The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-12-13
Signal Service
Had Agents
WHEREVER NEEDED.
Cervera Located by News
from Havana.

mission today that his plans had been
laid well ahead and that when appro-
priations became available, there was
no delay in launching the work.
The auxiliary force of the corps was
mustered in, organized and sent to the
front in 80 days after its formation was
authorized. Every order from the COM
handing general to creative lines of
communication had been obeyed
promptly.
Gen. Greeley was asked: Were you
hlndered or delayed at any time in the
administration of your department bv
any one in authority over you?"
He replied: Welt of course. in time
OF war, when large supplies are need
ed, in many cases it is necessary to
convince the secretary of war that Ger
tam things are necessary to be done.
Ihere was at first some delay, and be
Iore the war ] was cautioned as to pur-
! chases and expenses. This never did
any real harm, and when the emer-
gency arose, l was given what I need
ed and was well supported by the de-
partment'
When asked if he had any sugges-
tons to offer, the commission. GefR.al
Greedy said: 81 believe there should be
some onlcer in the American army
whose duty 1T should be to see that the
American soldier it fed. I believe the
problem of feeding, clothing and paw
ing the army is business, and if any
three competent business men could
get together and devise a system as
much In advance Of our present one, as
that is in advance of $50 years ago 1t
would be a blessing"
referring to the health of his men.
cen Greedy said: Il may mention that
out OF 1SO0 men in the corps I only
had HVe succumb TO disease. There
were two killed and two officers had
thelr horses shot under them"
corpse" - '0Ui
NO, sir, quite positively. There was
general laugh at this.
VIII say" added General Cireely
mat made a point Of impressing up-
on my officers that their men in tba
field We're bound to be as IRRESPONSIBLE
as children, and would have to be look
ca after as such regarding their food.
SINKS and bedding. My officers carried
out this supervision faithfully"
General McCook asked: will you
state how Cervera was located at San
tiago"
Through Colonel Allen Of my corps. =,
said General Greedy.
I'VE received the news from Havana
IN the afternoon, and the presi-
Gent had it at midnight"
HOW did you manage to communi-
cate between Santiago and Havana.
and how did you get the news out of
Havana"
I'VE had our confidential agents in
Cuba, where they would do the most
good and they had their own methods
OF communicating with each other;
we arranged that before the war. They
were men upon whom we could de-
pend, and when anything worth know
ing happened in Cuba, the president
usually had it by midnight"
Gen. Greedy, in speaking Of the press
censorship, said the greatest latitude
or criticism upon the government had
been permitted, he suppressing only
particularly violent and unreasonable
attacks. The managers Of commercial
telegraph lines had aided him greatly
in this matter.
G eneral Charles P. Rgan. commits
sionary general, testified that upon as
suming charge of his department, he
found an abundance of food on hand
and with the troops at various points
in the field. This continued up to date
AS to complaints, he said about 73 of
the officers thought unfavorably of
canned roast beef.
He received no actual complaints. He
the meat perfectly good. The depart
ment furnished an abundance of pota-
toes, onions and tomatoes to cook with
it. If they did not reach the soldiers
it was the fault of the transportation
department. Cases of neglect in trans
portation and loading had come to his
notice in several cases, and had been
presented personally to the quarter
master.
General Egan believed the army
never would be properly fed till the
commissary department had charge of
transportation, as well as the purchase
Of rations. He said he believed the
commissary department should furnish
not only food, but also cooking and
eating utensils, and transport them to
the troops. General Egan said that
there were very few contractors who
did not cheerfully make good any de-
flciency in the quality Of material de-
livered.
Col. DENLY asked ''Do you think that
the officers took proper care in seeing
that the beans and everything else, in
fact. were we'll cooked? Does not the
value of the food work down to the
value of the cook, after all?"
Gen. Egan replied: "Unquestionably
so. [ believe the cooking was almost
uniformly bad. believe good cooks
ought to be employed if they cost a
hundred dollars a minute. ] have rec
commended that very thing in my bill
before congress"
Gen. Egan explained the interpreta-
ton he had put upon General order
116." for the Communication of rations for
sick soldiers at the rate of 60 cents per
day, concerning which there had been
complaint, that it applied only to the
sick in the hospitals, and the men sick
in quarters" had to eat the bacon and
bareback ration.
Gen Egan declared that the COM
mutation was available for "sick in
quarters as we'll as in hospitals. He
said the trouble in getting the order
executed lay with the doctors. He had
refused to let them hold the saving out
of Communication for the hospital fund
They objected to drawing the commu-
tation money, because they were made
to account for what they did not use
He said, however. that this system of
Communication was the best he had been
able to devise.
Referring to a tropical ration, Gen.
Egan said: Il have recommended to
the department the addition of a little
more sugar, and little dried fruit for
the soldiers in the tropics, but other
wise the ration is good. Those who
talk against the eating of meat in the
tropics do not stop to consider that the
reason the native of the tropics does
not eat meat, is not because he doesn't
want it, but because he cannot afford
it. And when you look at the native.
you see he is a product Of his food, and
there is nothing to him. The English
troops ration differs very little from
our own, and, with the changes 1 have
mentioned, our army ration, which is
the product of 100 years experience, it !
is the best food the American soldier
could have"