The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-06-13
STRAW GROUND, TENDER GROUND
Progression of Members of the Thir.
teenth Regiment.

teenth Regiment.
Staff Correspondence The St. Paul Globe.
CAMP MERRITT, San Francisco, June T.
NOW they have US where they want u.s.
sald member of the Thirteenth today. First
they they mad US in straw; now they have US on
the ground. We will next be under the
satisfied"
He referred to an order which was issued
this morning by Col. Reeve. requiring all
straw in tents to be removed and that the
men should sleep the ground.
The straw was bad enough" said the SOL
dIer, but the ground is worse. Sand Is not
Look here!''
He pulled aside his shirt and showed his
body. which was blotched with big red spots.
Those are flea bites.'' he said, land they
sting so it is impossible to sleep or rest 1
got those while sleeping on straw. I'll get
easy for officers who have board floors and
cots in their tents. to say to the men to
sleep on the ground, but it isn't fair deal .
Any one who enlists in this company is a
fool spoke up another man. "Our friends
tell us we're heroes. but we're crazy; that 8
what. and any one who offers to enlist should
Col Reeve issued the order en- the advice
of Maj. Fitzgerald. chief of the hospital corps
Ever since the Thirteenth arrived at Camp
Merritt the men have suffered with earache
and many have been attacked with measles.
Maj. Fitzgerald at first attributed the ear,
ache to the many and sudden changes Of tenn
were
during, their Journey to San Francisco. par
ticularly to the descent from the high aItl-
t n Of the sierras to sea level. and he or
dered treatment in conformity with that
theory. But later he discovered that some
thing more serious than earache afflicted
the men and in number of instances large
mems ears. Maj. Fitzgerald. Capt Law and
Lieut.. Richie then concluded that the straw
bedding was the cause Of the trouble AS the
| bacteria Iodp in, &c,
ears, and they declared that the straw should
go. Another cause for alarm about the straw
was measles: There have been a number Of
such cases in camp, just as there at
Camp Ramsey. and the physicians agreed
that straw was an excellent medium for con-
sa tag h. They made report to Col Reeve
In the camp should all be taken away.
The straw was raked out of the tents and
piled in the company streets. and thence car
ried to the street. where it was removed in
large carts. When noon came there was
not so much as wisp of straw in the camp.
Many of the men could not. or would not.
understand why they were deprived of their
bedding. and attributed the colonel's order
to his arbitrary disposition, but those who
that it was good and timely.
A number OF the men today went down
town and bought cheap cots and mattresses.
To that there was no objection. and many
than they were before. but the men will
! not be allowed to take such things with
them to Manila AS long as they remain a,
parattvely comfortable. Those who are not
able to afford such luxuries will be unhappy
until they get used to the feas.
The men have another grievance, aad that
is the army shoes which were issued to them
| at st. Paul. The shoes have paper soles
| and the sidewalks around Camp Merritt are
| made Of sharp stoes. which must be trodden
and crushed down before the sidewalks will
be passable. The men trudge over these
stones at all hours of the day. and their shoes
have been cut to pieces. Consequently. their
soies are perforated. and some are little bet
ter than barefooted. Many OF the soldiers
have discarded the army shoes and have
bought comfortable footwear rather than
undergo the discomforts which they must
endure If they wear the shoes the government
gives them.
I'VE are beginning now to realize what SOL
diering means,' said one of the men today.
| 1.-THE further we get from home the more
| we appreciate what we have done and have
| got to do, and we haven't started for Manila
yet" Evan M. Jones.
HEAITH OF THE THJRTETHNTu