Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1898-09-26
TO HURRY EVACUATION
Spain Must Get Her Troops Out ol
Cuba by Dec. 81.
COMMISSIONERS INSTRUCTED
Administration VIII Not Tolerate
Spanish DilHtOriness-AttOrn
General Renders m linz
pOrtnnt Opinion.
COMMISSIONERS INSTRUCTED

Washington. Sept. 26.-The officials
here are watching with interest the
progress being made by the military
commission at Havana in securing the
evacuation of the island of Cuba. The
commission has been very slow in MAX
ing reports to the war department, but
from the latest received it appears that
that body would like to have more def
mite instructions as to procedure. 1t
seems that the Spanish side has said
that they could not begin the evacua-
ton of the island until the LIST of No
vember and that it could not be COM
pleted before the 2Sth of February next.
In view of the alarming state of the
CubanS, who are suffering from hun
ger and the inability lin the present I'M
certain conditions for obtaining work,
the president decided that he could not
assent to the consumption of so much
time. Therefore he caused the commits
sion to be instructed to demand that
the evacuation by the Spaniards begin
not later than Oct. Is and that it lie
CoIHplctSo ny lDtC. o. HAL. w AoS sAS
result of this demand will be is not yet
known, but it is said that the admin
stration is determined to tolerate no
dilatory tactics upon the part of the
Spanish forces in leaving the island, al
though disposed to permit reasonable
indulgence.
Notice has also been taken of the ex
pected purpose of the Spanish captain
general to remove from the island the
remains of Christopher Columbus, with
part of the surmounting monument If
a monument is not a permanent fixture,
then it is hard to decide what is, and it
is possible that attention will be called
to the infraction of the terms of the
protocol, although this must be done
with haste in order to succeed in its
object, as the removal is said to be
fixed for next Tuesday.
Ask the War Department..
A great many inquiries are being re-
ceived by the department of state re-
specting the administration of affairs in
Porto Rico and Cuba. All such in
quries, it is said at the department,
should be addressed to the secretary of
war, under whose jurisdiction portions
of those islands coming under control
of the United States for the time being
will fall.
The attorney general has rendered an
opinion that the retirement of officers
Of the regular army who have been
promoted in the volunteer service does
not affect their volunteer commissions.
The matter was submitted to him in the
case of Major General Graham of the
volunteers, who is a brigadier general
in the regular army, and whose retire
ment for age as a regular will occur
Sept. rs. 1t is held that these officers
have separate commissions and that
the volunteer service commission will
hold after an officer is placed on the re-
tired list as regular army officer by
operation of the age limit. This de-
cision will also apply to General Cop
pinger, who will retire for age next
month. In mastering out volunteer line
and staff officers the decision is that the
president can discharge any volunteer
officer who may or may not be retired,
and in case he has not reached retire
ment age he will go back to his original
rank in the regular army or If retired
he will go out of service.
In his capacity as chairman of the
Chickamauga park commission. Gener-
al II. V. Roynton has furnished the war
department with copy of a retraction
made by Major John c. Martin, chief
surgeon First brigade, Second division,
First corps. of certain statements re-
fleeing nnon the purity of the drinking
water in the park. The surgeon in his
testimony before the Sanger board OF
inn ut twill, ~ c1 lo,, .
typhoid fever in Camp Thomas to pol
luted surface wells and to the contami-
nation of Chickama uga creek. General
Boynton says Colonel Martin made
these statements to him in public, cou-
pied with the statement that the mill
tary authorities were trying to suppress
such Information and that the chief
surgeons reports were not true.
Rctrncted His Statement.
General Boynton had the surgeon
promptly summoned before headuuar-
ters. where. after admitting that he
must make his assertions good or re-
tract them. he wrote:
ITO the Assistant Adjutant General,
Camp Thomas and Department of the
Gulf:
"Sir--I desire and do retract each and
every word spoken and statement made
by me to General Boynton during a pri-
vate conversation held in the Road
hotel in Chattanooga on the even
ing Of July IA, 1898, believing it best for
myself and for the interests of the pub
lie service. JOHN c. MARTIN,
Major and Surgeon"
General Boynton has also made re-
port to the adjutant general at Camp
Thomas, giving certain observations in
answer to the published report of the
Sanger board criticising the fitness OF
Chickamauga park as a camp site. He
expresses regret that various favorable
opinions Of regimental officers, testify
ing to the healthfulness of the park and
the wholesomeness of it's water supply.
were not referred to in the report of the
board, which did not, also, allude to the
only analysis of the water it possessed.
one pronouncing it to be pure, made by
the chemist of the Philadelphia board of
health. On the other hand, General
Boynton, says, by authority of the sec
rotary Of war the park board had every
spring used by the troops analyzed. and
all We're shown to be pure.
General Boynton does not agree with
he boards report as to the garbage be
ing generally burned" but shows that
there was great laXity in this matter.
which continued up to the time the
troops guilty of this neglect left the
camp. The park force of laborers is still
gathering and burning garbage left by
the troops.