The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-10-09

Washington, Oct. S.-The war inves
tigating commission examined two wit
nesses today. They were DR.. Giffen
vino was in charge of the Sternbere
hospital at Camp Thomas, Chickamau.
ga Park, Ga, and Captain Baldridge
brigade commissary of subsistence a
Camp Cuba Libre at Jacksonville
The commission has practically de.
cided TO start on the night of the 16tk
on its round of the various camps
They will go either to Camp Meade OF
to Jacksonville first.
All the camps will be visited in sue
cession, but the understanding is tina;
the trip to Camp Wikoff will not be
made until some time IN November
Next week will be given largely to the
inspection of official reports and tc
other statements that have been fur.
nished in answer to letters.
The war investigating committee be-
gan its proceedings today with Majo,
r. Emmett Giffen on the stand He was
brigade surgeon at Camp Thomas
and told Of his visit to the second di-
vision hospital in July last, when, ne
said, 1t was oVercroWGed. In each tent
and under its flies there were eight or
nine men, when there should have been
but from four to six. There was a suf-
hciency OF physicians, and Major Gift
fen was sure they were competent men.
The majority Of patients suffering ty-
phoid fever and venereal diseases,
about 20 per cent being of the latter
class. He thought the crowding of the
hospital was from lack of sufficient
tentage, a fault due to the surgeon in
charge. DR.. Giffen made his visit to
the division hospital to see a man of
his brigade who had been shot in the
leg He fngInd him in q with fxr
phoid fever patients, and consequently
had him removed.
DR.. ga eii advocated regimental rath-
er thai .risIonal hospitals He said
there \,u-.ld be to the advantage of
classification in the larger hospitals if
the classification was made, which it
was not, as a rule, as the men were
brigaded then.
The division hospital surgeons were
competent in their profession, some of
them being of the most competent du-
ties, but they were not men of execu-
tive ability. He considered the water
supply good. The sinks We're poorly
located. They were too near the kit
chen and were too shallow. Many of
them were only 75 feet from the com
pany kitchen, and were open when he
arrived. He then had them moved far
Their back, and gave directions for daily
dlSlnfecung and covering. By this time,
however, the regiments were all in
fected, as he thought, by the flies going
from the sinks to the mess tables
DR.. Giffen was given charge of the
construction OF the Sternberg hospital
on Aug l, and, after the hospital was
constructed, was the chief surgeon
there. He said the tents comprising
this hospital were ii by 10, foored and
supplied with four beds each. There
were 100 tents and a number of wooden
n woo f7-a
OF men at the hospital at one time. and.
all told, 1,I27 men had been healed up
to the 9Th inst. OF these, Sc per cent
We're typhoid, the next most prolific
cases being Venereal troubles. There
had been 67 deaths at the institution.
The cases sent to him were generally
the most dangerous. He had % con-
tract surgeons and two regulars. and
164 female nurses and 159 members of
the hospital corps acting as nurses.
He had received no complaints and
he was sure the attendants are eff
Gent. His acquisitions We're sent di-
rect to the surgeon general at Washing
ton, often by wire and there was never
any delay often being directed to pur-
chase at Chattanooga. Many articles
were sent TO the men from the north.
but as a rule they spoiled before they
arrived When patients began to con-
Valesce they were put on a special diet
for week and then furloughed and
sent home. He was particular not to
allow any Of the patients TO leave for
nome until they were sufficiently re-
covered to render it safe for them to do
so. He related how Governor Bradley |
OF kentucky came to the hospital saw
ing ne mad some to take the Kentucky !
men home. DR.. Giffen refused at first !
but afterwards consented to leave the |
matter TO the patients themselves. Out |
I l..
ana he was insane. DR.. Giffen had no |
complaint OF neglect to make against |
any of the officials. There were no !
matches for "a hours. He thought that
the contract surgeons should have been
examined before they We're appointed
Ihey were not so examined to his
knowledge. The doctor expressed the
opinion that the complaints of starya-
llon had arisen from the fact that it
was necessary to put convalescents
from typhoid fever on sparse diet He
thought many deaths had been caused
by overlooking after conValescents re-
turned to their homes. Orders were
given to his knowledge for prompt
measures looking to the suppression of
The fever when it broke out, but the
orders had not been Obeyed. He knew
IF more cases in which the sinks were
% the last within 20 feet of the kitch-
enS and in the cases of the Fourteenth
Minnesota and Ninth Pennsylvania reg
ments the sinks were crowded near
he kitchens. when there was a quarter
II mile of open field back of them
Se thought it had been a mistake to To-
ate SO many men together as were
1t Camp Thomas. acquisitions had
'een honOred promptly.
I got everything 1 asked for, from a
oothplck up and was turned down on
lothing," he said.
Captain James c. Baldridge, commits
airy OF subsistence for the First hyi-
,ade of the Ss.;ond division of the Sew
ntNh army corps now at CANT Cuba
1ibre, Jacksonville, occupied the COM
mission during the afternoon. He I
cached the camp on Aug. 2, and made
n inspection Of the kitchen He found /
ound- some of them not well, as not all |
t the army cooks We're experts
Green coffee was preferable TO the 4
oasted as IL was stronger and fresher.
he meat he considered good. The men I
7ere. literally supplied with. food and 1
he location of the camp was good.
Still there had been an increase of ,
isease. which he attributed to the eli
late and to the assembling of a large O
ody of men. He also thought decaying y =
'uit and the canteen beer had had an /
lfiuence in producing disease.
Much of his testimony related to COM
laintS from the Second New Jersey =
egiment. He said there had been many n
1mplaints from this regiment, and in I,
had shown the trouble was =
ne 70 the fact that the officers were ,,
ithoUt experience. p
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