The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-09-01

Will xV4uTAco 1ha1 AZ w "oA y ANCCoS
sary to Spend Appropriation OF
Government For That Purpose.
Washington, August sl.-Secretary
Alger today received the report Of Genera
H. v. Boynton, upon the state Of affairs
in the hospitals at Camp Thomas, dated
August 80. Says General Boynton:
Believing the death list Of this camI
to afford an excellent standard by which
to measure its conditions as to health and
hospital services, q full report was OBJ
tained Of all deaths in the camp and in iti
hospitals since its establishment the
middle of April, last. The result shows
q total death list OF 1913 up to the 22nd Of
this month when the breaking up of this
camp begin.
Between these dates, including regulars
and volunteers fully 5000 troops have
been in camp at Chickamauga. The
record of burials in the National cemetery
at Chattanooga shows total of 100
volunteers and two regular soldiers. One
of the latter was killed by falling from a
railway train"
The report takes up in detail first, the
two permanent hospitals, Letter and
Sternberg, and states with the greatest
minuteness the exact accommodation
afforded by each. The first is at Crawtish
Springs under charge Of Major Carter,
and was converted from a large summer
resort hotel into hospital, receiving the
worst typhoid fever cases from the camp.
Each patient has abundant room, woven
wire and hair mattresses, plumbing ell
tirely new and bathing facilities ample.
The number of attendants, when all are
we'll is entirely satisfactory.
Major Carter has a corps of doctors
which he regards as amply sufficient to
care for all the patients in the hospital.
There has been at this hospital full sup
plies Of ice. milk and delioaoies The en-
tire hospitals is furnished with distilled
water.
Taking up the Sternberg hospital in
charge Of Major Gifen. General Boynton
shows that it is one Of the most complete
field hospitals ever seen according to
veteran of the last war. ssa
Since the establishment of this hospital.
everything asked for in the way of sup
plies of every kind has been promptly
furnished. Sixteen to twenty -four bar.
rels of distilled water are purchased daily.
From three to five tons of ice are needed
daily.
Three hundred gallons of milk are pur-
chased daily and $50 gallons furnished by
the Red Cross society. All money neces-
sary for the purchase of delicacies has
been furnished by order of General Stern
berg.
The first division field hospital is
foored with planed lumber and it is as
clean as is possible. None of the sixty
cents allowance per man for delicacies has
been used as it was not needed.
It will be observed that the conditions
set forth in this report are mainly pres.
ent conditions. It has not heretofore
fallen within the range of my duties at
this park to make critical observations
of hospital conditions, as matter of
course, many features OF this division OF
camp administration have fallen under
my notice. am constrained to believe
that there has been no neglect on the
part of either the medical or the quar-
termaster departments to furnish such
supplies as have reached the camp. Un-
doubtedly there have been serious tncon-
ysniences and at times of the greatest
c1owding. These lacks of conveniencies
and full attendance which go to make
up that painful condition of affairs
which az every veteran knows. are in
separable from the field hospitals of great
armies, even when all concerned exert
themselves to secure the comfort of the
patients. These are conditions which in
times of rapid increase of disease-a con-
dition which was reached at this camp
solely in my Judgement from the filth
which too many Of the regimental officers
allowed to dominate their camps in spite
of the orders which would have pre- vented
all this trouble, from the surgeon gen.
eral and from the commanding officers of
this camp.
So far from believing as result of my
observations, that medical officers have
been heartless or negligent, 1 believe
that these officers and the hospital atten-
dants. as q whole, have exerted them
selves to discharge their duties faithfully.
IT would seem es If this were su u:ticientIv
shown by the fact that they have worked
INCREASINGLY until q quarter of the whole
force has itself been sstrioken by disease
resulting from their exhausting labors.
In closing beg leave to express my
opinion that most OF the interviews with
chaplains reglmenfal surgeons and 9th
ers both offlcers and men now appearing
at the North In many OF the newspapers
- nvIk To 1s