Salt Lake Herald | 1899-05-21 | Page 10 | Fresh Troops for Alaska

fRtSH TROOrS fOR AlASKA BRITISH GOVERNMENT HAS WITHDRAWN ITS OBJECTIONS No New Posts In the Disputed Territory Terri-tory Will Be Established Climate Cli-mate Bad For the Men Washington May 20The war department de-partment turned over to General Shaf ter the complete direction of all military mili-tary affairs in Alaska The only genera gen-era instruction sent to him has been to relieve the soldiers who have been stationed in Alaska by fresh troops it being deemed unwise to attempt to retain re-tain men in that climate for more than one year at a time Therefore two companies of the Fourteenth infantry now divided up among Dyea Skagway and Wrangel island are ordered to be withdrawn and sent to the Philippines The same order is given to a detachment detach-ment of the Third artillery and the Eighteenth infantry now stationed at St Michaels near the mouth of the Yukon The movement of troops needed In making these changes has attracted the attention of the British authorities who are naturally sensitive about the presence of American troops within that part of the territory the title to which is in dispute Without going to the length of a protest the embassy here has made a discreet Inquiry as to the purpose of our government intimating Inti-mating that it would be the part of prudence for both sides to refrain from taking any steps calculated to Increase the feeling of jealousy and suspicion which now exist to some degree among the miners of both nationalities scattered tered along the bonder The result of the Inquiry has been to convince the British that our government govern-ment does not contemplate the occupation occupa-tion by military force of any of the disputed territory Under this construction con-struction therefore the United States forces will be retained at Skagway and Dyea with the change In personnel person-nel No attempt Avill be made to establish ablish new posts in the controverted territory Colonel P H Hay is the officer charged by the J > ir department with the execution of tile details as to Alaska Alas-ka and he will be advised upon his arrival at San Francisco of the diplomatic diplo-matic conditions which are to govern him