The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-05-23
NOReasOn
TO Hurry
Invasion

General George w. Wingate il high
authority In all that pertains to the ma
tional guard. He Is best known to army
hnd guardmen as the father Of rife
practice In the United States It was
hs.who built Creedmoor and introduced
Che system which has since been copied
into the regular army and has made
marksrnen Of the regulars, who, when
they first competed with the guardsmen
kt Creedmoor, made 186-the lowest
score Of all the 10 teams that entered,
end not more than one-third Of the top
score.
MEN Of my age will understand me
when ! say that hope the army will
not be driven forward by any desire to
emulate the great deeds Of the navy to
make q premature invasion Of Cuba, 4"
said the general. men Of my age will
remember how the cry ON to Rich
mondp drove the army Of the Union to
advance when twas not ready. The re-
suit was Bull Run.
"The volunteers now in the field are
not fit to campaign anywhere, but espe-
cially unfit for campaigning in Cuba.
Before Scott marched on the city Of
Mexico he spent six months in prepar-
ing his men The result was that his
march was distinguished by success
sion Of victories. If our boys go down
to Cuba now in their present shape,
they will die like sheep, not from bull
lets Of the Spaniards, but by reason of
the climate. The Spaninrds are all In
fortified oitieR They will stay there,
and our troops will have to camp in the
deadly lowlands about them. 1t would
be madness to send troops to Cuba be-
fore the end Of tho rainy season Idon't
think the government really means it.
] Judge that Puerto Rico, where the
conditions are much better, is really
our objective point, but I'm afraid Of a
foolish thing being done to satisfy pub
lie clamor or because the army is anx-
ious to catch up with the navy.
1.-THE volunteers now in the field have
the best Of stuff in them, but they are
net soldiers, they are not disciplined,
they can't march, they don't know how
to take csae of themselves, they don't
understand maneuvers Another thing.
they have no proper equipments. Their
uniforms are all wrong for Cuba-won't
do at all Their blankets are not worth
anything. They have no proper shoes.
II think good way to train the vol
unteers would be to start them out on a
100 mile march, making so maoy miles
q day and gradually increasing the dis
tance BY that means, bivouaclring each
night in different place, the regiment
would learn how to take care of itself
ON the march, how to pitch camp and
make itself comfortable. It would grow
Injured to heavy marching order and
learn TO take care Of arms and equip
ments. II 1t had some regulars along to
give it tone, ii would get more instruc-
tion in week than in three months Of
present camp life.
'The troops also need handling by
brigade and division, so that they will
learn the necessity Of obeying orders
and being at the place directed at the
time directed Without this maneuver-
ing ON an extensive scale is impossible.
Another thing our boys need before they
make q move ON Cuba is training in
Sire discipline. A soldier can only car
~ from 90 to 80 rounds Of ammunition
for the Springfield rife, 45 caliber, with
which the national guard is armed. The
regulars are armed with the Krag-Jor-
gensen and can probably carry 1870
rounds, caliber being smaller. Either
one Of these men can fire all his ammu-
milton in half an hour, and one Of the
faults Of green soldiers in battle Is that
they begin firing too soon and keep it
up when there is nothing to shoot at.
"To prevent this it is necessary that
the fire should be under the strict con-
troll of the officers This is the case in
all modern armies. The officers in charge
of the firing indicate the object, give
the elevation and tell the number OF
shots each man shall fire. If the men
are not trained to yield implicit obedi-
ence, the result is that they will be
without ammunition when it is most
necessary. A recent report of the inspec-
tion at Camp Black shows that from 20
to 40 per cent Of the men are not only
recruits, but are not even supplied with
uullOIulS. kAdAA tuo NOAohttSAo hhOW
nothing at all about the use Of the rifle.
"All that goes to demonstrate that
the volunteers at present are wholly
unsuited for campaigning anywhere, es-
pecially in Cuba. Now, then, we have
a regular army which for this purpose
would muster about ls, 900 men. They
ought not to be used in Cuba during the
rainy season. The negro troops and i'm
munes could stand the climate probably,
but they are only a handful, and the
Spaniards have 80, 900 troops in Cuba.
They are poor in arms, equipment and
discipline, but Manila shows that they
will fight and they are in possession Of
the fortified cities.
II have known Cuba and the Cubans
FOR long TINA speak q little Span
ish. am property owner Of Sancto
Spiritu and know what am talking
about when ! say that to attempt q
campaign in Cuba at the present time.
which is the beginning Of the rainy sea-
- a