The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1898-10-09
CAMPS Will BE VISITED
Commission Will Go to Either Camp
Meade or Jacksonville First.
SURGEON GIFFIN ON THE STAND
He Ascribed the Large Death Rate to
Overlooking the Soldiers Says All
acquisitions, From Tooth
picks Up, Were Honored.

PICKS ~ u, w ere I4OlOAOSts
Washington, October S.-The war inves-
tigating commission examined two wit
nesses today. They were DR.. Giffin, who
is in charge of the Sternberg hospital at
Camp Thomas, Chickamauga Park, and
Captain Baidridgeza, a brigade commiss airy
officer of subsist once at Camp Cuba Lib e
at Jacksonville.
The commission has decided to start on
the night of October Is on it's round of the
various camps. They will go either to
Camp Meade or to Jacksonville first All
the camps will be visited in the succession,
but the understanding is that the trip to
Camp Wil1off will not be made until some
time in November Next week will be
given largely to the inspection of official
reports and to other statements that have
been furnished in reply to letters from the
commission.
The commission began it's proceedings
with Major R. Emmett Giffin on the stand.
He was a brigade surgeon at Camp
Thomas and told of his visit to the Second
division hospital in July last when he said
it was overcrowded. In each tent and un-
when there should have been but from
four to six. There was a suffciency of
physicians and Major Siffin was sure they
were competent men. The majority of the
patients were suffering with typhoid fever
and venereal diseases about 20 per cent OF
the latter class. He thought the crowding
of the hospital was from lack of sufficient
tentage, fault due to the surgeon In
charge.
DR.. Gifin made his visit to the division
hospital to see a man of his igade who
had been shot in the leg. He found him in
a tent with typhoid fever patients and
consequently had him removed.
Regimental Hospitals
Dr. Giffin advocated regimental rather
than division hospitals. He said there
would be the advantage of classification
in the larger hospitals, If the classification
was made. VIII ch it was not as rule.
The dvis onal hospital surgeons were
competent in their profession, some of
them being the most competent in the
United States, but they were not men
of executive ability. He cons dered the
water supply good The sinks were poor
" locataed. They were too near the kitch-
ems and were too shallow Many of them
were only seventy-five feet from the COM
pany kitchen, and were open when he ar
rived. He then had them moved farther
back and gave directions for daily disinfec-
ton and covering. By this time, however,
the regiments were all infected as he
thought by the flies going from the sinks
to the mess tables.
Dr Giffin was given charge of the con-
struction of the Sternberg hospital on the
first of August, and>after the hospital was
constructed was the chief surgeon there.
He said the tents compr sing this hospital
were AXIS, floored and supplied with four
beds EACH There were 100 tents and a
build the
largest number of men at the hospltal al
one time and he was told that 1127 men
| had been healed there up to the 9th inst.
| OF these Sc per cent were typhoid, the next
| most prolific cause being verereal troubles.
| There had been sixty-seven deaths at the
| inst tuition. The cases sent TO MN were
generallx the most dangerous. He had
| twenty-fiye contract surgeons and two reg
MARS and 1877 female nurses and 159 men,
hers of the hospital corps acting as nurses
Received no Complaints
ue nan received no complaints, and he
was sure the attendants were efficient. His
reouisitions were sent direct to the surgeon
general at Washington often by wire ana
there was never any delay, often peing oi-
rected to purchase at Chattanooga Many
articles were sent to the men from the
north but as a rule they spoiled sefore
thew arrived and could not be used When
patients began to convalesce they were
nut Epec1al diet lOf d hSeh oAo eiioii
furloughed and sent home.
ne was particular not to allow any OF
the patients leave for home until they were
sufficiently recovered to render 1t sale Tor
them to do so He related how Governor
BRADLEY of Kentucky came to the hospital
saving he was going to take the Kentucky
sick home DR.. Giffin refused at first, but
a afterwards he consented to leave the mat
ter to the patients themselves. Out of six
teen only one said he wanted to go, and
hnd
plaint of neglect or insufficiency to make
against any of the bureaus of the war de-
partment, and he had heard of only one
complaint There were no watches for
twenty-four hours. He thought that the
contract surgeons. should have been ex-
amined before they were appointed. They
were not SO examined to his knowledge
The doctor expressed the opinion that the
complaints of starvation had arisen from
the fact that 1t was necessary to put con-
valescents from typhoid fever on sparse
diet He thought many deaths had been
caused by over-feeding when convalescents
had returned to their homes. Orders were
given to his knowledge for prompt meas
ures looking to the suppression or the fever
when it broke out, but the orders had Got
heen obeyed He knew of more cases in
W. ch the sinks were within twenty feet of
the kitchens, and In the cases of the Four
teenth Minnesota and Ninth Pennsylvania
regiments the sinks were crowded near the
Kitchens, when there was a quarter of a
me- of open field back of them He thought
there had been a mistake In bringing so
many men together under prevailing cir
cumstances, from sanitary standpoint.
Dr. Giffin, continuing, said: For my part
l got everything / asked for from a tooth
pick up, and was turned down on moth
ing"
Captain James G. Baldridge, stationed at
jacksonville, testified. Much of his testi-
mony related to complaints from the Sec
IA
had been many complaints from S7ls regi-
ment, and Investigations had shown that
the trouble was due to tine fact that the
officers were without experience.