The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-11-17
Testimony Concerning the Hospital
Conditions at Siboney.
GEN. SKATERS ORDERS
NO CAMP EoUIPAGE FOR THE
TROOPS.
Reason Why Cooking Utensils Were
Not Forwarded = Major Lagarde
Says the Mortality Was Remark
ably Light-Less Than One Per
Cent OF the Wounded Died.

Washington, Nov. 16.-Maior Lagarde
continued his testimony before the war
investigating commission today, con-
! corning the conduct of the war from a
medical point of view. He spoke first
of the yellow fever hospital at Siboney,
which was under his charge in a gen.
eral way. lie SAG however, that his
time had been SO fully occupied with
other duties that he had not visited
the institution daily He was satisfied.
however, that the hospital was Well
conducted, and that the supplies on
| the whole were ample. He did not
have the complete records before him,
but he was sure that the mortality il
this hospital did not exceed per cent.
There might, however, have been some
suffering, ia individual cases, on ac-
count of insuficiency of supplies, and
for want OF expert nursing.
Returning to the case of the hospital
for wounded soldiers, DR.. Lagarde said
that between 1.S00 and 1,40O wounded
men had been treated by the surgeons
ct this institution.
There were six operating tables, and
! more could have been used to adVanJ-
age. There were times when forty or
fifty men were waiting outside for at
! tention. OF the wounded men there
were about a dozen deaths, or less than
1
war when the mortality record was
so small This was due, largely, to the
use Of modern rifles and the prompt
methods of rendering aid on the battle
field TO prevent blood poisoning. He
thought that under the old conditions
the mortality would have been 20 per
| cent greater
Colonel j. w. Jacobs, who was chief
quartermaster Of the Fifth corps at
Tampa and in Cuba, testified that Cen
| eral Humphrey had been in charge of
the embarkation of troops at Tampa,
and that no order specifying what YES
sells they We're to occupy were issued.
In reply to a queStion from Governor
Beaver, he said the embarkation had
been. "a haphazard Enthusiastically
| So" He also thought that there was
great deficiency in the provisions for
Decentralization, as only two lighters
We're provided, and one of these was
| lost on the way over.
| General McCook developed quite an
animated episode, by asking if there
was any reason why the cooking uten-
sis and camp equipage of the troops
/ should not have been forwarded from
| Baiquiri to the troops in the field
There was no reason Colonel ia
cobs replied, except that General Shat
| ter's order forbade" Continuing. he
said that the order was positive 1t did
/ not specify what should not be for
! Warded, but was most specific in pro-
/ Vlding that only forage and rations
should be forwarded. General Shafter' S
orders TO this effect were written. and
] the general had given him strict Eerbal
/ instructions to see that the orders We're
! observed Food had been sent to the
/ front cooked but he thought the men
! should have had some facilities tor
cooking; The order had never been
/ changed during the month he remained
| at Baiouiri. DR.. Connor then asked
whether orders had been given to leave
/ ali the hospital equipments behind at
/ Tampa, and Colonel Jacobs RESPONDED
! that it was his impression that such
| was the case. He had personal knowl-
edge that General Shafter had given
such an order concerning the ambu-
! lances.
Dr. Edward L. Munson. who. for a
time, was on duty at Tampa and in
Cuba, being for a time on the Olivette,
and also adjutant to General pope.
chief surgeon of the Fifth corps. said
he had understood that reuuisitions
were promptly approved, and that all
! the difficulty there was in getting med
icines and supplies was due to lack of
/ transportation. Each regiment had
been expected to take the supplies that
would be necessary
Dr. Munson said the condition of the
army before Santiago was iamentable.
owing largely to the fact that the men
We're without tents. For the first two
or three days, also, there We're Drac-
| tically no supplies on shore. So far as
/ he could determine, the ouartermaster's
! deoartment had made no effort to as
! sist the medical department, leaving it
entirely to its own devices. He thought
there was sufficient dressing for the
wounded, sufficient medicines and suf-
| ficient surgical instruments, but there
was lack of tents, of cots and of suit
able diet The actual necessities were
thEs met by the medical department.
| but if the fighting had continued for
| several days, he did not believe it would
have been possible for the department
| to have taken care of the wounded. at
| least not until the arrival of the Relief
/ on the 4th of July. He knew that Or.
| Pope had protested against sailing ,ul,-
! til the supplies which had been ordere.
| could be received.
General Dodge announced at the close
| Of today's session that the commission
| would leave here at IL o'clock for New
York. The first meeting will be held
! there on Friday.