The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-09-23
|ALGgR'S INVESTIGATION.
Critical Inspection Of the Hospitals
/, : at Ohiokamauga.
A BANQUET AT CHATTANOOGA.

Colonel Lee and Surgeon General
sternbere Deny Charges Against
Their Departments-Aleer Reiterates
His Charges Against Commanders.
Chattanooga, Tenn. Sept. 23.-Secre-
cary Alger, who arrived Wednesday
night. was out early yesterday. About
Q o'clock the secretary and Surgeon
General Sternberg, accompanied by
Bri9adier General Boynton, left for
Chickamauga Park, where they spent
the day in a critical inspection of the
hospitals over which there has been so
much controversy. Before leaving
Chattanooga Secretary Alger said to
areporter: =
1.-THE press has been disposed to ex-
aggerate the condition of some of the
camps. and things have been charged
against the war department which
were untrue and unwarranted. l want
the facts, and all the facts, to come out.
and have nothing to withhold from the
public.
1.-THE great trouble has been that the
people have not appreciated the i'm
mense problem of forming an army Of
100000 volunteers without notice and
without the necessary equipment. The
Spanish war came upon us almost like
q bolt from a clear sky. and 1t found
every branch Of the war department
unprepared for the task of equipping
and handling such a vast number of
unframed men.
"For a time there was difficulty in
furnishing supplies and equipment for
the troops, but that was to be ex-
pected The department had only
limited supply of tents and 1t had prac-
tically no wagons and ambulances to
start with. There were a thousand
and one details to look after, and
fairly disposed public will understand
the disadvantages under which the
war department worked for many
weeks AS fast as possible equipment
and supplies were sent to the several
camps, and II there has been lack of
medicines and necessaries Of life the
fault lies with the commanding officers
Of the camps.
"There may have been some incom-
petent officers, generals and colonels,
In charge of some of the camps, and IL
such Is found to be the case they will
be held strictly to account for their
misdeeds.
"If there are any commanding off,
GERS who are now incompetent, or who
fail to put their camps in first class
condition and keep them that way l
propose they shall be replaced by men
who are competent and who will see
that perfect sanitary conditions are
established and maintained"
Secretary Alger and party were en-
tertained at dinner last evening, given
by prominent citizens of Chattanooga.
Assistant Quartermaster General Lee
and other army officers were guests.
Secretary Alger stated that he was
firmly convinced of the original health
fulness of Chickamauga Park. but that
II had been rendered temporarily un-
healthy by the long occupation Of the
army. He intimated that the soldiers
now In camp In this latitude will be
moved further south on the approach
Of colder weather.
Colonel Lee replied to the charges
made by Generals Wiley, Sanger and
Colonel Leonard and others against
his department. and denied in most
emphatic terms every charge made. He
eharacterizes the charges as absolutely
false, as will be clearly shown. he said.
BY an official investigation, which he
most cordially invited.
Surgeon General Sternberg declared
that naturally Chickamauga Park was
absolutely healthy and the water pure.
md that the sickness at Camp Thomas
was traceable directly to the failure
of commanding and regimental officers
to observe the sanitary regulations
which had been issued on the subject
BY the medical bureau.