The age-herald., 1898-10-28
COL. DUFFY BEFORE
 THE COMMISSION Said the Sixty-Ninth New York Never Lacked Supplies. THE SICKNESS ORIGINATED In the Camp Swamp. at Tampa Where the Tents Had No Floors Gap
 tain Stretch Told of the
 .Fardships in Cuba.
 

Huntsville, Ala, October H.-The war in- vestigating committee began it's work to- day with Captain Augur, who was in the quartermaster's department at Tampa He said that for time the government was swamped there, and he contributed the congestion to the railroads. Captain Cutter, an Ohio volunteer surgeon, who had charge of the ambulance corps at Tampa, said there was a shortage of ambuances there
 and that the camp conditions were bad Captain Duffy of the Sixty-ninth New York said his command had never lacked commissary supplies, but there was some delay in furnishing quartermaster stores. The sick had been well cared for, and while he had seen some criticisms in the New York newspapers, he thought most of the sickness originated in the swamp in camp at Tampa. There they had to dig only six inches for water and there were no tent floors. He said there had been sixteen deaths in the regiment.
 Captain Charles V. Parkhurst of the Sec ond artillery detailed the participation of the artillery in the siege of Santiago There were times when his men did not have time to eat, but there was no time when they did not have food. There was also plenty of forage for the horses. He was wounded twice on the 2d of July, and his wounds
 were dressed within a few minutes after they were received.
 First Lieutenant Conklin of the Second
 artillery, who was in the Santiago cam paign, said the only material defect in the
 supplies was in the powder, which he
 thought ought to have been smokeless. He did not think the sickness in the Cuban campaign could have been prevented. Major Lebo in command of the Sixth cav- airy, complained of the difficulty of secur- ing lumber, firewood, horseshoes and stoves
 in the camp here. He also said the tents were of poor material and leaked even when new He also said there had not been sufficient medical supplies in Cuba and
 that the transport Gate City, in which the command came north, was poorly suited Tor
 tho purpose.
 Captain Stretch of the Tenth infantry gave in detail the hardships of that regi-
 ment during the San Juan fighting. He said there was no time when the men had
 nothing to eat, but he did not remember having drawn full ration while in Cuba.
 He said the sick of the command were fed better at Montauk than they had ever been in their lives.
 
 sion was Dr. Charles M. Lee, who was ex- ecutive officer at the detention hospital at Montauk Point. He said the hospital was so crowded that on occasions when the large number of new men were received it was necessary to remove men from their beds and put the mon the floor in order to make room for all; also patients were kept over night under flies. He said there was deficiency of medical supplies, and he did not think their treatment was such as the patients should have had so near New York city.
 The inspecting commissioners who wis., ited the general hospital here today, found the institution without stoves. They took the matter in hand, and by night the depot quartermaster had secured thirty, with the promise that they would be put up tomor- row.