The times., 1898-09-10
INDIFFERENCE.
A Short story That Illustrates n
Great Deal.

The Washington correspondent of the
Boston Journal is now in line with the
whitewash policy, but before the Hanna
reappearance he was responsible for the
following, which is reproduced in the
New York Evening Post:
The auxiliary cruiser Yale, formerly the
American liner Paris, which was used
| as a transport TO convey troops to San
tiago and Porto Rico, has refrigerator
capacity of 1000 tons. having been en-
ployed with other liners to carry dressed
beef across the Atlantic, in times of
peace. Two days before she made her
first trip from Newport News to Santa
go. one OF her principal officers came to
/ Washington and suggested that the ship
should not be allowed to sail for San
tiago with so great refrigerating space
unused, when the men at the front were
likely to suffer for the absence of the
very supplies which the Yale could take
A friend of this officer, who happens
10 be the director of railroad connecting
Philadelphia and ST Charles with
, transport service between St. Charles and
Norfolk across the Chesapeake and who
is accustomed TO handling great business
enterprises, went to the department TO
suggest that the Yale should be put to
use. He assured the Secretary that his
road would undertake to place any
her scheduled hour of departure. so that
the 1000 tons of provisions could be
bought in New York and Philadelphia,
shipped from New YORK rs late as D.
m, in thirty cars, and with the aid of
the railroad transports placed aboard the
Yale in time for her departure the fol-
lowing day. This was on Friday.
Secretary Alger jumped at the PROPOSE
ton. by all means" he said. IF we
hoy n1fIf
ought to use them Go and see Gen Ea-
gan, the commissary general. and he will
tell you whether he can handle it.
The proposition accordingly was lad
before Eagan. He listened grudgingly
and then exclaimed grutfly, It's no use
We don't want any dressed meats or any
other refrigerator stuff. We have all the
canned meat we can possibly use. | sent
a sample of it up to Secretary Alger's )
house yesterday; he had it for dinner
and thought it was delicious. 1t will last
for months. But even If I didn't have
this canned meat, l shouldn't use an
auxiliary cruiser to carry provisions for
the army. The army can take care of
itself without asking any favors of the
navy, he exclaimed contemptuously.
swapping his thumb and finger. And I
am not going to accept any favors from
them.
The Yale sailed ON Monday, a day late
with its refrigeration space empty 1t ha 8
made more trips since with empty refcig
orators. The canned meats which Eaean
set so much store by were found to be
spoiled In many instances when unpack-
ed at Santiago. and, as has already been
stated, shiploads of them were never un.
packed at all, although soldiers were
hungry ashore. Some of this canned stuff
exploded in the holds of the vessels
This is not all. The Yale has a capac-
ity for making thirty tons of ice a day.
Other auxiliary cruisers placed at the dis
posal of the army by the navy have an
equal capacity. Hundreds of tons of ice
could have been made on the spot. ana
thousands of tons could have been sent TO
Santiago in these cruisers at cost little
greater than to any large city in the
United States. Ice was quoted at $50 a
ton at Siboney, and could not be bought
at any price Our men went blind in
some cases for lack of ice and many
deaths in the hospitals are attributed by
the surgeons to the same lack Yet prac-
tically the only ice received was small
quantity sent from Maine by private en-
terprise while the great refrigerator ca
pacity of the Yale and her sister ships
lying off shore were allowed to run to
waste.