El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-08-15
COMFORTS ABOARD TRANSPORTS
Remarkable Provisions Made For
Soldiers of the United States.

No government in all history ever
transported it's armies across the seas
with ANYTHING like the comfort to the
men that the United States Is giving
to It's soldiers who are sent to the Phi
lippines. The chartered transport
fleet, comprising at present about sew
enteen vessels-all on the Pac1tc-re-
presents an enormous cost to the gov
eminent.
The steamship City of Para. costs
$500 day for the charter alone. She
can carry about 1000 men and she and
the others will make two round trips to
Manila. The Indiana costs $50. 600 q
month and carries nearly 1000 men.
The charter price of the Newport is
900 men. The Tartar costs $1,000 day.
These are all troop ships. The charter
price of other troop ships In the fleet
ranges from 5000 day to 5000.
Several vessels have been chartered
which have a capacity for freight and
animals only They will carry the
cavalry supplies, horses and baggage.
The government pays from $500 day
to $500 day for these.
cb artered, comprising the Philippine
fleet, with their passenger capscaties
are as follows: Grant, 1900 men; Sher-
idan, 1900; Sherman, 1900; Hancock,
1850: Pennsylvania, 1900: Valencia, 500;
Zealsndia, 600; City of Para, 100; Tar
tar, 200; indiana, 900; Newport, 500;
Ohio, 1874; City of Sydney, 700: Senator,
712;St. Paul, $50, and the Morgan City,
$50.
The big transports owned by the
government are model troop ships.
When the Grant, which took q regi-
ment from New York to Manila, via
Suez, landed at Gibraltar, the British
officers who boarded her were amazed
at the completeness of the vessel. They
knew the United States had never
possessed q transport service and they
could not undersS and how such ser
vice could be gotten up so quickly.
Furthermore, the vessel had arrange
ments for the comfort of the men which
excelled the usual army transports
used by European governments.
The sleeping quarters are as COM
Portable as those at any army post.
The men lie in iron-framed hunks with
lcean bedding and plenty of fresh air
and light. Electric fans furnish cool
ing breezes, and ven Initiating pipes are
ranged along the sides OF the ship. SO
that by turning stop cock stream OF
cold air can be thrown into the cabin.
Lavatories are furnished, so that the
men can keep clean: the mess arrange
mentS are good and the soldiers are
supplied regular army ratlons, we'll
cooked and plentiful.
On the chartered transports the men
are made very comfortable Alter
taking over the vessel, the government
proceeds to equip the ship for the SER
vice. The men sleep in wooden hunks,
but they have good army bedding. The
fare is the army ration for the enlisted
men, furnished by the subsistence de-
partment The officers live in the
cabin, of course, and have a mess OF
their own. Electric fans and wind
sails are installed in the chartered
ships and extra port holes are cut in
the sides of the vessels to admit air and
light. The war department operates
the transports without the aid of the
navy.
The masters and crews of the ships
operated by the government are en-
ployed just rs in the merchant service,
but they are uniformed and are consi-
dered civilian employees of the War
department An officer of the quart
ermaster's department goes on each
vessel, and the ships carry staff OF me-
dical officers When any Of the men
become i'll they are taken care of by
skillful surgeons.
The distance from San Francisco to
Manila by sea is 1850 miles. From
New York to San Francisco by
rail the distance is 1866 miles, and the
average time from New York to Ma
Mia by rail and sea is thirty-six days.
On the other hand, from New York to
Manila, via the Suez canal, the dis
lance is Il, O65 miles, and, steaming at
a rate of twelve knots an hour. the
average length of the passage is forty
two days.
The handling of the live stock for