The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-10-15
Soldier Dead
Will Be
BROUGHT HOME
Committee of Citizens Will
Start Thursday for Cuba.

Unless present plans miscarry a com
mittee, consisting of ex-Alderman Abb
ram A. Rheutan, Lieut.. William H.
Plummer and Lieut.. Herbert Warren,
with couple of men from Sessions
undertaking establishment, one of
whom will seal the caskets and the
other prepare the dead bodies, will sail
next Thursday from New York, on the
hospital ship Solace, for Cuba and Por-
to Rico, for the purpose Of bringing
home the bodies of the dead soldiers
who went to the war from this city.
This was decided at a meeting of the
local committee in the mayors office
last night but the plan may be chang
ed at q meeting Of the regimental com
mittee at Springfield Monday noon,
which has been called by the following
circular, sent out last night by Capt
Rider:
Worcester Oct. IA, 1898.
meeting OF the consolidated COM
mittees that are arranging for the re-
turn of the bodies of volunteer soldiers
| that are buried in Cuba, will be held
at the mayors office, Springfield, on
Monday, october II. at IL o'clock noon.
The meeting is called at short notice
from the fact that the navy department
has offered transportation on the Solace
to Cuba for representatives of this
committee, the vessel sailing Thursday.
October 20, and if our arrangements are
ycomplete it may be thought best to go
at this time.
Please be prepared to make a full re-
port of your arrangements, seeing to
the details of having the necessary
funds ready and of selecting a proper
person to go to Cuba--one who can
positively identify the locations of the
graves.
The captains of the several compan-
les in the second regiment or other Off
GERS, who can give the committee any
information, are earnestly requested to
attend the meeting.
/ AS the time before the sailing of the
lSolace is so short it is earnestly hoped
that you will make a great effort to at
tend the meeting.
/ Respectfully,
r. B. Dodge, Jr, Chairman.
p. L. Rider, Secretary.
Mayor Dodge received a telegram
Thursday afternoon from Mayor Dick
inson of Springfield, in which the latter
said that Congressman Gillett had re-
ceived q dispatch from Secretary Long
, Offering passage on the Solace for the
goth from New York. Mayor Dickinson
) /
be ready by that time and wanted t.
know if the Worcester men would be
ready then, and Mayor Dodge replied
that he thought they would.
This is the dispatch sent by Secretary
Long to Congressman Gillett:
Referring to department letter OF
Sept. %, Solace will leave for Cuba from
New York yard on goth Of this month
If you desire to go on her at this time
please inform department immediate
""
The association for bringing back the
bodies from Cuba had previously APP
piled to the secretary of war for room
on a transport in the near future. The
reply was to the effect that the depart
ment of war intended to send ships for
the purpose some time in November,
and that the Massachusetts people
could have room on one of the trans
ports. The war department was not
going to send any transports for bodies
before November on it's own account,
and it could not give any special ones
to the Massachusetts people.
In view of these facts, the committee
decided to accept Secretary Longs offer
and have the committee sail on the
Solace. Some difficulty is anticipated in
lsecuring the attendance of soldiers,
owing to the fact that the volunteers
are to be mustered out November 8,
and the committee will be in Cuba at
that time. 1t is proposed, however, to
bring influence to bear on the war de-
apartment to allow Col e. P. Clark to
make a detail of men from the I'd regi-
ment and he will undoubtedly detail
the men asked for If the war depart
ment refuses to give this permission,
then the committee cannot leave until
later as 1t could accomplish little, if
anything, without the presence of men
who were in Cuba and know where the
soldiers are buried.
The committee is willing to bring
home the bodies of regulars as well as
volunteers, but there is no record of the
regulars, and unless the relatives of
these dead soldiers inform the commit
tee of the names, companies and regi-
ments to which they were attached, the
Icommittee can do nothing.