Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1898-08-08
THE NEEDS OF SOLDIERS.
Improper Equipment of Our Army
for the Philippines.

The demand for a good, clean, and
square meal is general, and it is an
Indication of state of affairs that
ought to be set forth very clearly in
the interests of the thousands of
volunteers who are to follow this
first expedition to Manila; in the
interest of the administration, which
is responsible for the welfare of
these volunteers; and in the interest
of the country, which both soldiers
and administration are bound to
serve.
The facts are plain to any one. 1t
is natural, Of course, for men who
never have been used to roughing it
to find life aboard a troop-ship hard
to take. Quarters are close and
cramped, food is very plain, and
there is no great variety Of it. Con-
ditions generally aro unpleasant
These things the men recognize, and
there is very little complaint about
them. But there is demand that
the food be served in proper guam
titles, that the potatoes be boiled
until they are cooked thoroughly
that the salt pork be not raw, and
that the bacon be done. Beans are
not palatable when they are hard
enough to be used as poker chips,
and rice is not good to eat when it
takes a mill to grind it. Hardtack
is a good diet, but not as a steady
thing when there is opportunity for
fresh bread occasionally. These
things, however, are but superficial
causes of complaint, and are being
eradicated rapidly. Most of them
were caused at the start by the roll
ing of the ship, which so seriously
incapacitated SO many of the officers
of the regiment that proper inspec-
ton was not possible. 1t also added
to the discomfort of the men, so
that they were inclined to exaggerate
their hardships.
There is a much more serious mat
ter for objection and complaint In
the equipment of the men. They are
sent out to climate terribly hot
and distressingly humid with an
absolutely inadequate supply Of
DIOUOI CuOLu1uSs OAOO4 0C4OCA4A6 w CNo
issued today. Tt is made of Canton
flannel, of a weight that would prove
extremely acceptable at the summit
of White or Chilkoot Pass, and,
even such as it is, there is not
enough to go around. Shoes will not
go around-to one company which
turned in a requisition for sixty
four pairs, twenty-one pairs were
issued. There is a large supply
of brown duck suits to be issued
sometime, by-and-by, but not a he'll
met or a suitable sun-hat to go with
them.
Yet one of the great dangers of life
in the Philippines is sunstroke.
These things will be overcome, of
course, in time, and when we have
taken Manila" We can get all we
want and just what we want in
Manila-when we have taken it.
But the expectation is that in order
to take Manila we shall want some
guns-rif1es for the soldiers. The
guns of the First Oregon are quite
in keeping with the clothing outfit.
They are the old-fashioned Spring
field rifles. Originally they were
hard-shooting guns, but that was
long ago. Now the rifing has been
worn out of a great many of them,
and something else is the mattel
with some of them. There are 200
new rifles, which ought to be in good
condition for service; they are of the
old model, but they are efficient.
The First California boys carry the
same guns.
They are going to meet Mauser
rifles, and apparently some one is
relying on the pluck and dash of our