The age-herald., 1898-11-01
THE COMMISSION
 AT KNOXVILLE Concluded Its Southern Tour Of InSpeC-
 tion Yesterday. WILL VISIT CAMP MEADE Negro Colonel Commander Of Brigade at
 Camp Poland. !.
 1MpliuE MATED tnnlfKAuA ttn A
IMPURE WATER AT cHlcKAmAuea
Dr. J John Martin Testified That the Pipe rLine System Was Contaminated by Gave Creek-Existence of Ty-
 phoid Was Suppressed.

Camp Poland, Knoxville, Tenn, October
 31.-rhe war investigation committee con-
 eiuded the work of its southern tour here
 today, and at o'clock tonight left for
 Washington, expecting ru arrive there
 about 2 o'clock tomorrow afternoon. It is
 the present intention that the commission
 will go to Camp Meade soon after the ar- rival at Washington, and ex-Governor Woodbury will proceed directly to Vermont as a subcommittee to take testimony there. The commission devoted the forenoon to- day to inspecting the camps and the after noon in taking testimony. They found a division of troops here under the command of Colonel Kurtz, of the Second Ohio, and
 while they had no personal criticism to ex-
 press against him, some of the commissions
 CTS expressed the opinion that the command was too large to be entrusted to an officer
 below the rank of rigadier-general. The
 transfer of Colonel kurtz to the command
 of the division leaves the brigade of which
 his regiment is a part in command of Colo
 mel Young, the colored colonel of the Third
 North Carolina
 E A pleasant incident of the inspection of
 the troops was an informal address by Gen. f eral McCook to the officers of the Second |. Gao. He urged upon them careful atten- ! tion to their duties as soldiers and patriots He reminded them that they were expected to be examples for their men; reminding them that at the battle of San Juan the officers stood while they ordered their men
 to lie down while they fought. '"rhe priv
 ate soldiers and the minor officers fought
 that battle,' he said, "and that they un-
 derstood their business and were faithful
 to their trusts, the result attests.''
 : The Santiago Army
 i Continuing, he told them that there was no aggregation of soldiers that would net follow its officers where they would lead. He said the troops that went to Santiago cons tituted the finest army that ever went forth to battle and said their efficiency was largely due to their excellent discipline and the courage of their officers. These quai- ties had, he said, made it possible to suc- cessfully charge San Juan hill without tho aid of artillery fact which was without parallel in military annals.
 General McCook told the officers that while he hoped the fighting of the army was over, no one could say this was true, and that they owed it to themselves to be prepared to face any emergency which might present itself.
 i The first witness before the commission was pr. John Martin, a contract physician from Chicago who was at Chickamauga. He repeated his expression of opinion that the water in the pipe line system at Chickamauga was contaminated by the water from Cave Spring creek. He said that after he had first expressed this opin- len, saying at the same time that the facts in regard to the existence of typhoid were being suppressed, he had been summoned by General Sheridan and told that he must retract immediately or submit to a court martial. He had then written a letter of retraction. but he declared that he had done this to promote discipline and not be- cause he had changed his opinion as to the pollution of the water. He read q statement from the pumping station engi- neer to the effect that the new channel of the Cave Spring Creek was not completed until August and that previous to this time the creek emptied into Chickamauga river just above the mouth of the intake pipe or the pipe line system.