The Meeker herald., 1899-07-08
WASHINGTON GOSSIP
AND DEPARTMENT NEWS.

fulstlOn, WHen tue reports aic SSAs "
July LIST, they will show that u mas
been the most successful year In the
history OF the commission. The great
bulk OF the work has been In the col
lection and distribution of the eggs aud
fry Of commercial food fish. and this
year more cod, white fish, pike, perch,
bass, fat fish and lobster have peen
planted than ever before.
Acting on the suggestion Of General
Miles that the availability of the auto
mobile be tested for army use, several
machines have been ordered. with the
request that three be furnished at the
| earliest possible date. The signal
corps intends to test the automobile,
carrying weight. over such roads as ex-
tend from this city to Fort Myer, Viz
ginia. II the tests are in favor OF the
machine its use will be extended TO
Cuba, Porto Rico and to the scene OF
actual hostilities in the Philippines.
Secretary Alger. Adjutant General
Corbin and Colonel Bird, assistant
quartermaster general, in charge OF
transportation, had an hours CONSUL
tation with the President Wednesday
relative TO the question of reinforce
fnents for General Otis. definite
! decision was reached TO continue the
recruiting of men at all the recruiting
stations for service in the Philippines.
Secretary Alger said when he left the
White House after the conference that
General Otis would have 10000 men
| when the rainy season closed for the
resumption of active operations.
A dispatch was sent to General Snae
ter by Adjutant General Corbin Thurs
day morning directing him to dispatch
every available transport to the rhil-
ippines at full speed with the troops
he has on hand. regardless of orsauiza-
tons. The dispatch instructed him not
to delay for anything, so that suffi-
cient number of transports might ar
rive at Manila TO bring the volunteers
back on schedule time. For this pur-
pose. too, several additional trans
ports have been chartered. as the de
partment proposes to get the volunteers
home from the Philippines as expedi-
tiously as possible.
The board of officers appointed by
General Brooke to investigate and
make recommendations regarding the
army ration has completed its work
/ The report has been received at the
War Department and recommends that
no change be made in the ration itself
! A slight modification in the manner in
which men may use savings is suggest
| ed. General Brooke does not indorse
] this section of the report, but says that
! 1t will be impracticable while men are
/ in the field. 1t will hardly be satisfac-
| tory to the commissary department,
! and its adoption is therefore considered
[ very doubtful. 1t relates mainly to a
system by which the savings Of the
men on rations allowed shall be invest
ed and presents a credit instead of q
/ company fund. A credit system would
1 involve great deal Of work and would
necessitate the employment of q large
clerical force.
The first orders were issued Friday
| for recruiting the troops under the
clause authorizing the enlistment Of
5000 men. The order contemplates
enlisting men for the three skeleton
regiments in the Philippines. Recruit
ing officers have been instructed to en-
list men with this understanding. One
Of the members of the Cabinet speak
ing In connection with the campaign in
the Philippines, said tonight: "The
President has given General Otis to un-
| derstand that he is to have all the
men necessary to the conduct Of opera
tions against the insurgents General
Otis has been told this In so many
words, the President having said to
him in effect that II he (Otis) did not
have enough men. 1t was his own fault.
The President also realizes that the
better the men are cared for and their
health preserved. the more capable
they will be of doing effective work,
and before the rainy season began,
General Otis was instructed to prepare
for 1t and in various ways was given
to understand the Presidents desire
that the soldiers should be well cared
for and well fed"
Admiral Schley is again to be pun
ished by the Navy Department Some
time ago he accepted an Invitation for
the Fourth Of Iuly. Subsequently the
crew of the cruiser Brooklyn, his flag
ship during the Santiago blockade, ar
ranged for a series of games and a
celebration of the anniversary of the
declaration of independence. As a
compliment to the admiral they tend
cred him an Invitation to be their
| guest of honor on the occasion. He
explained his previous engagement,
and announced that he would try to
cancel 1t. He did so, and formally ac-
cepted the invitation The Brooklyn
is now at the navy yard at New York
and the celebration was to be held
there. The arrangements We're known
at the Navy Department, but nothing
was done to interfere until to-day,
! when orders were issued for the Brook
lyn to proceed to Newport and join the
North Atlantic squadron under Ad-
miral Sampson. She will therefore
| participate in the maneuvers OF that
! place on the Fourth. Admiral Schley
is now free to accept an invitation for
the coming national holiday. 1t is
understood that Senators Wellington
and McComas of Maryland have in
formed the President that in their
opinion the Navy Department officials
who are antagonistic to Admiral
Schley should be prohibited from
using their offices to advance their at
tacks. They are reported to have e1-
pressed their views in an emphatic