The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1899-05-19
MUST NA|I-F0R REGO[ .I'|{j.
Lack q Boats Not the Cause Of
Keeping Volunteers in Manila.
WAR DEPARTMENTS POSITION
"enorai oti' Gables That the First
Regiments VIII Loave the Islands
This Notwithstanding to Stay While
There Is Fighting. .3f

WASHINGTON, May la.-The friends
OF voluntee regiments in the Philip
pines are charging the War depart
nent with bad faith. They say the
governors of the Western states have
been assured by Secretary Aleerland
Adjutant General Corbin hat the only
reason for>the failure to return the vol
unteers has been the lack of transport
facilities, yet there are four trans
ports ready to sail on four succeeding
days n none of them will carry a
volunteer regiment for muster out.
The War department, partly to satisfy
the clamor thus raised, cabled General
Otis to state whether any volunteers
are ready to- return to the United
States, and II so to give the names OF
the organizations, the administration
understanding that the volunteers.
themselves do not want to come home
while there is any fighting. An army
officer. in defense of the War depart
lnent, said to-day:
1T seems to be forgotten by those
trying to make a disturbance that it
IS not poss ib:e for the government to
\ withdraw ny:portion Of general Otis
forces from operations in tho field
until the arrival of troops to take
their places. The withdrawal of the
volunteers in advance Of the arrival OF
a corresponding force of regulars
would not only hamper the operations
of General Otis in Luzon, but would
throw upon the few remaining regu-
lave <h1 -.1 1.-l--
themselves against superior numbers.
+, About 6 ,oo0regutar troops will ar
rive at Manila within q week or. two.
The vessels that will land them will
be Immediately returned with the VOL
unteer regiments in the order of their
enrolment and acceptance. The trans
ports scheduled for tho next four days
can have nothing to do with this
movement"
; General orbin insists that, the re-
turn Of the volunteers will be con-
Quoted with uniformity and dispatch.
The greatest care, he says, will be
taken to insure the comfort of the
men on lifelong voyage across the Pa
cifc ocean. The requests for the pas
sage. by way of the Snez canal, .insti-
gated by the transportation com
panies desiring to carry the Western
troops across the continent will be
ignored. The Suez canal route, is too
extensive, too tedious and too much
exposed to disease md quarantine. -
Following-is Otis reply to the cable
OF Adjutant General Cor bin regarding
return Of volunteers:
MANILA. May IL. -Adiutant General,
Washington: Volunteer organizations
first to return now at Negroes and
forty-fve miles from Manila, at front.
Expected that transports now arriv.
ing will take returning volunteers
!. Volunteers understand they will
begin to leave for the United States
the latter part Of month; know Inn
portance Of their presence hero at
this time and accept sacrifice which
United States interests make i'm.
perative. Hancock now entering har-
.bor. ,,.,., IL -,
Transports returning this week
carry sick and wounded men. Penn
sylvania and St. Paul not needed
longer in Southern waters, where they
have been retained, hence dis patch;
transports Nelson and Cleveland
brought freight; return without cargo.
Otis" ~
1t is held here that Otis cable indi-
Gates that tho troops are making no
olamor to be sent home, but see the
necessity Of remaining until they can
be relieved by the regulars now on
their way or under orders.
General Otis says the troops to be
sent first are in the island Of Negroes
and at the front. He refers to the
California regiment, which is prob
ably in Negroes, and to the Oregon reg
iment with General Lawton some.
where in the vicinity Of Maasin.