CO w X is r is - O THE DALLES. WASCO COUNTY. OREGON, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1898. VOL. VIII. NUMBER 45. CONDITIONS NOT SO BAD AS PAINTED General Wheeler on the Sit nation of the Armv. BLAMES THE NEWSPAPERS He Says the Soldiers. at Camp Wikoff Are Perfectly Contented ana Well Treated. Camp Wikoff, Montauk Point, N. Y Sept. 2. Major-General Joseph Wheeler gave the following to the Associated Presa today. "Headquarters United States Forces, Citmp Wikoff.Long Island, Sept. 1. The following ia a sample of the letters which are conetantly received regarding the soldiers in camp : " " 'In regard to my stepson, we feel very uneasy about him on account of the newspaper reports of the privation and suffering inflicted upon the privates. Although he has never entered a com plaint since he has been in tho army, we hear from other sources of the croel and horrible treatment inflicted npon our soldiers under tbe pretenee of humanity for our neighbors, and the whole coon' try is in a state of terrible excitement, I should not be surprises if the teeling should lead to a revolution of some kind, for I assure you I bear on all sides the most vk'lent and bitter denunciations of the war department and the adminis - tration. It is, indeed, a great pity that the glory of our triumphs should be dimmed by such a shameful thing as the ill treatment and starvation of our brave soldiers, while the Spanish pris oners have tbe best treatment that the country affords.' "It will be seen that this letter says that not a word of complaint has been received from the soldiers, and so far as my investigation goes, no complaint has been made by any of the brave soldiers who have added glory to our arms in the Cuban campaign. "A great many anxious fathers, moth ers, brothers or sisters, arrive here from all parts of the United States to look after their relatives, whom they say the papers tell them are Buffering, and many of them have heard that their relatives are in a condition of starvation. Most of these people are little able to spend tbe money for eucb a journey, and tbey are surprised when they come here to find their relatives eurrounded with ev erything to eat which can be produced by money, and, if sick in the hospital, they are gratified and surprised to find that they are given every care that is possible. "In reply to a direct request that I give the exact facts, as I see them, I will state: ' '"Every officer and soldier who went to Cuba regarded it that he was given a great and special privilege in being per mitted to engage in that campaign. They knew they were to encounter yel low fever and other diseases, a9 well as the torrid heat of the country, and they were proud and glad to do so. They knew that it was impossible for them to have tbe advantage of wagon transporta tion, which usually accompanies an army, and yet officers and men were glad to go, to carry their blankets and their rations on their backs and be sub jected, without any shelter, to the sun and rains by day and tbe heavy hazes by night. They certainly knew that tbe Spanish had spent years in erecting de fenses, and it was their pleasure to as sault and their duty to capture the Spanish works. : , "They were more than glad to incur these hardships and these dangers. They went there and did their duty, each man seeming to feel that American honor and prestige was to be measured by his conduct. - The brave men who won the victories did not complain of the neglect of the government, but, on tbe contrary, they seemed grateful to the president and the secretary of war for giving them the opportunity to incur these dangers and hardehips. Tbey realized that in tbe hurried organization of an expedition by a government whicb'bad no one with any experience in such matters it was impossible to have everything arranged to perfection ; and they will testify that under tbe circumstances, the conditions were much more perfect than any one would have reason to expect, and that tbe president and eecretary of war and others who planned and . dispatched these expeditions deserve high com mendation. "One reaeon why our army was lack ing in some respects in 'equipage was that a telegram was received from Ad miral Sampson stating if the army reached there immediately, they could take the city at once, bin if there should be delay, the fortifications of the Span iards would be perfected, so that there niieht be great difficulty in taking it. On receiving this dispatch fiom Admiral Sampson, the war department directed the army to move at once, and as all connected with the army will recall, the ord'-rs were received after dark, and the armv was in motion, had traveled nine miles and was on the ships at daylight "Winn the expedition eailed for Cuba it went there escorted by a large fleet of warships. M that time, it was regarded as impossible for a merchant ebip to sail on tbe ocean safely from any American port to Santiago, but as soon as the fleet was destroyed, so that it was possi ble for unarmed bbips to sail safely to Santiago, the generous people of tbe United Slates subscribed money without limit and dispatched ship after ship loadod with luxniies and delicacies for the Santiago army, and everyl hing that could be accomplished for their comfort was done by the president and eecretary of war. "After the surrender had been com pleted and arrangements perfected for transporting the Spanish army to Spain, tbe president and eecretary of war sent shipping to .Santiago and transported our army to cne of the most healthful locations in the United States. The point selected by the secretary of war was so situated that tboroug'i protection was given to the people of the United States from the danger of yellow fever contagion. The soldiers, upon their arrival at this place, received every care and bounty which could be procured by money. The president and secretary of war directed that their health and com fort Bhould be cared for without refer ence to expeuse, and in addition, the people within a circle of 100 miles vied with each other in shipping to them carloads and steamboat loads of luxuries of all kinds. - I have just finished my daily In spection of the hospitals. With rare ex ceptions the sick are cheerful. . I have nurses and doctors to care for them, and in all my tours I have not found a single patient who made the slightest com plaint. It Is true there has been great suffering. The climate of Cuba was very severy upon all our soldieis, but instead of complaining, the hearts of those braye men are filled with gratitude to the people for the bounteous gen erosity which has been extended to tbem. There is no doubt that there have been indivual cases of suffering and pos- ib!e neglect among the soldiers, not only in Cuba, but since their arrival at this place. Nearly 20,000 men were brought from a yellow fever district to the United States. It would have been crimnal to have landed them and allowed them to go promiscuously among the people. It has been stated by the physicians that if it had been done, yel low fever would have spread through many of our states. ' " "To avoid such a catastrophy a point which is more thorougoly isolated from tbe people than any other locality which could be found was selected. By these wise means the country baa been saved from a scourge of this fearful disease. Every one will realize that to land 18,000 men and put them on bare fields, with out any building whatever, could not be done without some hardships. Over 5000 very sick men have been received in tbe general hospital, and as many more sick have been cared for iu the camps, and yet only about 60 deaths have ocenred In these hospitals." Ordered Mastered Out Washington, Sept. 2. The following troops have been ordered mastered out : First, Second, Third -and Eighteenth Pennsylvania; . Fourth Wisconsin; Seventy-first New York ; First New Jersey; Thirty-second Michigan ; First, Eight and Third Ohio; One Hundred and Fifty-eight Indiana; Second North Carolina; First and Second Alabama: Third California ; Second Massachu setts; First Sooth Carolina; and two squadrons of tbe First Ohio Calvary. " Rebels are Active. ' Manila, Sept. 2" Several shiploads of insurgents have invadgd the South ern islands with a view of seizing every thing possible prior to the settlement of peace conditions; -- General Bios, the Spanish commander, with a flotilla of gunboats, is acting energetically, but tbe insurgents bavo captured the outlying islands of Roableon and Palawan, where tbey foqpd treasures to the amount of $42,000. TRAIN STRIKES A NEW YORK TROLLEY CAR Appaling Disaster at Oohoes, New York. THE DEATHS WIRE MANY Eighteen Passengers Killed and More of Them Will Die Happy Pick nickers Suddenly Hurled Into Eternity. - Cohoes, N. Y., Sept. 5. An appaling disaster occurred in this city tonight. Shortly before 8 o'clock a trolley-car of the Troy City Railway Company was struck by the night-boat special of the Delaware & Hudson at a crossing at the west end of the Hudson river bridge, which connects the city with Lansing burg, and its load of human freight was hurled into the air. - Eighteen of tbe thirty-five passengers are dead, and at least ten mora will die. The cars entering the city from Lar.B ingbnrg were crowded with passengers from a picnic at Rennsaelaer's Park, a pleasure resort near Troy. It was car No. 192 of the Troy City railway that met with disaster. It came over tne bridge about 7 :30 o'clock ladened with a merry party of people, fresh from the enjoyment of the day. The motor car was struck directly in the center by the engine of the train, which was going at a high rate of speed. The accident came without the slightest warning. The car was upon the track before the train loomed in eight, and no power on earth could have saved it. The motorman evidently saw the train ap proaching as he reached tbe track, and opened his controller, but in vain. With a crash that was heard for blocks the engine struck the light car. The Effect was horrible. The motor car parted in two, both ends being thrown into the air in splinters. The mass of humanity, for the car was crowded to -overflowing, waa torn and mangled. Those in the front of the car met with the worst fate. The force of tbe colision was there felt the worst, and every human being in that section was killed. Tbe ecene was horrible. Bodies had been hurled into the air, and their headless and limbless trunks were found ia some case as far as fifty feet from the crossing. The pilot of tbe engice was smashed, and amid the wreckage were the maimed corpees of two women. Tbe passengers experienced no injury, except the shock. The majority of the passengers on the trolly-car were young- people, most of them being women. RETRIBUTION NOT QUITE COMPLETE Cuban Commissioners Will Make an Attempt While in Havana to Fer ret Out the Persons Who Des troyed the Maine. Washington, Sept. 2. Avenged but not forgotten is the Maine. , At present the full attention of the administration is occupied with matters more immedi ately pressing, but the determination is general in official circles that when the proper time arrives, tbe manner of the destruction of tbe Maine must be posi tively learned if the thing be possible, and that tbe personsresponeible there for shall be brought to justice. ' Members of the American commission to superintend the evacution of Cuba were fully informed regarding the pur pose of the government in this matter at the time instructions regarding the work to be done in Cuba were given them. It was decided that the American com missioners will discuss nothing with the Spaniards that is foreign to tbe manner and time of evacuating Cuba, but while tbe commission is sitting at Havana it will investigate on its own account the blowing up of the Maine. ' When General Fitzbugh Lee was in Washington recently he went over the evidence he had collected in Havana, and expresses the opinion that after tbe evacuation of the Spanish army many people in Havana would open their mouths and give testimony that would show the crime to have been committed by officers connected with the Spanish army. . - The refusal of Captain-General Bianco to serve on the military commission and his apparent desire to hurry away from Havana is taken to indicate that he fears there will finally be an expose, and he does not want to be around at the time it is mode. The names of a dozen men have been obta'neJ by tbe United States govern ment, and the American military- com missioners will interview the witnesees, who will doubtless hasten to confess all they know as soon as the dreaded Span ish soldiers are out of the city. HIS SKULL CRUSHED. Horses He Was Driving Ran Away ' His Companions Escaped Prac tically Unhurt. . Astoria, Ore., Sept. 3. A special to the Astorian from Ilwaco, says: A runaway accident, which will pro bably result in the death of Orrin Belk nap, of this place, occured today. Mies Anna Belknap and Mrs. Ross bad been in the country, visiting Mrs. Belknap. Today Orrin Belknap started for town with the women. Ween about four miles from town tbe horses hociine frightened, and the efforts of the driver to control them were unavailing. They dashed along the road at great speed, overturning the carriage and throwing tbe occupants to the ground. Belknap lit on bis head. His skull was crushed and his shoulder broken, and be suffered other injuries. Mrs. Ross received a deep gash over tbe right eye, but was not otherwise hurt. Miss Belknap es caped without injury. Belknap was brought to his home here for treat ment. His injuries are very serious, and it is thought by the attending physi cian that he cannot recover. .His ekull is frightfully crushed, 'and he is suffer ing from concussion of the brain. The fall rendered him unconscious, - in which condition he etill lies. Tbe in jured man is well-known 'here. Miss Belk sap and Mrs. Ross are teachers in the pnblic schools. ARMY SENSATION AT CHICKAMAUGA. Prominent Citizen of Chatanooga De mand That. He Be Court-Mar-. tialed fur Causing the Death of an Injured Sergeant. Chickamaug'a, Sept. 2. General Frank, commander of the Third army corps, accompanied by his staff, left this morning for Anniston, Ala. Tomorrow the headquarters of the Third and Second brigades and Fourteenth New York will go. " - Six prominent Chattanoogans, four of them . leading physicians, hava pre ferred charges against Major Hubbard, surgeon-general of the Ninth New York. They charge him with being responsible for the death of Sergeant . Frank, who was struck by a train a few days ago, and with conduct unbecoming an officer and gentleman. It is claimed Hubbard caused the removalof Frank when his life mirht have been saved, by keeping him quiet, and say that when the other physicians expostulated with him he used language unbecoming a gentleman and an officer. A court-martial is de manded. ' To Gather Dp Sick Soldiers. ; "Columbus, O., Sept. 2. The Ohio hos pital train left this morning for the South to gather up and return the sick Ohio soldiers. The train goes direct to Fernandina, Fia., returning via Hunts ville, Ala., Chickamauga, and Knoxville, Tenn. The trip Is expected to occupy six days.' ' Borne For Muster Out . Camp Meade, Middleton,' Sept. 2. The movement of the troops which have been orderded to be mustered out will begin Sunday. The troops will be given 30 days' furlough before being mustered out. Two hundred sick soldiers were transfered to the hospital at Philadelphia today. ' ; ', . THE DAYS OF ITS USEFULNESS ARE NUMBERED Wikoff to Be Abandoned in Twenty Days. DISPOSING OF THE SOLDIERS State Troops Are Now Being Sent to Their Homes From the Several Large Camps. Camp Wikoff, Sept. 3 -Thegreat camp will dissolve daring the three coming weeks, and by October 1st it will have shrunk to elender pioportions. The well men, according to the war depart ment's designs, will leave the camp as fa3t as transportation can be convenient ly obtained, probably at the rate of three to four thousand a week. The con vales cent from hospitals, instead of again be ing 6f nt into camp, will go at once to their homes. The president, Secreretary Alger end General Wheeler had a talk about it, and although General Wheeler thought tbe men would do well in camp until October 1st, it was determined to con tiuue sending tliem away. The regulars taken from the posts east of the Missis sippi will, according to the present di rections, be eent where they were before the war. The war department has not transmitted the order to General Shatter yet, but it will no doubt be received by Tuesday. Tbe Eighth Ohio and First Illinois will break camp Tuesday. The rough riders will muster out toward the end of the week probably, and will not parade. QUESTION OF ANNEXATION Is Favored By All with the Exception of Aguinaldo. New York, Sept. 3. A dispatch from Manila says: - One of General Aguinaldu's connMen tial advisers says that tbe purpose of the leading Philipinos at present is to peti tion the United States, asking for an nexation. The educated natives realize that they will never attain stability and prosperity under Tago rulers. Aguinal do is not a party to the scheme ; still he dreams of a republic under an American protectorate. Piapillar, the southern leader, and Puah, the chieftain in the Malabo's district, show stronger inten tions daily of breaking away from the central dictator. IT IS AGAIN UNDER GUARD Maine Wreek Again Guarded By Order of tbe Spanish Authorities at Ha vana Consider the Matter Still Open. . ; New York, Sept. 3. A Tribune spe cial from Havana says: : Within the last few days the authorities have reinstated the system of "patrol boats about tbe Maine ' wreck as main tained before the war, intending to show the commission their intention that American properly shall be fully 'pro tected, and incidentally that they, do not regard the cause of the . disaster ns determined and Intend to give no op portunity ior the manufacture of evi dence. - Yellow Fever in the South. -Key West, Fla., Sept.' 4. State Health Officer Porter issued a proclama tion today stating that he believes no yellow fever exists in this city, nor bas there been any here this summer. ' The present quarantine will be kept on for a few days as a means of extra- precaution to avoid the possible error of ' last year on the Upper Gulf coast. . : Royal make the load pure, wholesome and delicious. POWDER Absolutely Pure ROYAL BAKING POWDER CO., NEW YORK. BEGINS SITTING THIS WEEK Fifth Member of the American Board Will be Appointed at Once and Organization Will Follow ' Promptly. New York, Sept. 5. A special to the Herald from WathInton says: . It is stated by administration officials' now in Washington that the fifth mem ber of the Amer-can peace commission! will be chosen the early part of t he present week, and that tha first session, of the full body would be held in the state department in tho latter part of the week, to stu iy tho important work before it and tj receive instructions from the President. i Preeident KcKinley will be in Wash- . ingtonon Tuesday and the cabinet meet ing to be held on that day will un doubtedly consider a drr.ft of the in structions which the president and Secretary Day . have been considering, sinca they left Waehmgton. Acting Secretary Moore expects to- have ready for commission to the com mittee all the data relating to tbe pro positions which it is possible to obtain and a statement of the c'aima arising; from personal injuries or property losses in Cuba which have been submitted by Americans. It can be elated cn excellent authority that Justice Whito has not officially ac cepted the appointmt-nt as a member of tbe peace commission. The question is still open, and this would seem to indi cate that there is a chance of the justice accepting .membership en the commie- , sion. It is known, however, that Mr. McKinley has several prominent men. iu view in case Justice White declines. It is eaid that the French embassy; bas not yet informed the state depart ment of the appointment of the Spanish commissioners. It is not expected that the Madrid government will transmit this information until the receipt of the names of American representatives, . which will be sent on Tuesday. In de laying tbe announ-ement of tbe names of her representatives, Spain, it is said,, desires to show that deference which, should properly be paid to the victor by the vanquished. ' MORE TROOPS ARE ARRIVING More Santiago Heroes at Wikoff The Hospitals are Now Filled to Their Full Capacity. Wikoff, Sept. 5. The transport Rou- mama, which arrived yesterday wiin 600 troops from Santiago, was a means of an additional test on the capacity of the hospitals in tbe detention camp.' Of the 600 men on the Roumanis, about20Q were so sick that they had to be put ia the hospital. Officials were obliged to put matresses on the floor. Conse quently it is possible some will have to lie on the floor several days. While the sick were being taken from the Rouma nia, two of them died. Brivate Dorga. Broomer, Twenty-Bret regular infantry. and Private Albert Pickwortb, Thirty third Michigan volunseer?. Short In His Accounts. St.' Cloud, Minn., Sapt. 2. L. T Troutman, Secretary of the St. Cloud Building and Loan Association, accord,--ing to a report which ha teen presented to the directorj of the afsociation by an. expert accountaut, is mora than f 30,000 short in his accounts. It is thought a settlement will be jnada. .. '