The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-09-30
CLASSIFYING COMPLAINTS.
Alger Commission Has an Abund-
ance of Material.


Alger Commission Has an Abund-
ance of Material.
Washington, Sept. 29-The war in
vestigating commission confined itself
largely today to the examination and
classification of complaints which have
been made to the president. A large
number of such complaints have been
received at the White House. They
come generally in the form of letters
and for the most part from relatives
of enlisted men. Those examined at
this session deal in the main with camp
WikOff and Camp Thomas, but some
of the letters also make charges con-
cerning other camps. They relate es-
peciallY to the food served to soldiers
and to hospital accommodations, and
none of them were of a very striking
character. One lady, whose son is sta
toned at Honolulu. wrote that he was
encamped on a centipede hill and said
that his food was insufficient to meet
his demands. She asked the president
to see that he had better care.
Circular letters were sent to the
writer's of these complaints asking
them to make their charges specific,
and to state whether they spoke from
personal knowledge or only from re-
port One of the letters read today was
from DR.. Sims of Chattanooga 1t was
written to a friend in Ohio, in response
to an inquiry for the facts in regard
to Camp Thomas, and was forwarded
by the person that had received IL to
the president. DR.. Sims said in this
letter that there was no justification
for the charge that the site of the camp
was not desirable. It was, he said, a
desirable camp. The doctor said that
in the beginning of the camps career
the hospital facilities were limited, but
that these had been increased until
they were adequate to meet the de-
mands upon them
The commission expects to begin to
take testimony next week. General
Wheeler is expected TO be among the
first witnesses called.
The examination of complaints to
the president was continued at the
afternoon session. A decision was
reached at this session TO include in
the work an inquiry into the conduct
of the war department in the Pacihc,
as well as in the Atlantic region, and
to this end letters were written to
General Merriam, in command Of the
department of the Pacific, to General
Otis, in command of the Philippines,
and to General Merritt, who occupied
this latter post until recently. The
letter to General Merritt is as follows:
1--WE have the honor TO request you
to furnish US, as early as possible with
such information as you have, as to the
adequacy or inadequacy Of the quar-
termaster and cOmmissary and medi-
cal supplies and medical staff for
troops under your command while in
this country, while en- route and while
YOU were in command at Manila, and
whether or not such supplies were
promptly and sufficiently issued to all
troops. Also as to the proper or i'm
proper preparation of the transports
for the transportation of your troops
to that station. We also viii be pleased
to be informed as to the ratiOns issued
to the troops"
The letters to Generals Merriam and
Otis are copies of the letter to Gen
eral Merritt, except that Merriam is
asked to supply information concern
ing the expedition to Hawaii.