The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-10-19

UcHs VI OomPany - 10 Fr1en0S
In This City Agree In This Com
plaint-Re SimentaI Fund Not
Available to Avert Starvation.
Herman E. Heller, a private in Com
pany d, Thirteenth Minnesota volun-
teer regiment, stationed in Manila, has
written to friend in this city con-
corning the condition Of the soldiers
He says army life In the East is grow
ing monotonous and refers to the care
himself and comrades receive as fol-
lows:
have never been punished for the break
ing IN OF any military rules, as the papers take
1t when any one OF us tell the truth They
mink one is telling q lie to get even for
punishment. / am not that kind of man.
nave been connected with Col. Reeves head
quarters for three weeks and when I started
this letter l did not intend to make public
the state Of affairs Of this regiment. but NV
breast Is so filled with sense of the unjust
and unmilitary treatment of our brave bows
that 1t is quite relief to confide in friend
People used to say that Col. Reeve thought
more Of the Unlisted men than of the off,
GERS. Well, l. In company with the entire
regiment have found out differently AS
to that large regimental fund. which was SO
kindly donated to us by generous friends we
nave not had the benefit of one single cent
and at times we have been actually starving
when the use OF few dollars would have
prevented our suffering, and possibly have
saved some lives. Our sick men and officers
have lain in the hospital eighteen hours with
out any care or anything to eat while the
officers eat chicken, eggs and in fact. every
thing the local market could produce. The
goods sent by our home and San Francisco
Red Cross societies have been eaten by the
hospital nurses, who too fat and lazy
to look after our men who are sick and IN
need or food and attention. But, l. among
hat mil hn
some day.
The colonel draws money from the bank and
loans 1t to the officers, but let an inlisted
man ask for loan until we get paid and
he is told there is no money and is
down for his presumption in asking The
colonel has bought fine carriage and a
the enlisted men find a Spanish sword, OF
revolver, Mauser rife. they are required
to turn them In, while the whole gang of
ofhcers pack up rifles, swords, knives and re-
yolvers which were captured and send them
home. There is at present bad feeling in
the regiment and il it keeps up until we are
mustered out, I would not want to De In
some officers boots, as it will go herd with
them.
AS far as am concerned you can give this
letter to the papers, as l can and will back
up my statements.
Hellers story is practically corrob-
GRATED by William a Mass, a private
of the same company, who writes:
This whole war in my mind. has boon
carried on for political effect, and if I ever
get out of this hole the whole push can go
to -. The treatment We have received
here has been something awful. We are 1T
tie better than animals. l guess the officers
want to kill us all off before we return, be-
cause they know we will expose them 1t is
a case of slow starvation, and the boys look
more like skeletons than human beings I
have lost thirty-hve pounds since coming here,
and the others are suffering in like manner
We get mighty little food. and what there
Is of it is bad enough. Hardtack rice and
black coffee Is the bill of fare. Col. Reeve
was given purse of $4,000 by the good peo-
pie of st. Paul and Minneapolis, which money
was to be used In caring for the regiment
We have yet to learn where a dollar of this
money has been expended. When asked about
this money. the colonel says: Whats the
matter with you? Don't you remember that
box of backing l bought for you at 'Frisco?'
Then If the subject Is pressed further. we
arc hustled off to the guard house That's
the kind of treatment the boys OF the Th.r-
teerth are receiving. What do the people Of
st. Paul think of it?