The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1898-11-01
WAR INVESTIGATORS
Finish Their Tour of the Southern
Camps.
CAMP MEADE Is NEXT IN ORDER.

The commissioners VIII Soon visit
the Pennsylvania Headquarters ana
Take,TestimonyT yThere-Ex-Governor
woodbury. to Go to Vermont.
Knoxville, Tenn, Nov. 1.-The war in
vestigating commission concluded the
work of its southern tour here yester-
day, and at 6 o'clock last night left
for Washington, expecting to arrive
there at noon today. 1t is the present
intention that the commission shall go
to Camp Meade soon after their arrival
at Washington and Ex-Governor Wood
bury will proceed to Vermont as a sib-
committee to take testimony there. The
commission devoted yesterday forenoon
to inspecting Camp Poland and the
afternoon to taking testimony. They
found a division of troops here under
the command of Colonel Kurtz, of the
Second Ohio, and while they had no .
personal criticism to express against |
him one of the commissioners express |
ed the opinion that the command was |
too large to be entrusted to an officer |
below the rank of brigadier general |
| The transfer of Colonel Kurtz to the
| command of the division leaves the
| brigade of which his regiment Is a part
in command of Colonel Young, the col
ored colonel of the Third North Caro-
lima.
The first witness before the commits
sion was Dr. John G. f. Martin, a con-
tract surgeon from Ohio, who was at
! Chckamauga. He repeated his express
sions of opinion that the water in the
| pipe line system at Chickamauga was
contaminated by the water from Cave
Spring creek. He said that he had
first expressed this opinion, saying at
the same time the facts in regard to
the existence of typhoid was being sup
pressed, he had been summoned by
| General Sheridan and told that he must
retract Immediately or submit to a
court martial. He had then written a
letter of retraction, but he declared
that he had done this to promote dis
cipline and not because he had chang
ed his opinion as to the pollution of the
water. He also expressed the opinion
that the Jay Mill spring at Chicka-
mauga was contaminated from the sur
rounding sinks.
DR.. Park L. Myers, a contract sur
geon from Ohio, who was engaged in
the hospital OF the Second division of
the First corps at Chickamauga, diff
fered from most Of the physicians in
his estimate of typhoid. He said that
while they believed 80 per cent of the
sickness at the camp to be typhoid, he
did not believe that to exceed 20 per
cent was of that character. He also
took issue with those who charged ty-
phoid to the agency of flies attributing
1t to the water. He thought most of
the diseases at Chickamauga Park
| ,sl
that on some occasions it was neces-
sary to have patients at this hospital
lie on the ground for as much as ten
= hours at a time until provision could
be made for them.
Colonel G. X. Hughes, division super
intendent of the Southern railroad,
gave the commission information as
to the trouble encountered in moving
the troops. He said that as rule the
, soldiers had co-operated in the work
of the railroad company, but that there
had been some disorder at times. He
mentioned one instance in which Com
l. pany F, of the Fifth Pennsylvania, had
: broken up all the furniture of two cars
j near Lexington, KY, on the plea that
!, the cars were not fit for soldiers to
travel in.
Major General James H. Wilson, now
commanding the First army corps
said he was in charge of the First di-
vision of this corps at Chickamauga
h Park. He left there with his command
l about July /, bound for Porto Rico. Al
h Charleston he was kept some two
weeks or more: he did not know
X whether 1t was on account of lacl
4 of transportation or what. Here ty'
phoid fever broke out. and when he die
get off he had to leave 20 cases of Il
behind. The Decentralization at Porte
Rico, he said, took IL days, when 4
; should have been accomplished in two
> This, he claimed, was on account o.
not having steam launches, for which
a he asked the department in vain. II
Porto Rico the health of his troops wa
good on the march, but as soon as the!
. came to a standstill sickness broke out
General Wilson said he had found tn
o, government ratlons good and sufficient
n NJ The most of the sickness among tn
troops was caused by the men eatin
e. fruit and trash.
n, "I consider Chickamauga Park on
n of the finest camps in the world" sal
a General Wilson. 81 never saw it's su
perior, unless 1t is Camp Hamilton
v. here at Lexington"
OF Captain Charles w Golden, com
III missary of the Second brigade, Thir
division First corps, testified that o.
st nearly all occasions he had found tn
nj rations good and in sufficient quanti
ties, and that all acquisitions made ha
T. been honored, he thought, as prompt
as possible.
- Lieutenant Colonel Frank d. Bald
win, inspector general on General WI
sons staff, and who was on Generi
Wades stan at Chickamauga, gay
some sensational testimony concernin
the conditions there.
when the camp was first establishe
there" he said, II did not inspect
single hospital but what / found it
a filthy condition. Reports We're mao
of this to the commanding general ar
improvement could be observed for
few days. But in a short time matte
would get as bad as ever. About II
= time the camp was broken up this hf
:. been corrected to a large extent"
DR.. Conner, of the commission, sail
"There has been more disgrace broug
upon the United States hospital sy
TEN by the Second division, Thi
= corps, than by any other in the serviC
can readily see how this was, sin
=, no sort of attention was paid to q
complaints made"
Colonel Baldwin said that. so far
he knew, General Compton, comman
ing the Second division. only inspect
- his command on Sunday morning, al
that he did not know of either Ge
aral CpmntOn or General Wade [