The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-10-21
THEY MEANT WE'LL
BUT INEFFICIENT NURSES THE
RULE BEFORE THE WON
EN CAME
SOME ADMISSIONS GAINED
War Department Inquiry board
Hears Mass of Testimony, bat
Gains Little Additional Light
Suffering Soldiers Who Were
Preyed Upon by Flics-COI. w.
j. Bryan Excused.

Suffering Soldiers Who Were
Preyed Upon by Flies-CoI. w.
j. Bryan Excused.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla, Oct. 20.-The
war Investigating commission heard
several of the professional female
nurses at the forenoon session today,
including Miss Copeland, chief nurse
at the Third division hospital; Miss
Robinson, head nurse at the First di-
vision hospital; Miss Hubbard, head
nurse at the Second division hospital,
and Misses Walker and Walters, ward
nurses. Miss Copeland spoke in COM
men6ation of the conduct of the hos
pitfalls, and said that the nurses were
we'll treated and APPARENTLY much re-
sPected. She said the nurses had their
own tent quarters. where there was
the privancy demanded by their sex.
They had in the beginning of their stay
here boarded at hotel, but now they
had their own mess and preferred it.
Miss Copeland said that when the
nurses first came to the camp there
was only one nurse to each forty or
fifty patients, but this condition had
been steadily improved. There was in
the beginning some scarcity of appli-
anCeS for the sick, such as hot water
bottles, which, while not q necessity,
were a comfort. She spoke of nurses
who had made complaints, but that
they were the kind Of nurses who were
never satisfied with anything. One
Philadelphia nurse had made severe
complaints, but she was the kind of
woman who would leave a patient to
whom she had just given a bath to at
tend to some other errand, neglecting
him.
COL. BRYAN EXCUSED.
Col. w. J. Bryan was next called.
He asked to be excused from testify
ing, requesting that his lieutenant col
onel be examined instead.
You will, no doubt, understand my
reasons for the request" he said.
II think the request very reasonable
and proper" responded Gov. Beaver,
and as the entire commission assented
to this concession Col Bryan was eX-
cused, with the request to send up his
lieutenant colonel.
w. T. Durbin, of the One Hundredth
and Sixty-first Indiana said there were
few complaints from his men and that
they were generally trivial. He spoke
SPECIALLY Of the grounds of the Third
division hospital, saying they had for
a time been very poorly kept. There
had, however, been a vast improve
ment since DR.. Clendening had sue
ceeded DR.. Jesurusm, of the rough rid
erS. Col. Durbin also said there had
been one or two complaints of neglect
of his men at this hospital.
Capt. John w. SWatek, Of Company
L, Second Illinois, complained that on
two or three occasions the fresh meat
furnished his men had been poor, but
said that on all other occasions the
food had-been good and ample.
there had been complaint from almost
every man in the company in regard
to their breakfasts and suppers. Capt.
SWatek replied that he had eaten the
same food given the men, and that 1t
was satisfactory to him. He said
however, that he did not ordinarily
participate of the meals of the men.
Sergeant A. f. Lorenzo, of the same
company, admitted that there was
some complaint among the men, but he
thought the complaints were due to
the fact that the men were homesick
Col. Taylor, of the Fourth Virginia
regiment, was the first witness before
the war investigating commission at
the afternoon session. He said he had
no complaint whatever to make re-
garding the service given.
DIR. Alexander Kent, pastor OF the
Episcopal church at Washington and
field agent at Jacksonville for the Red
Cross, was questioned concerning the
operations Of the Red Cross at this
point. He said he had been received
very cordially by the army surgeons
and he had co-operated with them. He
had noticed the absence of sheets and
pillow cases at the Second division
hospital in it's early history. This was
in midsummer, and many men lay I'M
covered on account of the short sup
ply Of blankets. He supplied the de-
ficiency. There was also at that time
a shortage of tents and food suitable
to typhoid fever patients. He had
distributed two carloads of the neces-
sary delicacies. 1t seemed, he said,
as if the hospital was arranged upon
q smaller scale than was demanded,
and, as a consequence, there was
constant demand upon the Red Cross
to supply the deficiency, DR.. Kent
said he had heard many complaints
concerning misconduct at the hospi-
tails and many Of them were apparent
ly vouched for, but were not generally
we'll founded when investigated.
DID NOT UNDERSTAND.
Replying to question, he thought
it had been very difficult to get suf-
icent men Of administrative ability to
manage the division and division hos
pitfalls. Before female nurses were Sc
cured the nurses, who were men Of
the hospital corps, were not capable.
They were not intelligent as a class.
They did not seem to understand the
importance of the matter if flies were
crawling in and out of q sick mans
mouth, with impunfty, and he had seen
as many as six cases Of this kind at
one time. Since the trained nurses
had been secured, the sick were better
cared for than at home. The witness
said the principal reasons Of the failure
of the physicians to make acquisitions
on the government for supplies was
found in the fear of their making n
maEds that would not be sanctioned.
He said the contributions of his society
were generally solicited, and not volun-
tered by him.
w. M. Kirksey, Of Texas, hospital
steward, was questioned concerning the
management of the case of Charles
Bordu Jr., Of Louisiana regiment, for
which the hospital management had
been severely criticised. He said he
had care of this case, and that every
thing had been done for the man and
the father of the man had thanked
him for his care of his son.
Lieut. Col. Vifucane, a veteran of
the Civil war, and a graduate of the
military school of Brussels, of the
Third Nebraska, said the regiment was
eHcellently we'll equipped, except that
the tentage was poor. He also said the
quality Of the clothing was bad. The
pork had also been wormy at times and
the beef tainted. but these were ex-
changed. He had thought the clot| Ing
better than In the Civil war but the
rations were not so good as then. He
also thought the camp too much crowd
ed
Other witnesses examined a tho a p