The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-11-08
THE DISCIPLINE WAS LAX
No Facilities for the Care of the
Sick at Camp Thomas.
FOOD IMPROPERLY COOKED
A Great Lack OF Medicine-Delays In TAX
ing Patients to the Hospitai-In-
competent Men-Not Physi-
clans Enough

Chicago. Nov. 7.-General Dodge. COL
onel Sexton and DR.. Connor OF the war
investigating commission arrived in
gan the examination of witnesses at
the Auditorium hotel A large number
OF witnesses are on the list. and IL Is
not likely the three members OF the
commission will be able to leave Chi
cago before Wednesday. They will
then leave for Detroit. where the in
vestigation will be continued.
DIR. Louis Schooler OF Des Moines.
Iowa. who was stationed at Camp
Thomas. as surgeon. during part OF
last July. testified the sanitary condi-
tion of the camp was not good and the
discipline was rather lax. He said at
the beginning there were no facilities
for the care Of the sick. There was
much dimculty In securing tents and
other necessary supplies. DIR. Schooler
knew OF no wilful neglect OF patients.
He gave as his opinion that medical Of
ficers were hampered too much by ofii-
GERS Of higher rank, but who had no
medical training.
DR.. Milo b. Ward of Kansas City.
who was a brieadier surgeon at Camp
Thomas, said there was great lack Of
medicines. He said the food was all
right. but improperly cooked. DIR.
Ward testified that frequently there
were great delays In taking patients to
the hospital.
ion hospital of the third army corps
had the worst reputation of all. said:
The first reason. in my Judgment.
is that the hospital had for its corps
surgeon a man who never paid any at
tention to IL whateves. His name was
Hon. The next reason Is that the man
in charge OF the hospital. the surgeon.
very seldom visited the hospital OF paid
any attention to IL. His name was
Jenney. The next reason is that there
were not enough doctors at any time
to take care OF the patients without
overworking the doctors and making
them too Ill to get out Of bed. For the
first two weeks that I was there. there
was not a man on duty who was ply
that the nurses were never competent
in any sense Of the word, but they did
the best they could. when you consider
their ignorance. Some OF them could
not even read. They were forced TO do
this work under protest and. Of course.
One day j visited the typhoid fever
ward and found all the men splitting
on the ground. said to the men in
charge that would have them all ar
rested u they did not provide some
thing for the men TO spit in. But the
next day things were Just as bad as
ever.
Hon had no respect for individuals.
II made no difference what an indi-
vidual wanted. he was only one out of
n thousand. Once when I was ply
sically exhausted and not able TO do
the work. he said: I don't care n damn
for you. sir; you're only one man.
You're invaluable In the hospital and
I cannot spare you But I told him I
was not able and must be relieved for
two weeks.
"Jenney left everything with the men
In the hospitals. know the requi-
sitions made for goods and supplies
were approved by the doctors. but they
were not brought to the grounds be-
cause Of the fault of somebody else. I
think IL was the fault OF the doctors
in charge Of the hospitals. the corps
doctors. the division doctors and the
doctor in charge OF the hospital They