The evening times., 1899-07-31
CRITICS IN ARMY BLUE
Returning Troops Frem Manila
Condemn Otis Campaign.
Expressions of Opinion
Concerning His Operations I'm the
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Cheer VigOr-
ousIy Upon Hearing That AIEer
Had Resigned as Secretary of War.

| Nebraska Volunteers reached here yester-
day from Manila, their commanding officer.
Colonel Mulford, in responding to the ad-
dress from Governor Poynter, who welcom-
ed the soldiers from alongside the trans
port Hancock, said: ph
Tell the people OF the country that the
First Nebraska comes back a regiment. We
are good enough for any amount of fighting
yet, if necessary, but as it Is not necessary
| We are glad to get home" 4.
The fact of Alger's resignation was new
| to the soldiers and was received with
cheer louder than that which welcomed the
governor of the State.
$50 he's gone. has hep shouted one
man; lit is too bad he couldn't have stay
ed long enough to get message from us
| saying that we have had some OF his en-
| balmed beef aboard. 1t was the worst thing
about the voyage. 1t couldn't be eaten and
| the smell of it made us so sick that We
could not eat anything else"
In one of his recent cable reports General
Otis made the statement that one of the
| Nebraska men had deserted. Inquiry as
/ to the identity of the man was made. II
4 is lie" was the answer from threescofe
4 the regiment
Say. boys, do We love OTIS!
'+Oh. how we do.'' came a derisive sing
\ ing chorus.
The men of Nebraska and utan are
practically q unit in denouncing Ous anu
the campaign in general. Inc onlcers o..e aie
| more wary. Colonel Milford criticises otis
| for the amount of work which he forced
upon the Nebraska regiment To cores
pondent he said;
The men have borne what it now seems
! inconceiveable to me that the human frame
can endure They have done guard duty
all night and then fought all day. me
hard work of the regiment began the DAY
| il was landed. From that day to the day
| Calumpit fell the regiment was always at
! the extreme end of one wing or the other
| of the army.
Things were the worst with US when
| Calumpit fell. Less than 300 men remain
| ed for duty. and some companies did not
| contain fifteen fit men. When we got back
! to Manila we were put on outpost duty,
nevertheless, and there We remained until
! we were loaded on the Hancock. The regi-
ment has picked up wonderfully aboard the
| transport and the men Will soon be -
| good as they ever were. A majority OF
| them are fit for service now.
Il don't MIND saying, just the same, that
| they don't want any more service only
!
| offered.
II don't care about criticising anyone.
! only | think this regiment got more than
! its fair share of hard knocks II is not
the fault of other people that we are as
well as we are today.
Il do not believe that the war will be
| ended in a hurry, though | think the in
surgents are beaten. The trouble is to
catch them. There are no roads and they
know the paths. They can fight US from
| the brush for a long time.
| Il know that my men do not admire
General Otis. He has worked them hard
and they know 1t. .
Il think that before victory can result
there must be more decisive movements
! than we have made.s'
In Major Grant 5;6f the Utah Battery,
which also arrived on the Hancock, Major
General Otis finds an enthusiastic defend
er. 55-Fe7g 81 a-7-ag l11
Major Grant was in charge of the river
gunboat service during the greater part
of his stay in the islands. and in that ca
| pacity was in close touch with General
Otis and his two chief lieutenants, General
| Lawton and General Macarthur. Major
| Grant said yesterday
THE Filipino army is whipped right
now 1t never will make another open
| fight. The thing from this time on is to
get sufficient forces into the islands to
IOlu lQe tOWNS as tNey are taken. 6en-
| eral Lawton says that it will take 100-
600 men to hold the islands, and | agree
! with him.
General Otis is a great soldier and a
great governor. He has worked Won
/ ders in the time he has been in COM
mand, and if he is let alone things will
come out all right in the end. and the
| time won't be far away / want to
| deny another slander-that there is fric-
| E,0+xr Moo tlar,, I
ton, and General Otis. They are working
in absolute harmony"
Major W. T. Taylor, Nebraska, con-
demned Otis method of holding the reg
| ulars in reserve. and letting the volun-
teers get the hammering
Major j. NJ. Killian, Nebraska, said:
The army is bound to put the insur-
rection down, but it will take lot more
| soldiers than we have got, over there.
| l think that $4,000 soldiers are sufficient.
| provided that they are supplied with light
artillery and are rightly managed
Hundreds of lives have been sacTi-
feed in the last few months because the
authorities persisted in accomplishing
| through men and rifles what a rapid-fire
| gun would have done in half the time
| without any of the loss OF life. 1t is
| shame and an outrage that this IS true.
| Everyone knows the fact. Some one is
responsible, and should be held SO. The
lives of men are not lightly to be thrown
away.
"The need is for mountain batteries,
| guns of small calibre that can be packed
| upon the back of mule. There are no
! roads, and heavy guns cannot be employed.
| The light ones answer Just as well for
| clearing jungle"
! Captain Hollingsworth, Company C, Ne
braska said: II am still an officer of the
United States army, so I have nothing to
say about the way my superiors have man
! aged the war. The war still endures, and
The troops almost to a man condemn the
campaign and the natives in the Philip
| pines. The following are the opinions ex-
pressed by several of the soldiers:
| H. C. Shaw, Company C: ''The islands are
not worth fighting for. 1t will take mill
| lions of dollars and numberless lives to
| overcome the natives. Under the present
regime 1t is doubtful IL we can put down
| the rebellion"
E. P. Johnson, Company c. I'VE should
never have undertaken the task. I never
would return to the islands under any cir
cumstances., The Filipinos are too treach-
erous to make good citizens"
| ]. X. Chenault, Company C.: Under pres
ent conditions / should say five years will
| be required to subdue the natives. / would
never go back to the islands"
| F. Kuhn, Company c.: II don't think the
| islands are worth the expense and loss Of
| life already, entailed, not tO,speak of the
losses that are bound to follow. 1t will
take twenty years to subjugate the people.
| I never would go back. The Filipinos