Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917, 1901-10-11
GEN. ALGER'S BOOK is OUT
A REVIEW OF OUR LATE WAR.
Publication of the Book Delayed ON
Account of Recent Death of Pres
ident McKinIey-He Gave Several
Prominent Men "a ScOring-GeneraI
Miles Included.

New York. Oct. General Alger'!
book on the Spanish-American war
which his publishers stated has beer
delayed and changed because of the
death of President Mckinley" will be
issued Thursday.
General Alger opens his book witt
survey of the Cuban situation in 1879!
and comments upon our unprepared
ness for war at that time and the
splendid spectacle of the country's re
spouse to the governmental ultimatun
upon Spain. He then leads the reader
through the hurried preparations fol
war, the disappointment of hundreds
of volunteers, the demands of ses
coast cities and towns for immediate
protection and the savage criticism Of
the military administrations plan Of
campaign and the battle with appar
emily endless shortcomings and griev
ances. Then follows the embarkatioI
cized at the time, but which General
Alger is now convinced that, all things
considered, was not a mistake.
The account of the march on San
tiago is graphically pictured.
@ The book takes up the ''round robin
signed by the general officers of Shat
ter's army while the negotiations for
surrender were pending, in which ii
was stated that this army must move
at once or it will perish" from the
fevers that threaten the camp.
General Alger has no criticisms to
offer of the road robin itself, but says
that its publication was one of the
most unfortunate and regrettable in
cidents of the war.
General Alger reviews at length the
differences between General Shafter
and Admiral Sampson, and concludes
this chapter in these words:
ut is difficult to, account for Ad-
miral SIMPSONS attitude towards the
army during the operations before
Santiago, as well as to excuse him
for his contradictory statements subse-
quently made in his official report
After the third of July the admiral's
conduct may be due to the keen dis
appointment resulting from his non.
participation in the engagement with
Cervera's squadron. Possibly he felt
Skaters request for conference on
the morning Of July 3, although it was
responsible for his being out of the
honor of actively participating as com
mander in chief in one of the most re-
markable victories in the annals of
naval warfare" -
General Alger reviews the Miles
Eagan controversy over the alleged
furnishing of embalmed beef to the
army and tells of the appointment by
the president at his request of the
commission to investigate the conduct
of the war department in the war with
Spain. The commission met Septem-
Der "a, 1898, he says, and up to De-
cember 81 Of that year had taken
testimony in IL towns and cities, and
in many different camps, granting to
citizens, soldiers and ex-soldiers an
opportunity to appear for complaint
or testimony of any kind regarding the
conduct of the war. Many thousands
of soldiers were invited to give their
evidence without regard to rank or
service. r8N
ION the 21st of December" contin
ues General Alger, "the major general
commanding the army of the United
States appeared before the commits
sion then sitting in Washington, and
made his statements with reference to
the canned, fresh and refrigerated beef
furnished to the army during the war.
Although the commission had been
sitting nearly three months, the charg
es with respect to the canned and re-
frigerated beef were now made for
the first time, and, stranger and more
inexcusable and more unsoldierly still.
during all those months, with this pre-.
tended knowledge of facts which, II
they existed, she uld have been made
known to the secretary of war for the
protection Of the army. General Miles
had never mentioned the subject.
General Miles seemed to be pleased
" it'll the notoriety which his startling
statement before the commission AMI
his subsequent newspaper interviews
gave him; for, again, on the 31st Of
March, 1899, in New York city, he pub
lished, through representatives of the
Associated Press and of metropoli
tan paper additional charges. This
unmilitary and questionable method of
rlaking in public grave and scandalous
charges regarding brother officer and
the work of his department, charges
which subsequent and careful investi-
CATION proved both unwarranted AMI
untrue, seemed to appeal to certain
characteristics of the major general
commanding to which comment will
he out of place.
'Tf we are to believe written evil
dence to the contrary, it does not ap-
pear that General Miles was even hon.
est in making his dilatory charges;
that the timed beef was issued as
the 'pretense Of an experiment. and
il was not part of the ration"
Miutster KILLED Too QulclxIy.