The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-08-02
War Correspondence

more fatal to the troops at Jacksonville
than has yellow fever to Skaters army
at Santiago.
This is the comment and it is Il true
one. that one often hears from the lips
Of men and officers Of the Seventh army
corps.
There can no longer be any doubt about
:; Ma Nnan1n grounds here are not
healthy. They are low and Hat. ana 10
drain them is an imposslbllIty. lor
nearly two weeks now an engineer with
force of Il hundred men has been try
inc it without success. Yesterday. after
ii NIGHTS rain had fallen testing the work,
he gave it up III despair.
This impossibility Of draining the camp
makes it not only an undesirable place OF
r.-idence. but Il most excellent birth
rllce for fever. malaria and rheuma-
tt-m. Most Of the time. ut this season OF
th. year. either the rain is coming down
m torrents or the sun is shining with bis
tsring heat. Both conditions on marshy
Iaud like that on which Camp Cuba
Libre is situated. are inimical to good
health.
1t is 4 seven days wonder why the
present camp site was ever chosen. Ger.
tainly in so doing there could nave been
no anticipation of the camps permanent
cy. The fact that people have built on
three sides Of the camp ground and never
put Il residence Of any sort on II, though
it has for Il long time been industriousIy
advertised aud offered for sale by 4 land
syndicate. shows in what estimation the
citizens of Jacksonville hold it.
You have ruined the Jacksonville pond
lily bed" said Il resident of the city yes
terday. I'VE have been getting our pond
lilies in Springfield where the soldiers
are now campcd."
And yet it must be said in justice to
the people of this progressive and hos
pitable city that they deplore the fact
that the camp is not situated on more
healthy ground. and they do all in their
power to minister to the wants Of the
sick and to help the men make them
selves comfortable in camp.
Not only is the camp unhealthy. but
there come up from the division hospital
many complaints of lax management on
the part of some of the officials in charge
and of inattention to duty on the part Of
nurses and attendants. Of course sick
people are naturally Querulous and givecn
Of fault-tiinding and al that SubOrdinates
say in regard to the cement Of such
an institution cannot be believed. but if
the half of what is charged be true there
should be reforms of Il very radical ma
ture instituted.
The practice of sending men back to
their quarters before they are GONZALES
cent. simply because the hospital is
crowded, should certainly be discontin-
ned. | have in mind now Il private
from the Raleigh company who was sent
to the hospital sick with typhoid fever.
\ week later he was sent back to his
tent as cOnvalcScent. Next day he had
4 very high fever and is now at Il private
house i'll jacksonville. seriously sick.
There have been Il dozen or more cases
of exactly the same kind. For instance
Private John Crawford. of the WayneS-
vile company. who was seriously i'll rs
lone as he remained here and whose
death would at no time have caused sur
prise, was Il half a dozen different times
returned to his quarters as convalescent
when i'll truth he was steadily growing
worse. Each time he had to be SEM
back to the hospital.
1t is n fact worthy of note in this CON
nection that the hospital kitchen was last
Saturday officially reported as the filth
t~' spot IN the camp, when it should have
JH"u one of the clcanest.
lH,>" things and others of the same
Sind have made the Second division hos
I.taI 20 place of dread to every man in
c'mr and men often hide their real condi-
tat and remain in their tents until they
"r" dangerously i'll rather thar be or
a"rf7l 10 the hospital. Even then they
I"S 10 he sent to the city hospital or to
81 private house for treatment.
Ihe trouble is simply this: =. division
hospital is too large a thing. with the
resources at hand. IT is Il hospital for
10000 men Brigade or regimcntal hos
pitfalls would be better. The smallest
number of sick crowded together the
%reater their chances of recovery. Where
Their" are several hundred sick people IN
der one tent together. as Mt the division