The state herald., 1898-08-19
BAD CONDUCT OF WAR
BOSTON PEOPLE ARE AROUSED
Tales of Suffering Soldiers Show ve.y
Had MaA,ngemsnt at Santiago -Ondc',rs
Worked, ,at Gross Purposes.

1hu lN hSouhG1lt At santiago AOmCttfA
Worked, at Gross Parposss.
Chicago, Aug. 16--The Be st On corre-
spondent of the ItecoE,l tele graphs:
The people of New EnglB nd are In a
state of feveYish iuIlignai lon toward
the War Department Eeo ause of the
tales that are told by ~ massachusetts,
volunteers that have ne turned from
Santiago. This indignant OH is aggra-
waited by the recent deai Ii of Colonel
Began, Il popular Irish oliticlan who
went olr TO command ID Ninth regl-
ment, and was seized With fever at
Santiago and sent home as GONZALES
cent upOil one of the transports con-
cerning which so much complaint has
been made. His deH h. which oc-
Cured tel days after his arrival In.
Boston, liz attributed hy the local ply
! sicians TO lack OF car medical treat
ment and proper 1ot while on the
transport: they say he literally died
from neglact, for viii ich the army Off
GERS at Santia 20 ilits responsible. Col
onel Began cis known to everybody
in Boston. He has held office here con-
tinuWisly for srany years. was a mem-
Der of many p airiotic societies and po-
litical orgaIiz atoms and highly re-
SnttWu ny iN1 CNSStS, Ills UOuy HAS
lain in state II The city hall for two
days and thou sands of people have
| come to pay III cir homage to the ashes
OF II martyr of patriotism. His funeral
was public junction under the aus
pices of the mt u,icipal authorities, and
the officials, as well as the public nj
large, have en-, icavored by attentions
10 the dead to /; HOnc for the neglect to
the living.
Every day 9th, .r officers and privatcs
of the Second ~ nd Ninth Nassachu.
| setts regiments which participated I'm
the Santiago can tpaign are arriving I'm
Boston and the neighborlng towns
whose wan faces, cnacinted bodies and
trembling limbs { sstify of their suffer
ings and hardship =. They all tell the
same tale. They were all right ms
long as they We're with their com
rades at the front. in camp or in the
trenches, but when they were sent to
the hospitals their e tperience was CON
tinual neglect, disc Dmfort and slarya
| tion. II is nD awful story of confusion
\ and incompctency Oh the part Of the
military authorities. liEiltened only by
energy, the patience and the sweet
; sympathy of the Red Cross. There is
no complaint of long marches or cx.
! posure TO danger, lighting In trenches
full of water, or wearing clNhing satu
rated with rain for four d:tys without
\ changing. or half-ratioDs or sleepipx
In the mud; all that is II part of I'M
soldiers glory. but when they had Ia
crawl five and half miles in sear,.L
\ of Il surgeon ;md lie by the roadside
for forty-eight to sixty hours, too m
and weak from fever 20 walk: when
they appealed In vaan for medicines
4, and ms one of tlSrm expressed IL
found the hospitals worse than hell
and the transports worse than the hos
pitals," they felt at liberty to find
fault.
One OF the officers of the regular
army. who lHings bac9i a half healed
wound from Santiago says that the
CONFUSION fhcnc w1s not due to apy
lack of energy. industry or patriotism.
nut solely to The ineNptrience OF the
medical officers and the Q,inrtermasters
and the lack of adequate facilities for
unloading the transports.
Everybody was working night and
day as hard ns they could. but they
didn't accomplish much" he says. .'be.
cause there WIS no competent head 10
give direction and no cooperation b..
tween the several laalnclcs of the SER
vice.
'Thc fact of the matter is" he con. |
tinued. that General Shafter has moi
known what was going on half the
Time, and all the subordlmites have
been worliing al cross purposes be. |
cause OF the Eick OF orders. The gen. |
eral has been hons de combat from the
heat almost continually since his mr. |
rival at Santiago. II was,a great mis-. |
take To send n man of his cirth TO |
command nm army In n tropical coun. |
Try. During two ar thDee days fight. |
Ing General ShafieT was IN tent three
miles 10 the rear, overcome with the |
heat. There was no ice for his head.
so his attendants could only fan and
rub him and apply hot-wntcr com.
presses TO relieve the congestion,
Since the surrender he has been
able 10 keep out of the sun under the |
roof Of the palace In Santiago and Is
able to tend 10 business
General Wheeler, who commanded
our corps. has been ms chppcr and ms
lively ms n cricket from the beyi ming
and although he had touch Of the fe
yer. he has been on duty every dny.
Being short Of stature, like Znt.cheus.
he did climb n irre during the battles
and was able 10 overlook all the In.
trenchmcnlS. II was the fiinnes,
Thing that ever happened In military
history-a commanding general direct.
ing his troops In battle from n ircotop
but there Is nothing the matter with
old joe"