Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-08-22
SECRETARY ALGER'S DEFENSE
&c Writes a Long Letter to Chauncey
N. Depew,

N. Depew,
WHICH THE LATTER CONSENTS TO
MAKE PUBLIC'-THE SECRETARY
RECOIJNTS THE DIFFICULTIES
HE HAS HAD TO CONTEND WITH
AND HIS GENERAL PLEA is,
THERE WAS NOTHING ON HAND
WHEN THE WAR BROKE oUT-A
REVIEW OF DEPARTMENTAL
WORK
New York, August 20.-Hon. Chaun-
cey NJ. Depew has received the foilo"-
ing letter from the Secretary OF war;
and has consented to its publication.
The letter, which was written IN rep-y
to a request for information on the SUD
Jects referred to il the letter, Is as loA-
lows:
War Department, Washington Au-
gust 13, 1898:
.My Dear Mr.. Depew:
The great pressure OF business has
I'D to new prevented me from senolhs
to YOU the statement you were klnd
enough to ask tor, as to what mad peen
accomplished in the way OF QUILTING
tie aliny Tor the field, the conoucl ol
lne campaign, etc. Also, the chiefs VI
ulyislon nave been too mucn ull'eh
WAN work to compile the data requlI-
ed. One not in the midst OF the Wolh
can hardly realize WnaC an unuei lSih-
lig IL Is 70 calI l25,UU0 men luIo Ine
he'd at one time, coming from all the
states. and 10 have tnem mustered
and gathered in camps on SO snort no
lice. and this too, when we nave
Scarcely any camp outnt Ior thelr az
q, .nmodauon. all havl.g to be provld-
Gu fof by the War Department. AS
you know, when war was declared,
there was
NO EQUIPMENT WHATEVER
for the volunteers in store. That this
was successfully accomplished WIN
very few accidents Is matter Oh rec
ora. subsequent calls, lncludlng inc
regular army, (Which numbered Ziooo
men when war was decIared), mace a
tcral OF $500 men. To accomplish
adj This in so short a time has Deen
great work.
"Of cCulse gathering this vast num-
Der OF men together, IN large meas
ure under unframed reglmentaI ana
company otiicers-I mean in actual
field duty - the lack of knowledge as
To sanitary conditions to be observed,
Inc carelessness in not observing in
structlons which We're furnished as 10
the proper care of the n,ou, mas added
greatly to the WORK of the medical 0e-
r partment Thus, from the homes OF
10000 volunteers has been constant
and great anxiety as to what might
happen to their soldiers, and hundreds
of inquiries by letters and telegram
have teen received every day concern
!. inc individual soldiers. The feellng
on the part of these individuals that
the War Department is responsible tor
the care of their men individually mas
naturally aroused sympathy IN cases
of sickness and death, and has
CREATED MUCH SORROW.
There is nothing young men in robust
health are so prodigal OF as their
health, until it is gone. Men go into
camp feeling that they can stand any
thing and everything, and cannot be
made to believe to the contrary until
stricken with disease. An effort has
been made from the beginning to fur
nish every camp every appliance asked
for. but of course the commanding OIL
GERS in the field are the ones who have
the direct charge Of these men. For
instance, one army corps commander
has given orders, and enforceS them,
respecting sanitary affairs, and he has
to-day but fraction of over per cent
on the sick list Others have been less
successful, and the consequence is that
TYPHOID and other fevers have been
bred and spread to a considerable ex-
tent. One regiment in the Chlcka-
manga camp has a colonel who enforceS
sanitary rules in his regiment, oblig-
ing the men to boil all the water they
drink, keeping the camp clearly, and
the result is less than twenty-five are
sick, and his camp, too, is in bad
place. Others more favorably situated
have ten times the number en- the sick
list. One of the regiments OF the last
call, not yet removed from its station,
sends bitter complaints of typhoid fe-
yer.
concerning
THE SANTIAGO CAMPAIGN,
when the ships left Tampa they had
ON board three months provisions aud
IN abundance of hospital supp les.
They had lighters to unload with at
the point of debarkation. These light
ers were lost in severe storms on the
way. AS soon as I'VE were notified of
the fact, two tows of lighters were
sent from Mobile and New Orleans,
which were also overtaken by storms
and lost The navy supplied us with
lighters, and one of these was wreck
ed. The army disembarked, getting off
a portion of its supplies and medical
stores, and Immediately marched to
the front to fight the Spaniards. The
great difficulty of landing supplies
subsequently was that the wind
sprang up every morning at ten o'clock
and made a high surf. rendering al
NEST impossible the use Of small boats,
with one lighter, which was all they
had left for this purpose. Of the pack
ers who were employed, sixty per cent
soon fell sick. and heavy rains falling
every day the roads Gf the could be
called such), became impossible for
vehicles, pack animals had to be en-
S ployed to carry food to the army,
which, being extended to the right
around Santiago, increased the distance
Soon, tho pnaCt oyorr dow ar,d \ q