The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-08-13
Incompetcnts in the War Office Held
Responsible for the Condition
of His Men on the Linee
ARE TOO HUNGRY TO MARCH
TOO WEAK TO SHOULDER THEIR
RIFLES OR STAND IN LINE.
Pitifnl Rations Issued, with Plenty of
Food Availablc-The ImpIacable
Wrath of Trnnsvaal Women.


Correspondence of the Associated Press.
LONDON, Aug. 4-Mr. A. G.. Hales.
representative in South Africa of the Daily
News, is the latest war correspondent TO
attack the methods and the red tape of
the British War Office. He says:
LET me tell you how our army in Africa
is treated by the incompetent people in the
good city of London. 1 pledge my word
as man and journalist that every
written word is true. 1 will add nothing,
nor detract from, nor set down aught in
malice. If my statements are proven false,
then let me be scourged with the tongue
and pen of scorn from every decent Briton's
home and hearth forever after, for he who
lies about his country at such an hour as
| this is of all traitors the vilest. l will deal
now particularly with the men who are
| acting under the command of Lieutenant
General Sir Leslie Rumble. This good sol
| dier and courteous gentleman has to hold
| frontage line from Winburg. via Sene-
| kal, almost TO the borders of Basutoland
| His whole front, extending nearly a hun
dred miles. is constantly threatened by an
| active. dashing, determined enemy, an en-
| emy who knows the country far better
than an English fox hunting squire knows
| the ground he hunts over season after
| season. To hold this vast line intact Gen.
| Rumble has to march from point to point
as his scouts warn him Of the movements
| of the tireless foe.
General Rundle's task is colossal one,
| and any sane man would think that gigan-
| tic efforts would be made to keep him am
| ply supplied with food for his soldiers. But
| such is not the case. The men are absolute
| ly starving. Many of the infantrymen are
| so weak that they can hardly stagger along
under the weight of their solderly equip
| ment. They worn to shadows, and
| move with weary listless footsteps on the
march People high up in authority may
| deny this, but he who denies it sullies the
| truth.
A PITIFUL RATION.
This is what the soldiers get to eat,
] what they have been getting to eat for a
| long time past, and what they are likely TO
| get for long time to come, unless England
rouses herself and bites to the bone in
gard to the people who are responsible
/ tor it,
''One pound of raw flour, which the SOL
diers have to cook after a hard days
march. is served out to each man every al
1
| one pound of biscuits. In this country
there is fuel. excepting little dung
| dried by the sun. If a soldier is lucky
enough to pick up a little he can go to the
nearest water, of which there is plenty,
mix his cake without yeast or baking pow
| der, and make sort of a wretched
mouthful. He gets one pound of raw fresh
meat daily, which, nine times out of ten,
| ne cannot cook, and there his supplies end.
| What has become of the rations of
| rum, of sugar, of tea, of groceries gen.
| orally? Ask at the snug little railway sid
| irgs where the goods are stacked-and
| forgotten. Ask in the big stores in Cape
| Town and other seaport towns. Ask in
| your own country, where countless thou
| sands of pounds worth of foodstufr lie
| rotting in the warehouses, bound up and
tied down with red tape bandages. Ask
| yes, ask; but don't stop at askng-damn
somebody high up in power. Don't let some
1 wretched underling be made the scapegoau
| Of this criminal state OF affairs, for the
| taint of this shameful thing rests upon you,
| upon every Briton whose home, privilege
| end prosperity is being safeguarded by
| these famishing men.
| 1.-THE folk in authority will probably tell
| you that General Rumble and his splendid
| fellows are so isolated that food cannot be
| obtained for them. say that this is false,
| for recently /, in company with another
| correspondent, left General Rundles camp
| without an escort. We made our way in the
| saddle, taking our two cape carts with us
| TO Winburg railroad station; leaving our
horse flesh there. we took train for East
| London. Then back to the junction and
down TO Cape Town. where we remained
| for forty-eight hours. and then made our
! way aback to Winburg and from Winburg
we came without escort to rejoin General
Rumble at Hammonia.
COMMUNICATION EASY.
IF two war correspondents could traverse
that country and got through with winter
supplies for themselves, why cannot the
transport people manage to do the same?
| These transport people affect TO look with
contempt on war correspondent and his
| opinions on things military: but IL we could
not manage transport business better than
they do, most of us would willingly stand
up and allow ourselves 10 be shot.
"Our men on the fields OF war are famish-
ing. whilst millions worth of food lies
rotting on our wharves and in our cities.
food that ought, with ordinary manage
| ment. TO be within easy reach of our fight
| ing generals Britain asks of General Run
die the fulfilment of a task that would
tax the energies and abilities OF the first
general in Europe, and with stout heart
he faces the work in front of him. faces IL
| with men whose knees knock under them
! when they march, with hands that shake
| when they shoulder their rines-shske, but
not with fear; trembe, but not from
wounds. but from weakness. from poverty