Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-11-02


TENCY = WATER AT CHICkA-
MAUGA WAS BAD AND CAUSED
TYPHOID FEVER - REQUISITIONS
FOR MEDICINES NEVER FILLED.
IMPORTANT DRUGS ASKED FOR,
SCRATCHED OFF By SUPERIOR
S-VETERINARIAN HUI
DEKOPER DIDN'T BELIEVE IN
USING LIME-lCE WATER AT s1-25
A PITCHER-FULL ON THE MAS
USETTS-HORSES WITHOUT
WATER FOR TWENTY FOUR
HOURS-NO ATTENTION PAID TO
WRITTEN REPORTS OF BAD CON
DITIONS.
Lexington, KY, November before
the war investigation commission to-
day Gen. J. C. Bates testified as to
the Santiago campaign, the camps at
Mobile and at Chickamauga. He went
to see Gen. Brooke regarding the lack
of equipments, clothing and other sup
plies THE day before we left Mobile
we got pretty we'll supplied. These
were supplies for recruits. At Santi-
ago we had bread and meat always.
MOntauk Point was not the proper
place for camp OF sick soldiers at
this time of year. At Montauk Point
| learned that the Long Island Railroad
Company had an exclusive contract to
haul the soldiers to the city,
q issued orders to all other railroads
to come in and help take off the sick.
In Cuba medical supplies were Woe
fully short. The medical officers said
they could not get them. This was es-
pecially true at Siboney. In going over
we had enough medical supplies, but
we were cut down. We had trouble in
| getting ambuances taken to Cuba. We
got one for each regiment and one for
| the squadron | think the ambulances
! I took were the only ones ashore when
/ the Rough Riders fight occurred on
| the oath of June
| When asked what. in his opinion,
was the weakness in the medical de-
partment Gen. Bates said he thought
| a great mistake was made in not send
| ing medical officers in sufficient number
with regiments ordered to the field.
Additional transportation should have
been furnished for medical officers ana
medical supplies, ambulanceS and
! horses.
By DR.. Conner: What do you think
of the propriety of female nurses ac-
companying an army into the field?'
81 think it would be perfectly proper
to have them at large hospitals, but
not in regimental hospitals"
DR.. Edgar A. Mearns, surgeon in
! charge of Gibbs general hospital, Lex
| ington, was asked regarding the sani-
| tary condition Of Camp Thomas, where
he was brigadier surgeon. He read a
| report on the condition of the sites
there which showed they were disease
! breeding He thought the men de-
tailed from the regiments to the divis-
ion hospital were incompetent. Dr..
| Mearns condemned the water supply
at Camp Thomas, because there was
| typhoid fever there. The order TO
boil drinking water was generally
! obeyed when boilers could be pro-
cured. DR.. Mearns was asked what
recommendations he would make He
said men in charge should be done
what they asBnf6gtent men in charge
here should be no waste and nothing
would be asked for that was not
/ needed.
Major ]. d. Glennan, who was cap
| tain and assistant surgeon in the regu-
/ lar army, and was made major and
/ brigadier surgeon of volunteers June
4, was at Chickamauga and Tampa
| with the Sixth cavalry. He said that
/ he found much larger amount of
| sickness among volunteers than he had
been used to seeing; that he found the
sinks left open and not dug deep
enough to make the camp healthful
that the water supply was affected by
this. Major Glennan said he reported
on these conditions both varbally and
IN writing and made certain recon-
| mendations, but that no attention was
ever paid to his reports. He said he
| tried to get lime, that requisition was
made on the quartermasters depart
ment and they said they did not fur
nish it. Then requisition was made
on the medical department. DR..
Huldekoper, the corps surgeon, CON
corning whom sensational charges
have since been made, disapproved fhe
use OF lime and returned the reouisi
ton. Major Glennan stated he knew
OF certain regiments where the sick
were kept for weeks because the divis-
ion hospital had no room for them
He further said that he believed the
water in every we'll in Chickamauga
Park contained the Colon bacillus
which indicated contamination of sew-
erage.
Major VIM. CogswelI, surgeon of the
Eighth Massachusetts, said that when
his regiment reached Chattanooga. it
was kept in the freight yards eighteen
hours and it took them then four
hours to be transported to the pa1l.
that the men went two weeks without
fresh meat. Their health was TINS
greatly impaired and a large number
were taken sick
DR.. Cogswell attributed the typhoid
to the water, milk and lemonade drunk
by the men. He said that the cloth
ing and blankets belonging to the men
who died of typhoid were brought
back without having been washed or
boiled and used by other men of the
regiment. He mentioned other abuses.
too degraded to print, which he said
were reported to the higher authori-
ties without action being taken.
The doctor said that in the three
months and a half when he was at
Camp Thomas he knew of Dr. Huide-
koper the corps surgeon, having Wis
tied the camp of the Eighth Massa-
chussetts but twice. He had great
difficulty in securing medicines, he
said, and had to buy drugs ont of a