Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1898-08-04

musty, but the statement was made that
they were the best beans Gen. Skaters
commissaries had to send. Some of the
hardtack was mouldy and the men were
in no condition to keep black coffee, with
no sugar. on their stomachs.
There were no delicacies of any kind on
board the ship. There was not even an
ounce of beef tea or its extract. An Of
ficor of the army, qualified to speak TN
the subject told a Sun reported ycster-
day that delicacies and all food for the
sick in the army are supplied by the med
ical department. Why sick men ordered
to board transport were not provided
by the representatives of the army mcdi-
cal department in Cuba with food that
sick men could eat this officer. who, by
the way is an Army surgeon. did not pre-
tend to say. HIS only comment was:
Its n wonder to me those poor fellows
didn't die of starvation, to say nothing of
lanything else"
1t was pointed out by DR.. Doty yester-
day that, while the condition of the Con-
cho was not what It should have becn, Ill
men, especially men who are suffering
| through what they believe to be the neg
lect of those who should caro- for them,
are lkcly to paint very black pictures of
their misery. Here is one of those pic
lures. painted by n non-commissioncd Of
f""" of the regular army:
1T was bad enough at Sboney, but I'd
rather have stayed there than come up on
this ship. I'd rather they'd left me where
they found me, under the chaparral on the
San Juan slope. I'd have died, but I
wouldn't have had to suffer so much.
This ships been n regular hell hole. i got
| malaria after was hit. but that and the
wound weren't bothering me much when
left Siboney. l was put between decks
where, on cattleship, they wouldn't have
put a sick steer. l hadn't much appetite
I
OF me. eat stinkng bacon and drink putrid
water. The fellows next to me got sea-
sick and had to lie in their own vomt.
As soon as they could, those blessed Red
Cross women cleaned It up and the few
well mon on board helped. The only way
they could keep our fever down was bath
Ing our heads In sea water"
As for medicines, there was on the
transport what DR.. Lesser and his nurses
had in their private cases. These were a
little quininc, a little brandy and a few
other remedies
SHAFTER AND GARCIA.
Hon. r. A. Alger. Secretary OF War,
Washington. D. c.:
| Santiago. July 29-Comments are made
as to my treatment of Gen. Garcia. / de-
sire to say that Gen. Garcia was invited
\ by me personally to go into the city of
Santiago at the time | entered II, but he
declined upon the ground that spanish
civil officers were to be left in power. II
was fully explained to him that those Of
flcials were continued in power until Il
was convenient to change them for others
Gen. Garcia's assistance to me has been
purely voluntary on his part. and he was
told at the beginning that did not exer-
else any control over him except such as
he chose to give. The trouble with Gen
Garcia was that he expected to he placed
in command at this place; In other words
that We would turn the city over tn MIN
] explained fully that We were at war with
Spain. and that the question OF Cuban in
dependence could not be considered by me
Another grievance was that finding thai
several thousand men marched in with nj
opposition from Gen. Garcia, I extend; &
my own lines in front of him and closcc
up the gap, as saw that had to depend
on my own men for any effective invest
ment of the place. SHAFTER.