The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-03
WILL PAY OJT THOUSANDS.
Hospital Service VIII Receive and
Expend Much Money Here.

Wagon load after wagon load of medical
and hospital supplies were stored yester-
day in the building at Bay and Barnard
streets, formerly occupied by the Savan-
nah bakery. Here will be the headquar-
ters of Maj James E. Pitcher, medical
supply officer. Mai. Pitcher, who will be
assisted by Lieut.. Terriberry, with a corps
of help necessary to handle the business
of the department promptly and properly.
From this building all of the medical sup
plies of the entire Seventh Army Corps
will be obtained. After the corps leaves
Savannah for Cuba it is quite probable
that it will be retained in the same ca
pacity for the military hospital that by
that time will be in operation here. Here
will be stored great quantities of drugs,
bedding, cots, etc. From it hospital can
be equipped and its patients no matter
how numerous, supplied with all necessary
drugs. 1t will be a commissary for the
sick of the army, with everything ON
hand in abundance and of the finest quail
ity.
There is one thing that the government
does" said Maj. Pitcher yesterday, and
that is look after its sick soldiers in the
! hospitals. s The supplies will be here, an
abundance of everything that may be need
ed and all that is necessary is for the
proper officials to draw upon them. Resi-
mental surgeons are expected to draw
| weeks supply at a time, while the SUI
geon in charge of a hospital is expected
to send in acquisitions twice a week. Each
regiment is given a day on which its sup
plies of drugs, etc, are to be secured This
is done in the interest of system and.
for the general good of the service. or
| course, it does not preclude the sending
at any time for special drugs or other
supplies which may suddenly become nee
! essary The idea, though, is to require
/ those in charge to get enough of most sta
! pie drugs to run them for week, and
| not be ordering every day and being COM
/ pelled perhaps to wait, owing to a pres
| sure of orders. A surgeon can just IS
well supply himself with enough quinine
! pills for a week as send for them every
| day, and so it is with many other staple
| drugs.
Everything that we have is of the fin
est quality. There is no doubt about that.
! The government gets its drug supplies
! from the leading houses, whose reputa-
/ ton Is guarantee of the superiority of their
goods The surgeon generals office at
Washington makes the contracts, and the
bulk of the supplies come out from New
! York. Philadelphia, Baltimore and other
! Northern cities. Some supplies. though,
are purchased locally and the bills for
month aggregate large sum
''In issuing the supplies" continued Nal.
Pitcher ''the presence of the surgeon or
dering the same or competent represen-
tative is generally required to check the
| goods up as received and give receipts for
| them. One receipt is sent TO the surgeon
general at Washington and another is
kept here as a voucher. Two classes of
supplies are issued dependable, such as
| drugs, for which no accounting IS re-
quired from the surgeons, and non-expend-
| ible such as bedding. clothing, instru-
ments etc. of which proper care must be
| n "
| asked for. 1t takes an enormous quantity
| of linens blankets, mattresses, pillows,
| buckets, syrinses etc. to equip and keep
| going the hospitals of a corps of 1900 men.
| Thousands of sheets, pillow cases, blan-
kets. etc, will be here, and in addition
vast quantity of what are termed invalid
| supplies, such as pajamas, slippers, night
| shirts. etc. The laundry bill of a hospital
| service such as IS needed for an army
corps is of big proportions l have passed
bills for $1,000 a month for laundry work
done by contract. 1t means a heavy eXpen-
diture of money locally TO have great
military hospital, and Savannah VIII re-
| afize this later"
According to Maj. Pitcher, the expense
10 the government of a hospital service
is very heavy without considering the cost
! Of drugs and other supplies outside of
food. Two female nurses are allowed Ter
| eacn eleven patients, with two male help
| ere This ensures the men being well taken
| care of The female nurses are hired under
| contract at $50 a month, rations and lodg-
ing. A contract male nurse gets the same,
hut many of them are regularly enlisted
men drawing $21.60 a month, board, cloth
mo and lodgings. Contracts are being
made for nurses right along. A hospital
with 900 beds, such as Savannah will
have. viii probably have corps of 300
nnrses or more, and probably forty sur
eeons The pay of the nurses alone would
he fully 5000 a month. The surgeons
nav varies according to rank, but for that
number would run well up
mo the thousands. Then there
are expenditures of other thou-
sands of dollars for food supplies. The
government allows 60 cents day for the
feed of an invalid soldier and while it is
NOT All spent as a rule the bill for a month
Is heavy. For 200 bed hospital Maj.
pitcher has vouchers showing total out
Law for food supplies in month of $500.
For thousand bed hospital at this rate
the expenditures would be $4,000. which
would largely be expended locally. The
hospital to be erected here viii accord
ingiv mean the turning loose OF many
n L. GO