The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-09-20

edles in hospital fitted up with all neces-
sites and many comforts"
AS TO COLONEL HUIDEKOPER.
The efforts of the Sentinel the last day or
two have been to show that the main point
of the interview made was that Colonel
Huidekoper was veterinary surgeon. That
contention begs the real issue. The sensa-
tional point in the interview was the chap
lain's assertion that Colonel Huidekoper
had never 'practiced among human be-
ings." y letter written by the chaplain
July Il and published July IA contained the
bare statement that Colonel Huidekoper
was "a veterinary surgeon from Philadel-
phia with a political pull but no military
experience" With that bare statement the
Sentinel had nothing on which To base a
sensation suitable to be played up in the
editorial columns. 1t was not until the
chaplain came home and made the aston
ishlng statement that Colonel Huidekoper
was general-in-chief of the medical service
OF S5,OO men, and that he had never prac-
tlced among human beings, that the aStute
paper scented a sensation startling enough
Tor any of those yellow journal fake
per not TO let any of its readers believe. 1t
was three months and over after men,
tioning Colonel Huidekoper casually before
he came home with his sensational an
was a skilled veterinarian, lit was a great
surprise to us to find him the
he admitted in an interview in the News
that he did not know whether Colonel
Huldekoper was medical practitioner
or not. And yet he had known for three
months that there was such a man, that he
was at medical headquarters, that he was
veterinary surgeon, with the care of
5000 men under him, and had never taken
the trouble to learn whether he had any
abilities other than those that would qualify
him for doctoring horses and mules. No
one has ever denied that Colonel Huidekoper
veterinary surgery in order to become the
head Of a department at the University OF
Pennsylvania. The only reference to Colonel
HuiCekOper that could be found In any OF
the chaplain'S letters was a bon mot at his
expense made by Major Heisel, who called
on the colonel at headquarters. 1t was with
reference to large number of blanks which
Colonel Huidekoper required the surgeons
under him to fill out In his letter of July
II, published two days later, the chaplain
said that Major Heisel was veteran of
the late war, while Colonel Huidekoper is
veterinary surgeon from Philadelphia
with a political pull but no military expe-
rience.' There was no intimation here that
he had never practiced among human be-
ings," nor that lit was a surprise to us to
find him the chief surgeon of our corps"
No one would judge from this casual men
ton that there had been criminal incom-
petence' in men for whose appointment
President Mckinley was responsible If
such q condition obtained three months ago
and a cry had arisen-if the chaplain in his
casual mention of Colonel Huidekoper had
gone further-but what's the use Of spec
ulating? He did not see any such gross
conditions then that he discovered after he
returned home talked with partisan friends
and then revolved things over in his mind:
In describing Camp Thomas, read the
interview, "exaggeration is not necessary.
Facts are more condemnatory than fiction
The real conditions were bad enough, God
knows. We of the hundred fifty
eighth Indiana Regiment did not object to
ordinary hardships and privations. We
prided ourselves on not being featherbed
where or not at all, to eat anything or
nothing at all, but we did object to being
put down there and weakened, debilitated
and invalided for life all on account of the
criminal incompetence of certain brigade
and division quartermasters and commits
saries."
then compare it with many of the chap
lain's $5-a-column letters to his paper. in
one of which he referred to the fact that
the Sentinel always did get all the news
The letters speak for themselves. They
need but little illumination. The date the
letters were written will be given. They
were generally published several days later.
About all of them were printed with, the
caption: From our own correspondent,
Camp George H. Thomas, Chickamauga,
Ca with the date following. May q the
chaplain, over the initials &c. A. c., p"
wrote: THE call for seventy-hve thousand
more volunteers inspires the hope that we
may be ordered further south. Indeed, there
was a northumberland rumor that such
a move is in contemplation. 1t would seem
that, whether we are to invade Cuba or
Porto Rico at once or not, it would be a
good idea to accustom Northern troops
gradually to the Southern climate by Civ
ing us a few weeks stay at Jacksonville,
Mobile. New Orleans or Tampa.
SOME FURTHER EXTRACTS.
What kind of an interview would the
chaplain have given if he had shared the
fortunes of Colonel Studebaker's Tigers"
at Tampa? They may have been sent there
HVit he fn
gradually to the Southern climate. Speak
ing of division reviews he said in the same
letter: "Quite a number of men were
obliged to fall out of the ranks. In the
Thirty-eighth Michigan there were over
twenty; in ours, only one. However OPP
pressive the days may be here, the nights
are delightfully."- cool"
May 25-"Major Rich is caterer at head
quarters, and has been treating us to fresh
beef and Strawberries" There was no ne
ceSsity to ''eat or not to eat as one might
infer from the interview, when there was
fresh beef and Strawberries" In the same
letter he spoke of spring chickens having
been brought to camp, one of which went
to the hospital, where a private of Com
pany D was laid up with ivy poisoning.
He was the picture of Woe" but when he
got the spring chicken, instantly his face
FRIGHTENED up and If he took any pleasure
in devouring that chicken ii was no more
than was enjoyed by the lookers-on at the
sight of his delight"
Win OlHeFS, (ndpldl0 Christensen was I'M
able to discover from outside appearances
that Camp Thomas was not so healthful
as 1t appeared and that the water was un-
wholesome. May 10 he wrote:
We are in a grove about two miles from
Battlefield Station, and just south of the
famous Lafayette road. The outrageous
oaks temper the heat of the Georgia sun,
and the deep springs near by furnish an
abundant supply of cold, wholesome water.
Rumor had it yesterday that we
were to be sent to Mobile next week, and
to-day the story is that we shall soon be
ordered to Tampa. Whatever happens. the
boys declare that they have no kick COM
ing and, as the French say, we shall see
what she 90 shall see.
ty as to the establishment of division hos
pital, on account of the uncertainty of the
regiments being ordered further South.
But the word has gone out" he continued
mediately, and the inference is that we shall
remain here for some time. We might go
further and fare worse. We need
hospital facilities very much. This was APP
parent to the inspecting officer the other
day who remarked: You need a complete
outfit Some of the most common remedies
are lacking and the facilities for surgery do
not go beyond the opening of a boil. OF
course all these things will come in time and
we nave been especially favored in exception
from serious complaints in the regiment"
The subsequent letter of the chaplain,
quoted above. went to show that he was a
good guesSer when he said "all these things
will come in time, as did not after devel-
opments constrain him to write about divi-
sion hospital fitted up with all necessities
and many comfOrts?' But where was the
surgical chest provided by the State which
the regiment took with it and which con-
tanned every instrument necessary for the
surgeons operating table. while the chap
lain was writing that the facilities for
surgery do not go beyond the opening of a
boil?"
June Z: 1.-The curiosity of the park is the
N hnpn decided give