The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1901-10-09


navy department are the subjects
of official inquiry on matters relating to
that contest, recalls the days when the
WAX department was under fire and TEN.
balmed beef" was raising the national
gorge.
Gen. Alger opens his book with a
general survey OF the Cuban situation
in 1898. 1.-THE thoughtful Observer"
he writes, "of public events during the
years 1S95.97 need hardly be remind
ed that both The Cleveland and the Nc
Kinley administrations sought by every
honorable means to avoid complica-
tons with Spain, though protesting
against the conditions prevalent in
Cuba He comments on this coun-
try's lack of preparation for war at That
time and the splendid spectacle of the
country's response to the governments
utimatum upon Spain. He recounts
the hurried preparations for war, its
embarrassments and difficulties, the de-
manls of sea coast cities and towns for
immediate and impossible protection,
the savage criticism of the military ad-
ministratiou's plans of campaign and
the battle with the apparently endless
list of shortcomings and grievances.
Coming down to the seige of Santi-
ago and the negotiations for the sur
render of the city, he recalls the Incl
dent of the Round Robin" signed by
the officers of Skaters army and given
out for publication. This pronounce
ment about which there was an odor OF
characterization showed great alarm
over the threatened coming of yellow
and enteric fevers, and declared that
"this army must be moved at once or
it will PERISH" OF the "Round Robin''
itself, General Alger has no criticism to
offer, but he does criticise it's publics.
ton as one Of the most unfortunate and
regrettable incidents of the war.
In the ex.secretary's review of the
differences between General Shafter
and Admiral Sampson the latter comes
in for some structures, this chapter end
ing with these words:
ut is difficult to account for Admiral
Simpsons seeming attitude toward the
army during the operations before San
tlago, as we'll as to excuse him for his
OF hoa tlx,
made in his official report. After the
Bird of July the admirsl's conduct may
be due to the keen disappointment re-
sulting from his non-p participation in
the engagement with Cervera's squad
ron. Possibly he felt that Skaters re-
quest for conference on the morning
OF July 3, innocent though it was, was
responsible for his being deprived of
the honor of actively participating as
commandment chief in one of the most
remarkable victories in the annals of
naval warfare"
After referring at some length to the
investigation of the conduct of the war
department during the war with Spain,
and particularly the inquiry into the
furnishing of what became popularly
known as "embalmed beef" Gen. Al
ger comes down to the appearance OF
General Miles before the commission
In this connection Gen. Alger says:
although the commission had been
sitting nearly three months, the
charges with respect to canned and re-
frigerated beef were now made for the
first time, and, stranger and more in
excusable and more unsoldierly still,
during all those m onths, with this pre-
tended knowledge of facts which, if
they existed, should 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
with the notoriety which his startling
statement before the commission and
subsequent newspaper interview gave
him; for again, on the 31st of March,
1899, in New York city, he published,
through representatives. of the Asso.
ciated Press, and of metropolitan pa
per, additional charges. This unmili.
tary and questionable method of making
in public grave and scandalous charg es
regarding brother officer and the
| work OF his department - charges
which subsequent and careful invest.
CATION proved both unwarranted and
VI true-seemed to appeal 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 to the contrary, it does not APP
pear that Gen. Miles was even honest
in making his diliatory charges that the
timed beef was issued as the 'pretense
OF an experiment, land that it was not
part of the ration. On the 18th of June
1898, his most confidential staff office
signed letter by direction of the ma
jor general commanding the army in
structing the depot commissary at Tam
pa to furnish General Nunez 1854
pounds of canned roast beef, to be is
sued from the subsisten nee stores OF the
army.
"If we are to accept the reading o
this letter as correct it proves that Gen
eral Miles knew that canned fresh bee
| xuaa q mort nf tho ration. fhat ba Lna N