The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-12-16
GENERAL BROOKE ANGRY
HE THREATENS TO CoURT-MARTIAL
A SANITARY INSPECTOR
Who Reported Disgusting State of
Affairs at Camp Thomas While the
General Was in Command.

| WASHINGTON, Dec. 15-Major General
John R. Brooke testified before the war in
vestigation commission to-day that most of
the volunteers at Camp Thomas came sup
posedly with ten days rations but this was
the so-called field ration, and at first they
were hungry. This was remedied by the
| commissary department quite promptly The
volunteers were supplied with all sorts of
tentage, most of it antiquated, their uni
| forms were old and their equipment in gen
| eral was what had been accumulated
| through the parsimonious policy of the
War Department through the preceding
twenty-five years." Some were unarmed and
some in their citizens clothes, with only one
| BLANKET.
The whole energies of the commanding
| officer were bent on equipping this hetero-
geneous mass of men, but the work was
necessarily slow. Early in June the COM
| handing general was ordered to send eight
of the best equipped regiments to Tampa
| and to do this it was necessary to strip
| some of the regiments to help out others.
| Even with this expedient some OF the regi-
| ments left for Tampa poorly equipped. Gen.
Brooke noticed that the Northumberland
| ffty-seventh Indiana Regiment left camp
with it's belts tied together with strings The
w
all the canvas and tentage in the country.
Canteens. knives. forks cups and the like
were also short, and this condition General
! Brooke said. continued practically up to the
| end of his administration at Camp Thomas.
General Brooke said that he had nothing
| to do with the selection of the camp ground,
! but being assigned there he made it his
| business to look after the water supply and
to- see that the necessary sanitary -regula--
| tions were promulgated and enforced He
made personal inspections as frequently as
| his time would permit and made strenuous
! efforts to regulate the entrance of hucksters
| to the camp and as a result of this he said
that the sick report fell off from 80 to 50
per cent. II deem it proper to say" con-
tinued General Brooke, Sin controvertion of
certain reports that / have heard, that 1
did inspect the camp sinks and kitchens
I'VE have plenty of testimony before US"
said General Dodge, that you did this fire.
! quently."
1T was more than frequently" said Gen.
Brooke 1T was daily
General Brooke said that there was in the
| beginning great many complaints of scare
| ity of medicines, but that the army had
abundant food supplies. The army of the
well furnished While there was some short
| age in shoes and some varieties of clothing
at times it was only what might have been
| rushed to equipment, at three points, Chat
| tanooga. Tampa and San Francisco. He en-
phatically denied a statement by one of his
| staff officers that the headquarters camp
was in a distinctly filthy condition
Speaking of the hospitals, General Brooke
said: I'm justice to myself | should say
that the location of the First Division Hos
pital was not my own selection. | left this
| to Colonel Hartsuff, my chief surgeon. and
| it was the one location I condemned. I Wis
| tied this hospital and 1t was working badly,
due probably to the surgeon directly in
General Brooke testified that he gave his
personal attention to the sinks, the care of
| the camps, the striking of tents policing
the sinks, ETC., and by this means got things
under control.
Governor Beaver read a report from James
| Parker, sanitary inspector of the Twelfth
| New York Volunteers, detailing an I'M
| printably disgusting state of sanitary af-
fairs at Camp Thomas during Gen. Brooke's
| incumbency and General Brooke was asked
Il will say he replied, that. it is not
copy of that report i will see that that
young man goes before CONTINENTAL for o.,
| those statements unless he is protected IN
| his testimony by this commission"
General Brooke said he thought he had
| an efficient staff at Chckamauga. DR..
IIuidekooper who had been subjected to Sc
| we're adverse criticism before the commits
| sion and elsewhere, he considered one OF
| the best examples of the volunteer medical
officer He had been criticised because he
| carried out distasteful orders. The food fur
| nished to his command in Porto Rico Cen
| The hospitals at Camp Thomas he OCCASION
! ally walked through, but as a rule he did
not disturb the men by personal visits: The
only hospital he ever seriously criticised
| was the First Division hospital, established
| by Colonel Hartsuff. In Porto Rico Cen
eral Brooke said that at one time, with be-
| tween II coo and 1890 men. he had a sick
| list of 900. When he left the island the
| sick list was down TO from 200 to 25O.
| Regarding Colonel Hartsuffs statement
| that part Of the sickness at Camp Thomas
was due to drills before breakfast, General
| Brooke said he never issued any such order.
| He said the mems visits to the neighboring
| towns were most demoralizing. and were
! finally much restricted in fact, they had
| too little work not too much. General
| plants as to DR.. Hartsuffs administration
| of the hospitals and he CBrooke) was forced
| General Brooke denied that he had ut any
| time taken away the control of the division
hospitals from the division commanders
| whether official proceedings had ever been
| had against any hospital official for malad-
| mniStratiOn.
General Brooke never heard any mall
| administration alleged.
| DR. Connor-G General as a matter of fact,
| the condition of the Third Division hospi-
tai at least was abomnable.
General Brooke-Do you make that state
ment upon personal knowledge or upon in
| formation
DR. Connor-I make it upon a multitude
! Of testimony all of which goes to show that
/ the hospital was In continual turmoil Tor
| lack of nurses. medicine and attendance
| and from overcrowding.
General Brooke-There was a lack of
| medicine from time to time. but the matter
| was brought to the attention of the depart
| ment most promptly.
General Brooke said that in mobilizing
| troops i'm the future they should be fully
! equipped at tho points where they are
! gathered rather than massed and their
! equipped. He had already advised the War
Department that for the tropics the
rice and hominv and sugar ratioris should
he increased and the meat ration decreased
| Dried or evaDorated fruit should be given
| in lieu OF other things. The ration now
WAS "a fhar tco largo than TIM erNal