The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-10-14
Miles and Shafter Collide Prior to
Santiago Campaign.
SHOWN BY ALGER REPORT
DIR. HOFFS TESTIMONY BEFORE
WAR COMMISSION.
Gives Detailed Statement of Condi-
lions Observed By Him at Chick
amauga-Admitted Hospital Fa-
cilities Were Imperfect, But Knew
of no Specific Cases.

timony of DR.. Hoff, chief surgeon OF the
Third army corps, stationed at Camp
Thomas, the war investigating commits
sion gave the remainder of today to
the reading of papers submitted by Sec
rotary AIger with his statement con-
corning the conduct of the war.
The documents reveal the fact that
| General Miles recommended the occu-
patton of the Isle of Pines about the
time of the battle of Santiago, and that
Secretary Alger disapproved the sug-
| gestion. 1t also appears that General
! Miles recommended that some point be-
tween Santiago and Puerto Rico be
| taken previous to the beginning of
| either campaign.
| The correspondence also developed
! the fact that there was an apparent
conflict of authority between General
Miles and General Shafter at Tampa
| before the Santiago campaign was in
augurated. 1t also shows that orders
We're issued by the secretary of war
| that in the event that General Shafter
should be disabled by sickness or other
cause the command of the troops at
Santiago should devolve upon General
| Wheeler and upon the next in command
in case of disability of both Shafter
and Wheeler.
| The commission has summoned Ma
| jor Louis L. Leaman, a surgeon of the
First volunteer engineers, to appear be-
| fore it and he is expected to testify at
| tomorrow'S session. He has recently
been quoted as saying that 200 men had
died daily because of the mal-adminis-
tration of the quartermaster's depart
ment
Lieutenant Colonel L. ]. Hoff was
before the war investigating commits
sion at its forenoon session today. He
| is a regular army officer and was chief
surgeon in the Third army corps at
| Chickamauga.
He said he did not consider the camp
to have been in the best sanitary con-
dition, but expressed the opinion that
, it was the best it could be under the
circumstances. The men were en-
camped somewhat closer to each other
than they should properly have been,
and it had been impossible without
blasting, to make the sinks as deep as
good sanitation required, owing to
layer of limestone which lay two or
three feet below the surface of the
ground throughout the camp. Further
more it was impos: lie to compel men
to use the sinks, al ! he thought 1t
probable that this 1'fficulty had led to
injurious results.
Dr. Hoft said that in the beginning
the camp was deficient in medical sup
plies. There was at this time many
cases OF OldTTnOed II HdQ uOl DetH
possible to meet all the demands for
remedies. The shortage was due to the
fact that it had been expected the
troops would come to camp supplied
with medicines.
Continuing, DIR. Hoff said the capac-
ity of the division hospitals was often
doubled and trebled. 1t sometimes. oc-
CURED that there were eight men in
tents which were intended to accom-
hlnallSa
ing tentage to care for the increase of
diseases, which was Unexpectedly rapid.
On one or two occasions patients were
necessarily placed in beds made upon
the floors, because of temporary de-
ficiency in cots. AS a rule the nurses
were without training, and this fact oc-
caSioned some difficulty in dealing with
typhoid cases. Yet he knew of no
specific cases of suffering on this ac-
count He specified the case of a man
afflicted with an infectious disease who
had been compelled to lie in the open
air one night on account of lack of
tentage. The captain was sure that no
injury resulted, as the weather was
pleasant.
Dr. Hoff said that the shortage in
medical supplies had continued for sew
eral weeks, but there was generally suf-
ficient to meet the immediate demands.
He also said that some acquisitions had
been returned by the Washington au-
thorities because improperly filled out,
and he was under the impression that
there had been complaints of some suf-
fering on this account. There was con-
siderable delay in securing flooring for
the tents.
WAS there any deprivation on ac-
count of the shortage of tents?' asked
Governor Woodbury..
TT was so reported responded Dr.
Hoff
Whose fault was it?' was asked.
Not mine," he replied. Il did all 1
could do
DR.. Conner stated that the governor
of Arkansas had complained of the
neglect of the troops from that state.
The witness replied that the Arkansas
troops received the same medical care
and attention that had been given to
other soldiers under like conditions. He
knew of no case in which men in the
hospitals had been compelled to lie on
the ground, but he thought there were
probably cases when sick men had been
kept under flies for several days He
was asked if it was true that at night
there was an average of only one nurse
to each 40 patients in the hospital of
the Second division of the Third corps
and said this could not be true.
DR.. Connor read an extract from a
that he had made a personal inVesti
CATION of the conditions in this hos
pital and had found 1.-The conditions de-
plorable-simply disgraceful." He
charged that the doctors in the insti-
tuition were all northern men, unfamil-
lar with diseases incidental to the
south that there were cases of fever
in which patients had gone without
water for "a hours and in which sick
men went without attention from a sur
geon or without receiving a dose of
medicine for a week.
Replying, DR.. Hoff said that several
southern physicians were engaged at
the hospital and that he did not think
it possible that men could have been
neglected as indicated by the COVER
nor's letter. He had heard of no such
cases. He said that during the past
few weeks of the Second division hos
pitfalls existence, it had been so over
crowded that it was found necessary
to stop receiving patients then, but
that the congested conditions were re-
lieved as soon as the Sternberg hospi- |
tai was completed.
GENERAL WILSON'S REPORT.