Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1898-11-24
WAR INVESTIGATION.
New York's Governor-Eleot Tes-
titles Before the Commission.
ROUGH RIDERS WERE WELL FED.


But 1t Was at Times the Result OF
Personal Expenditure by Their Com
mander-Other witnesses Testify to
Bad Conditions at Camp wikoff.
New York. Nov. 2S.-Before the war
investigating commission yesterday
Sidney Lowell, of Brooklyn, testified
that the conditions at Camp Wikoff
were wretched.
did you hear any complaint from
the soldiers?" he was asked.
mo; they would not complain, but
they could not hide their deplorable
condition"
did you notice any cruelty on the
part of any of the officers or doctors?''
mo, sir; there was no cruelty, but
saw men lying around sick in their
tents with no one to care for them.
without change of clothing and with
out sufficient coverings at night. But
that must have been the fault of the
hospital authorities, for the men did
all they could for each other and the
officers treated their men as IL they
were their brothers,"
Miss Mary C. Lowell, daughter of
Sidney Lowell. said she personally
talked to every man of eight regiments
of regulars. Half al them were on the
sick report and many others were sick,
too sick to go to the doctors tent.
There was great scarcity of doctors
and Miss Lowell considered many of
the contract doctors careless and in.
different to the men. She found one
man with temperature of LOG and re-
ported to Dr. Thomas. DR.. Thomas
said he would see to it. But when she
visited the man "a hours later the
doctor had not seen him. Miss Lowell
mentioned other doctors who she said
had neglected their duty. She said the
condition of affairs in the general hos
pital was shocking.
Rev Henry B. Bryan. of the Garden
City cathedral. presented himself to
speak of the manner in which the SOL
diers dying in hospitals were buried,
Mr.. Bryan went to Camp Wikoff on
Sept. g. He said the publication of a
statement of Major Brown that all the
bodies were decently buried had in
duced him to come forward to tes-
tify He said: 81 saw the naked bodies
of soldiers placed in bare pine collins
and the name of the man and his regi-
ment written on the lid of the coffin.
OF course, the damp earth quickly OBJ
liberated these marks, and no further
records were kept. Sometimes the
body was buried in nightshirt, but
they never took the trouble to button
the shirt"
George Wallace, a lawyer of Freeport,
L. l., who had son and a brother in
the war, testified that while at Camp
Wikoff looking for his son he saw
many soldiers struggling along the
roadway, apparently too weak to move.
Some of them told him they had been
discharged from the hospitals as cured.
Mr.. Wallace's son returned from Cuba
in precarious condition. The doctor
ordered him special diet, but he was
unable to get the food without paying
rs cents for each meal. He had no
money, but friend of Mr.. Wallace's
who was aboard advanced it to him.
Said Mr.. Wallace: Three of my SON s
comrades died on the Berkshire. and I
have often wondered if they died be-
cause they had no money to pay for
food
COlOIi6l fNOOS0Nell HeXJ LOOK the
stand, and in reply to a request from
General Wilson told of the equipment
and mastering in of the First volun-
teer cavalry, known as the rough
riders.
when we reached Tampa" Colonel
Roosevelt said, there was a condi-
ton of. utter confusion. We were
dumped outside, a mile away from our
camp. No one knew where the camp
was. There was no one to tell US where
to go or what to do. After waiting "a
hours 1 took the law into my own
hands and bought food for the men
and horses. Later, when we found our
camp, we were all right"
Were you reimbursed for your out
lay?"
81 never asked it. 1t was a personal
matter entirely"
Colonel Roosevelt said a great con-
dition of confusion existed at Tampa.
Nobody seemed to know anything, and
no arrangements were evident as to
what transport to be used.
do you attribute all the confusion, 4"
asked General Wilson, ito lack of in
telligence on the part of the men in
charge or to the natural overcrowding
of work?"
II was only lieutenant colonel, and
could not know whose the fault was
Replying to other questions Colonel
Roosevelt said the food was ample,
and with the exception of the canned
roast beef good. The beef was very
bad.
Colonel Roosevelt then told of the
conditions in Santiago. He said his
men had the regulation rations, but
his men wanted vegetables. The de-
partment refused to sell him tomatoes
and beans unless he would certify they
were for officers consumption. stretch
ed my conscience as far as / could, y
he said, land then boarded a transport
and purchased about 500 pounds of
beans. The change did the men good.
1t was too hot to eat nothing but the
regular rations."
Replying to questions Colonel Roose-
welt said other regiments at the front
suffered from lack of supplies. One
man of the First Illinois regiment Wis
tied the rough riders camp and offered
81 for seven hardtacks. Two hundred
men of the regiment came into the
rough riders camp and ate the broken
bareback. The rough riders had
enough to eat, but it was the result of
individual effort and Individual ex-
penditure.