The herald., 1898-11-16

better in its conduct Of the war than any
body had expected, and just about one
fourth as we'll as it should have done it."
| General McCook asked General Breckin
ridge if he had visited General Shafter in
his tent when the latter was i'll at Santiago,
and General Breckenridge said he had done
| SO.
"Did he then offer the command of the
army to you, as has been reported in the
press?"
General Breckinridge replied: II very
much prefer not to answer that question.
You should ask General Shafter. Such a
conversation as occurred between General
Shafter and myself on that occasion is not
| of character to be spoken of lightly.
fail to see how a reply from me would pro-
mote the object of your inquiry. You want
to know what General Shafter did, not what
he may have thought of doing. If General
Shafter has not repeated the conversation
l ought not to do So"
Gas q matter of fact, he did not turn the
command over to you?" suggested Governor
Beaver, to which General Breckenridge re-
sponded: "No, he did not, and do not
think there is any improperly in my say
ing that he could not have done so.''
| With this the matter was allowed to drop
and General Breckenridge was excused.
Captain Robert w. Dowdy, who was
master Of transportation at Montauk Point
stated that at the beginning of the history
of the camp the transportation facilities
were inadequate, though they were after
wards improved. While there had been
much criticism of the railroad running to
the camp, he thought it had answered the
demands upon it very satisfactorily. lie
said that there was not q sufficiency OF am
balances, but that there were enough of
them to carry all sick soldiers who were not
able to walk. 1t was not true that these
vehicles had been used for purposes other
than those for which they were intended,
and the newspaper stories to the contrary
were made out of whole cloth. lie de-
scribed the strike of the carpenters at the
camp, and said that many OF the men at
first employed were tramps and utterly
worthless.
DR.. William G. Weaver of the Ninth
PENNSYLVANIA volunteers was the first wit
ness before the commission at the after
noon session, ard he proved an important
witness, as he gave detailed information
concerning the conduct OF a regimental hos
pital at Camp Thomas. DIR. Weaver said
that typhoid had broken out about the 18th
OF June, and that it had increased from that
time until the 10th OF August, when there
had been about 600 cases of this disease in
the regiment and twentyeght to thirty
deaths. The doctor said there was an in
sufficient supply of drugs and that at times
he failed to get what was needed. Quinine
was one of the articles of which there had
been scarcity and 100000 pills were Sc
cured from home. He said that at one time
there were fifty-six patients in the regimen
tai hospital, because there was no accom-
mediation for them in the division hospital
At another time there were sixty-seven fe
yer patients in the company tents for whom
admission could not be secured to any hos
pital, division or regimental.
In summing up the causes of disease in the
camp, DR.. Weaver included overwork of
the men as one. He also expressed the
opinion that the water from Chckamauga
creek was polluted. He considered the
water in this stream as hardly fit to bathe
in, much less to drink His information
was that there were possible sources of
contamination before the intake pipe of
the pipe line system was laid. The doctor
admitted he had never visited the creek at
the pumping station, -
DIR. Weaver related his difficulties in se-
curing tents for the regimcn,al hospital, and
he said that in one case Chief Quartermaster er
Lee had refused to allow the regiment to
have tent, which was stored and which
was its property.
DR.. Weaver said he had been on duty as
long as forty-two hours at a time, but he
had never made any complaint because it
was generally known that the surgeons of
the regiments were overworked
Major l. a. Lcgarde, regular army sur
geon, who was in charge of the division
hospital at Sibcney, said the transports
taking troops to Cuba were ovcrcrowded
and the air was very hot. In his steamer.
the Saratoga, thirteen cases of fever had
developed going ever.
lie said he had obtained from the Red
Gross society all that had been asked for.
MISS Barton had apologized for not being
apie 10 supply more, saying that she had
only expected to be called on to aid the
Iuoans, and not our own troops. However,
she SAID the soldiers should come first.
furthermore, Miss Barton supplied at
tendants Tor one OF the hospitals, DR.. Lesser
OF the Red Cross being in charge. Her
physicians and the nurses had developed
yellow fever, proving that the house occu |
pied had been infected.
lie then had them removed. The pa
tients had protested against the removal.
but ne did not believe the transfer had
hurt them.
Inc witness said that he had recommend |
ed the burning of the town of Siboney to
secure immunity from yellow fever and TO
secure site for hospital. DR.. Polk. the
corps surgeon, had been misled bv the as. |
surance OF the natives that there had been
no yellow fever in the town and had not
then acted upon the recommendation.