The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1901-10-06
Has Been Delayed and Changed
Because of Death of President
Mckinley But Will be Placed on
Sale Tuesday
IS A HISTORY OF
SPANISH MERICAN WAR
Gives His Version of the EN-
baImed Beef" Controversy and
Contains Many interesting
ReminicenseS of the Late Con-
fIiCt With Spain

fIict With Spain
New York, Oct. 5.-Gen. Ayers BOOK
i on the Spanish-American war, Whlcn
his publishers state has been delayed
and changed because of the death OF
President Mckinley" will be Issued next
Thursday. Opening his book with
survey of the Cuban situation in 1898,
Gen. Alger says
1.-THE thoughtful observer of public
events during the years 1S95-l89l need
hardly be reminded that both the
Cleveland and the Mckinley admins
trations sought by every honorable
means to avoid complications with
Spain, though protesting against the
Iconditions prevalent in Cuba"
He then comments upon our UMPIRE
paredness for war at that time and
the splendid spectacle of the country
response to the governments ulti-
matum upon Spain. He then leads the
reader through the hurried prepara-
| tons for war, it's embarraSsmentS and
difficulties, the persecution of the office
seeker, the disappointment of hundreds
of volunteers, the demands of seacoast
cities and towns for immediate and
protection, and the savage
criticism of the military administration
plans of campaign, and the battle with
the apparently endless list of short
comings and gri evances. Then follow
the plans of campaign; the embarka-
ton at Tampa, which was severely
criticised at the time, but which Gen.
Alger is now convinced that, all things
considered, was not a mistake. The
account of the march on Santiago is
graphically pictured and prepares one
70, fo6
The "round-robin" incident comes in
for a fair share of space. While the
negotiations for surrender were pend
ling before Santiago, the general officers
| of Skaters army met and signed
| round robin" which was given out
for publication. This paper showed
great alarm over the threatened coming
of yellow and enteric fevers and went
to say This army must be moved at
once or it will perish" OF the round
robin" itself Gen. Alger says he has no
criticism to offer. But he does criti
else the publication of it, saying that
lit was one of the most unfortunate and
regrettable incidents of the war.
! Gen. Alger reviews at length the diff
ferences between Gen Shaftr and
Admiral Sampson and quotes many
official letters. He concludes this chap
ter in these words:
7
| SIMPSONS seeming attitude towards
thearmy during the operations before
/ Santiago, as we'll as to excuse him for
/ his contradictory statement, SUISSE
quently made in his official report. At
/ ter the 3rd of July the admirals con-
/ duct may be due to the keen disap-
pointment resulting from his non-par-
! ticipation in the engagement with Ger
vera's squadron. Possibly he felt that
Skaters request for a conference on
the morning of July Bird, innocent
though it was was responsible for his
being deprived of the honor of active
ly participating as commander in chief
! in one of the most remarkable victories
I in the annals of naval warfare"
I OF the Miles-Egan controversy on
the alleged furnishing of "embalmed
beef to the army Gen. Alger says:
THE commission appointed by the
I President, at my request, to investigate
the conduct of the war department in
/ the war with Spain, commonly known
/ as tiINJar investigation or the Dodge
! commission, met on the oath day of
| September, 1885, Up to the 221st of
! December, 1898, this commission had
! taken testimony in II towns and cities,
I and in many different camps, granting,
| wherever it went to the citizens, sold
! iers, or ex-soldiers, an opportunity to
I appear for p olaint or testimony of
any kind rega4 ding the conduct of the
war. This commission visited numer-
! Gus camps in which there were still
many thousands of soldiers, both regu-
lars and volunteers, who were invited
to give their evidence without regard
to rank or service. On the 21st of De-
cember the major general commanding
the army of the United States APP
peared before the commission, then
sitting in Washington, and made his
: statements with respect to the canned.
fresh and refrigerated beef furnished
to the army during the war
Although the commission had been
sitting nearly three months. the
charges with respect to canned and
| refrigerated 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. if
they existed, should have been made
known to the secretary of war, for the
protection of the army, Gen. Miles had
never mentioned the subject
zen. Miles seemed to be pleased with
the notorlety which his startling state
: ment before the commission and his
subsequent newspaper interview, gave
MN, for again, on the 31st of March.
1917 In New York city, he published,
through representatives of the Asso-
, clated ress, and of a metropolitan pa
per- additional charges. This unmili-
tary and questionable method of maxi
ing in public grave and scandalous
charges regarding a brother officer and
the work of his department-char
winch subsequent and careful investi-
CATION proved both unwarranted andI
untrue-seemed to appeal to certain
characteristics of the major general
commanding to which reference here
would be out of place.
If we are to believe written evidence
to the contrary, it does not appear that
Gen. Miles was even honest in making
his dilatory charges that the timed
beef was issued as the 'pretense of an
experiment and that it was not a mart
/ Of the ration. On the 18th of June.
! 1898, his most confidential staff officer
signed a letter by direction of the Ma
jor General commanding the army
instructing the depot commissary at
Tampa to furnish to Gen. Nunez 10
ga pounds of canned roast beef. to be
j issued from the subsistence stores of
! the army If we are to accept the
I reading of this letter as correct n
proves that Gen. Miles knew that can
ned fresh beef was a part of the ra-
ton; that he knew there was a large
] quantity of 1t at Sampa or issue to the
I troops; and that he so far approved
j of its use as to direct that the ration
i be furnished in large quantities to our
allies"