Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1898-09-08

soon forget, but it is doubtful
whether we could have avoided all
the mistakes that have been made.
Let us consider the conditions
under which the camps were carried
on.
When war was declared in April
we had an army Of 25,OOO men
scattered all over the country.
There was absolutely no general
staff and the regular staff was in
adequate because the officers lacked
experience. There were few posts
where so much as one regiment
was collected and at most posts
there were one or two companies.
The staff officers could well take
care of these, but could not reason
ably be expected to look after an
army. Suddenly the army was in
creased to 100000 men and the
same machinery was put in opera
tion to care for all. The staff was
increased partly by detailing regu
lar army officers, but largely from
civil life, as many line officers pre-
ferred remaining with their regi
ments, where the chances of fight
ing were better. Many of these
civilian officers conducted them
selves well, particularly at Santi-
ago. Others were incompetent or
took long time to learn their
duties. Nevertheless they did
fairly well, as the results show.
The Santiago campaign was con-
Quoted under the most trying cir
cumstances, with rapidity under
the conditions never before equaled,
and we have no reason to be dis
satisfied with the result. 1t is true
that there were many casualties,
particularly from disease, but these
were to be expected When one
remembers the terrible loss of life
some ten years ago when the yellow
fever scourged Jacksonville and
compares it with the results of the
Santiago campaign, there is reason
to be grateful. 1t is true that
there were many casualties, par
ticularly from disease at Santiago
and incident thereto will outrun
the loss of life in the field, but this
is always the case in war. In our
Civil War there were twice as many
men who died of disease as those
who were either killed in battle or
died from wounds. We have not
reached those figures yet, but we
probably will very soon. 1t is
noticeable that the efficiency and
care of the line officers had much
to do with checking the ravages of
disease.
1t has been so long since we had
d war that most people have for
gotten what it means. When
General Sherman said "NVar is
help he knew what he was talking
about. There were many people
who did not believe this. They
thought only of the "pride, pomp
and circumstances of glorious war;"
and forgot that in any war glory
comes seldom but suffering always.
When 100000 men were called in
to the field it was expected that
there would be many die of disease.
There would have been many of
them died if they had remained at
home, Every year some twenty
persons in each thousand die, and
though the mortality of infants
counts for many Of these, when we
consider the conditions of camp
life, this average is not much too
great. These men have now been
in camp about four months and on
the basis above there should have
died from natural causes about
1,SOO of them, which is far in
excess of the actual number.
1t should also be remembered
that, while the men who go to war
are picked men physically, they
are largely young men who have
not learned how to take care of
themselves under abnormal con-
ditions. Most of them look ON war
as a sort of picnic and are willing
to eat or drink whatever comes to
hand and are not careful of their
persons. 1t is easy to get camp
disease and very hard to get rid of
it.
On the whole, therefore, we re-
affirm that conditions are not so
bad as have been painted and not
much worse than was naturally to
have been expected. In saying
this we do not in any wise mean
to say that there have not been
grave abuses, grave errors of om-
mission and commission, and that
for some of the things that have
occurred there is punishment due
como parcouc and the offenders