The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1903-09-05
WAR SCANDAL
Revelations In Report Of Royal
Commission.
NO PREPARATIONS FOB BoER WAB

-AAA.tN ANNa-N "a AAtAAAN -
Hostile Forces-CoIone1 Lucas De
clared THAT the Rides would Not
Hit Observation-Disclosures Of Brown
Paper Fer Soldiers.
The New York Herald recently pub
hshed the following from its CORE
spondent in London;
Revelations contained in the report Of
the royal commission on the conduct Of
the war in South Africa have filled all
England with CONSERVATION and indig
nation. From three volumes just is.
sued much has been suppressed in the
public interest," but enough remains
apparently to Justify the opinion freely
expressed that the war Office at the
outbreak Of the trouble was in state
Of incompeteney which is nothing short
Of amazing
The testimony of General Nicholson
shows that the intelligence section Of
the war office relating to South Africa
before the war was run with a force Of
only two officers and one clerk. The
treasury, against the united recon
mendation Of the war Office, had re-
fused any increase, and hence It was
not surprising when England went to
war that there was no effective map of
the Orange Free State, the Transvaal
or Natal 70 quote General Kitehe
ner's own testimony, according to OIL
cial memoranda, the field intelligence
department had TO be created from the
very beginning
General Nicholson IS responsible for
the information that there was practi-
cally no valid connection between the
intelligence department and the defense
committee Of the cabinet. The British
local defense scheme was based on in
adequate forces. 1t was merely that
the generals reported how they could
make the best Of what troops they had.
The experts prepared a plan Of mobile
cation in the early summer, but the
/ government would not vote the extra
money until forced to do so, This was
the testimony Of General Sir 4. Stop
ford.
! From official memoranda and Colonel
/ Althams testimony II is apparent that
/ Lansdowne, then war secretary, knew
+ there were $4,000 mounted Beers who
could oppose the British, yet almost
/ without exception infantry was sent.
When finally the mobilization Of the
First army corps was ordered it was 50
/ late that it was not possible for Sir
i Redvers Butler to be in a position to
+ take the field until December. The
Beers had invaded Natal the second
week ia October Hasty mobilization
on the part of the British then caused
4 Reorganization
Nearly all the military witnesses, not
ably General Keliy-Kenny, put stress
on the fact that the representations of
/ the commander in chief did not meet
sufficient compliance Lord Wolseley
4 emphasizes this and also the way Lord
\ Lansdowne treated him and his advice
I in 1899. which was absolutely disre-
garded. refusing to sanction even the
most urgently needed expenditure. The
4 war secretary's refusal delayed the ar
my corps. Nor did BE send ont the re-
endorsements urged. Lord Roberts also
y condemns the initial preparations IN
South Africa
4 The volumes TEEN with the war Of
I ficers' shortcomings. The British had
no quick firing guns in South Africa.
When the war started warnings from
the Cape were neglected, mobilization
was muddled, the war officers did not
even know that pompon guns could
be used for field purposes. 1t was not
known here until the middle Of Octo-
Der that the Beers We're using any
heavy guns IN the field There were so
/ few pontoons in this country that old
ones had to be sent out Colonel Lueas
/ declared that the sights Of some Of the
rifles We're SO bad the soldiers could not
hit a haystack with them
/ Sir Fleetwood Wilson, financial adj
wiser to Lord Kitchener. found serious
avoldable waste Of public money IN the
ordnance expenditures at Cape Town,
due 10 insufficient preparations before
hostilitles and lack Of forethought in
demanding stores There was noleyi-
denee to show that any steps were TAX
en- al the Cape before the war to obtain
information as to the prevailing prices
and local sources Of supply. It was not
until four days before hostilities began
that any serious attempt was made 20
forecast probable requirements.
TO what use provisions were some
times put is thus related by Lieutenant
Colonel Morgan;
eve had large stocks at our base
ports Of timed meatand biscuits They
became such nuisance III this way
that we had no storage for them The
food had to stand out in the open, and
Of course some Of it went to the bad
Instead Of insisting on one pound tins
Of meat, as was recommended by
committee sixteen years ago, the war
office bought Six pound tins. These BE-
ing heavy, the men often threw them
away"
According to Colonel Carr the sol
dlers boots were distinctly bad in 1900.
They were Of brown paper. at least not
much better Owing to the inability
of the troops to obtain soap half the
force in South Africa Colonel Sir ~.
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