Evening star., 1898-11-23
MEDICINES SCARCE
Mr.. Archibald Tells of His Experience
in Cuba.
CONDITIONS At MONTAUK POINT
Described by Mrs. Won Wagner
Improper Prescriptions Given.
DOCTORS WERE INDIFFERENT

NEW YORK. November 23.-James ]. F.
Archibald. San Francisco newspaper man,
who was with the 1st Regular Infantry
from California to Santiago, was the first
witness before the war investigating COM
mission today.
In reply to General Beavers invitation TO
tell everything he could and to make any
criticism he considered likely to be useful
to the commission, Mr.. Archibald said his
chief reason for volunteering to appear
before the commission was because of the
published statements that there was great
hardships in Cuba becarse of a lack OF
food
Il wish to say" he said, that l have had
considerable experience campaigning with
troops in the west, and there the regular
soldiers have had much rougher expert
ences than they did in Cuba. There was
plenty of food. The inability of the Vo.un-
teers to adapt themselves to circumstances
was due to their own ineXDerience IL they
had known enough to hustle and cook the
food that was there they would have had
less cause to complain.
Medical Supplies Scarce.
There was a scarcity of medical supplies
of surgeons and of nurses. 1t appeared 10
me that DR.. Wood--I believe his Initials
are NJ. M.-caused considerable unnecessary
suffering by his severe administration OF
his hospital, near Siboney. He refused to
allow any one to visit the SICK and once
when l was trying to find a wounded man
of the 1st Infantry, he refused to let me
in He declined to allow Cubans VINO had
offered to build shelter for the sick TO 90
So and when l tried to reason with him he
said, am running this hospital 10 Su1t
myself which. suppose, was proper.
1T is evident put in eX-Governor "oou-
bury .'hut it was not proper
Il mean,'' continued the witness, that l
take it that il was quite proper for the
doctor in charge to run his hospital IRE
spective of the wishes of private lndiV1d-
uals. but I think his judgment was bad
! mention that incident as the only matter
that came to my notice in which L blame
the authorities.
j. j. Robinson Tcstifes.
John Jay Robinson of New York, who
was at Camp Wikoff with the Y. M. c. A
tent told of the conditions there as he saw
them during the last days of August and
September. He did not know of any great
lack of food or supplies, and said that he
considered. as a whole, that the camp was
well conducted. What fault there was in
the early days of the camp Mr.. Robinson
believed was due to the rapidity whit which
troops were arriving from Cuba.
There was said Mr.. Robinson, plenty
of food while | was in camp. l saw one
man eat twelve boiled eggs.
Did You ever say that men were being
starved and drugged to death?" asked Gen.
Beaver.
Il said that there seemed to be feeling
on the part of the ladies that the boys were
being starved and drugged to death. There
was some friction between the ladies and
the surgeons. There was a feeling on the
part of the surgeons that it was not right
to have two persons prescribing at the
same time for the same patient, and on the
part of the ladies that the surgeons did not
sympathize with their mission
Mrs Johanna Won Wagner of Yonkers q
professional nurse, established diet kitch-
month from August 20. She corroborated
the statements made by other women on
the condition of the camp and told of her
own experience in treating the sick of the
7th Infantry. She complained of the lack
of competent hospital help, the scarcity of
ambulances and the inexperience of some OF
the contract doctors.
Saw Improper Prescriptions.
On more than one occasion she i'm
proper prescriptions, and one occasion
she complained to Major Corbes that a
dose prescribed for a man would kill him.
| The matter was referred to the surgeons
| of the general hospital They were friendly
| to the offending doctor and nothing was
| DONE but the dose of medicine was not ad-
ministered. Mrs. Won Wagner declined to
| give the names of the surgeons she con-
| sidered negligent and told the commission
ers they could get the names, if they want
I eI them from the records of the 9TH Regi-
ment.
| What struck me most painfully" said
! the witness in conclusion, was the utter
| Indifference of the medican men in the req
| mental hospital to the suffering or the
sick"