The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-11-30
WAR INVESTIGATION BOARD.
The First Meeting of Commission in Boston
Held Yesterday.

Boston, November 29.-The war investl'
cation commission began its hearings IN
Boston this forenoon, all the members be-
ing present with the exception of Col.
DENLY. Major General Alexander McCooh
acted as president. The board did not gee
to work taking testimony until low
having been in executive session Tor tWo
hours previously.
The first witness called was Leoharu
w. johnson of North Cambridge, "no
signed contract AS nurse on the sseh %
August, His examination was eonducseo
by Commissioner Howell. AFTER Oon-
missioner Howell had read the conCracp
signed between johnson ana MAJOR H. ..
Jarvis. brigade surgeon. New fork. Mr.
Johnson. said; 1.-The charges l wish TO
make are against those VINO iss t ol. .AIa
IN the City of Berlin. the transport on
xvbicb I came back from Porto Rico.
had beep an attendant in one of the
hospitals there suffering from malarlal,
rheumatism and dysentery. left Ponce
the day that | got paid S6l and came
on the transport Berlin. =
Mr.. johnson, in answer to questions
stated that he did not know who the
captain was, but Captain Swartz was in
Immediate charge under the captain
DIR. Crosley WAS the medical officer sub.
shutting for soma one else. Ihe trans
port sailed for Ponce, touched at Santiago
and then came on to New York. 1t WAS
twelve days making the trip.
After being taken sick, said the wit.
ness. Major Palmer, l think it was, sent
word to headquarters and | was relieved
from duty, and | was sick until sent TO
Ponce. Forty OF us were sent down ana
after being there we were ordered to pc
n 1. TOW sTarr
duty had not been cancelled ana was
sick when going on board. After getting
away from the port whether sick or not,
we were compelled to go 10 work and look
after the sick patients on board. NO one
had been put aboard who Was not sup
posed to be able to take Gale OF himself,
but we had to look after them.
A Air. saunders and myself had to look
after twelve sick men, with the assistance
of some of the other men sometimes. We
had orders to put these men to WORK or
we would be put in irons and that II
they or we did not work we woulf be put
ashore at Santiago. These twelve men re-
ouired the assistance of nurses. Mr.
Saunders was in charge OF the dieting
and / was in charge of the meilcine5. l
gave the sick men all the medicine pre-
scribed by the doctors. Iwo were very
sick out Of the twelve. We had to stay up
with them most of the night although
we were SICK ourselves. MI JUuiSVA Sotu
that he had more or less ma aria until
the cold weather of the last As hours.
The witness said that he had heard
there were so men on board the steamer
but he did not know.
A. result of the work of Mr.. Moore
and II Ojeda the draft of the articles
embn ying the protocol agreements was
completed this evening. 1t will be pr
sented to the two commissions tomorrow
lin the morning at their separate ses-
sions and in the afternoon at the joint
session, when it will receive final con-
sideration. There will be little delay on
these articles.
Mr. Moore will also submit tomorrow to
the United States commissioners the
subjects TO be presented to the Spaniards
for negotiations.
These, for convenience and greater de-
spstch, are being drafted into the form
of articles
The release of the insurgent prisoners
held by Spain will go into the protocol
agreements. it having been already
agre nat Spain is to release them upon
the 4 I'd States undertaking to secure
the release of Spanish prisoners in the
bands of Aguinaldo. This question is
SO intimately related TO the peace treaty
that it has been removed from the sub
jects that are matters of neg citation and
has been embodied in the articles con-
tanning the protocol agreements.