The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-10-05


many things were not done.
After a recess General Wheeler de-
voted his testimony chiefly to his ex-
perience at Wikoff. Montauk Point.
The president. on giving him command
there, had ordered him to spare no
pains or expense to make the men COM
Portable. He made an examination of
the camp and found IL necessary to un-
dertake much preparation. to bore
wells. lay water pipes. build laundries.
disinfecting plants. get floors for the
tents, erect hospitals. etc.
The surgeons. at his request, had
made list of special articles to be
purchased for the sick. This he had
asked them to do in obedience to the
presidents orders. The list included
evaporated fruits, green corn I'm cans,
sugar cured hams. oatmeal. fish, ice.
canned peas, prunes. soups, pickles.
lemons, oranges. eggs, tea, milk and
many other articles in addition to their
regular rations. The people came with
many kinds of food. "and / undertake
to say" he declared. that no army on
earth was ever so abundantly supplied
with necessaries and luxuries."
The general location and transporta-
tion facilities Of the camp were poor.
There was but one line of railroad. and
that with single track. and without
adequate terminal facilities. The camp
could, he said. have been supplied by
water. but unfortunately there was a
contract with the railroad company
owning the land. which gave II the con-
troll of all the transportation except
that on government transports. This
contract had been made. he understood.
in return for the use of the land. He
did not know who made the contract.
There were good hospitals erected, but
there was a scarcity of nurses. He i'm
mediately wired for nurses and within
five or six days there was an abun-
dance. He summoned the surgeons for
consultation each morning, and would
order Immediately any article needed
The hospital tents were. he said, all
foored. The patients were laid upon
mattresses on the floor, and were sup
piled with clean bedding. From first to
last, 10000 patients entered the hospitals
at Montauk. The hospitals had, when
he landed a capacity of not to exceed
900 and so far as he knew, the hospitals
had UP to this time been equal to the
demands upon It, over 3,252 of the San
itago troops had been reported sick on
arrival, but many other of the arrivals
were really sick.
Visiting ladies had made frequent
complaints to him of specific cases i'm
which sick men were not properly cared
for, but he found upon investigation
in each case the physicians said that
the advices were mistaken. AS a rule
when parents or other relatives came
to visit the soldiers, they expressed sat
isfaction at the care the men were Civ
en-. He knew of no complaints from
relatives.
General Wheeler explained that the
reason that there was so much COM
plant about the buriaTs was that the
burying ground was so near. Only 260
of the men mad died during the exist
ence of the camp. He knew nothing of
the details of interments and could not
say whether any bodies had been buried
without clothing. Upon the whole, he
the fact that there had been no
spread of yellow fever from the camp
was quite marvellous. One of the great
est difficulties he had encountered was
to properly control the removal of sick
soldiers by their relatives in cases where
and affection often acted in
stead of discretion.
General Wheeler considered the hos
pital facilities ample, after the erection
Of the division hospitals. There were
times when they were crowded for n
day or two, but on the other hand
there were many times when the build
ings were not filled.
Taking up charges made by the New
York World and by DR.. jenkins In its
General Wheeler said that IL
the soldiers had not been landed at some
Isolated place. such as Montauk Point,
the fear OF yellow fever would have
caused general outcry. 1t would have
been cruel TO send the men home within
five days after landing. as DIR. jenkins
had suggested. Many of them Were
sick men and needed attention in the
hospital They would have fallen sick
on the trains and attracted general at
tention to the situation. The distress
was due to the condition of the men |
and not to the typographical or climatic
Ninety per cent, had the |
fever in them and the officers suffered |
rs much as the men. Montauk Point, |
ne thought in brief was a necessity for |
purposes-to prevent the |
spread OF fever, IL for no other purpose. |
Replying to other allegations made |
by the World, General Wheeler said he |
lid not think the hospitals were crowd |
I'd, that II the sick were without blank |
It's or adequate shelter, he had not |
known the fact. and IL he had known |
such a want he would have supplied |
I. There was no red tape: he men |
toned one case in which he had tele- |
yraphed to New York for four carloads |
,f medicine and IL had arrived on the |
evening OF the next day. He had read to |
he regular soldiers the assertion that |
hey had been in an almost starving |
condition and they laughed at the re-
port. The men asserted that the only |
trouble was that they had too much: |
md as a matter of fact no soldier had |
been ever so well supplied.
General Wheeler asserted that IL was |
rue that some of the employees had |
used articles intended for the sick, and |
ne had been told by some ladies that \
physicians had used some of the arti- |
les. including appollinaris water pro- |
rided for the hospitals. He had issued |
IN order for the arrest of those engaged |
n such practices.
There WERE" he said. undoubtedly |
Individual cases Of suffering and ne |
,lect, but they were the exception. He |
lad investigated the charge that the |
were overcrowded and he was /
assured that such was not the case. |
we had no red tame about this or any |
,ther matter" said the general. but |
when we ordered thing done. IL was /
lone. Our aim at wikoff was to supply /
he necessities OF the men and we at