The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-07-16

Iney say tnat DeWeyS men got soV
apiece for the fight at Manila. If that
is true then we should get twice that
much. There was only one man killed
and six were wounded. About 1900 Span
iards were taken prisoners. The remaind-
er were killed or drowned. 1t was hard
sight to witness. We put out life boats
all night In the hope of saving some un-
.fortunates and was In one of the boats.
1 fancy that 1 can yet hear the groans
Of the dying This will be our last fight
here. We will make run up to the
town and help the army. The next place
is Porto Rico, but that will be easy. We
will have no strong fleet to run up
against. Everything will come our way
from now on. ] will sleep in my ham,
mock for the first time in two weeks"
f.. ID. Nichols, of Wilkes-Barre, has
arrived home from Washington, where
he went with a committee composed Of
prominent men to petition President Me-
kinley to abolish the canteens in the
United States army. The president grant
ed THIS committee hearing, said Mr..
Nichols, and on Thursday forenoon met
the other two committeeman I'm Wash
ington and we proceeded to the white
house. The president was closeted with
the secretary of war. secretary of the
navy and adjutant general. and for that
reason we were detsined about one hour.
OF the president and the secretary of war.
and were greeted very col idially by the
president and Secretary Alger. We pre-
sented the matter and the resolutions TO
the president. and both he and the secrc-
tory OF war gave us courteous and atten-
tive hearing. The president in his reply
said that he and the secretary of war
were giving the question very serious at
tention, with the idea of minimizing or
destroying the use of alcohol in the army.
and that they had sent for General
Brooke. of Camp Thomas, Chckamaura,
to consult with him in regard to the mat
ter What he said we look upon as be-
Ing words of encouragement to the oppo-
nentS OF the army canteen The president
looks remarkably well-better than one
| would suppose in these trying times"
In view of the excellent opportunity
| now presented by the bad condition of
| the Cuban roads. the quartermaster's de-
| partmcnt has decided to try a wagon spe-
Cially designed for bad roads that has
| been urged upon the notice of the au-
| thorities. This vehicle is produced in a
| western factory and has been used with
| success of several years on farms OF the
| west and middle west. The wheels are
| low and made of three thicknesses Of
| two-inch Cak. thus presenting a running
| face six inches bread. The front axle is
|
| tread of the front wheels comes inside
| that of the rear heels. Through this
device the total running surface of the
| wagon Is "a inches, Il feature that will
commend itself at once to anyone who
has driven over heavy reads. Two hun
| dredN u these wagons are now at Tampa.
| ready for trai sportation to Cuba. If
the trial proves successful, a large
weight will be taken from the minds of
the transportation authorities, for one
| of the most difficult problems in army
movements is the forwarding Of supplies
The trouble is immeasurahly increased
by muddy roads. such as now are found
in Cuba.
The wisdom of Chief Engineer Melville
in fitting out repair shop for use In the
squadron off Cuba is shown in nearly al
letters that come from the officers on the
station. Already a dozen war vessels
have been in the Vulcan's hands for one
cause and another, which, If the repair
| ship had not been near. would have me-
cessitated a trip to the mainland OF ser
vice in crippled condition. The useful
ness of the Vulcan has not been limited
to steam engineering repairs, but has
extended as well to construction and ord
nance work. She has remedied the dam
age to the hull of Commodore watson
flagship, the Newark, caused by collision
jobs. twAshafts fol- siX-inch gunmounts
essential to the use of those weapons
have been made in her shops. The Nul
can has blacksmithing, machine shop
boiler making and other complete outht
aboard that permit work of any reason
| able magnitude to be undertaken su
perlor to the capacity OF shops at man!
small ports and surpassed alone by tn
| larger navy yards.
One Of the most interesting and i'm
portant places in Chickamauga is tn
great bakery which supplies bread 10
General Brooke's army. This bakery |
the largest of it's kind in the world. o
course there are hundreds of bakerie
| all over the country that are larger, bu
none of this size where bread is bake
exclusively. An enormous quantity o
-four is consumed in day At presen
| over $4,000 loaves, or rations. as the
are termed, are turned out every twenty
| four hours. The bakery is operate
night and day to meet the demand. On
force goes on at II o'clock noon an
works until midnight when tney are re
lieved by the second shift. About q
barrels of -four are used at the baker
every twenty-four hours. Much of tn
work is done by machinery but tn
greater part of it is done by hand. Owe
100 persons are employed at the bakery
Colonel Dougherty, of the Ninth reg
ment, has recommended the following I
| Governor Hastings for appointment
Robert Mercur. of Wilkes-Barre, to b
captain of Company L, Ninth regiment
Second Lieutenant Connolly, of Compan
c, Pittston, to be hrst lieutenant
Company L. First Sergeant Holmes. @
Company C. to fill vacancy caused b
promotion of Lieutenant Connolly. TIL
following promotions have been made |
Colonel Dougherty's command: Secon
Lieutenant Connolly, Company c, ha
been made first lieutenant in Compan
l.: Second Lieutenant Robert S. Mercul
! battalion adjutant, who has been ser,
ing on the staff of General Wiley. ha
! been made acting captain of Compan
l.; Corporal A. A. Mitchell, Company
; has been made second lieutenant Of Con
pany X.
! Lieutenant George Hoffman, of tn
l United States Engineer corps natiy
and former resident of Wilkes Barre,
. with the Fifth army corps at Santiag,
: having landed there with the first exp,
} | diton. Lieutenant Hoffman has a idre
l number of friends in Wilkes Barre, hay
$ ing been employed for several years @
I civil engineer and surveyor with NJ
Sturdevant. He won an entrance
West Point by competitive examina tic
4 in 1891 and graduated three years ag
= al the head of the class. His chief dut
e in Cuba is the surveying Of military roa
r and the laying out of plans for fortitci
v tion and battery IositiCns. He also ui
\ sited Sampsor's fleet in getting tho ranl
I of the Spanish troops by giving measui'
3 ments, etc,
, B0URGOdNE INQUIRY ENDED.
< Exoneration OF the Captain OF Il
3 Cromartyshire Is Probable.