they can march
aboard from the ears as soon as they
arrive. Nor does he see any advantage
In sending the entire expedition from n
single place. II will save long and
expensive journey to ship the troops
now at Washington from Newport
News or Baltimore instead of taking
them TO Fernnndina or Tampa, and AT
either of the former places better ia
cilities exist for handling men, live
stock and supplies.
General Miles hns been spending the
afternoon trying to convince Secretary
AlScf OF the uuNuhtuHcs VI Ills pun
The President and Cabinet regard II
very fnvorably and 1t will probably be
adopted.
There Is no Intention of sending a
fleet across the sea. The matter has
not even been seriously considered.
Several persons have suggested ut diff
ferent times that It would be good
idea to lombard Cadiz or some other
of the Spanish ports. The capture OF
the Canary Islands has also been ad-
vocnted in various quarters, but the
president thinks our army and navy
have plenty TO do nearer home at pres
ent, and that they will be kept busy
on this side of the winter until the
Spanish flag is removed from Ameri-
can soil and the United Stntes is in
possession OF ali the Spanish-Amerl-
can colonies. assf