Daily new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1897-1906, 1898-08-26
WAGNER HOME.
Wheeling's Member Of The
7Ist New York Back.
lis Very Sick-Stories of the Gross
Neglect of the Sick Soldiers and the
Incapable Management.

Incapable Management.
The following concerning the return
of Dwight Wagner to his home in
Wheeling will be read with much in
terest here 1t is from Last evenings
Wheeling News:
The first Wheeling man who SER
we'd in Skaters army in the siege of
Santiago, to arrive home is Dwight
H. Wagner, son Of Cashier John Wag-
ner of the First National Bank. Mr..
Wagner reached here this morning at
half past eleven o'clock, accompanied
by his brother Guy Wagner.
He was looking pale and thin, his
form being emaciated by continu-
ed attack of fever, and he was hard
ly able to talk. He was met at the
depot by his father and driven at
once to the family residence on
Twelfth street, where he Immediately
retired. Mr.. Wagner's condition is
such that all visitors were denied him,
and will be some days before heregains
his health. He served in the fighting
seventyfirst New York, company M.
He was in the first attack on San
tiago in which the regiment made a
reputation for itself for gallantry des-
pite sensational reports TO the con-
trary by its home enemies. Shortly
after the surrender he was seized
with an attack of malarial fever, and
when he arrived in New York last
Thursday was sent to the Detention
hospital at Montauk Point where he
was until he left for home Yesterday.
When News reporter called at the
Wagner residence this afternoon he
was unable to see the soldier, but
Mrs. w. P. Wiley, of Morgantown,
sister of Mrs. Wagner, furnished
some interesting information coneer-
ming the young mans condition and
experiences, which he had related to
members of his family. His state
ments bear out the truth of the re-
ports of the awful neglect with which
the soldiers were treated, and proves
that half the Illness and deaths among
the troops is due to the incapable
management of the campaign.
In the first attack on Santiago Mr..
Wagner's best friend and campmate
was killed. He was standing forth in
the line from where Mr.. Wagner
stood and the bullets were flying I'M
comfortably close. 1t was the hot
test portion of the campaign. Mr.
Wagner was in all the three days
fight, never received scratch. He
was not so fortunate in escaping dis
ease as in missing the Mauser bullets.
He succumbed with the largest ma
jority of the rest of the troops to ma
larial fever.
He was sent home on LIE Granda
Duchesse. The ship was veritable
plague-hole, and the sick men lay
huddled together with little shelter
and no comforts. So limited were
the supplies Mr.. Wagner informed his
family that some of the men actually
starved to death. The ship was a
floating charnal house.
The conditions when the men were
landed at Montauk Point were worse,
if possible. Mr. Wagner along with
the rest of the soldiers was dumped
out on the open field and for "a hours
they lay on the ground suffering from
the torrents of high fever, without a
bit of covering or shelter Of any sort.
The arrangements for feeding the
SIGH men were wretched. There was
nothing to eat but a sort of beef
stew and the men. sick as they were
had to crawl to the kitchen to get it
themselves.
There was no one to bring the food
to them. Ii they hadn't strength to
go after it they starved The regu-
lar army nurses were not there, and
while the Red Cross did the best it
could it had but one nurse for seven
ty-tive men. The conditions were
simply Undesirable.
Many of the reports concerning
Montauk Point have been attributed
to the desire of newspaper correspond
ents to be sensational. s'The truth
is, Z said Mrs. Wiley this afternoon,
sthe hundredth part of it has not been
told
will The East Train Go!