The age-herald., 1898-11-11
THE COMMISSION
 VISITS DETROIT
Rev. Helen Richards Gave Some Sen-
 SatiOnal Testimony.

Detroit Mich, November 1O.-The vest ern section of the war Investigating com
 mission today began the examination of
 witnesses at the Hotel Cadillac. Major Cortiss, of the Seventh United States in fantry was the first witness. During the war the major was in camp at Chicka-
 mauga and Tampa. went to Cuba with the
 army of occupation, was wounded at the battle of Fl Caney and returned to New
 York on the Seneca. At Fl Caney he said
 his men were Supplied with a fair quan- tity of rations, but there was some growl- ing After being wounded Major CortiS was inmate of several Cuban hospitals, and in all of them he said he fared very we'll.
 "There were two contract surgeons on board the Seneca" said the major, but they could not get any thermometers or any delicacies for the sick, except a little
 matted milk and cereals. Most of the sup
 plies were obtained at the last moment, I think, from the Relief. There was one nurse on board, Miss Jennings.
 70 "Dr Connor do you know whether afy effort was made by these medical officers to secure supplies except from the Reief.' Major Cortiss-"I do not. The Relief was asked to furnish a certain amount of drugs when it was discovered that. there was not a sufficient quantity on board the Seneca. The men were fairly well taken
 care of, notwithstanding the scarcity of supplies. est Statement Was a Lie
 | General Dodge read statement reported to have been made by a soldier of the Sey- enth regiment to the effect that positions as corporals were readily obtained by pay- ing stipulated price. 55.,s That is le,'' responded Major Cortiss First Lieutenant o. Rosenbaum, quarter
 master of the Seventh infantry testified that he was with the regiment in Cuba from the time it left Tampa. It reached Montauk Point August 27. His statement was that the men fared fairly well as to food throughout the campaign. Witness command returned to Montauk on the Yucatan, and the men were well taken care of, according to his testimony. Captain Charles A. Booth, Seventh in- fantry, testified that he returned with three odd companies aboard the auxiliary cruiser Prairie, which had no accommoda- tions for carrying troops. There were no regular nurses aboard and the two doctors witness declared, were young and inexpe- rienced, and hardly capable to cope with the conditions, especially as one of them was ill. Captain Booth said the men were all in such miserable condition of malara poisoning on reaching Montauk that their stomachs would retain nothing
 Dr. Charles H. Tancrede, surgeon of the Thirty-third Michigan volunteers, testified
 in relation to conditions as he had observed them at Camp Alger, Siboney and Mon- tauk Except in reference to water he
 thought the site of Camp Alger was sats- factory. The regimental medical officers
 were competent as a class He commended
 as satisfactory the of the wounded during and after the Santiago fight.
 Witness said that the sick suffered espe-
 cfally in the early part of the campaign from the multiplicity of duties forced upon the medical officers. The fault was not so much the lack of doctors the lack of proper assistance and management of the whole Continuing he said:
 No WilIful Neglect
 q saw at Montauk no willful neglect but did notice inconveniences and dscom- forts consequent upon the lack of division of labor and responsibility. Interference from friends and relatives was a great
 source of trouble, and I think caused the furloughing of a great many patients from
 the hospitals before they were we'll enough
 to be removed"
 Rev. Helen Stuart Richards, of Boston,
 testified upon the condition of the hospitals at Camp Thomas, where she volunteered to
 help for the soldiers from June to
 August 4. She said:
 ''In the Second division, Third corps hos pital l would mention the general disorder,
 the lack of quiet, the absence of disinfec-
 tants and the horrible stencil Patients
 were frequently filthy, and they were in- frequently bathed. With high levers some were never bathed, not even having necks and arms sponged. l found patients with , their eyes, nostrils and mouths full of hor- ribe flies Mosquito netting was there, but it was not always in use. There was utter neglect to put the mosquito netting up where it would relieve them. My opinion is that the nurses were incompetent"
 Captain George E. Young, Company Fl, Seventh United States infantry, testified to having returned from Cuba on board the Concha, which carried 175 sick men. No medical officer was detailed to go with the ship but Dr. Lesser, a volunteer doctor from the Red Cross. was aboard, and had with him a pharmacist and eight Red Cross women nurses. There was nothing to eat on the boat except the ordinary rations. not at all such food as sick people could eat. s,s ;l cJrRE COTn IN A OaY '.