The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1898-09-02
THE MOBILE HORROR
WAR DEPARTMENT Wl<kS
AT OTIRAGES.
Cattle Ship Packed Full of Sick
and Wounded Soldiers With
out Any Effort For Their Com.
fort and Safety.

out Any Effort For Their Conn
fort and Safety.
Washington, D. c., Aug. 25.-The in
quiry into the responsibility of the pri-
v~ations and hardships of the soldiers
N the transport Mobile will result in
another verdict of mot proven
Despite the p~rotestations made that
a most searching investigation would
follow, the wal department seems sat
isied now with the mot responsible"
replies which are being received.
1t is disposed to regard the statements
Of Geenra Shafter and General Lud-
low of the engineers, the latter having
been a passenger on the Mobile, as al
most conclusive in that it can be antici-
pated that the final declaration will be
that there was neither gross negligence
incompetency nor criminal careless
ness.
The war department, however, is not
informed whether proper care was
taken in the cleaning of the vessel after
use by 1000 horses, which were a part
of the Mobiles cargo to Porto Rico.
What is wanted is a report from the
medical officers who made an inspec-
ton of the ship. No report of this kind
has yet reached the war department.
RESTS WITH QUARTERMASTER.
The direct responsibility rests on the
quartermasters' department, or rather
its representative at Santiago. Quar-
termaster General Ludington had given
full Instructions as to the loading of
vessels. 1t is expected that he will
make a statement covering the case.
This report will De based on reports
from his officers at Santiago. 1t will be
which may have been made as to the
accommodations on board the Mobile.
When she left for Porto Rico she had
accommodates for only 1000 men and
1000 horses
According 10 General Shafter there
the Mobile when ste left Santiago. She
was to Dc used Is z cattle ship with
accommodations Tor a crew of only
about ssysnty-1vE Esn-
The accommodations for the 1000 men
were hastily made, and it is not yet
known o the accommodations were
possible for 1,7U1 men without putting
sick soldiers where they should not
have been slowed away.
A SLIM APOLOGY.
1t was aid today in General Alger's
Office hat the large percentage Of
deaths might be accounted for by the
fact that there was IN unusually large
number of sick on board when the No
bile started. An officer in the war de-
partment who heard this statement
said if there was any very large num-
Der Of sick men on board, there was
all the less s why the Mobile
should not have been put to sea with
out having on board a proportionate
number Of physicians and amount of
proper food and delicacies for the sick
and convalescent. But the war de-
partment has other troubles ahead.
Camp Alger, where there was an cpl
denic Of typhoid fever n which had
to be removed to save the army there,
was selected by the war department
without consultation with the medical
department. The surgeon general a
few days ago asked for the appoint
ment of a board of experts to inquire
into the causes of great sickness and
mortality at the camp. The board
went to work today and is taking tes-
timony at the camp. The examinations
will show whether the army officers in
charge followed the recommendations
of the medical department.
Surgeon General Sternberg said that
the medical department vas not con-
suited as to the selection Of Camp AL
ger, and that his department had no
power to enforce recommendations to
prevent typhoid fever. From the prev
alence Of typhoid fever at Camp AL
ger, as well as other points, the med
ical department says that more claims
for pensions will be based on typhoid
fever than from bullet wounds
Sergeant Wilkes, formerly a member
Of troop B, Grigsby's cowboy regiment.
has decided to bring suit for libel
$3.50 -