The times., 1899-02-13

| masters Department in moving regiments |
and in the care of sick and convaIescents |
| returning home either with their regi- |
| ments or alone.
| Great complaint was made of the rail- |
road congestion at Tampa and the abso |
| lutte lack of ability TO bring order out OF |
chaos at that place during the early part |
of the period of its occupancy by troops. |
The Major General Commanding has stat
| ed that supplies for 10000 men for ninety y
days were ordered there. and the confusion
on the railroad when he reached Tampa !
was very great. 1000 cars being side |
| tracked some of them as far back as
Columbia. S c.
1t is stated that in the hurry and rush |
attending the commencement of this work /,
the contents of the ears were unknown at I,
Tampa; that bills of iading were not for /!
warded. and that it seemed impossible Tor |
a time to determine where absolutely nee |
essary articles were located.
Colonel Bird. of the Quartermaster S
Department, testifieS that thi. "ds correct |
ed later on, when the contents of cars
were clearly marked upon them and bills
of lading promptly forwarded.
The condition of the railroad cOnges
tion during the early portion of the time
Tampa was occupied by troops seems I'M
paralleled, showing an almost ineXcusa-
bic lack of executive ability on the part
of those charged with the loading, unload
ing. and handling of the trains.
Colonel Bird and General Humphrey
testify that there were very poor facilities
fer transferring troops and supplies arriv-
ing at Tampa via the Florida Central Rail-
road to the Plant System leading direct to
Port Tampa.
Order was finally brought out of chaos,
| the cars unioaded. the congestion over
come. and a vast amount of supplies of
every character delivered at this immense
encampment.
Congestion also occurred at Chicka-
mauSa Park, probably with not so serious
results as at Tampa, but complaint was
! made that materials of different classes,
| belonging to different departments, were
! frequently packed in the same car. rem
derIng 1T necessary to remove large pack
ages of quartermaster's or commissary
stores in order to obtain the smaller pack
ages of medicines and medical supplies.
| There was also congestion and confu-
sion in connection with the railroad facili-
ties between the 5th and 18th of August
at Camp Wikof, caused by the side tracks
being in such condition that they could
not be used. Cars in switching would get
on the track and cause blockades for hours;
troops and animals came by rail from Long
Island City more rapidly than they could
be unloaded and cared for at Montauk.
| BY the middle OF August the side tracks
were in order and necessary storehouses
made available for supplies. The railroad
between Montauk and Long Island City
was evidently worked to its maximum
capacity.
Transports Poorly Equipped.
The testimony shows that the first call
upon the Quartermaster' Department was
for ships to transport 5000 men to Cuba
and that soon after the call was increased
and demand made for steamers to trans
port $4,000.
THE fleet of transports concentrated at
\ pnrS Slo fo,. ng
these $4,000 men to Cuba consisted of IS
vessels. and included 2 water boats, 8
steam lighters, l collier, ! tug, and 2
decked barges. Upon loading these vessels
II was found that their capacity had been
| largely overrated, and it was impossible
to carry upon them. without great discom-
fort and danger. more than 5000 men,
with their equipments artillery. ammun-
tion. subsistence, medical supplies, and
2,295 animals, for a voyage of 1000 miles.
Even with this reduction the vessels ap-
pear to have been crowded.
| In spite of the efforts of the Quarter
masters Department many of these yes
sells were poorly equipped with sleeping
| accommodations; the sinks in many in
stances were inconvenient and insufficient.
and some of the vessels were badly venti-
lated and filled with disagreeable odors.
1t has been stated that had the fleet en-
countered a severe storm while en- route
for Cuba the discomfort would have been
intense and there might have been loss of
life. The Quartermaster' Department
ought to have been able to more thorough
ly equip these vessels, and surely il should
have been more certain of their carrying
capacity. A sufficient number of vessels
for transporting 25, 600 men. with the re-
quired lighters for their Decentralization.
should have been promptly furnished. even
had such action rendered necessary the
Loot Of -an ~ I.
and Gulf coasts sailing under the American
flag.
| Testimony shows that the vessels were
not loaded Systematically. battery with
its guns and horses would be placed on
one vessel and its ammunition on another.
The Second. Seventh. and Seventeenth
Regular Infantry were divided up, and por-
tions in each case sent on three different
vessels.
The fleet of transports arrived safely at
Baiquiri. but the failure to provide full
and sufficient number OF lighters for dis
embarkation of troops, supplies. and artil-
iery caused delay anxiety. annoyance and
danger, and had there been serious storms,
or had the landing been opposed b. a va
liant and well-trained force OF the enemy,
the result might have been far different.
No Evidence of Fraud
Gen. James H. Wilson United States
Volunteers, testified that his command
while en- route for Porto Rico. was delayed
two weeks in Charleston, S. C.. by failure
| OF the transports to arrive. and that when
he reached Ponce the Decentralization of
the troops and materials was delayed by
lack of landing facilities, so that ten davs
were required for a wor; that should have
been accomplished in two days had there
been proper steam tugs. launches. etc.
available.
"ThirtysiX vessels arrived at Porto Rico
without invoices to show their contents
causing much confusion and requiring the
overhaulng of the entire cargo in order to
learn the contents of the ship. The first
invoice was received with cargo No 81
that of the Alamo, which left Newport
News. Va, on August 8. and reached Ponce
on August lG After that date regular in
voices accompanied each vessel
The first steam launch supplied by the
Quartermasters Department arrived on the
Rita, which sailed from Tampa August 10.
and reached Ponce August 20.
Contracts covering millions of dollars
We're made by the Quartermaster's De-
partment during the period between April
l and October l. and although indefinite
charges have from time to time been
made of fraud and coIlusion. no evidence
has been produced before the Commission
10 substantiate these charges although
the parties making them have been in
yited to appear.
1T is somewhat difficult to follow up
the transportation Of medical supplies
Large quantities were purchased by the
surgeons in charge of the medical dcpots
in New York. St. Louis and San Francisco.
Quartermaster's Department for transpor-
| tatiOn the various CamDS and ha