Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial. (Wilmington, Del.) 1878-1928, 1921-09-29
I. R. RAPS OFFICIALS
IN WAR WITH SPAIN
Delay, Stupidity, Mismanage-
ment, Wrote Roosevelt in
His Diary.

New York Sept. ga tersc history
of the Spanish American war as seen
through the eyes of its most famous
American participant came TO light
yesterday when Mrs. Theodore Roose-
Welt presented the former Presidents
war diary to the Roosevelt Memorial
Association.
The diary, in the handwriting of the
Colonel OF the Rough Riders Is a rec
ord OF experiences and impressions.
made up Of laconic entries, some his
toricaL some cfitical.
Shafts OF characteristic pointedness
were aimed at the stupidity of the
ordance Department" while the Colo
mel recorded the belief that i'm the War
Department there was mo manage
ment at ALL
The diary is a small pocket volume
and contained notes in pencil and ink.
No part of it has ever Neen published
before.
Here are the extracts:
May 6, S9S-Commissloned "a 1t.
Col. u. S. Voluntary Cavalry. Wood
as Col, by my choice.
Nay THE delays and stupidity OF
the Ordnance Department surpass be-
lief. The Quartermasters Department
is better, but bad. The Commissary
Department is good. There is no man
agement whatever in the War Depart
ment. Against a good nation we
should be helpless.
May 21-The blunders and delays of
the Ordnance Bureau surpass belief
They express us stuff we don't need
II.
There is no head. no energy, no intel
ligence in the War Department.
May 24-Quota nearly filled. 1t is
astonishing how rapidly we have
armed, mounted and drilled these men.
| Woods power OF work and executive
cal -Sity are wonderful.
May 30-Railway system tends to
break down, interminable delays, no
proper facilities for unloading horses.
to rest, water. or feed, &c.
June 24-Reached Tampa in morn
| ing. Railway system in widest con-
fusion, it took us twelve hours TO. get
into camp with our baggage.
June 3. No words can paint the
confusion. No head. a breakdown OF
both the railroad and military sys-
TENS OF the country.
|. June 6. No plans. no staff officers.
no instructions TO us. Each officer
/ finds out for himself and takes his
chances. We are doing as well as
the regular regiments. Have very
light baggage.
June s. Told TO go aboard trans
port. Worst confusion yet. No allot-
ment of transports, no plans, utter
confusion.
June 20. Reached Santiago.
June %. Landed.
June %. Marched.
June "a. Fight-Las Guasimas. We
drove enemy in fine shape. Lost sixty
men, killed and wounded twenty slight
July /. Rose at 4. Big battle Com
manded regiment. Held extreme from,
of firing line.
July 8. Truce at noon. Spanish fleet
destroyed.
July 4. Truce. Mismanagement hor.
rible. No head to army.
July 10. Bombardment again.
July II. Truce again. Shifted camp
mile TO extend lines. Heaviest rain:
yet. at night.
July IL. Surrender at Santiago.
July 18. Shifted camp to foothills
|, Half Of men of my regiment dead Oh
disabled by wounds or sickness.
Mrs. Roosevelt also presented tn,
!, Roosevelt Memorial Association witt
the spectacle case and manuscript o
an address. pierced by a bullet aimed
, at Roosevelt in Milwaukee in 1912.
! was from this manuscript that Roose
welt half hour later r ad his cam
paign speech with the assassins bull
let still imbedded in his body