The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-11-03
CAMP HAMILTON ALL RIGHT
MAJOR RoMEYNE TEsTIFIEs AT
WASHINGTON.
Finds Many Causes for Complaint,
Especially in Treatment of the
Sick in the Santiago
-. :: Campaign.
Special Dispatch to- The Call.


LEXINGTON, KY, Nov. 2-The War
| Investigation Commission finished its
/ work to-day and left at 2:55. o'clock
this :. afternoon for. Cincinnati. The
/ members of. the commission express
] themselves as highly pleased with
|. what they: accomplished here and also
/ compliment . highly the condition OF
!. things they: found at Camp Hamilton
+ The members of the commission who
]:-were. In. Lexington were General Gren-
! Vile. NJ. Dodge lehairman), Colonel Sex
/ ton: and Dr.. G'Cennor.
I -. Yesterday. a. committee Of prominent
I citizens Of: Lexington. including Mayor
+ Sinlrall and. sexeLieutenant Governor
/: Afford; .went>to washington. to confer
T with the. President and. see what chance
+ there is. for retention of the encamp-
|. :1lfeilt< of troops here. kilograms re-
'ceiYed: to-day from the committee say
! that the troops, must leave for the
/; Southern camps. but that Secretary
l. Alger. has promised that they will be
/ brought. to Lexington in the spring to
Erecuperate: after they have seen ser
/ Yice.in Cuba, Porto Rico and the Phil
+ ippines:: r..
11Ct AGoiQG11b RAOI44ISCo Lie (OAAAAAAAb
tee that he would probably visit Lex
:-ington when he goes home to vote.
= Generals Sanger, Wiley and Andrews
have returned from Georgia.. where they
selected camp. sites for the troops now
here. All :of. them report fayorably on
.the:Southern. camps.
:. The. first witness before the War In
::vestigation Commission to-day was
: General Joseph P. Sanger; who had
=, til Il
|: said :'the Second Division camp at
: Chickamauga was badly located, being
On rocky. ground where sinks could not
be:deeply dug.
When: asked why the quartermaster' s
department could not furnish articles
/: NECESSARY for supplying the army Gen
,eral: Sanger said:
+ i..''The Complex system of furnishing
supplies to our army is at fault. If
there. was one. department to supply all
the wants of the army there would be
no; clashes and these. complications
Could. not arise.-' AT Chickamauga the
Control. of my: division hospital was
taken. from me by the chief surgeon OF
:. The general went. into a discussion Of
the: complex system of our war regu-
lations, the Iilismanagement which led
up to the oyercroWding of the division
hospital and the. great spread of ty
IL
point: in Camp i homas was its bad
Sanitary ! condition. The men had
plenty of clothing. and plenty 10 eat,
1t: Mas:in a bad sanitary condition.
There: were over 600 Hcenl ed hucksters
Visited. Camp Thomas. Much
eral: Brooke tried to do. all he could to
bring>ttie camp tOa good sanitary condi-
ti0n;: but: The was surrounded by
medical board which did not appreci-
ate the Serious, condition of affairs.
>. Geteral Sanger thought Chickamauga
woiild: HAVE been a healthy place for a
camp had the. proper precautions been
taken and. pure water furnished.
=. After General Sanger. Colonel E. A
Goodwin of the inimunes was called. He
said he had no trouble in securing what
he Wanted.
=: w WASHINGTON, Nov. 1.-The War
Investigation Commisson held ses-
sion: here to-day for the purpose OF
hearing the testimony of Major Henry
RoTneyne, q retired army officer. He
said that. he had asked at the beginning
of the war for a military assignment to
90 to the. front in, his capacity as an Of
;fieer, but it was refused, and he then
went as: a correspondent OF a weekly
newspaper.
!: His: testimony. covered the embarka-
,.tfelli of. the troops at Port Tampa and
the campaign in Cuba
when asked to express an opinion as
to-the preparation for the enbarkation
:the:::witness .hesitated, saying that to
do so..would involve criticism Of his SUI
periors. The commissioners insisted
upon.a reply, and Mr.. Romeyne replied
that :he did not think the preparations
We're such as they should have been.
':"!There was" he said, "a lack OF SURF
boats and also of order and of prep
!aration for landing. When the landing
was undertaken the troops left the
ships indiscrininately, parts going at
one. tirne and other parts at other
t1mes:!!!'''
He said the town Of Siboney was
without exception the dirtiest place he
had ever seen in his life, and no effort
had been made to clean it up before the
fever broke out. There was a def
Cheney Of proper food at the fever hos
pitar and the cooking was generally
poor. Any one in this hospital was
liable; to contract yellow fever. He
had been a patient in the hospital and
said there had been no neglect of pa
tients by the medical attendants at this
hospital or at the hospitals for the
wounded. He had known surgeons in
the latter hospitals to work sixty
hours without cessation.
why did they not have more sur
geons?" asked Colonel DENLY
The witness said he could not answer
Major Romeyne said he had come
North as a convalescent with many
other conyalescents on the transport
Concha, and he criticized the equip
ment of the vessel in severe terms
Many of the men We're compelled to
sleep on board hunks without blankets
or pillows and were not covered at
night except by the cotton uniform
which they wore during the day.
1.-THE water was offensive to both
-s-r md email - said fsand
food was poor and scanty, none being
provided especially for convalescents
The meat was canned and inferior and
much of the bareback was moldy."
no ENLARGE Me- MONITORS