The record-union., 1898-11-15

ever been done by the commanding
General 10 secure the punishment or
regimental officers who had refused TO
obey orders for the proper policing or
the camps, but DR.. Huidkoper declared
that he knew of no instance or the
prosecution of any offense of this KIND
Colonel Huidkoper said he had sue
ceeded in getting supplies only by being
the first on hand, as the medical depot
was run in very parsimonious manner
There was not only a great scarcity or
important drugs such as qulnine ana
opium, but a disposition on the part or
the purveyor not to give out what there
was
Dr. Huidkoper said that with a few
exceptions, the medical supplies for
the Porto Rican expedition had been
ample. At Newport News he had CIV
en- orders that the sick men be elm
mated from the command, but he found
that the order had been eyaded, and the
sick men taken aboard.
Dr. Huidekoper referred frequently
during his testimony to his difficulty
in securing nurses. He said he had
once secured an approach to the neces-
sary number through an arbitrary or
der from General Brooke, and when
this order was issued the Colonels had
insisted upon supplying the worst men
they had in their regiments for mem
bers of the hospital corps. One was a
confirmed drunkard, yet the men who
had given him the poorest nurses We're
generally the first to make complaint
of lack of attention. The witness said
the sick in Porto Rico had good atten-
ton, contradicting the assertion of DR..
Hartsuff that there had been neglect.
Major Thomas T. Knox, Inspector
General who participated in the early
part of the Santiago campaign as
Captain of the First regular cavalry,
said the ship on which his regimeR<
went from Tampa to Santiago was
greatly crowded, and that when they
landed the men were in poor condition
for campaign, 1.-The worst I ever saw"
he said. This condition was due to
the fact that they had been shut up
in the hold of the ship for sixteen days,
for they had been in good shope when
they left Tampa. He said that the
medical corps had done as we'll as could
have been expected with the means at
command.
General J. c. Breckenridge also ap-
peared before the commission during
the afternoon session. His testimony
dealt largely with Camp Thomas, of
which he was in command from the
Ith of August until the camp disinte-
grated. He said that when he assumed
charge the camp was at the beginning
of an epidemic of fever, and that this
condition gradually grew worse. He
found much that needed remedying
from sanitary point of view when he
assumed command, but the conditions
varied in the numerous regimental
camps. He was under the impression
that all ordinary efforts had been made
by the officers in command to instruct
regimental officers in the matter of
sanitation, and he thought this instruc-
ton had borne fruit.
General Breckenridge expressed the
opinion that Chickamauga Park was
suitable as camp site. He was of the
opinion that the water could have been
vastly improved if there had been a
Willingness to go off the reservation
for 1t. He had made no recommends
tlon for water supply after taking
command because the soldiers were so
infected that he thought the best rem
edy was to disintegrate the command,
and he had made recommendations to
this latter effect. In fact, the greater
share of his attention had been given
to getting the men away from Chicka-
mauga4
General Breckenridge said that he had
increased the number of leave permits
to men, giving leave at a time of from
two to six to a company, because the
men seemed depressed and he thought
they needed as much change as pos
sible. He was, he said, aware that this
order had been criticised, ''but my
theory of discipline is to make a soldier
do his duty for all that he is worth,
and then let him have his fun for all he
deserves he said.
General Breckinridge said that the
condition of all the hospitals at Camp
Thomas, except the Sternberg, was
bad. They We're crowded, and there
was a lack of skill on the part of the
attendants. He also thought the Quar-
termaster's Department had been re-
miss in some of it's duties, but he at
tributed all the trouble to want of ex-
perience. There had been a lack of
tentage at the hospitals, and he knew
VI ItdSOlI WHY Tie ltulS SIOulQ HOI
have been supplied, as he was informed
that the tents were in the Quarter
masters depot.
General Connor made an effort to get
General Breckenridge to say where the
responsibility rested for the poor condi-
tions in the camp, but the latter said
he had never attempted to locate the
responsibility, devoting himself partic-
ularly to remedying the evil.
I'VE all recognized that the conditions
We're abnormal" he said, "and the
question was how to meet it. The
point was to get to each man what he
needed. This seems simple enough to
do, but as a matter of fact it was not
simple. The trouble seemed TO be
that the hospital attendants were not
familiar with their duties, and there
was not a sufficient number of men in
the Supply Department to follow up