The age-herald., 1898-10-06
SOLDIERS WERE
 WELL CARED FOR Wheeler Says There Was No Lack of Food at WikOf,. WERE INDIVIDUAL CASES Of Suffering and Neglect of the Troops at Montauk Point. BOYNTON DEFENDS CAMP THOMAS EuIogized the Supply Methods of the War Department at Chickamauga. MORTALITY OF SPANISH TROOPS General Wheeler Said the Death Rate Among the Enemy Was Quite
 Equal to that Among the
 Troops at Santiago.
BOYNrON DEFENDS CAMP THOMAS
EuIogized the Supply Methods of the War Department at Chickamauga.
MORTALITY OF SPANISH TROOPS

Washington, October 5.-General Wheeler completed his testimony before the war in- vestigating commission today and was followed by Gen. H. V. Boynton, who was still on the stand when the days session closed. General Wheeler's statement of to- day dealt entirely with the conditions at Camp Wikoff and General Boyntons with those at Camp Thomas, where he is now in command.
 General Boynton described in detail the provisions for supplying the Georgia camps with water, and told many interesting facts about the location of the troops and the precautions taken to care for and protect them whether sick or well. He said the men wasted more food than the army of the Cumberland consumed during the civil war in the siege of Chattanooga, and he eulogized the supply methods of the war department throughout.
 General Wheeler resumed his testimony before the war Investigating commission today at the opening of the session. The examination on the line of the New York Worlds charges was resumed. He said if there were any "camp horrors on the 27th of August, as charged, the commander of the camp was responsible, for he had full power to furnish relief. There probably were individual cases of suffering, but, as a rule, he knew the soldiers were well car ed for There was certainly no lack of food, which was to be had in plenty.
 Hospitals Were Crowded
 General Wheeler admitted that in many instances there were men i'll in his com- pany quarters. Often men not very i'll pre- ferred not to go to the hospital, and the hospitals were too crowded to make room for them.
 Some time was spent on the charge that General Wheeler had said that General Eagan, chief commissary of subsistence. had countermanded an order of his for sup niles. This occurred, he said, but it was due to a misconstruction of general orders.
 Wheeler also explained the circumstances concerning the death of Private Hugh Par rett. My inquiry" said he, developed the fact that Dr. Tabor was little grun to the men, but it also developed the fact that he had proved efficient in the field that they were devoted to him, and had pe- titioned for his retention in the army"
 This. he thought, was one of those indi- yidual cases of neglect. and he thought 1t was to be explained by the fact that pr. Tabor was probably i'll himself. He found this to be in other cases, and had remon- strated with physicians for being irritable with patients. Ia
 General Wheeler said that 1t was true that many soldiers would fall on the streets. He thought that all of them had heen weakened by their experience in Cuba, and most of them had the germs or fever fin them. It was not strange, therefore, II some of the men had fallen to the ground at Wikoff
 Prediction Not Verified
 The General took up a statement attrlo- uted to Dr. Senn concerning the sinks. He said the sinks were covered every hour |, Nr Dron ground and found that the soil was not porous. He also found that other physi- clans did not agree with Dr. Senn as to the danger from typhoid There was xlo outbreak of fever such as Dr. Senn had predicted; hence 1t was false prophecy. The men were supplied with cots, and in no case were there complaints on the dor mitory officials part There was an in- crease of typhoid, but the prediction was not verified.
 General Wheeler said he had seen in statement from pr. lI. E. Smith to the ef- feet that the drinking water was contam- iaated. He had made an examination not by the surgeons, but by Colonel Smart, a noted expert, and they had informed him that the water was pure. He considered the water supply adequate and pure and that the water was well distributed. While it had been considered very desirable to weed the sick out and send such as could go to the city hospital, he had cautioned the surgeons against sending men not able 10 leave and had interfered to see that they were not sent. He admitted that be- fore the laundry there was a scarcity of clean linen for fever patients He had en- couraged the closest inspection from news paper men and visitors
 Replying to criticisms by pr. Heber New ton, referring especially to the failure to have the camps at Montauk provided pre- vious to the beginning of the war, General Wheeler said he could not account for the criticisms unless it was true that Dr. New ton was not used to the conditions which generally prevail at military hospitals. It was impossible to foresee that the troops would return so early.
 General Miles had predicted that .they would of necessity remain is Cuba for n year or two. It would not therefore have been expedient to build hospital in sd-