El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-08-06
ARMY DEMORALIZED.
Terrible Conditions Revealed BY
Reports OF Officers.

r. A. Alger, secretary of war, Wash
ington:-The report probably mean
ing Gen. Kent's) was given out, as l
have learned since, before it reached
me. | called the Rgeneral officers to-
gether to tell them what | proposed to
do and express to them my views, and
to ask them to give me theirs. We all
feel alike.
Some one proposed that they write
me letter setting forth their views
and L told them to do so. Meanwhile,
l wrote my telegram and later it was
handed in and forwarded with the let
ter of the surgeons and the letter of
tie officers. It was not until sometime
after that learned that the story had
been given to the press.
1t was foolish and improper thing
TO do. [ regret very much that it oc-
Cured Roosevelt's letter 1 know
nothing of, nor of what he said, and
have been very careful about giving to
the press any Information, and will
continue to do so.
(Signed) w. r. SHAFTER,
Major General.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 6.-The Roose-
velt Alger row is likely to result in q
court martial aud official expose of
the disastrous blunders which have
cost so many lives in the Santiago cam
paign. Roosevelt, his friends here
say, did not hesitate to pick mp the
q n hattie h,,
and will demand court martial for
the purpose of justifying his position,
and proving that the secretary is
directly responsible for many costly
mistakes.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 6.-The war de-
the transportation of troops from San
tisgo to Montauk Point is now well un-
der way. One ship load of cavalrymen
left Santiago Thursday. and two more
started yesterday. These are expected
to arrive at quarantine, New York,
Dext Thursday.
Secretary Alger is authority for the
statement that the department expects
10000 men to have started from San
tiago before the end of this week and
the same number will be carried next
week. By that time the transports
which carried the first troops to Mon
tauk will have returned to southeastern
Cuba and will be ready to make the
second trip north. Secretary Alger
believes the great bulk of the army
will have been sent to Montauk by the
first OF the month
NEW YORK, Aug. 6.-The transport
Louisiana from Santiago passed Sandy
Hook bound in at $3.50 p. III. Accord
ing TO Washington dispatch she car
res the first detachment of -oops from
Skaters army at Santiago, bound for
the Montauk Point camp.
\ press dispatch from Santiago to
the Dallas News of yesterday says:
Summoned by Gen. Shafter meeting
was held here this morning at head
quarters and in the presence of com
manding and medical officers of the
fifth army corps Gen. Shsfter read a
from Secretary Alger ord
ering him at the recommendation of
Surgeon Gen. Sternberg to move the
army into the interior. to San Luis
where it is healthier. AS a result of
the conference Gen. Shafter will insist
upon the immediate withdrawal of the
army to the north within two weeks.
As an explanation of the situation the
following letter from Col. Roosevelt,
commanding the first volunteer caval-
ry, to Shafter was handed by him to q
correspondent of the Associated Press
for publication:
Major Gen. Shafter: Sir-In
m Getting of generals and medical Of
fcers called by you at the palace this
morning we were all, as you know, un-
animous in the view as to what should
be done with the army. To keep us
here, in the opinion of every officer
commanding a division or brigade, will
simply involve the destruction of thou
sauds. There is no possible reason for
not shipping practically the entire COM
mand north at once. Yellow fever cases
are very scarce in the cavalry division,
where l command one of the two brig
AIDES, and not one true case of yellow
fever has occurred in this division ex-
cept among men sent to the hospital at
Siboney, where they have, L believe,
contracted it. But in this division
there have been 1900 cases of malarial
fever. Not q man died from it, but
shattered as to be ripe for dy-
ing like rotten sheep when
the yellow fever epidemic,
instead of the fake epidemic like the
present, strikes us, as it is bound to do
if we stay here at the height of the
sickly season in August and the begin
ming of September. All of US are Ger
tain. as soon as the authorities in
Washington fully appreciate the con-
dition Of the army, to be sent home.
If we are kept here it will in all
human possibility mean an appalling
disaster, for the surgeons estimate
that over half the army, if kept
here during the sickly season, will
die. The four immune regiments
ordered here are sufficient to
garrison the city and the surrounding
towns and there is absolutely nothing
for US to do here and has not been since
the surrender. 1t is impossible to
move into the interior. Every shifting
of camp doubles the sick rate in our
present weakened condition and any
how the interior is rather worse than
the coast. | write only because | can
not see our men, who fought SO bravely
and who endured extreme hardships