The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1898-10-20
HEWARNVESTIGATION
Another Day Spent in Taking Tes-
timony at Jacksonville.
DIR. FRYB's PLAIN DECLARATIONS

He Asserts That the Men of the Hos
pital Corps Were "a shabby loolS-
Ing Lot" and That Many ofthe Con-
tract Surgeons Were Incompetent.
Jacksonville, Fla, Oct. 20-The war
investigating commission held It's ses-
slons in the city hall yesterday, ex-
amining a large number of regimental
and other officers. One of the most
outspoken witnesses of the day was
DR.. Frye, of the Third division hos
pital He condemned some Of the
methods in vogue in the hospitals, and
said that in many cases the contract
physicians and members Of the hos
pital corps were incompetent. The
commission has decided that one of its
members should be in the commits
sion office at Washington, and Colonel
DENLY has been selected for this SER
vice. He was selected partly for the
reason that his health has not been
as robust as when in Washington.
DR.. Frye spoke of the causes for the
prevalence of typhoid in the Jackson
vile camp. He attributed it largely
to the age of the men, young people
being more susceptible than those more
advanced in years to this disease He
also thought much was due to the care
lessness Of the men themselves.
Dr. Frye said that I'm all the hospitals
with which he had been connected
there had been a deficiency of bed
linen. This had been especially true
at Fort Mcpherson. The hospital here
had also been short of lighting facili-
ties. DR.. Frye expressed the opinion
that in several instances convalescents
had been sent away from the hospitals
with which he was connected before
they were sufficiently advanced to per-
NIT them to go in safsty. He thought
these instances were Hue to insufficient
supervision, to ignorance of physicians
and a desire to clear the wards of the
hospitals for new patients.
DIR. Frye also spoke in very uncom-
plimentary terms of the men engaged
in the hospital corps, saying they had
been picked up at random over the
country and were generally a scabby
looking lot" not fit to adorn any walk
of life. He also spoke deprecatingly of
the contract surgeons, saying that he
would not be willing to trust his fam
lily or friends to so per cent of them.
In reply to a request from General
Dodge Major Frye gave his opinion as
to the origin of the popular excitement
concerning the conditions at Montauk
Point while the troops were stationed
there. He said that from so to IS per
cent of the men were sick when they
landed there, and that insufficient pro-
vision had been made for them. AS a
consequence many were compelled to
lie upon the bare ground, and they nat
urally suffered from exposure. He also
asserted that reporters of the many
newspapers had been sent to the camp
under instructions to find all that was
bad and nothing that was good.
Colonel Dows, of the Forty ninth
Iowa regiment, followed DR.. Frye, and
he was in turn followed by various
members of his regiment. Colonel
Dows said there had been no deficiency
in the commissary supplies. "The men
have the regular army rations," he
said, land If they have not had enough
the fault is theirs" Speaking of the
medical supplies Colonel Dows said
that physician whom Governor Shaw
had sent to the camp had spoken with
surprise of the variety and the quality
of the medicines anl medical appli-
ances on hand.
General e. B. Williston, in command
Of the First brigade of the Seventh
| corps, was questioned about various
points, having been stationed at Camp
Thomas, Montauk Point, Admission and
other points before coming to Jack
sonville. He said the principal objec-
tion he had to Camp Thomas in Chick
| amauga Park, was the fact that it was
! impossible, on account of the formation
of the ground, to have sinks more than
| two or three feet in depth. There had
also been an insufficiency of water in
the beginning of the history of the
| camp.
Speaking of the conditions at Jack
sonville he said he did not see that any
| fault could be found with either the ad-
ministrative officers or the service per-
| formed by them in either the medical
| commissary or quartermaster depart
ments Most Of his staff officers were
volunteers, but he had found them very
| efficient. He had also found the troops
in his command splendidly equipped
and had found the regimental officers
especially jealous to maintain the best
sanitary conditions possible.
General Williston had been at Mon.
tauk from the 10th of August to the
18th of September and had superin.
tended the debarkation of the troops
and the location of the infantry regi.
ments in camp.
Never" said he, twas a prettieI
camp pitched in the United States thar
was that camp at Montauk."