Show WAR WAB it was devoutly hoped when the spanish soldiers emerged from santiago avd and stacked their arms in token of that the serious aeri trOd troubles bles in from a great conflict would thereafter dwindle ar and ad cease af altogether together 11 at tin an early date daste but athey did not rather they seemed to begin ot at that time mert merl who adlist to in the service of 0 their if intelligent and bour ageous as were all of that final gallant band which stormed the heights off of eastern auba expect to be subjected to ito hard gaipa of which fighting the enemy is ia among the least they expect that tn in the notaray course of things they chey may belbot be lee lew of womb and suffering to follow it if it should prove to ito be a fatal infliction abad otherwise they expect bad food and wone water waiter sometimes ome at adlof either to oto be eaten or drak when obtained sot at times under ura uncomfortable it if not mot cir they expect to have mature strained atral ned to the utmost tension tenc wt at which a movement card can be made in the forced marches mar chea the constant oong tant madeu verl Dig the aw enervating toll in the trench ches efi the mae lose of gleea and the ithe berless privations priva tiona to actual in front of a hostile army amy expecting these things awa aig being prepared tar flor them they murmur not inot wilen when the ke reality te is upon them albeit much woree than tham it was possible for them to bo It imagine they are sustained tra in all this by a amble jasvir on an of we care for country and friends frien dB a deep dorfi feeding feel faig of at patriotism patrio tiam which finds ito ibe chief expression in actions not in words so fio they are indeed thrice armed assinia the enemy doubly pan pam ophel ag against artst tae abbe hardships and fully determined to do their whole duty daty let the blows fall where wad and the bovee be what they hey may such men are entitled en titled to every reas orabe consideration to every proper indulgence which a mighty Qia Honi and aind rAft ful people can extend thedeas the dead have ha ve a 41 burial with all the honora of war and ot of o t peace which com be provided the wounded should toe be placed in comfortable and commodious us hospitals petals where adequate nursing cursing and nourishing food are always supplied and good ventilation with proper sanitary regulations invariably prevail when all this is attended to it amounts to little enough but how hard is it when such conditions are paid no attention to until public pressure wrought upon by the exposures made through the press compels them even when the proper procedure is begun to have it gone along with in so snail paced and inadequate a manner that thousands die of actual want or neglect before the aid reaches them and that too in a land swarming with every needed thing and teeming with capable hands and willing hearts only waiting to be summoned is a situation so outrageous showing a system or lack of it so indefensible that it requires an effort to believe that it has occurred under the aegis or me american flag but it has and is a state of things that the soldier did not count on when he turned his back upon home and friends and set his face resolutely to the front the developments which have been made by reason of the proceedings of the war investigating commission are of a nature to excite the st ernest condemnation dem nation some of the practices unearthed by the witnesses were cruel if barbarous in their wantonness and others utterly inhuman that these were not systematic is of course but that they were common is undeniable it was as plain as the universal light of day long before the declaration of war that the united states would have to subjugate spain by military force even when the maine was destroyed an event which all recognized as the beginning of the conflict there was ample time within which to have brought the commissariat of the army up to a condition of practical perfection and provided hospital accommodations and stores in plenty so that when our first blow fell upon the enemy on his own soil all would have been in readiness instead of this nothing was done till the tocsin of war was sounded and actual hostilities had begun when shatter shafter telegraphed to washington for additional hospital ships and assistance I 1 it caused a gloom like a pall to fall upon the land not because dead and wounded in great numbers were not counted on but the disclosure of the terrible fact that the army was not properly provided for before setting foot upon the foreign shore was more than they had ever thought was possible the war was short but terrible our men forced the pace and brought the enemy to his knees almost before their people at home could realize it in spite of their bad treat treatment men t the soldiers of the united states in all ways and at all times did their whole duty and fully fairly and squarely upheld their coun arys honor braver better men were not at thermopylae not at balaklava nor anywhere else in ancient medieval or modern times they did their duty regardless of the shocking dereliction at home looking as they had a right to for better things when the work was all over but they found worse things they were subjected to such treatment that by comparison the breasting of the leaden hallat hailstorks hailstorms hail storms around santiago was a holiday pastime starvation neglect incompetent supervision and many other evils constituting a ghastly train were the portion of many of them it is mostly over now but bu t was awful while it lasted and in contemplation of it all we are not permitted to have the mitigating thought that it was the best beat we could do under the circumstances such a state of things can hardly ever be permitted to occur again shortsightedness Shortsighted and favoritism in so r a serious a matter may be tolerated for once because there is no escape from 3 it after the fighting has begun and the J country is in a whirlpool of agitation and increasing preparation for the struggle but another such occasion must be attended by circumstances and conditions improved by the wi edge derived from experience besides this is america and we are all americana to whom such transactions as those disclosed by the war tion are not acceptable and will not be tolerated when it is possible to prevent them |