Arizona republican., 1898-06-11

The camp doctors. so Bigelow writes
| are busy with men and officers SUFFERING
! from dysentery.
I'VE hush this up as we'll as we can
but to do so altogether in impossible,
/ asked Col. Pope, chief surgeon of tbe
Fifth army corps, just what was the
| present health of the men, and he said
| The SICK list is only per cent This
is less than one-half of the normal rate
of ~ per cent 1t is the healthiest army
| in history
| That is the answer of the chief sur
geon, who has been on duty here for six
weeks. to Mr.. Bigelow, who was here
four days, and who says we are so anx-
ious to hush up the truth. He also
charges the government with giving the
men unreasonable food.
1--WE are in the habit" he writes ssof
plying the soldiers of Europe. For
downright neglect l have seen nothing
to beat the way the American is treated
by Uncle Sam There is q German mill
tary attache at Tampa noting all those
things, and what is concealed from the
American people in the forth is carefully
sent to Europe
1 happened to be talking the other day
on this same subject to this same mill
tary attache, the Count Won Goetsen
who said the rationS served our men
here at Tampa We're as good as those
served to any continental army and
that our men received them in much
L
the German attache to Mr.. Bigelow
AS to his most sensational charge, that
there is not a single regiment here ready
to take the field, I can best quote the
commander-in-chief:
There is not a regiment belonging to
the regular army" said Gen. Miles,
that is not now ready to take the field
and that has not been ready for some
months
Before war was declared I wished to
1-1y1
but the secretary of war was of the
opinion that such movement would be
considered an act of war-that it would
be a menace-so 1 told him that wher-
ever the regiments were they Were ready
to move at the pressure of the button.
and when war was finally declared thew
did move from the mountain countries.
from the lake countries, from Montana
Iowa and California.
''They moved like clockwork They
were equipped with everything-and they
are all ready and as fit today as they
were then. 1 have never been so proud
as I was yesterday when 1 rode through
the camps of the Fifth army corps and
saw the magnificent condition and ply
steal perfectness of our men
There is no army corps anywhere in
the world that is better supplied with
men and officers of courage and intelli-
gence.''
That is the answer of the commander
and Mr.. Bigelow.
Mr.. Bigelow says that there has not
been held at Tampa a single military
field exercise likely to be of service to
generals of brigade or division, and vet
in another portion of the same paper
is a truth-telling photograph of Cen
Wheeler commanding a big brigade of
cavalry, stretched out for miles in the
woods back of Tampa.
These brigade drills are frequent and
the insinuation that Gen. Wheeler does
not understand them and that he is too
old for such service is both false and
cruel.
That some official action will be taken
in regard to this article is generally be-
neved. Every one knows that mistakes
have been made and that the condition
of the volunteers is bad, but this is no
time to print news of such a nature, and
it is certainly not the time now. or later,
to print reckless and untrue statements
concerning our regular army.
Frederick Remington, the war artist,
who has collaborated with Mr.. Bigelow
on several occasions in Russia. and Al
giers, and Germany, said to me:
I'm in the breeding with Bigelow- l
won't pull with him again. Bigelow's
not an American"