Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-12-15
COMMISSION SAYS THAT NUMBER OF
TROOPS IS NEEDED FOR CUBA.
$4,000 FOR THE PHILIPPINES
LARGE FORCES NEEDED TO KEEP
PEACE IN THE COLONIES.
.Adjutant General COrbin Appears Be-
fore House Committee on Mill
tary Affnirs-Refuses to Guess
How Long These Forces
VIII He Needed.

NASfllNI lON. lee. lf-stiJuAdLt ttII
eral Corbin appeared to-day before thu
statements attracted unusual interest be
cause of their direct reference to condi
tons in Cuba. Porto Rico and the Philip
pines, and the military requirements Or
which the war department was acting. a.
10 the need of an increased army. Genera
Corbin said that was a most serious prop
osition. He proceeded: The Cuban evac,
uation commission-consisting of General:
Wade and Butler and Admiral Sampson
has submitted a statement that. to pre-.
serve order and restore order in Cuba. viii
require the presence of an army of 300
men,"
General Corbin said he wanted to senG
this recommendation in confidence 10 tbs
committee, but later it was arranged thai
it should be submitted without confidential
: reservations. 1t was on this recommends,
ton. said General Corbin, that the plan OF
sending troops to Cuba was based. 1t might
be found that O,ODD men would not be alb,
%solutely requisite. but we are holding Jn.-
Geo men in readiness 10 go il required,
said the general.
"As to the Philippines he went or,
General Otis. in command there, had rec
commended that 25.C1o men Were required
there. In Porto Rico, the officers in COM
mand there say that the force now on hand
IS about adequate for the requirements,
The present force there is 500. That makes
$1,000 men. 5000 for Cuba, 25.OJ for the
Philippines and about sos for Porto Rico,
leaving US, witt an army OF 100, 900, about
$500 for reserves at home
1t must be borne in mind" said General
Corbin, that an army in time of peace IS
Ike insurance. 1t is a preparation for an
emergency. If We had had such an army
last June. there would have been no such
loss Of life as occurred"
ID YOU think J0.0OQ for Cuba a conser-
vative estimator" asked Mr.. Jet. Of Hi
nois.
Il think it is" answered the general.
And how long will that !aSt?" asked Mr..
Hay.
=! wish l could say" answered General
Corbin, but no man can say. You can
not view conditions in Cuba as you can in
Ohio or Pennsylvania. For 100 years the
people there have been accustomed to be
ruled by force. The officers there fear
troops are not there, trouble may occur"
He went on to show how the Spanish so.-
der had ruled throughout cuba. forming
even the rural police forces and the mu-
nicipai police force at Havana.
As to the trouble which had occurred in
Porto Rico. General CorbIn said i; was not
due 10 n disposition TO fight the United
states. but 10 Il tendency in certain classes
wandering o%utlawins bands-toward dis
order.
When questioned by Mr.. Hay. of Nir-
GINA. as to how soon the United States
troops could be withdrawn from Cuba.
say even approximately; There is not 4
man living. i'll my Judgment" he said.
Who can loresee even for thirty days,
The recommendation of the Cuban COM
mission. Generals Wade and Butler and
Admiral Sampson. as to the number of
of station became public to-day. when Ad-
Jutant General Corbin submitted a copy of
1t to the house military committee. which
made it public, with the assent of General
Gorbin- 1t - dated October IL and is chiefly
interesting in connection with General
Corbin's statement that it is the basis on
which the war department has proceeded
and is now proceeding. 1t is as follows:
Adjutant General United States Army,
Washington.
.Sir:-As directed by your cable of the
at!h INST. nave the honor to furnish here
with a table showing my recommendations
as TO the stations for United States troops.
with number and kind of troops at each. on
the evacuation of Spain. The Spanish
counting Havana and other cities as one
station each. II will be neither practicable
nor advisable to replace all of these garri-
sons. My recommendation is based on
holding the more important cities. seaports
and railroad centcrs. with sufficient force
to operate in the vicinity and furnish small
SarrlSonS at such other points as NAV be-
come necessary.
This. l believe. will be the best disposi-
ton TO make OF our troops when they ar
at each station should be promptly fur
nished when asked for by the evacuation
commission. SO as 10 be at their stations
IN time TO relieve Spanish sarrisons and
prevent occupation by insurgent troops
concentrated near most of the designated
places. | consider the number of troops
framed in the accompanying table as the
smallest that should be In the island, not
including those now in the department of
Santiago. In fixing this number. / have
been governed by the following considera-
tons:
Cuba is: and for a long time has been.
reaiiy a military camp and governed by The
most arbitrary rule. Practically there Is
no civil government or authority.
Tn Spanish force consists OF about u.s.
w regulars. Zl.TU volunteers on duty and
a2tCo volunteers armed but not on duty.
Inc insurgents claim TO have about %. Opl
armed men: making Il total of 81. nGo. Prob
ably the military evacuation by Spain will
remove about 10000 men. leaving consid-
erapiy more than that number, who will
be. or recently have been. under arms to a
great extent. living off the country. Many
OF these men will. from necessity If not
from choice. be without employment.
Among these men as well as those who
have not takei. part in the late Spanish
cuban war exists race feuds and politi-
cal friction.
Many of these people are very ignorant.
few understand what independence and
liberty mean. or have fixed ideas as 10
what the future of their country will or
should be. II will require tact and force
to harmoniZe the conflicting interests and
insure order. If a large force occupies the
Island as soon a. Spain evacuates. II can.
under favorable conditions. be much re-
duced i'll a few months. But II will he
very unfortunate to begin with so small a
force ana he obliged 10 increase it. Very
respectfully: J. +. WADE.
The table of proposed stations of United
States troops submitted by General Woja
shows Il total of 5000 troops, dIstribuIed
as follows:
Province of Pinar del Rio. S.cs: province
of Havana, LEGO: province of Matanzas
1900: province of Santa Clara. IO1s:
of Santiago. 1.GN.
The towns at which the troops are to he
stationed, with the numbers. are as fol-
lows:
Guanajay. 1.cN infantry: Mariel. 1000 in
fantry; Pinar del Rio. loo infantry: Ha-
vana, 200 infantry. and 2Ua cavalry;
Matanzas, 200 infantry and I.UO cavalry:
Cardenas. 100 infantry: CienfueSos. 300
infantry and LOCO cavalry; Trinidad. 2o0
infantry: Sagua la Grande. 1850 infantry:
Santa Clara; 1-eo infantry: PIacetas. 1000
infantry; Caibarien and Remedies, 1.c00 in
fantry: Sancti Spfritus. LOCO infantry: Nue.
vitas and Puerto Principe. Leo infantry
and 1.c5 cavalry; Mauzaniila, leo Infan-
Try.
The totals show forty-iive regiments of
infantry and nve OF cavalry. There Is also
light artillery as follows:
Havana. four batteries: Matanzas, two
batteries: total. six batteries of AZ men.
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