davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times., 1915-02-14

dalous way in which the merchant
skippers Of the transports were per-
mitted to disregard signals and or
ders while lying of the Cuban coast
thus prolonging and making extreme.
ly difficult the decentralization OF
the supplies in the ships, supplies
which were of such vital necessity to
the hungry and Ill clad struggling
men on shore.
There is but one excuse for failure
to keep men at the front properly
supplied and that Is such a destruc-
tive FIRE from the enemy that 1t ID
impossible to reach them. There is
no other circumstance under which
transportation to men at the front
can properly be said to be impossible.
The merchant skippers of the trans
ports in Cuba handled their ships very
much as they pleased. I have seen the
officers of a transport very promptly
put under arrest for much less than
what some Of those shippers In the
Cuba expedition did without even q
reprimand.
Nor is there any excuse for the failure
Of the men In charge of'the transporta-
ton and supplies properly to load their
vessels 20 that the needed material could
be unloaded as 1t was wanted. Some
time our army may get over this terri
BILE fault, but It had not done SO at
TIA last exDerienCe,
The Washington times., 1915-02-14
Observer Describes Haste, Waste, and General Inef
ficiency in 1SsS-Soldiers Unframed, Poorly
Equipped and Exposed to Disease.

killed or died of wounds IN those f,ve
months, while 2.ls4 went to their graves
from disease.
It should be borne steadily in mind
that this is not written for the pur-
pose OF critfsing or belittling the vol
unteers or the service they rendered
to their Government in its time OIL
need. But 1t Is very we'll worth while
to point out now, in time Of peace and
when the experiences Of the day in
europe ,s,,I strongly point the moral. the
were due chiefly to our faulty sys-
tenn and to the inattention with which
Congress habitua1ly treated the great
question Of national defense. Almost
without exception they were due to
the thoughtless hurry with which we
tried TO make up for the deficiencies
without exception they were of such
character that the simple mention of
them ought forever to prevent their
THE material In the volunteer regi-
ments was fine as any In the world"
said Major General Breckinridge. the
inspector general Of the army. in his
accentusted the absence Of Individual
experiences and OF trained company
officers and noncommissioned officers
the men who could instruct in the
4 b G OF the soldiers duty and teach
the important lesson In its details
Of how best to meet the requirements
OF the new life Evidently
be devised by which each state. on
condition for service. at least a. far
as arms and euuipments TO-"
The Washington times., 1915-02-14

inspections should be made to find cut
what men had not had such practice and
that such men should be put under in
o1GsT say %Ssi s opnon
Headquarters regarding the qualifica-
tions Of the volunteers by saying:
Blank ammunition should be pro-
cured for preliminary firing. but where
with ball cartridges will be carried out
at once. II It can be done with perfect
safety to everybody in and out Of the
Surely no newspaper criticisnf Of the
volunteers was ever az caustic as the
admission Of that general; order that
there were men among them whom 1t
was not safe to trust with loaded rifles.
The remarkable marksmanship Of
Srectsn11s Hpe tr1i1ss said General
plotted than the gross ignorance of our
recruits"
The folly Of black powder and the
Springfield rife Is ended forever in our
army. fortunately. Nowhere was It's
Breckinridse. when he said: "The old
Springfield seemed q begrimed and sui.
cidaa blunderbuss upon the battlefield"
There Is no need here to 60 into the
awful details Of sickness at the different
From July Is 70 August IS the sick re-
port at Camp Thomas. the Chickamauga
camp. increased week by week from
2.z26 to 2,S75. 1881. 4l28. and 1884, re-
spect!vely. and the last figure does not
include more than 1900 men furloughed
for sickness since July Is. and 291 dis
charged. The number of sick was in
creasing each week by fourth.
Closely similar situations existed at the
other general camps.
Running through all the reports Of tho
numerous inspectors general. medical
officers. and inspectors of sanitation,
who had the health Of these men In
charge. there Is the same explanation
OF the cause Of most Of it-the mex.
| men in camp life and their Ignorance ol
the proper measures to safeguard
health. Lieut.. Col. Curtis Guild, r..
himself q volunteer. was one Of the In
spectors general most actively employed
In inspection service throughout the
! summer of 1893. Some Of his reports
have striking Significance
The Washington times., 1915-02-14
Inspection Brought
Many SURPRISES.

strikingiy significant are some pass
ages from the reports Of the officers who
inspected the troops. both regulars and
volunteers. In the field and In the camps
These Inspections began Immediately
upon the arrival OF the troops at the
camps. General Breckenridge personally
inspected the first and second divisions
Of the First Corps at Camp Thomas,
Chtckamauga.
.Noticeably good body of men," hs
telegraphed to army headquarters at
or IN the hs' dss ps ps.csic!i n'ne
quiremcnts Of campaign such a. marks-
manship and extended order. In
first division over 20 per cont are raw
recruits ,,Si,a ,,s and ;.2 over 20 per cent more.
less than one years service in militia,
practice. .Dtnerence in enlisted
strength Of regiments varies over 300,
so1pi.mens, snd a.1 ers ~ Or more 'oelo" the full
Tho struggle and delay In supplies
are still apparent. and the more mex
perience suffered. Perhaps the centralized
road faeil,ties and lack Of experienced
officers Of the several supply depart
ments with subordinate generals may
have increased this conEested state. In
second & division I've resimsnts without
none for 30 to 10 per cent OF mon, ana
guards walk posts with wands. Many
rifles. especially older models. even II
not already unserviceable, can hardly
be expected to last through Q cam
paign. Lack Of uniforms, es-
peeiaily underclothing. noted nearly
everywhere. and many companies in
mixed, and some wholly civilian dress.
Regiments have complained that
sizes Of clothing issued. especially hats
and leggtngs. do not Mt and quarter
masters win not exchange"
The Washington times., 1915-02-14
mo Time" For
Proper Loading.

was with an expedition in the Philip
pines that used Ave transports. 1t
landed troops at and occupied four or
| five different posts. There were supplies
in each transport for each post. and at
each post all Ave transports had to be
handled to get out the material to be
| unloaded there. The excuse the quar-
termaster made for that was the same
| old American excuse of hurry" There
had not been time in Manila, he said,
to get the ships loaded properly, al
unit of the expedition was to 60 and
what It would require:
Full supplies for each unit were taken.
in fact. and there was no proper reason
nSs s. sSt foI ahsvs
necessary to handle only-one ship at each
port Time was lost. not saved. by tho
method followed, and the labor was
increased enormously. as well as the
But Just exactly that procedure was
followed with the Cuban expedition. It
was not until May 26.. g full month af-
ter the beginning Of the war. that the
order was published fixing the standard
service, and the order fixing the allow
ance OF wheel transportation. tentage.
ambulances. stretchers. litter bearers.
etc.. for the medical department was
puUuOHcN uHlAA Gas LII
Cuban expedition was landing at Sib.
oney and the Philippine expedition had
already captured the island Of Guam.
two-thirds Of the way across the Pa
cific.
The latest Of the conflicting plans for
the Cuban expedition contemplated
sending 10000 men, and commissary
stores for that number for three months.
together with thirty days stores for
the necessary animals. had been or
dered concentrated at Tampa. They
rolled In on that single track railroad
at an average Of 40 carloads day. Ono
Of the ablest and hardest working quar-
termasters in the army was in charge
there, with utterly inadequate assis-
tance and in q situation where the phy.
sical conditions absolutely precluded
the possibility OF properly handling stores
in any such daily quantity.
When at length definite Information
was received that Cervera was bottled
up in Santiago. the plans for the Gu
ban expedition were again changed.
and General Shafter at Tampa was or
dered to get his troops on the trans
ports and sail for Santiago. 1t was
expected that the transports then
available would take $4,000 men, but
actual trial showed that they would
take only $4,000. and tho remaining
II, ,00o were left behind. Skaters men
were aboard ship and ready to sail on
, June 8, but departure was delayed un.
til June ~, because Of report that
Cervera was out Of Santiago.
The Washington times., 1915-02-14
UNPREPARED u. S. ARMY "MUDDLED TE1ROUGHn-WAR

modern trained force simply mean de-
struction and disaster. Our good for
tune at Santiago was that the Span
iards were Incompetent, not that we
were properly prepared.
The Washington times., 1915-02-14
Won Because Foe
Was Even Weaker.

Such Is the story Of the war in which
the United states handled their share
Of the war with Spain. Calamity and
brilliant individual work. Of courss.
there were. and always wifi be in any
American army. as there always have
been from the first And we 'muddled
through" because our opponent was
even more. pitiably weak and unready
than We were.
There have been great changes. in
army organization since that hurled
and hectic summer Of 1898, and II u
said that We have learned well the
great lesson Of our unpleasant expert.
ence. Certainly 1t Is greatly to be hoped
that We have learned tho lesson 20 well
that 1t will never be forgotten.
But We learned q similar great lesson
from the RevolutNep, and straightway
ignored It In our Indian wars and in the
war OF 1872. In that second clash with
Great Britain We learned the lesson all
over again. and straightway ignored It
In our succeeding Indian wars,
The Washington times., 1915-02-14
Test Il Yourself
without r ! 8 k.
! n q a Pe n ny.

Send me your name and ad-
dress today-right now, RIGHT
OFF. and let me send you this
FREE BOOK. TRIAL OFFER.
names of people who have
tried the SCHtILING RUP-
TURE LOCK and full partic-
ulsrs concerning Il.
The Washington times., 1915-02-14
Lesson Taught
Only to Be FORGOTTEN.

Once again. in the war with Mexico,
was the lesson taught. and before the
generation Of young men who gained
their first field experience in that war
had grown beyond the age to command
In the great civil war the statesmen and
POLITICIANS who really shape the course
It completely.
Surely It seemed az II the lesson had
been 80 thoroughly impressed upon ev-
cry American by the experience Of the
war between the States that never
thereafter could any citizen Of this re-
public forget or fail to pay heed to It.
And yet never in all our history was
there worse confusion or mismsna1e-
ment than in the war with Spain.
Can It be that this nation, with it's
unparalleled energy and ability and its
great business sagacity and force, is
really incapable Of devotinR its intelli-
gence. its energy. and its common sense
to the greatest problem Of all. the ma
tional defense?
Copyright 1915: BY o. X. Davis.)
THE next article of this series will
appear next Sunday.l
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-07-23
BATTLES IN ALPS
 RAGE MID SNOW

Geneva, July 2s.-swiss soldiers and guides bring some picturesque de- tails of the fighting between Italy and Austria in the Alps around Stelvio Pass, nine thousand feet high, and the ncishboring heights over looking the Valte1ine valley.
 Stelvio Pass is important back door entrance into Italy, threateninng Milan. It was strongly fortified by the AustrianS and manned by a large body of mountain artillery. The Ital- ta11s have similarly fortified other passes nearby, and there are daily ar tIlery duels, while at night the whole district is swept by search1ights. Swiss soldiers on sentry duty a few miles away keep constant watch over; the scene. Near the. point where the Swiss, Italian and Austrian frontiers meet there are several villages where the inhabitants all speak half dozen languages and dialects.
 The principal pass was buried un- der two feet of snow when war began between Austria and Italy, but the Austrian A1pinists cleared d path straight to the summit, and recently fighting has been taking place above the clouds which cut off both sides ing artillery. below, so that they have to depend for orders and instructions on the field telephone.
 The Italian batteries on the lower ridges obtained the exact range of the summit of the pass after a few experiments, and they keep up 8 con tinuaI cannonade, firing through the clouds, of course without seeing the result of their shots.
 The Red Cross workers on both sides experience the greatest diff culty In. reaching the wounded. at isolated places in the upper ranges. The nurses in this district must qualify as skilled Alpinists.
 Smugglers are making huge sums through dealings in tobacco, matches. salt, and other articles whose, export is forbidden by all three count Hes. Most of the sumgglers are young wo- men, who climb many thousand feet into the passes with their little bundles of goods. The soldiers sell dom insist on strict observance of the exportation rules in these cases, and even the officers buy their wares glad 1y. Young Swiss women are able to sell their five cent cigars at profit of ten or fifteen cents each, although the. price is scarcely exorbitant when it is considered that the young women must make a trip of several miles along the most perilous mountain roads and run the risk of being shot as spy in order to reach her market.
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-07-23

John L. Poo1ey European expert manager of an American company, with headquarters at Paris, who is now in New York attending to details of the company's business, brings some very interesting stories from the scene of the European conflict One of these is an interesting incident be- tween two Hupmobiles in the hospital service of the opposing troops.
 Much has been written the world over regarding the informal truce made by the opposing lines on Chrost- mas Day." said MT. Poole, 'but early in February a singular incident oc- cured which I learned from an actual observer. The story was of the exchanging-I believe for the first time in the war-of mechanical as- sistance between the foes in distress.
 .The first siege had been going on for many hours between the Russian and German troops of eastern Prus-, sia~ The motor car detachment of the opposing armies had been driven ter rifica1ly from the battle lines to the hospital headquarters with their loads of wounded.
 "A Russian car was tearing along, when suddenly there was an explosion a, sound of cracking spokes, the car wobbled and finally came to an abrupt stop. A stray shell from the opposing lines had burst within a, few feet of the car, and while not near enough to wreck it, still shattered one of the rear wheels.
 within hailing distance the Ger man Red Cross car had been speed ing on similar mission. No sooner had the Slav car toppled over than the rival machine came to- stop. Seeing at the first glance that both cars were the same make. the Ger mans detached their only extra, wheel and hurried to the wrecked car. The rear wheel was removed and replaced by a new one. A few brief words were exchanged and both parties were on the way with a. better chance of saw ing their comrades further agony.
 Such human incidents are far more frequent in occurrence than any paper states. At our branch in Paris we are able to learn a lot of these cases from the mechanics that come in for new parts and replaoeme for the cars"
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-07-23

like anew girl and am now relieved of all these troubles. hope all young girls will get relief as have. I never felt better in my life. Mfrs JOHN TETREAULT, Box 116, Sterling, Conn.
 Massena, N. Y.-tsI have taken Ly- dia B. Pinkham's Vegetable Compound and l highly recommend it. If anyone wants to write to me will gladly tell her about my case. was certainly in bad condition smy blood was all turn ing to water. Ihad pinples on my face and a bad color, and for five years had been troubled with suppression. The doctors called it tAnemia and Exhaus- ton, and said was all run down, but Lydia B. Pinkham's Vegetable Com pound brought me out all right. Miss LAvIsA MYREs, Box "A, Massena, NY.
 Young Girls, Heed This Advice.
 Girls who are troubled with painful or irregular periods, backache, headache, dragging-down sensations, ting spells or indigestion, should irnmedi ately seek restoration to health by taking Ly- dia E. Pinlzhan's Vegetable Compound.
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-07-23
EMPIRE

r s"The Running Fight an extraor- dinary six part Paramount comedy dramatic Nphotop1ay masterpiece heads the all feature program offered today and tomorrow at Keeney's Empire theatre, the home of first run Para mount masterpieces.
 This feature is way away from the usual run of photop1ay features and grips and sustains the attention from the first to the last reel.
 An all star company present this masterpiece and the acting, settings and photography throughout is of the best.
 Other select and entertaining photo plays will also be shown.
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-07-23
SELLING ARMS A
 NATIONAL POLICY

The government of the United technical neutrality. but American public opinion should not deceive it self with the pretence. There are two ways being technically neutral One is to sell war supplies to all belliger- ents, the other is to sell war supplies to none of them. We should prefer the former, and should assume full responsibility for the consequences of the preference, because in this way we can most effectually protest against German preparedness for conquest by war.
 Germany should be made to under stand that the loss of American CO., operation is onefof the penalties which she must pay for the violation of Belgium. If she had not attacked France through Belgium the de- mand for an embargo on the expor tation of war supplies would, we be- lieve, be irrestibl The government of the United States did not formally but it's citizens protested and have been protesting ever since.
 International law gives us an op- portunity of making that protest eff fective without going to war our selves with Germany. We should take advantage of it as a matter of deliberate national policy, because as into existence a world in which inof- fensive pacific nations are free from unprovoked attack. And in every un- official way Germans should be made to understand why American public opino on preferred to give its neutrality an Anglican rather than a Teutonic comp1exion.-The New Republic.
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-07-23
Amusements
POLI'S

The Dancing Girls and Their Col hes form a most unique and attrac- live headliner in the program at Polls for the last half of this week. Assisting dainty Elsie Gilbert are 8 bevy of dancing girls who certainly can "trip it'' Five beautiful collies and .scIown dog are introduced in the novel offering and join with the girls in the execution of dances and pcsings. The offering has plenty of pep, and made .. big hit at yester- days performances.
 FrSuk Daniels, the eminent com edlan, assisted by Anna Laughfin and other stars, is seen in the five-part feature photoplay, "Crooky." The play is, rolNcking comedy dealing with an escaped convict, mistaken identity and his venture into high society It is a. laugh from start to finish and the acting and photogra- phy are superb.
 Jack Altman and Sam Dody. two Havorttes here, made a most favor able impression in a, novel sng1ng act Dody is an imitabIe Italian character comedian, and Altman is well known as a finished ballad singer. The pair makes a combination that is hard to equal in vaudeville.
 The Kendall Weston Players, be- ginning their last three days here, won further 1aurels with the playlet "A Rorgotten Melody Miss Barney MT. Darney, Miss Kreghof and MT. Weston were most acceptable In high 1y pleasing roles.
 Rogers, Pollock and Rogers, in a vaudeville novelty, Bobby won many laughs with their comedy and songs, while two of the company pre- sented some clever dances. Helen North, singing comedienne, was most pleasing in good song repertoire, and Wood Brothers, athletes and acrobats, completed the vaudeville bill most happily.
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-07-23
PLAZA

It was one merry round of laughter from the beginning to the end of the vaudeville program shown for the first time yesterday at the Plaza and enthueiastic demonstration at the finish of the number.
 The Four Bellies headlined is as clever an aerial offering as has been seen locally in months and their stunts excited the adn1iration' of all. including those who are not even 1uke-warm on offerings of this type. The girls displayed unusual skill and daring in their various exhibitions.
 Probably the most welcomed fea- ture of the season was James Grady & Co., in tsThe Toll Gate,1 a. comedy finctfonA of playing all the while and aldwys a hit. MT. Grady is a remark able character actor and his concep- . ton of the role of the hard hearted, satirlcal old gate tender is a work of art His quaint hunlor enhanced by his general appearance in the char acter is enough to keep any audience < in screams of laughter from the rise to the fall of the curtain. He is ably supported by thoroughly competent company whose splendid work brings out points that might otherwise be lost. Jordan and Dorothy deserve much credit for they are clever young couple but the audiences. at yesterdays performances felt that they should have responded to a few more encores. They wasted little time in nonsensica1 chatter and went right into repertoire of songs and dances, including several remarkable :. eccentric steps, that could not but win them instant favor.
 Murphy and Foley also brought off | honors in their black face singing and dancing skit. The dancing of the  was worth it.
 'sThe Locked Door, a stirring fire prevention, romance in three parts, taken in collaboration with the fire department, and with the aid of the police department of New York and there are two thrilling ire scenes in the picture.
 ] Completing the bill is Charlie sE Chaplin in 'tMabeTs Busy Day. and SsThe Hired Girl.''
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-07-23
Farmer Loses Money By Ruse to Defeat
 Governmental Draft

Hanover, July 2s.-The story of the too-clever farmer who over reached himseIf-he should have read! Aesop's Fables first-is making the; rounds of horse owners. None of them probably will attempt to initiate him.
 The government was drafting horses for the army, and the farmer, who possessed a beautiful pair of bays, racked his brain for a scheme by which he could keep them. He knew that if an inspector ever laid eyes on them they would be taken.
 He finally hit upon the scheme of inducing a neighbor, whose old and rundown pair had been rejected. to pass them through the line again this time as his own. Among hun dredS1 of horses the pair passing in spection twice was not noticed, and the farmers scheme had worked.
 Before long, however, a second draft inspection was arranged for and the farmer did not dare to try his ruse again. Instead he approach ed the lieutenant in charge and in sisted that it would do no good for his horses to be inspected again, as one was broken-winded and the other had glanders.
 of the farmer, nevertheless insisted that the horses must be shown, and they were promptly accepted. The judge then proceeded to break the farmers heart by declaring that he would ordinarily have paid 5000 marks for them, but that in view of the farmers honesty in stating theiir defects he would only give 1,75O even though the defects were not, visible.