Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1898-10-10
wAA INVESTIGATION.
Two Witnesses, Saturday. Tell Of chicka-
mAusa and Jacksonville Camps.

Washington. Oct. y.-The war inveS-
tigation commission examined two wit
nesses. yesterday. They were DR.. Grif-
fin. who is in charge of the Sternberg
hospital at Camp Thomas, Chickamau-
ga Park. Ca, and Capt. Baldridge, Il
brigade commissary of subsistence at
Camp Cuba Libre, at Jacksonville.
The commission has practically de-
cided to start on the night of the 18th
on its rounds of the various camps 1t
will go either to Camp Meade or to
Jacksonville. first. AL the camps will
be visited in succe ssion, but the under
standing is that the trip to Camp Wi
koff will not be made until some time
in November. Next week will be de-
voted largely to the inspection of afti-
cial reports and other statements which
have been furnished in reply to re-
quests by the commissioners.
The commission began it's proceed
ings. yesterday, with Maj. r. Emme.
Giffin on the stand. He was chief sur
Eeon at Camp Thomas, and told of his
visit to the I'd Division hospital in July
last, when he said it was overcrowded.
There was a sufficiency of physicians,
and he was sure they were competent
men.
He thought the crowding of the hos
pital was from lack of sufficient tent
age-a fault due to the surgeon in
charge.
The division hospital surgeons were
competent in their profession, some of
them being the most competent in the
United States, but they were not men
of active ability. None of them was
addicted to drink. He considered the
water supply good.
The sinks were poorly located. They
were too near the kitchens, and were
too shallow. DR.. Giffin was satisfied
that the typhoid had been brought in
by the troops, the first case coming
through a Mississippi regiment.
The location was a healthful one, as
he made an Investigation and found
that prior to the arrival of the troops
there had been only one case of typhoid
in the vicinity for nine years. There
had been about 5000 cases CT typhoid
in the camp.
Many articles We're sent to the men
from the North, but, as rule, they
spoiled before they arrived, and could
not be used. He said that when pa
tients began to convalesce they Were
put on special diet for a week and Their
furloughed and sent home.
DR.. Giffin had no complaint of neg
lect or inefficiency to make against any
Of the bureaus of the war department
and he had heard of only one com
plant. There were no matches for q
hours. He thought that the contract
surgeons should have been examined
before they were appointed, but they
were not so examined to his knowledge
The doctor also expressed the opinion
that the complaints of starvation hat
arisen from the fact that it was neces
sary to put the convalescents from ty
phoid fever on a sparce diet. HI
thought many deaths had been caused
by overlooking after convalescents re
turned to their homes
Orders were given, to his knowledge
for prompt measures looking to th'
suppression of the fever when it brok
out, but the orders had not been obey
ed.
Capt. James c. Baldridge, commits
sary of subsistence for the 1st Brigad
of the End Division of the 7th Arm
Corps, now at Camp Cuba Libre, Jack
sonville, testified during the afternoon
he reaSHeu camp oii Aus. - anu iiio,i
an immediate inspection of the kit
chens He found some of them no
we'll managed, as all Of the arm
cooks were not experts. He believe
that for an army in camp green coffe
was preferable to the roasted. Ih
meat he considered good.
The men were literally supplied wit
food, and the location of the camp wa
good STILL there had been an increas
Of disease, which he attributed to tn
climate and to the assembling of
large body of men. He also though
decaying fruit and the canteen bee
had had an influence in producing dis
ease.