The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1901-10-10
ALGER'S REVIEW OF
THE WAR WITH SPAIN.

state "has been delayed and changed
because of the death of President Nc
Kinley," will be issued next Thurs
day. Opening his book with survey
of the Cuban situation i'm 1898 General
Alger says:
"The thoughtful observer of public
events during the years 1S95-97 need
hardly be reminded that both the
Cleveland and the Mckinley admin
istrations sought by every honorable
means to avoid complications with
Spain through protesting against the
conditions prevalent in Cuba.
He then comments upon our unpre-
paredness for war at that time and
the splendid spectacle of the countryS
response to the government ultima
tum to Spain. He then leads the
reader through the hurried prepara-
tions for war, its embarrassments and
difficulties, the persecution of the Of
flee seeker, the disappointment of
hundreds of volunteers, the demands
of seacoast cities and towns for i'm
mediate and impossible protection and
the savage criticism of the military
administration plans of campaign
and the battle with the apparently
endless list of shortcomings and griev-
ances. Then follow the plans of cam
paign, the embarkation at Tampa,
which was severely criticised at the
time, but which General Alger is now
convinced, all things considered, was
not mistake. The account of the
march on Santiago is graphically pict-
ured and prepares one for the fights
at Caney and San Juan.
The ground robin" incident comes
in for fair share of space. While
the negotiations for surrender were
pending before Santiago the general
officers of Skaters army met and
signed round robin, which was given
out for publication. This paper show
ed great alarm over the threatened
coming of yellow and enteric fevers.
and went on TO say: "This army
must be moved at once or it will
perish. !"
OF the round robin itself General
Alger says he has no criticism to offer.
But he does criticise the publication
of it, saying that it was one of the
most unfortunate and regrettable in
cidentS of the war.
General Alger reviews at length the
difficulties between General Shafter
and Admiral Sampson, and quotes
many official letters. He concludes
this chapter in these words:
sit is as difficult to account for
Admiral Simpsons seeming attitude
toward the army before the operations
before Santiago as to excuse him for
his contradictory statements sub
sequently made in his official report
After the Sd of July the admiral S
conduct may have been due to his
keen disappointment resulting from
his nonparticipation in the engage
ment with Ceryera's squadron. Pos
sibly he felt that Shafter S request for
a conference on the morning of July 3,
innocent though it was, was responsible
for his being deprived of the honor of
actively participating as commander
in-chief in one of the most remarkable
victories i'm the annals of naval war
fare"
Considerable space is devoted to
what he calls the miles Egan con-
troversy" in the commissariat in
yeStigatiOn, in the course of which he
says:
General Miles seemed to be pleased
with the notOriety which his startling
statement before the commission and
his subsequent newspaper interview
gave him; for again, On the 31st of
March, 1899, in New York City, he
published, through representatives of
the Associated Press and OF a metro
poaitan paper, additional charges.
This unmilitary and questionable
method of making in public grave and
scandaaOus charges regarding BROTH
er officer and the work of his depart
ment-eiaarges which subsequent and
careful investigation proved both M
warranted and untrue--seemed to ap-
peal to certain characteristics of the
major general commanding to which
reference here would be out of place. |
eff we are to believe written evil
dence 20 the contrary. it does not ap-
pear that Gen. Miles was even hon.
est in making his dilatory charges
that the timed beef was issued as
the ''pretense of an experiment, and
that it was not part of the ration.
On the 18th of June, 1898, his most |
confidential staff officer signed aletter
s'by direction of the major general
commanding the army" instructing
the depot commissary at Tampa to
furnish to General Funez 1854
pounds Of canned roast beef, to be is
sued from the sssubsistence stores of