Evening star., 1901-05-13

cause" No troops of the column were het-
ter supplied with food than ours. as NAV be
Seen from the ration components that I
have previously enumerated. In addition to
Mr. Millard's statement. his illustrations are
liable to convey wrong impressions. 1t may.
be inferred that the japanese field anbG-
lance bearers, as pictured by him. and
their carts as IN Illustrated, Were part Of the
carts picked up In Pekin or perhaps 1ien
TSn. They did not form a part of the
Japanese column. His illustration Of the
British Indian soup kettles is fabrication,
for nothing of this kind pertained to the
British column. The Rajput commissary
cart. which by the way. is Chinese af-
fair, might have been seen in Pekin some
time after the arrival OF the troops there,
but it WAS not part OF the marching col
umn The Russian field kitchen pictured
by Mr.. Miiiard IS a large caIdron for maxi
ing soup. The fire is lighted some miles
out of camp. and the soup is ready for the
men when camp is made; usually the soup
Is made of rice. Ii may be inferred by the
reader of Mr.. Millards article that the
British Indian galloping ambulance pic
tured by him was also part of the Eng
lish equipment of the marching column
The ambulance made it's appearance a cou-
pie of months after we arrived at Pekfn
The United States forces We're the only
forces supplied with wheeled ambullaces
for carrying sick of which we had four
with the column
Effect the Soldier.
THE adoption by Mr.. Milard of the
method he does to make comparisons-cred-
iting some of the contfngents in the relief
column with facilities they did not have.
with doing unusual things for the care OF
their men which they did not do and by
alleging our sick list to have been three
times greater than it really was. establish
ing visionary condition of affairs-is with
out visible motive other than to erect him
self into a suffering hero or to support
other intentional misstatements. IL is diff
ficult to believe his motive good. He knew,
of course, that very few OF his readers
would have any knowledge of how impossi-
BILE it is to eliminate certain privations and
hardships from a soldiers life on marches
and in campaigns, and especially where
struggle against the elements of nature
which sometimes produce condition more
! trying to the individual will power than
battle, is involved. He could hardly help
knowing also that cleveriy presented eN-
aggeration of any conditions would be
cepted a truthful statement by the un-
initiated or inexperienced person who would
be unable to test its truthfulness. l be-
lieve it important under the circumstances
that 1 furnish to the department the fore
going statement in rebuttaI for SUCH use as
may be deemed best.
And I may add. although perhaps # is
not germane to the subject, that il corre-
spondents have studied with care the effect
produced upon soldiers by eXaggeration OF
their hardShipS by comparison or other
to their hardships and privations, they
must have discovered that the effect is
positively injurious to the soldier, the SER
vice, and the government, and is largely
responsible for the absence from the even
ing campfire of the one-time songs which
cheered and rested the men, following the
long march. day of fatigue, or battle: for
the absence of the camp joker, who pro-
vided the best substitute in the world for
water, bread, meat. etc, when not plenti-
fui or not present owing to some Incident
of war or of the march. which every honest
soldier knows is never the result Of pre-
meditation of his government or his off,
GERS: for the marked decay of individual
Will power, without which nothing difficult
can be accomplished by an army, for bale
ful countenances observed when hardships
abound and difficulties accumulate. distress
surrounds Soldiers do not like sympathy;
sympathy is for women and children; SOL
diers are men; but they do like fair COM
mendation when deserving OF It. and espe-
cially when their fortitude has been Sc
verely tested.
Commend our soldiers for manfuliy un-
dergoing privations. and they will readily
respond again, but pirate OF their priva-
tions. deficiencies, heavy burdens and they
soon learn to dread the hour that shall dis
turb their ease the spirit becomes one Of
submission rather than one cheerfulIv
embracing the opportunity to exhibit their
eyYn nd hafr rn{p