The times., 1898-10-25
Bad Water the Cause Of Sick
ness There.
POOR HOSPITAL SERVICE
Found Men SweIterinR In Heavy
HInnkets or Altogether Exposed
Food Was Generally Good - The
Doctors Mission to Porto Rico
How Typhoid Fever Originated.

OF the war mas been IN tne oouiieih
camps as a field agent of the Red Cross,
returned to Washington on last Friday
evening and tomorrow viii go to New
York, whence he will sail for Porto Rico
The details of his mission TO Porto Rico
have not been outlined to him. and ne
cannot tell at present just the character
of the work expected of him in Americas
southernmost territory He does not know
how long he W.T. remain in Porto Rico.
He may return to Washington within
a month, and he may remain in Porto
Rico all Winter
The duties of DIR. Kent have kept him
with the Seventh Army Corps, command
ed by Maj Gen Fitzhugh Lee with head
quarters at Camp Cuba, Libre, Jackson
vile.
One of the first important missions as
signed to DIR. Kent was to visit the en-
campment of the first division of the
Seventh Corps at Miami, Florida. Miami
is the southern terminus of the Florida
East Coast Railroad and is about four
hundred miles below Jacksonville. DR..
Kent found the conditions there TO be
water This was derived from two
sources The first called spring water, and
the other such as was taken from wells
driven in the camp. The spring water
was mixed with surface water from the
Everglades. and even after having been
boiled had the taste and smell of swamp
water 1t was piped about half mile
and these pipes ran along the surface
of the ground and were exposed to the
sun so that the water was too hot TO
drink. One could not place his hand on
the pipes during the heat OF the day
without being burned. There was SO
much vegetable matter in this water that
when it reached the camp it was putrid.
An attempt was made to cool this water
by building tanks and stocking them with
ice, through which the water pipes ran.
There was but one faucet to these tanks
and ii required about half minute for
each man to get drink. When a regi-
ment was lined up for water the drink
ing process was too slow. So much hot
water ran through so little ice that the
cooling process did not work and the
scheme resulted only in a waste of ice.
Wells were driven about the camp and
pumps put in. These wells were sunk
ten. fifteen, and twenty feet through the
coquina rock This water was surface
water. which had been filtered through
the rock, and was palatabie and would
| probably have been all right had due
| caution been exercised in the location of
| the camp sinks. When heavy rain fell
| these cesspools overtlowed and polluted
the wells. Men drank this water in pref
erence to the alleged spring water. and
| typhoid fever resulted. Military surgeons
ordered the abandonment OF these wells
and nearly all the pumps were removed.
a few near the tents of officers were left
standing. and the men would steal to
these and drink.
Dr. Kent brought the condition of af-
fairs to the attention of Messrs. Beckwith
! and Mcdonald, agents of Mr.. Flagler,
| president of the Flagler system of rail-
roads and hotels, and they sent TO Jack
sonville for boilers and barrels, the plan
being to boil the water intsrded for
drinking purposes and cool it IN the bar
rels. During the boiling process the vege-
table matter formed dirty-looking scum.
and the men refused to use the fluid at
all.
All these facts were reported to Gen.
Lee and he forwarded the complaints to
the War Department. A member of Con-
sress from Louisiana spent n week in
camp with the Louisiana regiment, and,
coming 10 Washington, made personal
representations to the President. The
first division was soon removed to Jack
sonville
DIR. Kent speaks well of the staff of
Gen. Lee. The commissary officers, he
says, were efficient. On the whole. the
food was good. though here and there bad
meat was encountered, and this the COM
missary officers refused to accept
DIR. Kent stated to Times reporter
man, took a humane interest in the men
under his command. Being a lethargic
man, he did very little riding about the
camps but when matters prejudicial to
health and order were brought to his at
tention he did what lay in his power to
rectify the trouble.
Hospital supplies were insufficient. par.
ticularly in the matter of pillows, pillow
cases and sheetings. When DIR. Kent
reached Jacksonville he found the mer
in the hospitals lying either in Their
soiled urderclothing or sweltering under
heavy blankets.
Strong efforts were made to remedy
this condition of affairs and immense sup
plies of needed articles were donated by
the Red Cross Society and sent by the
Government. But the sickness increased
80 rapidly that the demand for sheetine
nearly always outran the supply.
number of the sick in the hospitals had
been reduced from fifteen hundred to one
thousand by removals to Savannah. Hos
pital trains were going north daily. The
work of the Red Cross at Jacksonville
was practically concluded when Dr. Kent
left but his son, A. W. Kent, remained
behind TO wind up small details. Young
Mr.. Kent has been an effective aid tC
his father in the work of relief.
DIR. Kent appeared before the Algel
Relief Commission at Jacksonville or
Thursday afternoon. He told the stor!
to the commissioners very much as it /.
told here.
1t is likely that as soon as Dr. Ken
shall have returned from Porto Rict
he will resume his pastoral duties in thi:
city The congregation of the People:
Church suspended meetings during tn,
Summer mainly on account of the alb
sence of DIR. Kent. The board of trus
tees has invited a number of prominen
speakers 10 occupy the pulpit of th
church till his return. The seventh ami
versary of the organization of the churcl
will be celebrated by banquet at Typo
graphical Temple on Friday night. Th
anniversary really falls on October
= but the celebration was postponed be
cause of the belief on the part of tn
congregation that DIR. Kent would b.
able to attend. AS the steamer is sched
uled to sail from New York for San Jual
on Thursday, DIR. Kent will not atten'
the reunion.
Private Belmont Buried.
The funeral of Private Isadore Belmont
Company C, District of Columbia Volun
teers, took place yesterday afternoon