The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-09-07

failed to make the proper acquisitions. In effect, she replied that there was no time to waste on formalitles, She would therefore make her acquisition with an ax, which she did, by ordering her men to break down the doors of the supply house. It was with great alacrity that this formality was com piled with. The supplies were seized and many mans life saved thereby.
 Ut would be an uncommonly good bit of work if some one, having the courage of his convictions, would lay an ax, not at the door of any particular depart ment, but at the very root of the whole pernicious system. I talked with number of men who were or had been in the hospital. I did not hear so much as a single complaint of the hospital service. All seemed grateful for the care given them, and one man went so far as to say he didn't believe there was better hospital in the whole coun- try. Another mans face lighted up as in reply to an inquiry he said, Oh, yes, plenty to eat. Why, they gave me this morning two eggs on toast, and it was awful good.
 There have been about thirty thou sand men in camp-a sick list of fifteen hundred, death list of not more than one hundred and seventy-five. This is not much, if any, larger average than may be found in any town of thirty thousand inhabitants,
 At first there may have been lack of delicacies at the camp, but certainly no such charge can now be made. saw load after load of watermelons and crates of peaches going into camp for distribution; company cooks for pre- pairing dinners of fresh meat, onions, cabbages, potatoes; cases of soups and canned fruit were stacked up outside the various regimental commisary de- partments Upon being questioned the men invariably rerlled: Yes, it was pretty bad at Santiago, and worse on the transports, and when we first came here we didn't always have alive want ed, but it's all right now
 Probably without. exception the men are homesiok and wish to get out of camp and go to their homes It would be better for some of them If they were not so importunate for release. When obeying the morning sick call they brace up, declare they are feeling bet ter and are quite able to go home. AS matter of fact, they are often not able to do so, and the collapse comes on the train, or in New York, and then the newspapers make a great hue and cry because of the so-called cruelty in hustling sick soldiers out of camp
 There are things at Camp Wikoff which may be justly criticised, as, for instance, the insufficient number of ann balances for the use of the sick men, the immediate need of a big laundry plant, which has been promised, but is not yet in running order; the delay in putting into operation the enormous fil- tering machine, and so on, but it's not worth while to draw on ones imagina- tion to make the situation worse than it really is. Red tape, incompetency among a certain class of officials, yell low Journalism and some other factors are to be considered when trying to ac- count for certain regrettable condi- tions.
 But, after spending the best part of three days on the spot, I have come to the conclusion that Camp Wikoff, like a certain parsonage whose name is not to be mentioned in polite society, isn't half as bad as 1t has been painted. Probably it never has been quite as bad as some newspapers would have us be- lieve, and certainly the conditions are now rapidly improving"