The Monmouth inquirer., 1898-11-24
ROOSEVELT ON THE WAR
Tells the Board of Inquiry His
Experiences.
BOUGHT FOOD FOR HIS SOLDIERS
Confusion and Shortage of supplies
at Tampn-Clothing Not Suitable
For Tropical Climate-CouId Not
Tell VINO Was Responsible.

at Tampa-Clothing Not Suitable
For Tropical CIimate-CouId Not
Tell VINO Was Responsible.
New York. Nov. 2s.-Colonel Theodore
Roosevelt late yesterday afternoon app
peared before the war inquiry board at
the Fifth avenue hotel. In reply to
questions by General Wilson he said
II was lieutenant colonel of the Fist
volunteer cavalry, which l formed at
San Antonio 1t was due, think, to
Colonel Wood that the regiment was
equipped and got into the field of ac-
tion so quickly. l acted as lieutenant
colonel from May to July 8, and from
Aug. / to Sept. I acted as brigade
commander
@Did the men have sabers 2"
mo sir; they were to have had ma
chetes, but it was just as well that they
never got machetes. They had Kcag-
Jorgensen rifles and revolvers.
Were your men properly rationed IN
San Antonio?"
81 don't know about San Antonio.
was so busy learning my own duties
that / couldn't tell whether the food
was all right or not. But at Tampa
there was a period of "a hours when
there was considerable confusion. | had
tc. buy food for the men, but after we
got to the camp outside the town every
thing went smoothly"
Were you ever reimbursed for the
food you bought the men?"
s.Oh, my mol That was merely per-
sonal matter It was one on me-"
Z ..Nho was responsible for the confu-
sion at Tampa when your regiment was
enbarking?"
81 can't say, but it seems to me that
il should have been known beforehand
what regiments were going in certain
transports. Colonel Wood found after
an hour and a half spent trying to get
the ouartermaster that our regiment
was assigned to the Yucatan Then
found that the Yucatan had also been
assigned to the Second infantry and to
the Seventy-first regiment, New York
volunteers, and I had to go aboard the
Yucatan and hold the transport down
against the Second infantry and the
Seventy first New York
a'Who do you think was responsible
for this confusion-the department or
some of the officers thereg'
s.That I would not know. was only
q lieutenant colonel at that time"
What were the accommodations for
the men?"
Reached Cubs In Good Condition.
They were not as good as I coulu
have wished Still they were not bad,
and the men had the liberty of the deck.
The only bad food was the canned corn
ed beef. An arrangement was made by
which the men could boil their coffee
at the galIeys, and the men arrived in
Cuba in good condition.
There was little facility for unload
ing the transport on lighters. One of
my horses was drowned in landing, but
General Wood got both of his horses
through.
1--WE reached Siboney at 8 O'clock at
night on the day we landed. After sup
per General Wood informed us that we
were to start on the next morning and
catch the Spaniards. The next morn
1ng,s march was hard one, especially
for the rider There was no opportu-
nifty for fiankers, and it was so hot that
about 100 men dropped out for awhile.
When the first Spanish outpost was dis
covered, General Wood ordered silence
in the ranks, and ] was sent to the
right to deploy with his right wing
when the Spaniards began firing, /
didn't at first know what to make of it,
l had never seen smokeless powder at
work before. A newspaper man was
with me when the firing first began, and
he called my attention to the Spanish
hats in the distance across tthe ravine.
We soon routed the men. and word was
sent around that Colonel Wood was
shot But soon found the colonel. and
when l asked him where the Spaniards
were he said. They have run away
Then the fighting was over, and we
captured, among other things, Spanish
mules loaded with beans, of which we
were in need, and we cooked the beans
for supper that night, and that ended
the battle Of Las Guayamas.
In response to a question by General
Dodge, Colonel Roosevelt said there
was one thing he could not understand
After the first battle and before all
the provisions had been landed" he
said, "our men wanted beans and to-
matoes. There We're none, the commits
sary of Siboney said, for the men. but
there were some for the officers. The
commissary would not even let the men
buy these things, saying that they were
for officers only. So I had to stretch
my conscience as much as possible and
loaded two horses with beans and to-
mdtOes Ior olHcSTSs WnIcH 1 lmiHeuldte-
" distributed to the men. That put
them in good condition for the next bat
tle.''
How about the mems clothfpg?"
1T was good; but, as the shirts were
such as l would have used in Montana
in winter. it was i'll suited to the Cuban
climate. The leggings were also bad
for muddy roads"
Colonel Roosevelt then narrated the
other skirmishes and the battle of San
Juan Hill
We Get Another CoaIing Station.
London, Nov 23-The Vienna CORE