Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1898-12-17

Considering the magnitude of the tas
th. officials here feel that there Is little
ground for complaint on the part of the
spanish people because the prisoners
are not instantly released.
Honolulu, Dec. T. via San Francisco.
Dec. l5.--The United States transport
Scandia has arrived here from Manila.
which place she left Nov. 10. She
brings number Of officers, 81 dis
Red Cross nurses.
Miss Schaeffer II Red Cross nurse.
who went from Honolulu TO Manila. ar
riving there Sept. g. returned here.
She r,akes startling charges as to the
way United States soldiers are taken
care Of in Manila.
Scores of the soldier boys she says,
ARE dying in the hospitals ut Manila
just for want of proper nourishment.
They gay the government allows 80
cents u day for each patient. You can
save dozens of lives on s cents a day.
On, the utter woe Oh nOSplta!S, the
helplessness of them. Men as bright,
as noble as God ever made, given up to
death. hoping for it. seeking it, taking
poison, doing anything that will end the
despair that comes upon them.
Seeing nothing before them but days
of pain and nights of wretchedness.
nln h pn m ~
to give them sympathy or cheer, to write
to friends. to soothe the aching brows or
moisten parched lips, and, If by sheer
endurance of nature or obstinacy OF
vitality, they do get better there is be-
fore them nothing but the still more
cheerless period of convalescence with
the probability Of a relapse and the old
weariness aud despair TO be suffered
again.
mo wonder there are six or seven
funerals day. No wonder the dead
house is never empty.
And outside the hospital. and even
in it. such Indifference. Petty consider
ations of rank and position, squabbles
about precedence, lack of consideration
in prescribing and preparing food, while
men are dying. not merely of heart
hunger, but for want of nourishment.
II have gone through the wards day
after day, and spoke to this one and
that one, and they poured out their
woes. Men who did not wear their
hearts on their sleeves cried for the
pure agony Of their loneliness and de-
spair. made vivid by their own telling of
it.
II Go not mean that attendants of the
hospitals are careless or Indifferent.
Many are trying to do their best. But
there is so much ineXperience; so many
clogs to those who would do much.
To think of an attendant going through
ward with a pail of beef broth, la-
ding it out to the patients indiscrimi-
nately by the cupful. In the whole
pail there was not enough nourishment
for one, even If 1t were made of the
best material
"But what 1t really was made of, l
shut my eyes and refuse to imagine.
In a whole ward there Is not more than
one nurse with experience, ana for help
ers only one or two awkward boys. who.
perhaps, never saw sick rom before"
Washington, Dec. 15.-Within four
hours from the moment the order was re-
teived by Captain Cook. who commands
the Brooklyn, to proceed to Havana, the
ship was speeding away on the high
seas from Tompklnsvil1e, S. I. The Texas
was telegraphed to leave for Cuba at
o'clock Wednesday and got away soon
after midnight from Hampton Roads.
The Castine, which is to form part of the
Havana squadron, will make her way
alone south from Boston. The Resolute
which was also ordered to Havana, will
not be able to start from League island
for few days. All of the ships carry
marine guards, and 1t Is believed that
they will be able to maintain the best of
order in Havana should the local au-
thorities prove unable to do SO. All of
the torpedoes which obstructed the en-
trance to Havana harbor have been re-
moved. and although the batteries COM
manding the entrance are still techni-
cally in Spanish control it Is not believed
that any objection will be offered to our
forces taking possession Of them at any
moment.
Washington, Dec 15.-The senate yes
terday confirmed the following nOmina-
tions: Nathan o. Murphy, Arizona, to
he governor of Arizona.
To be members of the industrial COM
mission: T. w. Philips, Pennsylvania;
A. l.. Harris, Ohio; ]. L. Kennedy, Dis
trict Of Columbia; f. A. Smyth. South
Carolina; ]. NJ. Farquhar, New York
NJ. ID. Ratchford, Indiana.
Lieutenant colonels to be colonels:
Cavalry, Thomas McGregor, s. E. Whit
Coma, H. c. Egbert, f. NJ. Coates, G. NJ
Randall. w. S. Worth, w. NJ. Wherry
]. II. Patterson, Fl. b. Freeman, c. M
Bailey.
Corps of engineers: s. NJ. Mansfield.
Lieutenant Colonel Lawton to be in
spector general with the rank Of colonel
Lieutenant Colonel Kimball depart
ment quartermaster general, to be as
sistant quartermaster general, with the
rank of colonel.
Colonels to be brigadier generals: H
S. Hawkins, E. p. Pearson, J. F. Kent
G. V. Henry. w. s. Worth, ]. H. Page
w. NJ. Wherry, H. c. Egbert, Evan Miles
Henry Carroll. +. Fl. Liscum, ]. T. Has
kell C. d. Viele. A. S. Daggett, ]. IL
Patterson, T. A. Baldwin, c. +. Whittier
Samuel Evenshine, Charles McCreeve,
Irving Hale, Richard Comba, John E.
\VeStnp Edpar Kellnpu
Lieutenant colonels to be brigadier
generals: f. p. Ewers. c. F. Humph-
reys. G. S. Carpenter, j. w. Clous.
Brigadier generals to be major gen.
erals: j. f. Kent. s. B. NJ. Young. T. NJ
Anderson, A. Macarthur, F. v. Greene
William Ludlow, S. b. Sumner
Navy: Assistant Naval Constructors
Thomas F. Ruhm. Lawrence Spear and
Frank B. Seahm. to be naval construc-
tors also a number Of other army and
navy promotions.
Madrid. Dec. 15.-At the cabinet coun-
Gil yesterday the minister for foreign af-