The evening times., 1898-09-07
CAMP WIKOFF INSPECTED
Views of a WelI-KnOwn Sur.
geOn of New York.
MEN SENT AWAY TOO SOON
Many FurIonghed and Sent to Their
Homes Who Ought to BE Receiv-
ing Medical Treatment i'm Hos
pitals-Three-Fourt of the Sol
diers Unfit for Duty.

diers Unfit for Duty.
New York. Sept. THE Herald this
morning publishes letter from Dr. Lewis
A. Stimson. telling Of the condition of
affairs at Camp wikoff. as they came
under the observation Of that gentleman.
In prefacing the article the Herald re-
marks: Lewis A Stimson, NJ. D., a
Yale graduate Of '63. a man VINO has al
ways kept his eyes open, after the best
spirit of Yale; a practitioner and sur
geon who has indisputably risen TO the
top OF his profession; a soldier who has
had experience in the civil war; a mem
ber of the Loyal Legion, in which SO
many of the best Of our soldiers are en-
rolled; a member OF many social and
scientific clubs-this gentleman and schOl-
ar made a visit 10 Camp Wikoff. at Mon
tauk Point, for the purely philanthropic
purpose Of convincing his moral and sci
entific senses that everything possible
was being done in that camp for the re-
cepuon, care and treatment of The sol
diers who are daily being taken there
detained there nursed there and being
discharged from there as convalescent.
The Camp and Hospital
DIR. Stimson says: You may perhaps
be interested in a somewhat detailed ac-
count Of the condition OF the Aontauk
camp and hospital as a means toward
drawing conclusions between the many
criticisms on one side and denials of their
correctness on the other. / have recent
ly spent two days there, one in the gen.
eral hospital. the other in the camp.
First, as 10 the hospital. This is ar
ranged in two divisions, each consisting
Of a group Of fifteen OF twenty pavilions,
placed on either side and opening upon
central passage. Each pavilion is com
posed OF long wall tent, with a board
floor: the beds, about fifty in each, are
placed along each side, with an interval
OF about a foot between the adjoining
beds, and a central passageway about
two feet wide between the two rows. As
the tents are widely open to the air, this
CroWding does not affect the air space
available for each patient, although il
does make the nursing difficult.
The hospital can care for about two
thousand patients, ard up to September
2 hve thousand patients had been receiv-
ed.
AS many as three hundred had been
dismissed OF transferred in a single day,
and the necessity Of receiving and dis
charging large numbers each day seri-
ously interrupted the ward work of ply
siciaHs, nurses and OTderlies.
was told on September . that 40 laun-
dry work had been done from the begin
ming, and that the lack OF bed linen was
great Cremation had in part taken the
place of washing.
No Lack of Proper Supplies.
On the second visit, September 4, ]
went TO the camps of seven regular regi-
ments, carrying milk, broth, eggs, food
extracts, and stimulants. ] sought the
commanding officer, the adjutant, or the
physician of each and offered the sup
plies. The first four said they needed
nothing, or that ] had better 20 TO others
whose need was greater, although one
pointed TO ambulances taking away four
teeen Of his men and another said his
morning sick list numbered l39
At the fifth the surgeon said he had
many men who needed the milk We
stopped the wagon at the end of the
company street, and, under his direction,
a group Of emanciated. yellow wrecks
formed about ii and gratefully took glass
Is Of mix OF cgEnOg. Most OF them took
mix alone, saying they could retain
nothing else
Thus We went through four camps in
Guiding one whose commanding officer
had previously, very courteoUsly, declin-
ed assistance. We walked through every
company street and stopped at every
tent and offered milk to those who Were
Ill. More than half accepted IL CRATE
fully and some offered pay for il.
OF course, j knew that many well men
would be glad to have glass of milk.
and ] did not look upon its acceptance
as proof that the man was i'll. but there
was no deception in those wan faces
no malingering in the men wrapped in
thelr blankets and shaking with a chill
no fraud Ia temperature Of IOi degrees,
IN every street one or TWO men accom-
panied Us to point out the sick ones and
ald In the distribution. One surgeon told
US ne had twenty men who could take
nothing but milk. and eagerly accented
what we could give him
a column could be filled with incidents
OF that visit. II is sufficient to state
thaI from what j saw and from what
the surgeons said, nearly three-fourth hs
OF the force were unfit for duty. \ larga
number needed hospital treatment. and a
ieW seemed not unlikely to die.
Not Enough Physfcians.
course OF construction. Judging from one
which ] saw, each win accommodate per
haps $50 men. Those hospitals should at
once receive fun supply of physicians
and nurses, and each should have q dict
Kitchen. In addition, brigade or regiment
al hospitals should be created.
lhe method OF meeting the want which
the authorities seem TO have adopted is
10 give Burroughs TO all for whom they
can provide transportation. Trains reg1f-
lar and extra, eight or ten cars each. are
daily carrying the soldiers to New York
Many OF the men should be in their
beds; IN many more cases the exposure
seems lkelY to cause pneumonia or
bronchitis. or diarrhoea which their
condition is certain to make serious.
The authorities are said to have found a
satisfactory way of meeting this diff
Guilty. To each sick man is assigned a
Wen companion going to the same place
who viii care for him on the journey. j
saw one such pair at the Montauk sta
tion. One of them was as yellow as a
lemon and as Shrunken as a mummy: his
companion almost as bad in appearance
was trying, with the aid of Thru tC
carry him in his arms to the car
To my remonstrance against attempting
the journey, he replied, ''Oh, he is only
a little tired, and we do so want to get
home" They We're going to Detroit Coo
help themi
DreadinE n Typhoid Outbreak.
Another and very serious matter is tn
possibility of an outbreak of typhoid feve
in the camp. If il should occur the NOR
tality among these enfeebled men woul,
be great. The disease as everyone knows
sa - -.