Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-06-27
IN THE EYES OF AN EXPERT,
What an English Officer Thinks of
Operations in the Philippines.

What an English Officer Thinks of
Operations in the Philippines.
VIM. E. Curtis in the Chicago Record
The Journal Of the United Service Insti-
tuition of India for April last contains an
elaborate report on the administration of
the United States army in the Philippines
by Capt. S. S. Long, assistant adjutant
general of the British army, who is per-
ranently stationed at Hong Kong but has
been spending the greater part of the win
ter and spring with our troops in and
around Manila. While Capt. Long points
out several serious defects in our military
system-and his criticisms should DE care
fully studied by the officers at the War De-
partment-his conclusions are in the high
est degree complimentary, and his verdict
should be gratifying to every American.
The American army before Manila" he
says, with the exception of a small por
ton, was entirely composed of volunteers
and, in spite of defective administrative
staffS and departments, insufficient equip
ment and officers who possessed little, if
any, more military training than the pri-
Yates, these troops displayed a spirit of in
telligence and obedience, combined with an
individual Willingness to perform their
duty. that may be rivaled, but could not be
surpassed. They might be aptly describ-
ed, says Capt. Long, las a great military
paradox-a body of men of magnificent
physique, possessing perfect discipline, and
yet "illout duy ulSclplluG DIT dill
Capt. Long pays a noble tribute to the
patience, the endurance, the cheerfulness
and the bravery Of our soldiers, and de-
clares that the most careful inquiries fail
to elicit any report or any complaint of any
act of pillage or assault committed by an
American soldier"
Capt. Lorg criticises the clothing and
equipment of our troops very severely, but
excuses it on the ground that we were nee
essarily compelled to utilize anything that
could be obtained, because of the short
time that allowed for preparation dur
ing the war. The regimental quartermas-
ters," he says, worked with the utmost
energy but utterly failed to do what
should have been DONE not from want of
ability or zeal, but from lack of knowledge
and experience" This British critic thinks
our government does great injustice to its
soldiers by making them victims of the in
experience of men who are given staff COM
missions in the army for political reasons,
and criticises the appointing power rather
than the men.
He thinks our inspector generals depart
ment is a failure. He cannot understand
why our navy and army do not work to-
gether, and it is beyond his comprehension
mat the transportation OF our troops by
sea should be left to the qudrtermaStef >
department of the army, instead OF being
!nlruSted to experienced naval ofncerS.
The landing of the troops and stores" ne
says cannot be too adversely criticised,
and he declares that the absence of naval
experts to direct and the assistance of the
navy in landing would have certainly LED
to disaster If the enemy had been lnteln-
gent and enterprisng. Had it not been
Tor the splendid energy of the troops, IN
spired by a magnificent spirit, the whole
army would have been demoralized, our
stores and launches would have fallen into
the hands of the enemy and the artillery
would have been useless
The troops suffered greatly in landing,
he says, and valuable stores were lost
The whole of the ammunition for the Aston
Battery was lost in the surf and this bat
terry was rendered practically useless. The
whole working of this department. is
the quartermaster's department-"was an
excellent example OF the need of trained
officers to carry out important duties"
The engineer department is also criticised
with equal severity as composed of ''un-
trained and unqualified officers and had
1t been necessary TO storm the city, owing
to the inefficiency of this branch, the loss
of life would have been enormous and sue
cess doubtful" The signal corps, he says,
is well trained and appears to be most
ef1cient and he has nothing but praise
for the commissary department. He says
the American soldiers are the best fed
troops in the world and differs entirely
with Gen. Miles and his faction in declar-
ing that the food Is wholesome, ample, ''ot
excellent quality and appeared to give uni-
versal satisfaction"
An entirely new departure of unquali-
ned success, he says, lis the refrigerating
steamships loaded with frozen beef and
mutton" But he declares that a great de-
feet which would be disastrous in any ex-
tended operation is the inability of the COM
missary officers to control the transporta-
ton of their supplies. He cannot under
stand why the government of the United
States retains an obsolete system and al
lows the division of responsibilities that ex-
lists in our army, and says that We have
already demonstrated 1t to be a failure.
THE subsistence department furnished the
troops everything they could possibly
want he says, but it had means of
taking it to them, and if they had not
helped themselves and carried their own
supplies they would have gone without
food entirely
| Captain Long does not think much of our
ordnance department. and does not under
stand why the army and navy should be
supplied with arms of different pattern and
caliber. He thinks 1t would be fatal to the
military success OF the country in a pro-
longed war to have the army and navy
work Independent of each other in ordnance
matters.
He speaks in the highest commentator of
the medical department. and praises the
camp hospitals. 1.-THE health of the troops
was extraordinary" he says. land the sub
ject CT constant remark If the spirit of the
troops was excellent, 1t was even surpassed
by that of the medical branch: who, In
spite of inadequate and defective trans
port facilities and many other difficulties.
always had their hospitals as complete and
efficient as human ingenuity could make
them"
commentators Of Captain Long will be in
dorsed by all of the foreign military at
taches who have accompanied our army
during the war, although. having accepted
the hospitality OF our go cove nm a they
their hosts Their dispatches to the home
governments have praised our men and
denounced our methods.