The times., 1898-11-03
CONGRESS IS TO BLAME.
The Head Alger Dodger Halls
a Suggestion With Joy.
NEW LAWS THE REMEDY
The Mnny-Headed "Ism'' to Have N
Much-Nceded Rest - The Complex
System at ChickamauEa - Major
Romeyn, mt the Session Here, Tells
of the Conchn's Fatal Trip.

Lexington, KY. Nov 2-Gen Joseph P
Sanger. commanding the Third Division
Volunteers. was before the Alger Relief
Commission today.
Gen. Dodge, chairman of the commits
sion. said. in an interview. after Gen. San
ger had finished that the generals testi-
mony had been the most valuable of any
adduced, so far as looking to future ac-
ton by Congress is concerned.
He seems to think that the Commission
would be unable to fix the blame for the
Chickamauga horrors on any man or
men, that the conditions were the result
of the complex system described by Gen.
Sanger, and that the only thing now to do
will be TO ask Congress to pass such laws
as will make the War Department more
simple machine.
Gen. Sanger's division at Chickamauga
did not have a good camp ground, it he
ing impossible to dig sinks deep enough.
He had no water barrels with which TO
haul water from Blue Springs. and no
boilers in which to boil 1t. When he
made acquisitions for water barrels he
was told there were no barrels. He never
got barrels until after Gen. Breckenridge
arrived. He declared that much of the
sickness at Chickamauga was due to the
lack of water barrels. for, when the few
barrels which were secured were in use
hauling water from Blue Springs. the
men would drink water wherever they
could get it and thus drank typhoid fever
germs.
able to obviate the sickness had he been
properly advised by his medical staff
When Gen. Sangers chief surgeon, DIR.
j. d. Griffith, reported that the men were
beginning to be affected with typhoid,
Gen. Brooke's stan physicians. especially
DR.. Huidekoper, said men did not have
typhoid fever, but they had typhoid ma
laria. When asked what, in his opinion,
was the cause of the failure to secure
the proper supplies at the proper time
and the failure to properly manage the
division hospitals. Gen. Sanger said:
THE complex system of furnishing sup
plies is the cause of the failure OF sup
plies to reach the proper places at the
right time. All supplies ought to come
from one department For instance, the
commissary department furnished every
thing we eat, but il cant haul pound
of provisions to the cistributing depots.
That must be done by the quartermaS-
ters department. The latter has TO fur
nish many things and il is often the
case that they are busy transporting
things it has to furnish. Then the things
furnished by the commissary and other
departments may have TO wait. The
stanfs in Washington can order the staff
OF a commander in the field to do certain
things without the knowledge or consent
of the commander. Why, the other day.
through one of these orders, l was about
TO lose all my ball cartridges. OF course,
/ stopped 1t. At Chickamauga 1 was re-
lieved of the control of my division hos
pital and when / complained received
a strong letter. saying that, while my
officers and men had established and
were conducting the hospital, that it was
under the immediate charge Of the medi-
cal department.
The trouble, gentlemen of the COM
mission, is with Congress. That body
has passed laws which have brought
about all this divided responsibility, and
unless new laws are made that will give
commanders absolute command OF the
corps, divisions, etc. there can be no fix
ing of responsibility. and We will have the
same trouble in any future war that we
have had in this. -