The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-08-21
AGENT FOR PORTO RICO
CHARGES OF HARDsHIPs ABOARD A
TRANSPORT TO BE INVESTIGATED.
Ladies' Auxiliary of the Twenty-Sev-
enth Indiana Battery Confers
with Governor Mount.

1t is the purpose of the Ladies' Auxiliary
of the Twenty-seventh Indiana Light Ar
tilery (old Battery Al to send an agent TO
Porto Rico at once to investigate the
charges of unnecessary hardship the sol
diers endured on the transport Roumanian
en- route to the Spanish island, and to carry
supplies to those who may be i'll and in need
of delicacies. Lieutenant Smith Strickland
is mentioned for this important mission.
Yesterday a committee, consisting of Mrs.
o. II. Palmer, Mrs. r. o. Hawkins, Mrs.
Irene Webb and Mrs. John MCGEE, coll
ferred with Governor Mount, who assured
them he would do what he could to aid
them in their efforts to find out the true
condition of affairs and relieve any suffering
that may have resulted. Lieutenant Strick-
land will be provided with letter from the
Governor, bearing the seal of the State re-
questing army officers to permit the bearer
to pass through the lines and to show him
such other courtesies as will enable him to
ascertain what the conditions are. Lieut..
Strickland has had a great deal of military
experience and is said to be man fully
capable of judging whether there are con
ditions that should be bettered.
Some time ago when the Indiana Soldiers
Aid Society grew out of the battery auxil-
larry the Governor agreed to commission an
Indiana agent at the request of the ladies,
whose duty it would be to visit all Indiana
regiments and make such recommendations
as the occasion might warrant. Since let
ters were received from Porto Rico last
week indicating that the conditions aboard
the transport were SO deplorable, the ladies
have decided that it will be better to send
an agent to Porto Rico Immediately, and
after his work has been accomplished there
other regiments will be visited if the women
in other parts of the State take up the sub
ject as was originally contemplated When
the subject was first discussed the Governor
said that while there were no funds avail
able for paying the expenses of an agent,
if one were appointed he would recommend
the Legislature to reimburse those who pro-
vided the funds. This will be done, the
Governor said yesterday, with reference to
the agent who goes to Porto Rico. To-mor-
row afternoon there will be a meeting OF
the Ladies' Auxiliary at the residence of
Mrs. r. o. Hawkins on North Capitol ave-
nue., when plans for raising the money will
be considered. 1t will be necessary to have
sufficient funds to carry the agent to the
island and place him in such a position as
to do whatever may be necessary. He will
take with him all the supplies he can man
age that will be serviceable in case of sick
ness among the members of the battery.
There are a good many difficulties to be
overcome. Nothing is known here as to
whether transportation can be obtained,
and if so from what port. Tomorrow
morning a message will be sent to Wash
ington to ascertain how soon transportation
can be obtained. Details of this character
IA
Most OF the women interested in the aux
Hilary have sons in the battery. They say
they realize when the young men left home
for war they did so expecting to undergo
many hardships but not of the character
endured on the transport. They expected to
go through such hardships as the volunteers
experienced in the trenches of Santiago in
the face of the enemy, not such hardships
as the boys are said to have endured on
board the Roumanian. The ladies evince
considerable earnestness in their determina-
ton to have the entire subject probed to the
bottom and have the responsibility located
where it belongs. 1t will be the agents duty
to inquire into this question, but the main
idea in sending him is to carry immediate
succor to those who may have become i'll as
result of the trip. An investigation by the
Governor. by the President or by Congress,
they say, while it might show who was re-
sponsible, would come to late to relieve the
present suffering of the young soldiers The
were all written early in the month, and
while it is known that the conditions may
have improved after the boys were in camp.
there is fear that the change may have
been for the worse.
There is not much that the Governor can
do, inasmuch as the battery is not under
his jurisdiction in any respect, and he can
not set an investigation on foot until causes
for complaint, If any there be, have been
brought to his notice in an official way. He
said yesterday that if those who were on
the trip were to furnish MIN with some spe-
cific charge, placing the blame on those who
were responsible it would then be his per-
rogative to act. The Governor is inclined to
believe that conditions may have been over
drawn by the young soldiers. Il am loath
to believe said the Governor, that the
government did not make proper arrange
ments for Transporting the volunteers to the
island. I have here letter referring to a
publication in a Charlottesville paper sent
home by young man TO his father in which
he says they had pleasant trip with Moth
irg to do but stand guard duty, lay under
tarpauins on the deck, eat and sleep. That
does not indicate such hardships as some of
the letters that have been published