The Advocate and news., 1898-11-02
The Treatment Of Our Soldiers.
L. A. GEORGE.

about the treatment Of our soldiers In the
Spanish and United States war, that l
thought to add q few lines, IL l could have
space In your valuable paper That the de-
partment may have neglected It's duty,
there may be every reason TO believe, but
would not another administration have
done the same thlng2 l think that In all
probability they would, X 80, there must
be a reason for II.
The field Is q wide one, and the reasons
numerous. The dietary habits Of the peo-
pie are undergoing changes. People do not
cook and eat as they did forty years ago,
especially In the North. There iS probably
ten times the tomatoes, green, dried and
canned fruit used now than them, and
less salt pork and to bring a thousand or
more men together and give them the army
ratiOns we had In the Sixties and l am
not surprised that they get Sick we dld'
and yet the rations were more like nome
living than now. Thus, to make up for the
lack (not In quantity but quality, the boys
would buy from the suffers or forage from
the country when they could not buy,
which would result in their eating too
much Objectionable food. Then, the people
ut home, wishing to do their sons, husbands
and brothers q kindness, would ship them
boxes Of sWeetmeats and other food thai
may have been all right to have eaten
sparngly Of before 1t started, but when 1t
arrived would be Objectionable indeed,
especially to gorge themselves on, which
they would be sure to do, and no doubt
many of our soldiers in after years will
be able to look back to a box Of goodies
from home or something bought from the
sutler or some lnhabitant as the commence
ment OF their illness.
Now, all this should be obviated. The
government rations should be radically
changed. 1t never was in harmony with
proper dietary principles, much less 80 now
with the changed dietary habits of the peo-
pie. There Is much depending on the com
pany and regimental officers Of regiment
in getting the necessary rations. There Is
another drawback which Is especially true
about hospitals. The supplies are fur
nlshed mostly by contract and the greatest
chance is open for some dishonest officer
In charge and the contractor to make
money at the expense of the sick soldiers;
also, some unwholesome food may slip by
the inspecting officer or become bad after
passing him and be distributed, and II con-
demned before other ratlons can be got,
some of this unsaVory food will have to be
used. This cannot always be helped, but
should be watched witt. the closest atten-
tion.
The proper care for the sick is no doubt
one OF the greatest lacks In army lite My
experience has been such that l challenge
the whole medical fraternity as being at
fault. The dietary and sanitary conditions
in camp are wholly inadequate for the
sick, and IL the present army is like the
army of 81 the regimental surgeons are
neglectful Of their duty and probably
grossly gnorant-that is, they may be per-
fectly competent to treat the diseases Of
the locality they are from and be success
full In treating patients with home care, but
take them thousands OF miles from their
homo to hot, malaria country, with no
good chance to nurse and care for the sick,
many better stay at home.
My officers might do much TO help the
condition of the sick, / probably could
not better illustrate the foregoing conclu-
sions than to give brief history of my
army life from 81 to Ca When l enlisted
in May, 1891, at Tunbrldge, VT, there was
none more healthy and robust than l. be-
Ing past q had my full strength and stat
ure l took to camp life readily was tenn
perate In my habits, never using intoxl-
cants in the army or since. About the 10th
OF July, 1861, was taken with measles and
they came out all right and l seemed to be
doing we'll About the 18th box of VIC
tl:als came to the company from home.
had Just got out round and begun to be u
little hungry and ate quite hearty. Diar-
rhea soon set in, and from then to the
present day have never been a we'll man.
AS the disease became chronic my appetite
became ravenous, as was others OF the reg"
iment troubled In like manner. Our well
comrades thought we were playing of be-
cause we could eat so much, and our doc
tors from the green hills of Vermont who
never before say anything but pneumonia
and consumption treated us in about the
same way. See your tongue, dovers pow
der, you are excused, was the daily rOu-
tine. Some time in August / had got so
reduced could hardly walk. One morning
told the sergeant that l did not feel able
TO go TO surgeons call and to 30 report me,
but instead Of tho doctor coming to my