Bryan morning eagle. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1898-1909, 1898-10-05
Typhoid Taking a Stronghold. and
0ne-FOurih Of the Army Is
Unfit For Service.
MUST BE SENT AWAY
TO REGAIN HEALTH.
Volunteers Are Suffering More Than
the Regulars Disease Brought 10
the Island-Slck Are BEING
Sent 10 the North.


copyrightea. is's. by the Associated Pres.
Ponce. Oct. 4-It y the well ground
ed and almost unanimous opinion Of the
medical staff Of the American army in
Porto Rico that conditions Of the volun-
teer forces here necessitates their re-
moval north Sickness IL increasing and
has been increasing the past three weeks
At an alarming rate Today the sick
report shows over goo in hospitals or in
quarters out Of total command Of TO-
600, that Is, over % per cent Of the
troops are on the sick list The medical
officers have found that the GONZALES
cents DO not, and seemingly cannot, re-
cover their strength in this climate, and
for this reason they are being sentnorth
as rapidly as possible. several hundred
leaving every week.
II is a significant fact that there IL a
wide disparity between the sickness in
the volunteer and regular commands.
In the two regular infantry regiments
the sickness averages only 70 per cent,
while in the volunteer regiments IL av.
enges 81 Undoubtedly the wide die
parity between the percentage Of sick.
ness In the volunteer and regular organ.
izations l. largely due 20 the fact that
the former arc better able 20 care for
themselves Most Of them arr veterans
who understand the rules Of health in
camp aud their officers from the vev
outset have enforced the sanitary regula.
tions 10 necessary for the preservation Of
health. But more than this, the regu.
lars are making soldering n business
They did not enlist for the war, but fof
i've years, and they look upon their A.
signment for service in perhaps philb
sophioally aud 80 make the best of the
situation The volunteers on the other
hand. enlisted for two years, but with
the almost universal expectation that
they would b. mustered out when the
war closed. Almost 10 man they de.
sire 10 60 home, ana ever since the pro
tocol was signed they have lived in the
daily hops Of being recalled. For DAYS
they have talked Of nothing else.
Homesickness dcl ressed their spirits Ani
made them easy victims 10 the mAlarial
climatic conditions Iii said that some
Of them who did not fall sick naturally.
actually exposed themselves TO the
weather or ate freely OF tropical fruits
despite the regulations, that they might
become vi and be sent home. Some. ii
Ia alleged, even feigned sickness and
quite a number Of these succeeded Ia
their designs
The medical staff OF the army under
direction Of Major Snowden. has labored
increasingly to stay the progress Of dis.
ease and sickness, but the sick list grows
larger at the rate OF 90 or 90 a dAy de.
spite their efforts
The weekly report Of a week ago
shows S65 cases Of typhoid fever. SIS
cases ef malaria, one case Of smallpoi
and 1850 cases OF climatic fever. diAr.
rhoca, etc. Since then about 800 case.
have been added 20 the list.
The worst feature OF the situation 4
the steady increase Of the number Of ".
phoid fever cases which today reaches
over 400. For time II appeared prob.
able that the typhoid fever in the army.
most of which x alleged 20 have come
from Camp Thomas and Camp Alger
originally, would be stamped ont. bus
IN about three weeks now eases began
toappcar 20 an alarming rate. Major
Snowden and his associates do not boz.
licye That there is now source OF con.
tagion, bat rather that the cases are due
TO infection from the old cases.
II Is possible that when the troors
cross after the evacuation Of the islanl
Is completed by the Spaniards and get
into barracks out of the rain, which fall
almost daily, their condition will iu.
prove, but as 20 thi. the physicians arr
very skeptical. There are spacious ba..
mcks IN every Sarge town IN the island,
rioro than sufficient TO accommodate