Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1901-11-07
SUBS|SI|NG THE ARMY.
Report of Gen. John F. Weston,
Commissary General of Sub
sistence of the Army.
INTERESTING FEATURE OF THE REPORT.
The Successful Feeling of the Army
In the Field and the Large Num-
her of Government Attaches I'm
the Philippines and China and
the Prfsoner i'm Guam.

Washington, Nov. 2.-The report of
Gen. John E. Weston, commissary-
general of subsistence, shows that the
total expenditures for the subsistence
of the army during the last fiscal
year were s15,622,22s. The receipts
from the sales of subsistence stores
during the same period were $780,
Pa. An interesting feature of the re-
port is a statement from Col. Wood
ruff, chief commissary of the army in
the Philippines, in which he says:
Best I'm Worlds History.
During the first three months of
the period covered by this report
stores here had, for various causes,
become greatly reduced, but owing
to the grand response made by the
commissary-general to every call from
this Office and the energetic action of
the purchasing commissaries in San
Francisco and New York, this was
speedily corrected, and this division
was soon supplied as no other army
of its size has ever been supplied in
the worlds history.
Vast Territory Covered.
During the period covered by this
report the command to be supplied
extended from the great wall of
China on the north to the island of
Borneo on the south and the island
OF Guam on the east. There were $50
stations in this archipelago, besides
the troops in China and the prisoners
in Guam.
SIN addition to the $4,000 troops
and 5000 officers in this division, the
subsistence department supplied the
delicacies for the sick, rations for A.
600 prisoners of war, 1880 marines,
many of the stores for the navy, IA
tions for 1000 civilian employees, and
sales stores for the army, navy and
marine officers, Philippine commits
sion and attaches, and Americans M
ployed by the army and by the gov
eminent in it's treasury, post Office,
interior and educational departments,
metropolitan police, native police and
scouts, transports, ETC., in other
words, nearly 100000 persons, occu-
plying a country almost destitute OF
meat and vegetables, and other food
supplies suitable for Americans, were
supplied largely from a single base,
1000 miles distant. After the stores
reached Manila they had to be land
ed in cascoes and then distributed,
on short railroads, by c~ascoes, and
then poled up marrow rivers, by
wagon and carabao carts along al.
most bottomless roads; by pack mules
and coolies over mountain trails, often
through a hostile country, and some
of the posts supplied were more dis.
tant, in point of time, from Manila
than is the capital of our country"
No Serious Complaints Made.
Col. Woodruff says hat during the
period covered by the report, $4,000
men have been returned to the Unit
ed States and about $4,000 have ar
rived in the Philippines, and that not
a single serious complaint has beer
received concerning the food supply.
There has been received at the Ma
Mia depot 115, 1884, $50 pounds OF IA.
ton articles, and 62,444, 996 pounds OF
sale stores. There have been shipped
from this depot III, III 500 pounds If
ration articles and 57,022,6 gu pounds
of sale stores. There has been some
deterioration of stores, due to poor
storage and climatic conditions.
Charges Greatly Exaggerated.
Col. Woodruff refers to the charges
against the subsistence department,
and takes occasion to say that such
charges were greatly exaggerated,
and he reviews what has already been
published concerning the losses by
dishonest officers and commissary
~sergeants, together with the trials
and convictions of those implicated.
He denies any illegal purchases OF
champagne, and says that the pur-
chases that were made were neces-
sary for sick and debilitated troops
who purchased it at 80 cents a lint.
Gen. Weston's report deals quite ex-
tensively with the Chinese campaign
and quotes from officers who were
in that expedition to show thai the
troops were well supplied.