The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-12-06
Plenty OF All
Kinds.
LEES TESTIMONY.
Troops for the Most Part
Well Sheltered.

Washington, Dec 5.-Col. Lee, chief
quartermaster at Camp Thomas, Chick
amauga, testified before the war in
vestigation commission today regard
ing the tentage facilities at Chieka-
manga.
Col. Lee insisted that the supply Of
all kinds Of tents was fully adequate,
and that acquisitions for hospital tents
were filled as made, though other req
uisitions for the regular tents for the
officers and men were sometimes cut
down owing to the indiscrlminate and
eXtravagant way of calling for tentage
supplies.
| Was there at any time lack of
shelter for any Of the troops, sick or
well?" asked Ex-Governor Beaver.
In the MAN." was the reply, the
troops We're adequately sheltered with
good canvas, There was no canvas
that was not of the standard quality ex-
cept small quantity bought in Chica-
60"
/ Col. Lee charged that in some in
stances officers misused hospital tents.
( He recalled the complaint of surgeons
of the Ninth Pennsylvania regiment,
that Col. Lee refused to give them a
mess tent stored in Col. Lees head
quarters and absolutely necessary for
the sick Col. Lee read an order of
Secretary Alger, reducing tentage of
incoming troops at the camp, owing TO
scarcity of field allowance, said the
! regiments under the regulations We're
required to care for their own sick I'M
til division hospitals We're established
and added that this regiment already
had exceeded its share. The private
tent he said could not be issued be-
cause ii necessitated tearing up a
storehouse containing the supplies Of
Il regiments.
Col. Lee referred to General Beaver S
| published remark that for this the
Pennsylvania should have taken him
/ lthe Witness) by the neck and thrown
him out
No not that" interrupted General
Beaver, but that they have taken you
by the neck II I had been in COM
! mand Of d regiment and my sick We're
in need of shelter, [ certainly would
have gotten q tent"
Col. Lee declared the lumber for
tents issued had in instances been con-
verified Wrongfully to stable use, and
said that when the colonel of the Ninth
Pennsylvania called regarding the pri-
Vate tent, he (Lee) told him then that
he (the Pennsylvanian) was using Two
hospital tents himself, one TO live in
and the other as a mess tent. "Do the
| regulations" he asked, permit the is
suing of hospital tents to officers for
living in or messing?"
mo-
Pressed on this point, he testified that
Gen. Beaver had brought such tents
with him f.om Chicago for his head
quarters. Gen. Wade, he said. got his
from Tampa in some way, while Gen.
Breckenridge received them by issuance
from the witness. He admitted he had
no right under the regulations to issue
such tents to Gen. Breckenridge. but
he believed he acted under special in
structions.
Maj. Ira c. Brown, surgeon in chief
of the general hospital at Montauk
camp. said the influx of visitors created
some confusion. He denied, so far as
/ he was informed. complaints that SOL
diers We're buried nude, and some other
stories which. he said. had nothing in
them. He denied any knowledge of neg
ligence in disinfection, and said there
was no time in the history Of the camp
| when there were not sufficient drugs
for proper care of the sick.