The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-04


ing wedged in like sardines. The same
was true Of the typhoid and malariaI
MaIus, Inc witness. in describing the ac-
non Oh Mag. Hubbard, said that he choked
the patent and forcibly pressed him down
on the cor. He then caught the pa
,ieht hands and then wrenched them I'M
VI the poor man shrieked with pain Al
inns point the Witness said to Hubbard:
DO not know your name or vour rank
put this brutality must STOP
Hubbard did not stop. but said some,
thing about showing patient how to re-
fuse TO take medicine.
capt Price said he made it a point to
90 every day tosthe hospital to see about
me treatment Of the men of his camp
ana ne found that in that way his men
were not permitted to suffer.
Washington Nov. 8.-Dr. A. Hartsun
who was chief surgeon of the army at
Camp Thomas, Chickamauga Park. from
April q until July 27. last was examined
to-day by Col DENLY of the war invesu-
eating commission concerning the CON
quot o. the camp from medical point
OF view He criticised various features
IN the management of the camp. begin
ming with the location of some of the
regiments. He said that the park was, on
general principals. a good camp ground
put that some of the regiments were To-
Gated in swampy sections and others on
rocky ground where it was impossible tn
get the sinks of sufficient depth. In other
cases the camp sites drained and in most
instances the tents were too close togeth-
er. He said the sites were selected by
Gen. Brooke, and notwithstanding his own
position as chief medical officer he had
not been consulted in regard to the loca-
ton. He had made a formal protest at
the time, but that protest was not heed
ed DR.. Hartsuff took positive ground
against the establishment of division hos
pitfalls at the expense of the regiments
He said that the law for the organization
of volunteer forces did not provide for the
establishment of a hospital corps and that
as a consequence there was no force for
the hospital work, and the only way TO
get one was to transfer men from the vol
unteer force to the regular force and Of
times these men were not the most eff
cient that could be secured
He thought division or
held hospital was necessity, but he old
not think it should be built up as at pres
ent by taking surgeons, stewards and am
balances from the regiment. but rather
as an Independent institution. He had
found that regimental surgeons and nurses
transferred to division hospital were
not so capable of rendering good service;
many We're quite useless others were al
most paralyzed. Furthermore there was
immense confusion in transferring the ,egi
mental effects to The hospital and in send
ing them back when the regiments were
ordered away. 1t was he said, a case
Of confusion worse COMPOUNDED.
do you" asked Col. DENLY. think
the establishment of division hospitals a
had policy?"
Very bad as done" responded the wit
ness.
Couldn't you as chief medical officer.
have controlled the matter?" he was next
asked.
mo sir. 1t was an order of the Secre-
tary of War and under this order no regi-
mental hospital could be maintained" He
thought this order unfortunate that in
carrying it into effect the work of caring
for the sick was greatly interferred with
and that no one was benefited by it,
DR.. Hartsuff also expressed the opinion
that the water supply of the camp was
not good.
Another feature of the camp system
which DR.. Hartsuff criticised was that of
allowing each regiment to have a refuse
dump of its own. This had rendered the
camp Objectionable from hygienic point
of view. He had recommended to Gen.
Brooke the cremation of the garbage.
He stated that the recommendation had
not been acted upon and in response to
question of Col. DENLY said a medical Of
ficer could not execute, but could only re-
commend. He attributed the failure to
adopt his recommendation TO the confusion
incident to preparing a great army for the
field.
Asked if the volunteer army surgeons
under him were competent, DR.. Hartsuff
replied that some were while others were
not The great difficulty had been to Sc
cure men of administrative ability 10 con-
duct the hospitals.
He thought there had been suffering be-
cause of this ignorance, and instanced one
case in which he had found a big hospital
practically out of food because none of the
surgeons connected with it knew how to
make a ration return.
Summing up DR.. Hartsuf said: I'm my
opinion the sickness at Camp Thomas
was largely due to the ineXperience and
ical officers, and also to inexperience of
line officers, who did not furnish the sup
port they should have to the medical de-
partment. The execution of any plan of
operation rests largely with the line Off
GERS, the duties of the surgeon being limi-
ted to recommendations. They are, there
fore, unable to correct abuses themselves
and must depend upon others 10 do that.
This applies to the officers Of regiments
as well as to general officers"
Dr. Hartsuff holds the rank of colonel
in the regular army and is now chief sur
geon of the department of the Lakes, with
headquarters at Chicago.
Col. M H. McCord, First Territorial In
fantry, to-day went before the invesu-
eating commission and made the follow
ing statement:
81 see by newspaper reports that Lieut..
Col. D. D. Mitchell, of my regiment the
First Territorial, United States Volun-
teer Infantry (who, before joining the
regiment, was a captain in the Fifteenth
Infantry, gave some testimony for the
investigating commission yesterday at
Texington KY to the effect that reuui-