The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1898-11-27
BRUTALITY To
BRAVE TROOPS
Ice Water Sold to Dying Men
at 10 Cents a Glass,
DA|NT|ES FOR THE SICK
Devoured by the Officers While
the Poor Privates Starved.
MONSTROUS INCAPACITY SHOWN
Wounded Were Maltreated and Many
Were Practically Murdered.
FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMISSION
}
Is to Fix Responsibility for the Horri-
BILE State of Affairs, and to See
That Justice is Melted
Out to Guilty.
Wounded Were Maltreated and Many
Were Practically Murdered.
FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMISSION

New York, November z6.-Captain f1oWeh
read letter addressed by Robert ]. Roose-
welt, secretary of the committee of the So
ciety for the protection of soldiers, at TO-
days session of the war investigating COM
mittee General Dodge suggested that the
letter be received and filed, and by general
consent General Dodges suggestion was
adopted.
The afternoon session completed the work
of the commission in this city. The men,
bers of the commission went to Boston to-
night.
The letter written to the commission by
Mr. Roosevelt read in part as follows:
ITO the Presidential Commission of In
quiry-Gentlemen: l have noticed in the
morning press that none of your members
criticises the witnesses who have testified
at the request of the committee formed in
this city to protect the soldiers for the rea-
son that while establishing the fact that
much groundless and inexcusable suffering
was inflicted on the army, they do not fix
the responsibility nor show who is to blame.
If the views of your commission are cor
recty reported, there seems to be misun-
derstanding between us. We supposed that
all the witnesses had to do was to prove
the facts and that the commission would
fix the responsibility; indeed, was appointed
for the express purpose of fixing the re-
sponsibility
.The heroic boys may forget their suf-
ferings; may even refuse to testify to them;
but their mothers will not and their fathers
will not. Nor will it do to take refuge be-
hind the errors of the civil war.
Intentional Cruelty
''There was no intentional cruelty such
as seems to have often prevailed in this
war. The sick men were not starved. Sick
men were treated with all possible atten-
tion and kindness. Water was not sold to
fever-racked sufferers at 10 cents a glass;
food was not sold to starving men at rs
cents for a sandwich and dainties for the
dying men were not eaten by the officers
But suppose matters had been thousand
times worse In the civil war; would that
be any reason now that our men should be
sent with arms out of date, that there
should be. no ambuances, no pack trains
or transportation to carry food to the
front; not half sufficient medicines, nor
doctors; no proper hospitals, and that men
with freshly treated wounds should be left
to lie in the mud on blanket If they had
one, without it If they had none; nor even
why mid-winter underclothing should be
sent to Cuba and midsummer gauze un-
dershirts to Montauk.
1.-THE uncomplaining endurance of our
men has simply been heroic. They bore
with privations, to death even, without a
word. 1t was only neglect, starvation, in
fact, and abuse in the hospitals which CALI
ed forth letters and sent only home to their
families; letters which were sent to me by
broken hearted mothers in pitiful appeals
to the society to help their sons I wish
the commission could have heard them, but
as many of them were transmitted to me
coniidentially, L cannot even quote from
them.
Monstrous Incapacity
"The Witnesses have established mon
strous incapacity That they have not full
confidence in the power of your commission
no matter how good its will, to meet all re-