The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-10-24
CAMP THOMAS.
General Frank Says 1t was Properly Lo-
Gated.


Admission, Ala. October 2a.-The war
investigation commission began its work
here today. by making an inspection O
the site of Camp Ship, in the forenoon
and then devoting the afternoon to ques-
| tioning General Frank, commanding off,
Ger of the camp, and his chief surgeon,
Major Henry F. Hoyt.
Both were identified with Camp Thorn
as at Chickamauga, General Frank hav-
ing been in command of the first division
of the third corps at that point, and Maj
or Hoyt having been his chief surgeon
there.
General Frank said he considered
Chiokamauga Park good site for tenn
porary camp but not for permanent
camp for large army. Tho chief Diff
Guilty was in putting sinks down deep
enough. Owing to the rock formation
near the surface. sinks could only be
made two or three feet deep and they were
frequently overfowed. There was also a
general impression that the springs in the
locality were impregnated by these sinks
and it was impossible to prevent the men
from drinking from the springs. He
thought the camp should have been
moved as early as July. he said he had
heard no complaint from the men In re-
gard to he food received while at Chickn-
manga, but because of the necessity of
getting the first corps ready for foreign
service, there was shortage of clothing
for q while.
There was also, for the time. difficulty
in securing hospital room for the men
when sick cases began to increase but
this difficulty was soon remedied. There
had been constant improvement in the
command since its removal to Admission
early in September and General Frank
thought 1t was due to the change OF site.
Returning to Chickamauga be said the
hospital tents were not flo 1red when he
went to the camp early in July. though
there had been sufficient time to have
furnished flooring for the entire camp.
General Frank said that his corps COM
mander had never been on an inspection
of tho camp with reference to sinks.
drains. etc.
DR.. Henry F. Hoyt was examined and
especially with reference to Camp Thorn
as He said the increase in sickness above
the normal had begun about the middle
of July and had been rapid from that
time forward until there were $50 patients
In the First division hospital on the first
of August. At this time 1t was impossi
BILE to receive new patients for period of
"a hours. The increase in disease had
begun with the rainy season and he
thought much of the malaria had been
due to the fact that the men were COM
PEELED to sleep on tho ground. He attri-
buted the increase in typhoid to the
sinks, to the flies, to the fact that the
wells were infected and to the carelessness
Of the men. The water used was taken
through pipes from Chickamauga river
and the pipe was located only few feet
away from the mouth of the stream that
drained the camp. The doctor thought
that this tributary stream bad been
forced into the pipes by means of eddies.
1t had also been impossible to prevent
the use of surface well water by the men.
hOyU OK pIOSnCu Uuo opidAoA uudU ohO
surgeons in the division hospitals had
been competent The nurses of the
hospital corps, while faithful were in
most cases unskilled and therefore inocm-
petent. He said there had been 6l8
patients treated in the division hospital
at Admission and of these 20 had died.
There had been an exceptionally high de-
gree of mortality here, but many Of the
men who came here both from Chicka-
manga and Santiago were very much de-
bilitated. He thought the change of 1oca-
tion from Chickamauga had been very
beneficial. DR.. Hoyt said he was familiar
with the complaints concerning the
Eighth New York regiment and especial
ly with the criticism made by Surgeon
General Terry of New York. There was,
he said, an enormous sick rate in this
regiment and there were many cases of