Evening star., 1898-10-05
Describes the Conditions at Camr
Thomas
BEFORE THE WAR INVESTIGATORS
Gen. Wheeler Tells About Sch
Soldiers at Camp Wikoff.
WATER AND FOOD GOOE

| Gen Joseph Wheeler went on the witness
| stand at 1890 O'Clock this morning wher
| the war investigating commission met IL
| the Lemon building.
| EN-Gov. Beaver continued to place before
| Gen. Wheeler charges OF mismanagement
| at Camp Wikoff made by the New York
| World Referring to horrors" in the treat
| ment of soldiers at Camp Wikon Gen.
| Wheeler said if there were any such "hor-
| rors' he did not know it. He had gone
| through the hospitals and he had been told
| 10y all the sick men and Others he talked
| with that the patients were receiving the
| very best treatment
Mr.. Beaver asked the witness If there
was any lack of food August "a, as
| charged in these specifications.
| Gen. Wheeler said he did not believe
there was any reason for such a charge.
| The surgeons were allowed 90 cents a day
for the special diet of the sick and there
was no lack Of such food as the sick men
| could eat.
a great many people had sent the witness
| while in command of Camp Wikon sums Of
| money and supplies for the sick He had
| received sums up to 5000 for this purpose.
| Little boys had sent him sums Of a dollar
| OF SO. All these sums OF money he had re-
| turned to the senders. telling them the men
| were getting everything required. as his
| own obsercatton showed, and as the sur
geons assured him. He told the people
| sending this money of different societies
/ doing relief work among soldiers and sug-
| eested that the money might be used by
! them.
| Asked regarding the reports that four SOL
! diers had to sleep in tent at Camp WI
koff, Gen. Wheeler said he considered that
was taking good care Of the men. He said
| they aid not put four in tent until it was
necessary on account OF large numbers of
| men coming on the transports. Frequently
| there were only two men in a tent.
| Gen. Wilson remarked that when he went
! TO the Military Academy as a cadet he
/ slept as one of four in tent.
| In regard to the report that Private
| Paret Of the Sth Infantry had died In his
tent from neglect and exposure after being
landed from the Mobile. he said his inquiry
| in regard to that showed that Dr. Tabor
was little gruff to the man, but that his
service in Cuba had been such as to earn
| for him the gratitude OF the soldiers and
a petition had been numerously signed ask
| ing that DIR. Tabor be retained in the reg
ular service. Gen. Wheeler said the man
| should have been sent to the hospital. but
| ii was mistake that had occurred. Ii was
a mistake of judgment. He had found the
surgeons Were themselves sick and as q
| result at times they were irritable. He had
| been told that DIR. Tabor was sick at this
time.
AS 10 the report that sick men were seen
| falling in the streets of the Sth Infantry,
| Gen. Wheeler said he saw by personal OBJ
servation that the men were very weak.
| He had been in the same condition himself
and he could appreciate what their condi-
| tion was. Their condition was due to the
poison that had got in them in Cuba. He
had no knowledge that in one company
only five men were able TO walk as had
been charged. He did know that more
than one-halt Of the men upon landing
were so weak they could hardly walk. His
impression was the Illness of the men was
caused by the malaria in them, causing
quickness of pulse, fever and making IL
necessary that they should have a change
he xpitb tbNf,t
exercise and eating a diet of greasy meat
and hard tack and coffee made them weak
After the surrender OF Santiago the men
were SO weak they could not exercise.
Disagreed With DIR. Sem.
Dr. Senn's declaration that there wa,
danger of epidemic of typhoid fevsr al
Comp Wikof was called to Gen. Wheelert
| attention.
The witness saw this statement when Il
was made and he at once began to inves.
tgate IL. He talked to other surgeons about
the matter. and they did not appear to
think that there was any danger Of an cpl
oemic OF typhoid fever His own observa-
tion satisfied him that there was no such
danger. He mad seen the statement at
tributed to DIR. Sem. but he did not know
positively that DIR. Sem had made It. Ha
had looked into that matter very thorough
ly, however, for the reason that the report
had created much alarm among the friends
OF the soldiers throughout the country. As
of typhoid fever within the week following
the making of that prophecy that there
would be an epidemic of typhoid. This
prophecy had been made August -. So far
as the sinks were conc arned, he did not
think they were too close to the quarters
of the men, and he was satisfied that no
case of typhoid fever came from the condi-
tion nearness of the sinks.
Tha charge that men in hospitals on Au-
gust 30 We're crowded Gen Wheeler did not
believe to be well founded.
The Water Good.
OF the water supply, on August 20. Gen
Wheeler said examinations by DR.. Swart
and othsrs showed the water TO be good.
OF DIR. Dimmick's charge that officers
had to hunt UP surgeons at Camp WikOh
about August 81. in order to get their men
attended to, General Wheeler said that
probably the case, and he considered that
there was nothing very unusual about that.
There was no duty higher for an officer to
perform, he said, than to hunt up surgeons
when their men needed them.
OF the $1,000 filter purchased on General
Wheelers order, he said 1t was done when
there was possibility that there would be
a scarcity of the supply. The Secretary
had told him ii would be worth the cost il
il should save one life, and as matter OF
fact the filter would be Of use elsewhere So
that there no loss in its purchase.
The charge that DR. L. Z. Smith expert
chemist had analyzed the character of
water in Camp Wikoff and found sewage
cOnldm dmlndtlOn, ne SdlO, ndO Deen called to
his attention, and he had called il to the
attention of the surgeons, but they had
denied that there was any contamination
of the water.
Altogether the water supply at Camp
Wikoff the witness said, was adequate re-
markably well distributed and of a pure
character.
The statement of DR.. w. Gilman Thomp-
son that the whole camp at Montauk was
infected with disease, and that men had
been there for days with typhoid fever. and
whose first treatment was after they
reached New York city, was read to the
witness.
General Wheeler said he did not think IL
was true that the whole camp was infected
with disease. 1t had happened that men
had left the camp and gone home, and af-
terward had typhoid fever. That he
thought was not strange.
The reports that there had been a def
cheney of sheets in the general hospital AT
Camp Wikof were read to the witness
Gen Wheeler said there had been a short
age of sheets In the hospital at one time.
but that had been caused by the ,iffficuitv
in getting laundry work done. There was
great difficulty about that at one time hut
then large laundry WAS eracfad M -.