The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-06-17

Chicago paper which is trying to make
political capital by abusing the admnistra-
ton for its alleged neglect of the soldiers,
says:
The result of President McKinley's policy
of appointing young men with pulls" to
staff positions is already apparent in the
quartermaster's and subsistence depart
about the delay and irregularity in furnish
ing supplies and food. Companies and
whole regiments are half clad and half
starved when clothing and provisions are
within reach
A deserter from an Indiana regiment who
has turned up at his old home in Elkhart
county is reported by the local papers as
saying that 1.-The officers have no respect
for their men, and that the diet Of bacon
and hard tack would drive any man to de-
sertion." The criticisms of the Chicago pa
per based on such evidence as that of
this deserter or on equally worthless testi-
mony, including that of a few reckless COR
respondents who, if they were soldiers.
would probably be deserters. But there is
abundant evidence that all such statements,
broadly made, are untrue. That there
should be some discomfort in the first or
ganization of a camp of $4,000 or 10000 men
and some confusion in furnishing supplies
and equipments to an army of three or four
times that number was unavoidable. 1t oc-
Cured in our civil war, and will always oc-
cur in the mobilization of volunteer army
unless the government shall adopt in the
future a policy entirely different from that
of the past and make thorough prepara>
tions for war contingencies in time of peace.
Probably there is still some discomfort, but
it has been exaggerated from the beginning,
and is rapidly disappearing. 1t cannot be
true that the soldiers in airy camp are suf-
fering for food. The government supplies
good food and plenty of it, and it is easily
obtainabie by those who know how TO get
it. The regulations of the commissary de-
partment of the United States army provide
for the daily supply of three and quarter
pounds of rations for every enlisted soldier.
The quantity of each of the articles pro-
vided is clearly specified, and if. for any
reason, there be shortage of any one of
them, the weight is made up in some other.
Under this allowance every mess of six
soldiers gets nineteen and one-half pounds
of good food material every day. This is
more lIdI the dNtIdSS ldiilAS VI
six persons consumes. The food is fur
nished and if the soldiers do not get it it
is the fault, not of any department or staff
officer, but of regimental or company Of
fcers No complaint has come from the
regulars. They receive the same rations in
camp that the volunteers did. and have lived
on them for years and grown strong and
| healthy Who ever heard of a United
| States regular complaining of the rations,
| either as to quality quantity? Ii they
| were deficient in either the result would
| appear in a steadily increasing sick list, yet
| all accounts from all the camps agree that
there is very little sickness A good wit
ness on this point is Major Nye, of the
| United States commissary department at
| Chattanooga. Referring to the reports of
| poor food. he says:
| A great deal of this sort of stuff is sent
/ out by regular fakirs who are connected
/ with some of the big Northern and Western
/ newspapers and who obtain their news
| from sources which are ilegtimate. In
their reports they keep up the cry Of a
| shortage of rations and an insufficiency of
] filled all the various government ware