The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-10-25
Subjects Investigated BY the Alger
Commission.
SOME PHYSICIANS TESTIFY
EPIDEMIC OF DISEASE IN CAMP
AT CHICKAMAUGA..
Hospital Corps Worst of Material
From Which to Make Nurses
Fighting at Santiago Described
Americans Could Not Have Land
ed Had They Been Opposed.

Admission, Ala, Oct. 24-The war inves-
tigating commission sat from until
$50 today and examined about dozen
witnesses. including a number of Of
ficers and men of the regular troops,
as we'll as a number of volunteer Of
ficers. 1t is now expected that the
commission will leave for Huntsville
tomorrow night.
The commission began its session to-
day with Major otto H. Falk on the
stand. He was the chief quartermaster
of the First division of the Third army
corps while in Chickamausa, and ne
now occupies the position OF chief
quartermaster for this division. he
said the most serious complaint in the
early history of Camp Thomas was
from the First Missouri, whose men
claimed that their trousers were moth
ing more than rags, and threatened 10
appeal to charity at home to supply
their wants. There was also shortage
in tents, which became quite serious at
the time of the beginning of the rainy
season. Previous to that time men
had slept under trees and under their
shelter tents without complaint. In
deed, he said, there never was SUI
ficient supply of tentage, and II was
necessary to put six men in tent
Continuing. he said the division had
never been completely equipped until
the present time, especially in the mat
ter of transportation facilities. He
said, however, that there had been no
refusal to honor acquisitions. He
thought, however, that on the whole,
there was too much red tape in the
quartermaster's department.
81 do away with it whenever can.
I have succeeded so far. even though L
sometimes violate regulations" Illus
trating, he said he had had to sign his
name six times in the process of paying
a bill of $50.
FLOOD OF DISEASE.
DR.. Charles NJ. Drake. in charge of
the general hospital here. and who was
in command of the hospital of the First
division of the Third corps at Chicka-
manga, was the next witness. He told
of various improvements he had found
it necessary to make in the hospital at
Chickamauga-
There was" he said, "such a flood of
disease that it was almost impossible
to meet the demand for tentage, and
quite out of the question to anticipate
it,"
AS fast as he would pitch new tents
they would fill them up. He stated
that the medical supplies had been am
pie from the beginning, but the hospital
corps has proved inefficient as nurses.
''They were. as a class" he said, 1.-THE
worst nurses" However, he thought
there had been no more serious results
than discomfort to patients caused by
the inefficiency of the nurses. he was
positive there had been no death from
starvation or privation. Ten of the ty-
phoid cases of the hospital had died,
and compared with hospitals generally
the percentage was phenomenally low.
He was of the opinion that the patients
in this hospital received better atten-
ton than the average man In TINS
country receives at home.
Replying to charges made by a slSnal
corps patient in the Chickamauga hos
initial. DR.. Drake said he had seen mag
gots on one occasion in a box in the
hospital but never on patients. Often
the men came there lousy, but they did
not remain so.
RATTONS WERE EXCELLENT.
Major Joseph H Heatwole, chief
conmissary of subsistence, said the
quality of the rations had been excel
lent AS for the quantity, man would
have to be a gourmandizer to eat all Oh
one.
General Dodge read letter from DR..
Seaman of New York, who was before
L
he corrected an error in his testimony.
He stated that he had received only the
regular army rations for the GONZALES
cents on the steamer OLDHAM from
Puerto Rico to New York. He says that
such supplies as had been received up
to the night previous to sailing had
heen received from the relief societies.
During the night" he continued,
1.-THE hospital ship Relief arrived and
early the next morning l boarded the
Relief and personally secured, without
any reuuisition, the additional supplies
I enumerated in the receipt signed by me.
Until my conference yesterday with
Major Bradley l believed these sup
plies. like many others, were bought by
/ outside contributions and were not gov
eminent supplies"
The letter is dated Oct. 16 and is
directed to the surgeon general of the
army.
HAD AFFINITY FOR SWAMPS.
Major David Vickers. who was in
spector general for the second division
of the Third corps at Chickamauga,
attributed the troubles in that camp to
/ the shallowness of the sinks. He said
/ also that some of the regimental OIL
GERS insisted on making poor selections
of camp sites, and in one instance a
! Mississippi colonel who had put his
men in a swamp had insisted upon re-
manning on the ground that the Mis-
/ sissippians had a natural affinity Tor
| sWamps Nevertheless, his men were
taken sick. Major Vickers also COM
plained that the drinking water was
! moor. Asked as to the competency of
/ the surgeons at the hospital, he said
there was one man in the hospital
whose proficiency in profanity entitled
! him to a title. This man was Major
/ Hubbard. surgeon in the Ninth New
York. His profanity was of such a
yillainous character" said Major Wick
ers. that it pretty nearly made me
sick. and I knew it could not have had
a pleasant effect on patients"
Lieutenant Colonel Bisbee, in COM
mand of the First infantry. told the
story of the transportation of his regi-
ment to Santiago, briefly described the
fighting about Santiago, spoke of his
experience in Cuba, of the return to
/ Montauk Point and of the stay at that
place and the transfer south. Asked IL
the landing at Santiago could have
been accomplished if opposed, he re-
piled:
THE facilities were so poor that /
think not. at least 1 should say if l had
been on shore no enemy would have
been permitted to land. I cannot say
how il was with the Spaniards"
He said there was considerable diff
Guilty in getting food while in front of
Santiago, but we had enough" He
added: IF there should be more to eat,
the men would probably have been
sicker."
MEDICAL SUPPLIES SCARCE.
He EXPRESSED the opinion that the
only deprivation had been in not hav-
49, ,oropar- food for the sick They