The San Francisco call., 1898-11-02
SOLDIERS LACKED MEDICINE
NO EXCUSE FOR SUCH coNDI-
 TIONS EXISTED.
Better Preparation, He Declares, Could Have Been 4lade for
 the Transportation of Troops.
Special Dispatch to The Call.


 day Chief Commissary Marshall of Camp Hamilton denied the statements made by Lieutenant Colonel Mitchell of the First Territorials last night. He said every acquisition had been hon ored from the Territorials.
 The second witness was General J. c. Bates, who testified as to the Santiago campaign, the camps at Mobile and at Chickamauga. He went to see Gen. eral Brooke regarding the lack of equipment, clothing and other sup plies. He said:
 The day, before we left Mobile we got pretty we'll supplied. There were supplies for recruits. At Santiago we had bread and meat always. Montauk Point was not the proper place for a camp of sick soldiers at his time of the year. At Montauk Point I learned that the Long Island Railroad Com pany had an exclusive contract to haul the soldiers to the city.
 I issued orders to all the other rail- roads to come in and help take off the sick.
 Tn Cuba medical supplies were woe fully short. The medical officers said that they could not get them. This was especially true at Siboney. In go- ing over we had enough medical sup plies, but we were cut down. We had trouble in getting ambulances taken to Cuba. We got one for each regiment and one for, each squadron. Iethink the ambulances took were the only ones ashore when the Rough Riders fight oc- cured on the 24th of June."
 r When asked what, in his opinion, was the weakness in the medical de- partment, General Bates said he thought a great mistake was made in not sending medical officers in suffi- cient number with the regiments or- dered to the field. Additional trans portation should have been furnished for medical officers and medical sup plies, ambulances and horses.
 What do you think of the propriety of allowing female nurses to accom- pany an army into the field?" asked Dr. Conner.
 T think it would be perfectly proper to have them at large hospitals, but not at regimenta1 hospitals.
 Replying to a leading question by Dr. Conner, General Bates said that, with modern arms, danger in removing greatly increased; that it would be difficult for ambulance men and litter bearers to live in the increased zone of fire. In Cuba 1t was difficult to get oatmeal and other delicacies for the sick. 4-.5 s.as.>essS
 q think there is not sufficient ex- cuse for the medical supplies being short in Cuba" he added. Better preparations could have been made for transportin~ We had no way to shoe horse and mules. I have no recom- menGations to suggest as to the inn proyenfent of War Department regula- tions, nor regarding the rations. These matters have been subject to considA eration of boards of officers, and ] do not care to- offer an opinion.
 General Bates was then excused.
 Lieutenant Colonel James Parker, Twelfth Jew York, said that when the troops arrived at Chickamauga the men had to sleep on the wet ground with only one blanket and no change of clothing. He said that the First South Carolina regiment did not receive their rifles for a month after their arrival at the park, the men being compelled to do guard duty without guns. The Twenty first Kansas also had to do guard duty for two weeks.
 When the volunteers first arrived at Chickamauga," said Colonel Parker, '''their tongues were literally hanging out for want of water. For three weeks they could not get water enough to quench their thirst. Then the pipe lines were laid but the water the men got was not pure, in my opinion. There were wells left at the park as land marks which contained water that was bad for them to drink. The usual pre- cautions that are taken with troops in camp were taken there. have spent six years of my life in tents, having been captain in the Fourth Cavalry, and I think any regular army officer will agree with me that the camp was established on the proper plans.
 General Breckinridge, when he took command, did more to change for the better the sanitary conditions than had been accomplished altogether before. He had lumber, which had been applied for in vain before, furnished the hos pitals He provided lime in great abundance, he had new tentage sup piled, he gave medicines when needed. Upon my inspections I found the hos pitals of the First Division, Third Corps, of the Third Division, First Corps, and of the Second Division, Third Corps, very dirty. The first was placed alongside a dump heap. The dirt in most cases, however was due to the over-crowded condition of the hos pitals. The surgeons were worked to death and too sick themselves to look after the cleanliness properly. So far as I knew neither General Brooke nor General Wade ever made sanitary iT- spection of the camp.
 T think there was disinclination on the part of the Government to purchase lime It could have been secured easily, or even burned by the troops. The Quartermaster's Department might have accomplished much during this war that it did not seem inclined to- It would have been just as easy to es- tablish at Chickamauga the ideal con- ditions that prevail here at Camp Ham ilton at the cost of not more than S1 per man"
 The night session began at 8 o'clock, Lieutenant Frank Strange, quarter master of the Third Kentucky, being the first witness called. He was at Chickamauga Park from June l until the 17th of July, when he took sick and left He testified that while at Chick amauga his regiment was badly equipped. His regiment was unable to procure quartermaster's supplies, con- sitting of clothing tentage, etc. because the supplies were not on hand but in small quantities. They had So many regiments to equip that when they had supplies on hand they. were distributed among all the regiments. Often the quartermaster did not have equipment from lack of knowledge as to what was required. Then. when the regi- mental quartermasters went to the depot they were made to wait for SeY-