Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1898-08-25

Monday afternoon Gov. Scotieid
sent a telegram to the secretary Of
war asking that the 1st regiment of
Wisconsin volunteers at Jacksonville
be removed to a more northern loca-
ton and that the SEX members OF
the regiment be given furlOughs IN Or
der that they may be brought home
and cared for. As he states in the
telegram, letters and kilograms are
pouring in on Gov. Scofield IN an av-
alanche, urging him to do something
in behalf of the 1st Wisconsin. In
response to this general demand the
governor sent the following telegram
to Secretary Alger:
ITO the Honorable, the Secretary of
War, Washington, ID. C.-During the
past three days numerous complaints
by wire and mail have poured in upon
me concerning the physical condition
of the men Of the list regiment, Wis
consin volunteers, at Jacksonville, Fla.
| respectfully submit that it is imper-
alive that either all the sick of the
regiment be furloughed and sent home
TO be cared for: or that the regiment
be removed to d more healthful loca-
ton The relatives and friends are
greatly distressed because Of the con-
dition of the men.
The petition filed with the governor
by the residents of Monroe some days
ago, asking that he bring pressure to
bear on the officials of the depart
ment to have the 1st regiment mus
tered out of service on account OF the
amount of sickness among the soldiers,
has attracted considerable attention
and has brought energetic protests
from several officers of the regiment.
Col. SchadeI has written Gov. Scofield
declaring the petition to be injustice
to the members of the regiment. He
SAYS that the health of the soldiers is
better than it has been for some time.
His letter is dated Aug. Is, and at
that time he says there were but 115
men in the hospital. Capt. Lewis Of
Racine has also written the governnr
saying that the petition being pre-
pared by home friends of his company
is a reflection on the patriotism of
the regiment, and urges that the re
giment be not left behind in the adj
vance of the army of occupation. IN
addition to these letters however,
Gov. Scofeld has received several let
ters from priyates in the regiment
taking a very different view Of the
situation than do the officers Some
of the letters of the privaocs are
signed, and some are anonymous, ana
all say that the sickness is on the
increase, and ask that the regiment be
called home, or that some action be
taken to remedy the condition Of af-
fairs. The greatest pressure, however,
has been brought on Gov. Soohe'd W
parents of the soldiers who lave = :
ceived letters from their sons stating
that were the true situation known in
Wisconsin a united Effort would be
made to have the regiment brought
home and mustered out.
One private of company G has Wri:
ten home that at roll-call the other
day only 16 of his 106 comra les were
able to respond, the rest, with the eX-
ception of those on guard duty, belnG
either sick in their tents or III tie
hospitals. This private also said that
on the day he mailed his letter. last
Friday, over 100 badgers were sick
with typhoid fever and that the lum-
Der was daily increasing. T2cre nave
been Is deaths in the 1St Wisconsin
since it has been at Jacksonville. One
private of company G, nurse, wrote
to his sister here that the situation IS
made much worse because it frequent
~ happens that those authorized to
sign acquisitions for hospital supplies
can not be found for day or two at
a time and consequently the physl-
clans are often required to go down
into their own pockets for money to
purchase medicine for the more urgent
cases. DR.. 7. w. Evans made a
similar statement in letter to the
Madison relief corps last week.
The relatives of several members OF
of Co. G have gone to Mayor Whe-
Ian to get him to do what he could
towards having the regiment sent
home Others have gone direct to
the governor. The relatives and home
friends of the boys want the regiment
brought back TO Wisconsin and are
circulating petitions to this end in
Madison, Racine, GAINESVILLE, Monroe
and other cities