The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1898-09-02
A CAMP INSPECTED.
Secretary of War Alger Pays
Visit to Camp Wikof.
INTERVIEWED As TO ITS CONDITION.
Denies Th't Troops Have SON red Anv TN
necessary Privation--rhe spanish Pris-
Oners who Have Arrived Ia spain
Complain of Their Treatment.

New York. Aug. %. -Secretary Alger
arrived in this city last night aud was
at the Fifth Avenue hotel. In an in
terview he said
did not lind the condition al Camp Wikor
nearly as bad Is l had expected. cannot see
that there Is any Justification IN the talk that
neither the IN nor well soldiers are properly
treated think there are splendid acoommO-
dHtions for all soldiers that will 20 TO & amp
Wikof and especially now tina, many there
have been given furlouVhs Thursday J re-
ceived offers from New YORK and Brooklyn
hospitals to take az least 800 s.cd from the
camp
Secretary Alger was asked: How
do you account for the confusion and
lack of facilities at Camp Wikoff?'
To this Gen. Alger replied:
Did you ever 80 into camp with 100. or even 80
men. II SO, you know there is much conf Ion
with that number OF men. What do Won sup
pose IL must be then with thousands VINO Know
but little about soldering. There may appear
To he much confusion and privation. but lt is
only what i to be expected ia rougA,nr H. on
many occasions myself have been 10 camp
and have encountered these things found
many soldiers lying with -othlnr but a
blanket between them and the ground. Stal
there were thousands Of bags IN camp !
asked the men why they die rot I'll the bags
with straw. Of which there was a large GUAM
tty IN camp. ana su make beds Tor themselves
They said they had not thought Of S.cn a
thing
Then the secretary was asked
again. you cannot see that there is
justification in the com plants which
have been made9" He replied:
None Il there was any lack q medic. O.
necessary supplies the blame would be on
those whose duty IL was 20 order these things
The first day went through the detention hos
pital and later the general hosp tai. and !
talked with nearly every man who was awake
I said 10 them all; Boys. is there anything you
WANT They an answered. Nothing; We are
quite comfortable" few OF the men had no
cots bat this vas soon remedieG. There arc
some few sick men, but there - no yellow
fever There is some typLold. ] saw some
men there a. yellow as any paint you ever saw
and nothing remained OF them tut skin AID
bones
In the general hospital at Camp WI
Soff there are 1850 patients. There
are $50 typhoid patients in the hOspi-
tai, which is decrease. The number
of men in the detention camp was 23C,
and this is also lower record than
yesterday.
RETURN sPASIARDs BITTERLY COMPLAIN.
London, Aug. 27-The Madrid cor
respondent of the Daily Mail says the
officers and soldiers who have returned
from Santiago de Cuba bitterly accuse
the Americans of unfultilled promises
made at the time of the capitulation
of Santiago. The Americans. they
say, forced the Spanish troops 10 en-.
camp on a spot where hundreds OF
corpses of the Spanish defenders Of f.
Caney weresburied The rain almost
unearthed the bodies, the stencil from
which produced an epidemic. The
Americans, the Spauiards assert. Kept
the latter without food and the officers
received only timed sardines. Most
Of them returned seriously III from
the results Of prolonged hunger. Sew
eral died daily.