Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-11-20
FED MEN WHO NEEDED TO FAST
THEN BLAMED THE GOVERNMENT
WHEN THE MEN DIED.
Lieutenant Edwards Opinion of AZ
fairs at MOntauk POint-One of
Volunteer Women Nurses
ON the Stand-Scvcral
Others Testify.

| T.
vestgating commission met to-day, Cen
| eral Dodge the chairman. announced that
| the sessions in the city will probably con-
| tinue ten days. General Dodge declined TO
| give in advance the names OF those he cN-
| pccted To examine but it said that in
| vitations had been sent to Colonel Roose-
| Welt and other members of the rough rid
| ers.
| Mrs. Edwin e. Allis, of New York, who
| went to Camp Wickof. September .. to
| help nurse the sick, was the first witness
| called. She told of the conditions prevail
| ing there and said that some of the hos
| pital wards were overcrowded. while 9TH
ers We're entirely empty and shut up. Mrs.
| Allis' statement referred principally to the
| annex hospital and to the sick of the
| Twelfth infantry. She complained that the
| food was poor and badly cooked. that the
| sanitary conditions We're bad, and that. as
consequence. the sick and the well suf-
| fered from Il plague of flies.
Cross-eXamned by Ex-Governor Wood
| bury, Mrs. Allis told of the carelessness of
| the hospital nurses and orderlies in a,-
| tending to complaints of the sick.
| summing up her conclusions Mrs AIli,
| thought there were not enough attendants
| IN the hospital. and that no care was taken
| 1 ba
| convalescent patients.
Lieutenant Charles Edwards. of the Sew
ehty-hrst New York regiment, and a pro-
fessional nurse. in reply to questions bv
General Dodge. said:
Il was technically starved for four weeks
after / recovered from yellow fever in
Cuba, but that was the best treatment
lot the disease. Many of the deaths in Cuba
were due to the ignorance of the men af-
iected. The doctors told them. If you eat,
you die Still they ate. The volunteer
| ladies who went to Montauk did more harm
tnan good. Their intentions We're all right.
nut they did not accomplish ;.ieir purpose
They had at their quarters soda water
ginger ale. champagne. cider, chicken and
bread and butter. They sympath!zed With
the men landing from the transports and
| invited them to eat and drink. OF course
the men wanted to eat, and the ladies'
gave them chicken and other edibles
few days later the men would be dead. and
the volunteer ladies would go around blam-
ing the government"
Captain Edward Pummer. of the Tenth
cavalry. now an aide-de-camp on General
ShafterS staff. who was brigade quarter
master with the Fifth army corps at
ssafters 81 ih headGuarters near Santiago. told
regiment at Mobile and the march to
Tampa and the voyage to Daiquiri. He ex-
planned that. as brigade quartermaster. 1t
was MS duty to take food to the front He
lett Siboney June % and went to Sevilla
On June Is he went to headquarters a few
miles from Santiago, and on July l he
started Tor the front with wagons of ra-
tons.
Orders from General Shafter stopped the
rah nen aftsr ,b bn sns was mm
Shafter and obtained permission to follow
t!lt,o the ammunition wagons. and unload pro
visions Sufhcient for all the men the
evening
l. on the fiat at the San Juan hill.
ficient, and if the work of transportation
was satisfactorily accomplished. Captain
was limited, but he did not believe that
more wagons could have been used because
of the limited facilities for loading the
be drawn; From motives OF prudence.
Was there any serious distress among
the men in the trenches on account of their
Inability to get supplies?
Il heard OF none. On the night OF July
/. met some men of my regiment and
asked them if they needed ANYTHING. They
told me that they had eaten all they want
ed. Captain Taggart. of the Sixth infant
ry told me that on July 3. after the fights,
he had accumulated a days rations ahead
Major Lorigan. Ninth New York. said
he Hor Isryed " b as iv IN the Esha New
and sufficient. He had heard complaints
of the food. but considered them due to
the iHexperience of the men and their
lack of experience to use properly the
food issued to them. 1t was only by acci-
dent. when a cook or waiter was a MEM
ber of n company. that the food was prop
erly cooked at Chickamauga.
How about the medical treatment?
There were many complaints of Dr.
Hubbard. He treated officers pleasantly.
but he was rough to the men. The only
case | know of was when sergeant broke
his leg in getting off the train at Chatta-
nooga. Instead of taking the man to
hospital in the city. DR. Hubbard insisted
that the man he taken to camp. twelve
niles further away. The man died on tine
way.
How about the statement that 7. g.
Lynch. a graduate of Yale and K. f. Ben
ner We're pronounced 'fakirs in the regi- G
Hubbard for medical attention. and that
both died a few days later. IN the division
hospitals"
Captain Howell asked: Was the want
of proper food the cause of the sickness
in your regiment
No: the sickness was due to the early
want of sinks and later because they were
dug inside the pipe line and within ten
feet of the tents. whence they drained 10
the tent trenches
worker among the sick at camp WikoH.
was the first witness at the afternoon ses.
sion She visited the camp for the nrst
Inn. after the arrival of troops on Sep
tan,her l.: Before then she had visited inc
trnins carving soldiers from Montauh
POINT and found many evidences of neglect
Men 100 weak 10 help themselves were
found living unconscious on the streets OF
tong Island City. and in every instance
n,ber. she made inquiry she learned ihat
there were neither doctors nor hu'S's 't'
the trains Of the convai,eSceni;Tn,, Miss Car
ard said. were very good during the Ter
;a,s she WAS at Camp Wikoh. she fouhn
cnnsiderable fault with the treatment OF
tbe convalescents. and complained bitterly
nj the lack of consideration shown 10 the
friends and relations OF sick soidlers WHO
visited them IN the hospitals.
WAS the nursing adequate? asked DE-
Conner. ., -
after September 16. but the manner in
which the sick. conyalescent and dying
yrar. moved about. apparently indiscrimin-
ately. was responsible for much loss of
life When man was to be removed
from one ward to another he was care
'lessly handled.
The lack OF proper clerical records at the
hospitals. Miss Garrard thought was due
to the inefcency of the men in charge of
affairs.
AT o'clock. General Dodge adjourned
tn. further hearing for lack OF witnesses.
The commission will convene again at go
o clock Monday morning. As soon the
ordinary witnesses are heard. the commits
sion will call upon the higher officers of
the United States service.
MeIba and Sloan Arrive