The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-11-15
THE CONDITION WAS BAD
Hospital Service at Camp Thomas
Entirely Inadequate.
A SCARCITY OF NURSES
General Breckinridge Testifies That the
Attendants Were Inexperienced.
Many OF the Sinks Were Filthy.
Lack OF Proper Drugs.

inridge, DIR. Huidekoper and Major
Knox were before the war investi-
eating commission to-day. General
Breckinridge's testimony dealt with
conditions at Camp Thomas. of which
he was for a time in command. and he
took occasion to say that but for the
change that was made previous to the
war. requiring inspector generals In the
field to report to the adjutant general
instead Of to the inspector general, the
conditions of the camps now being de-
veloped by the commission would have
been developed three months ago.
Governor Woodbury. has returned
from Vermont and sat with the COM
mission to-day.
The war investigation resumed its
examination of witnesses to-day with
DIR. r. 8. Huidekopfer of the volun-
teers on the stand. He occupied the po-
sition of chief medical officer of the
First army corps at Camp Thomas,
Chickamauga, until the 23d of July.
when he went to Porto Rico with Gen.
eral Brooke. Speaking of the supply
department he said there were large
quantities of some articles and a super
abundance of others at the beginning of
the history of Camp Thomas, but this
condition of affairs did not long con-
tinue. He continued by saying he had
made constant representations to the
surgeon general of the shortage of
supplies. He had never turned down
| any requisition from the division hos
pitals. but he had refused sanction to
the requisition for flooring for the hospi-
| tai tents when Brooke had expected to
move. He contended there had been a
sufficiency of tentage, saying no pa
| tients had been compelled to lie with
out covering for any length of time.
He had repeatedly called attention to
the lack Of nurses and about the first of
July there was an increase of his hos
pital corps men in response to his rep
reservations, but the supply was never
| equal to the demand.
Speaking of the condition of the
camp in general. he said some of the
sinks were excessively filthy. Some
were never in proper condition.
| who was responsible for that con-
dition?" asked DIR. Conner.
The officers of the regiment" replied
Huidekopfer.
| Conner insisted upon knowing whether
anything had ever been done by the
| commanding general to secure the pun
ishment of regimental officers who had
refused to obey orders for proper polio
ling of camps, but Huidekopfer declared
/ ne KNEW Oh no Ol prosecution
| for any offense of this kind. Huidekop-
| fer said he had succeeded in getting
supplies only by being first on hand. as
| the medicine depot was run in a very
parsimonious manner. There was not
only great scarcity of important drugs,
such as quinine and opium. but dispo-
sition on the part of the purveyor not
! to give out what there was.
DIR. Huidekopfer said that. with a few
| "a medical
supplies for the Porto Rican expedition
had been ample.
At Newport News he had given orders
that the sick men be eliminated from
the command, but he found that the
order had been evaded and the sick men
taken aboard. This was especially true
of the Third Illinois regiment whose
surgeon. DIR. Huidekopfer said had per-
| sisted from the first in breaking the let
| ter of the law. He said that when the
command started to Porto Rico. General
| Brooke had exercised his prerogative
to demand the filling of a requisition
which had been refused by the deputy
surgeon general but in response to a
question he said he did not know why
the general had not exercised this pre-
rogative in securing supplies at Chick
amauga-
Responding to a request from Ex-
| Governor Beaver. DR.. Huidekopfer de-
tailed the particulars of his education
as a physician giving also his experience
| in military service. He said he had
| been graduated as a physician from the
| University of Pennsylvania In 1874. and
afterwards had studied much in Paris,
Berlin and other European capitals and
| had had considerable experience In hos
| pitals and in general practice. He went
| to Europe a second time on the recon-
| mendation of DIR. ID. Hayes Agnew who
desired to establish a veterinary hospital.
| After returning to this country he went
to New York and was engaged largely
in the manufacture of toxines, only
practicing human medicine for charity.
He had been a surgeon In the Pennsyl-
vania national guard from 1874 to 1898,
being brigade surgeon most of the time.
| covering the Homestead strikes and
| the Johnstown floods.
In answer to a question from General
| Beaver. the witness said tnat Deputy
Surgeon General Hartsuff haS refused
| to supply disinfectants for the camp at
Chickamauga, saying that to do so was
| contrary to any army regulations.
| DIR. Huidekoper referred frequently
during his testimony to his difficulty
| in securing nurses. He said he had
once secured an approach to the neces-
/ sary number through an arbitrary or
\ der from General Brooke, and when this
| order was issued the companies insist
ed in furnishing their worst men in SER
vice in the hospital corps. One was al
| epileptic and one a confirmed drunkard.
| vet the men who had given him the
worst nurses were generally the first
to make complaint OF lack Of atten-
ton. The witness said II was not true
| that Dr. Hartsuf had taken charge of
a hospital as the latter had stated, be-
| cause OF its management. DIR. Hartsuff
had volunteered to take a hospital on
one occasion. but the offer had been de-
clined, so that II was all on paper. III
fact" the witness added. General
Brooke would have stopped him IL he
had attempted to do so."
Major Thomas T. Knox. inspector
general. who participated in the early
part OF the Santiago campaign as cap
tain In the LIST regular cavalry. was be-
fore the war investigation COMMITTEES
at its afternoon session. He was wound