The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-10-07

w OCl O-L4lC Wal ives
tigation commission held two sessions
today. In the forenoon General II. V.
Boynton concluded his testimony. and
General Fitzhugh Lee was heard in the
afternoon. General Boynton dwelt to-
day upon the causes of disease at Camp
Thomas. charging the increase towards
the close of the camp to the lack of
sufficient care on the part Of the regi-
mental and brigade commanders in
covering the sinks.
General Lee detailed the conditions
prevailing at the camp at Jacksonville.
He said the site was a good one, the
supplies were plentiful, the men we'll
taken care of, and that he had no
complaint TO make of the war depart
/ ment's treatment of his command He
also took occasion, in reply to a ques-
tion put by Captain Howell, to say
| that he did not consider that he had
been sighted in the war. He wanted
TO go TO Havana, and the president had
recently told him that in case it had
| been necessary to take Havana by as
sault he had intended to ask him to
lead the assaulting army.
General II. V. Boynton continued his
| testimony before the commission. In
reply TO charges formulated by Sur
geOn Milo B. Ward of Kansas City, who
said, in letter to the commission. that
! the camp was without drainage, that
the water was unfit to drink, that there
was no proper food and that all of the
| 5000 men in the camp were suffering
1 from intestinal diseases, General Boyn-
| ton said:
| "Of course, in so large a camp some
| painful things must necessarily hap
pen. For instance, when measles broke
/ out. the hospitals We're quite crowded.
| But to say that there was any purpose
| " inflicted neglect is he declared, 'as
false as it is possible to be-
| These complaints led General BOyn-
| ton to enter upon a general statement
in regard to the condition of the camp,
and to give his opinion as to the cause
| of it. He attributed the prevalence of
! disease to the kitchen and hospital
! sinks. They had, he said, in the latter
| part of the camps history, been left
/ uncovered by earth, contrary TO direc-
/ tons by the surgeon general, and this
| fact. more than all others, he consid-
| cred responsible for the spread of dis
1 ease. This failure to carry out sani-
| tary orders he thought was due to the
negligence of the subordinate officers,
| the brigade and regimental command
| erS.
! DISCIPLINE UNDER BROOKE.
/ The trouble only began after General
/ Brooke was ordered to Washington
| Prior to that time General Brooke re-
! quired daily reports from the regimen
| tai officers and prompt attention TO any
neglect of sanitary precautions. This
| system and the care which accOmpan-
/ led it, had had the effect of keeping
/ the camp in good condition When
] General Brooke left for Washington the
camp was necessarily in charge Of the
| subordinate officers. When General
/ Brooke returned his time was devoted
I ion
| Puerto Rico campaign, so that he could
not give so much heed to sanitary reg
ulatiOns as he had previously done
/ General BoyntOn elaborated upon the
strict discipline maintained by General
Brooke in police and sanitary matters.
\ but said there was a suspension of this
care after the Puerto Rico campaign
was decided upon. After General
| Brooke left there was a. material in
crease of disease, and at one time al
most a panic.
FLIES CAUSED THE TROUBLE.
Returning to the conditions subse-
! quent to the date when General Brooke
was ordered to Washington, General
Bovnton said the exposed condition Of
the sinks had encouraged the presence
lof a multitude of flies, which bred dis
ease by carrying germs from the sinks
to the tents. They were" said the
general, ''as thick throughout the
park as they ever could have been in
/ Egypt. and they went back and forth
from the sinks to the mess tables Of
men and officers with the greatest i'm
puuity, covering everything in sight"
General BoyntOn was questioned at
some length as to where the RESPONSE
bility for this condition Of affairs lay,
and he said that it lay with the bri-
gade and regimental commanders. Il
1r cd - he said that the mod
ical officers reported to them the con-
ditiOn and warned them of the serious
consequences Of failing to obey the
surgeon generals orders for the cover
! ing of the sinks. but the medical OFF,
| GERS could not give orders; they could
only advise. I would not say that the
commanding officers as whole paid no
heed to these representations, but many
] of them apparently failed to appreci-
ate their Importance, and did not give
| them the attention which the circum-
stances demanded They should re-
ceive the attention, for instance. that
officers in the regular army would have
given them
General Boynton added that he did
not mean to make any reflections upon
officers from civil life, but there were
some things which they had to learn,
and many of them were not experts
/ in sanitation. Furthermore, most peo-
pie lOOkcQ uROl inc camp ctS party
temporary. and the fact that all were
in daily expectation of receiving orders
to move caused many to be Indifferent
/ to the future.
In discussing with Captain Howell
the question of rations supplied to
Camp Thomas, General Boynton vOlun-
teered the suggestion that there had
been no complaints from southern SOL
! diers in the camp. And" he continued,
Il do not believe we would have heard
half the outcry that has been raised
| if all the soldiers had been from the
SOUTH
General Dodge said that only two or
three charges had been received from
the south. and they were not from
soldiers
J The testimony of General Boynton