New-York tribune., 1898-11-16

ne knew nothing definitely Of the plans OF the cam
paisn he was sure there plan. lie was GER
tain from a conversation he had with Gene' ii Mics
tha, he had plan. though he did not say that this
was the plan carried into effect
"Of course" suggested Ex-Governor Beaver
"SantiaCo was the goal OF the campaign
GENERAL sHAFTER CRITICISED.
..cortoir,v The fac, was published so extcn-
sively in the newspapers that many cf the mon on
board the vessels would not accept this informa-
ton as 10 tho destination az correct
Asked rs TO mis- opinion of the result of the cam
paiCn ne said he thought 1t was consistent with
tho character Of the men who conducted It: what
was TO be expected from the limitations Of General
Shafier | think IT would have been different II
General Miles had been in command-that II wou'u
have been more satisfactorily conducted. thlnk
he has more OF the spark Of the genius OF COM
mand than any man IN the Army and am sure
that u he had had charge he would have been IN
the front rank
Ex-Governor Woodbury. suggested tha; the battle
in front Of San Juan had been fought and the VIC
tory won within eight days OF landing "eHe'a'
Brccknridge in reply. said that the victory had
been won when General Torais nerve gave out
This. he continued had been the war Of all others
when success had been Won in its earliest sag
lie believed that the war the Lords war; ana
that this wonderful success due to His super
vision. The time for the battle was however snort
enough. Yet t must be remembered tAat lhe uls-
onc. bctWeen the battlefield and SibOney WAS less
than half a DAYS march: but while he considered
the result as rnarvellously commendabe. he did
not feel that General Shafter was above Critics
in the conduct of the campaign. lie could believe
tho result was miracle. but he ascribed the out
come 20 the fact that the Army was capable OF
meeting all calls. mo matter how 1t was t2nSIed
up. be said 1T went to victory" lie was sure at
leas that all engaged in the war had acted WIN
zeal and every man had done the best OF Which
me was cauablc and he had never known war In
which there was not criticism al the close o. IT,
General Brcclinr.dgc spoke Of the lnsD'ctor-i'h-
orals office as having been sCula'cd ny the or
dcr recurring the reports OF subOrdinates n that
office 10 be made to the Acknowledgement, ana
said that when he discovered this was so he went
into the field as Offering the only arena N which
he could bc OF real service. He had inten1ed 10
say. in effect. There IS the desk IN my office; do
as YOU please with Il. Gencral Sanger was there
he too IS from Michigan. thought he could take
control cf the office II il was desired but he dld
not remain" Ills criticism Of the change was
based on the fact that it deprived the central au-
thor!ty Of power 10 secure information. and as
consequence the Office was practically useless. As
a result OF the change when he had asked for facts
I'm tho Office to include in his repor; he had failed
to find any there.
THE AMERICAN SYSTEM TO BLAME.
He thought the evils which had been experienced
werc inevitable under the American system. He
condemned this system as mos; reprehensible, and
said that the volunteer soldier must always suffer
the worst Of the consequences IF the Regular
stands UP under It better than the volunteer. it is