The semi-weekly messenger., 1898-10-25
Necessary for the Comfort Of Our Sick Sol
diers in Army Hospitals.
TWO CAR LOADS OF DELICACIES
Furnished the Hospitals
CorpsMatters Of
Complaints Shortage n and Hospital Sup.
plies...Few Cases OF Willful Neglect or Culpable
Mismanasem t...fav Report on the
Ferns Ina Camp
Fernandina Camp.

Jacksonville, Fla, october 2u.-The
war investigating commission con-
cluded its labors at Jacksonville to-
night and shortly after 10 o'clock left
for Atlanta, expecting TO take up busi-
ness there tomorrow. The commission
has spent four days in Jacksonville.
This being the first OF the camps TO
be visited, ii has naturally been
awarded somewhat more of time than
will be given to other points, with the
possible exception Of Chickamauga.
The commissioners are generally
pleased with the result OF their la
bors here. They have naturally met
with complaints, but they have gen.
orally dealt with comparatively unim-
portant points and in very few IL any
cases have they indicated willful neg
lect or culpable mismanagement. Gen.
edally, one private or non-commis-
stoned officer from each regiment had
been called and in many cases more
than one. In the case of the enlisted
men they were selected at random, the
commissioners merely asking that men
be sent to them without specification
Of the purpose for which they were
called. They have without exception
said they were receiving enough to eat
and wear. There were occasional COM
plants of defects in clothing or a re-
quest for a greater variety of food, but
In no instance has a spirit OF fault
finding been developed among this
class of witnesses. In some cases a
deficiency of supplies at the begin
ming OF the camps history was shown
and there has been more or less of
tainted meats received by the men, but
it was agreed by all the witnesses that
the first condition was due to the con-
gestion at Tampa and the latter to the
climate.
General McCook and Colonel Saxton
returned today from their investiga-
ton Of conditions at Tampa. They
found that the congestion which oc-
CURED at the point at the beginning
OF the war was due to the fact that
cars were shipped from all over the
country without labels and without
forwarding bills of lading
THE FERNANDINA CAMP.
General j. Wilson and Captain How
ell, constituting the subcommittee ap-
pointed to visit and report upon the
| conditions of the camp at Fernandlna,
made their report to the full commits
sion today. The following is the i'm
port of the document:
Your committee has the honor to
report that in its opinion the camp
, was we'll selected; that the site was
equal to any other that could have
been found on the Florida coast That
from information it obtained and wha t
| it saw it was far from being a trop-
| ical jungle, and that the certificate of
| the county clerk indicates that no gov
| ernment official was interested in the
| land; that the amount of work done
| in clearing the underbrush was no
| greater than might have been expect
! ed at almost any locality in the south,
| selected for camping purposes; that
| the site was we'll drained, the water
| for drinking and cooking purposes
| good and the bathing facilities at the
| sea beach excellent"
| The commission had several of the
| professional female nurses at the fore
| noon session today, including Miss
| Copeland, chief nurse at the Third di-
| vision hospital; Miss Robins. head
: nurse at the First division hospital:
| Miss Hubbard, head nurse at the
| Second division hospital and Misses
| Walker and Waters.
Miss Copeland spoke in conlmenda-
ton Of the conduct of the hospitals
| and she said that the nurses were wei
| treated and apparently much respect
ed. She said the nurses had their owr
tent quarters where there was the
| privacy demanded by their sex. She
| said that when the nurses first came
| to the camp there was only one nurse
to each forty Of sixty patients, bu
| this condition had been steadily improy
ed. There was also in the beginning
some scarcity Of appliances for the
sick, such as hotwater bottles. which
while not a necessity, were often g
comfort. She spoke of some nurses
who had made complaints, but they
were of the kind Of persons who are
| never satisfied with any situation
One Philadelphia nurse had made Sc.
we're criticisms. but she was OF the
kind who would leave a patient Il
whom she had just given a bath tC
attend to some other errand before
| drying him.
Colonel Taylor Of the Fourth Vir
ginia regiment, was the first witnes.
before the war investigating commits
sion at the afternoon session today
He said he had no complaint whatev
er to make concerning any depart
ment Of the government and that h
knew of no case of willful neglect. H
l.spoke of some printed criticism Of tn
| regiment made by a man named Ned