The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1898-08-12
ROOSEVELT TALKS PLAINLY.
The Situation of Gen. Skaters Army at
Santiago.

The Situation of Ger. Skaters Army at
Santiago.
Following is the letter written by
Col. Theodore Roosevelt, which has
caused such hot fight between the
Rough Rider and Secretary Alger
"Maj or-General Shafter:
"Sir:--ln the meeting of general and
medical officers called by YOU at the
palace this morning, we were all, as you
know, unanimous in the view as to what
| should be done with the army. To keep
us here, in the opinion of every officer
commanding a division or brigade, is
simply to involve the destruction of
thousands.
"There is no possible reason for not
shipping practically the entire command
north at once.
yellow fever cases are very few II
the cavalry division. | command one
of the two brigades, and there has not
been one true case of yellow fever oc-
Cured in this division except among
the men sent to. the hospital at Sibonev,
where thew have contracted it.
"But in this division there have been
| 1900 cases OF malarial fever. Not man
has died from it, but the whole COM
mand is so weakened and shattered as
to be ripe for dying like rotten sheep
when the real yellow fever epidemic,
instead of the fake epidemic like the
| present, strikes us, as it is bound to do
If we stay here at the height of the sick.
| ly season.
"If we are kept here it will, in all hu.
man possibility, mean an appalling dis
aster, for the surgeons estimate that
over half the armv, if kept here during
the sickly season, will die.
| NHhiS il not oniu tarrib1a from q,
standpoint Of individual lives. but means
ruin from the standpoint of the military
! efficiency of the flower of the American
army, for the great bulk of the regulars
are with you.
"The sick list, large though it is, at
fords but faint index to the debilita-
ton of the army.
"NOt 10 per cent. are fit for active
work. Six weeks on the north Maine
coast, for instance, or elsewhere, where
the yellow fever germ cannot possibly
| propagate, would make all as fit as
| fighting cocks, able as we are eager, "a
take leading part in a great campaign
! against Havana in the fall, even if we
are not allowed to try Porto Rico.
owe can be moved north, if moved at
once, with absolute safety to the coun-
try, although, of course, it would have
been infinitely better if we had been
moved north or to Porto Rico two weeks
ago.
"If there were any object in keeping
us, we would face yellow fever with as
much indifference as we faced bullets
but there is no object in it.
"rhe four immune regiments ordered
are sufficient to garrison the city and
the surrounding towns, and there is ab-
solutely nothing for us to do, and there
has not been since the city surrendered
ut is not possible to move into the
interior. Every shifting of camp
doubles the sick rate in the present
weakened condition, and the interior is
rather worse than the coast, as | have
found by actual reconnaissance. Our
present camps are as healthy as any
camps at this end of the island can
be.
81 write only because I cannot see
men who have fought so bravely and
endured extreme hardships and danger
so u"cOmplainingly, go to destruction
without striving so far as lies in me to
avert doom rs fearful as it is unnec
essaFy and undeserved.
"Yours respectfully,
THEODORE ROOSEVELT"