Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-09-14
CONDITIONS At WIKOTF
Camp IS Well Arranged as a Healthful Quar-.
tiers for Troops.
CARE GIVEN THERE TO sASlTArlos.
Good water riped 60 Each Regiment
Abundant food Disposal Of nefu.o-
Omcia1 Inorts 60 Have All GO Wen.

AsNhN'uANA NNl smart concerning iWn
condition of Camp wlkon. Col. smart
Is In chaigc Of the sanitary division Of
the surgeon generals Office and prlfra-
sor OF hygiene In the army medical
school lie has had great experience
In water analysis and IL regarded as an
expert He was sen, By Gen. siernbcrg
TO make a sanitary inspection OF the
camp and report on the conditions. The
conditions 10 which Gen. stcrnborg calls
attention are as foliUgs:
The FIRST subject which attracted my
attention on arriving at the hospital
WAS ihc utterly PROSTATE condition u
some ~ inc men furl1urhrd ut the NJ
torvcnunn ~ friends who desired 10 rr-
move them 90 their homes ~ doubt
much pfeaaure was brought to bear on
the surgeons charged with the duty ~
furlouFhinR by the cntruatica OF friends
ana OF M Hlck men Themselves, bui %
appears 90 me that much greater care
should have been exercised In author
izIng the departure Of certain NJ theso
mon on Journey which noCnHaurlIy
involved much fatigue. An hour later
q telegram from yourself 20 the SURGEON
IN command, explicitly forbld1lng the
fuflnughlng OF men unable 20 take care
OF themselfcs' appeared 20 me to be
fuiiirlent 20 remedy this evil. due not
20 carelcsHnosl. but 10 excessive nympa.
thy with the soldier ana the deslro 10
have him Ia The care VI his friends and
relatives.
The site OF the camp h an excellent
one hrm, compact and wcll drained
grassy sod, the Flii beneath tho sur.
face being held well together IN the in-
turtWlugd roots ~ the grass and fufm-
ms thus a surface which wears Wrli
under foot and ~ productive VI neither
duHi iu dry weather nor mud IN rainy
weather Here and there IA shallow y E
prcHHlona ana ravlnes the surface had
been ifoddcn down TO q clay bed whlrh
supports surface water In pools. but In
view VI ireah brcczca constantly blow
lng IN irum the ocean ! am VI the unln.
ion that DO maiariai developments need
be anticipated from those ponds.
Some of then In piugfesH-bf time
ptohthiN would become a nuisance and
would require 90 b. drained and nlIrd up,
particularly one on the north size 81
The general hospital and between At aud
The camps ~ some cavalry rrcrultr
ana " the engineer batinllons H. on me
southeaai corner ~ Fort Pond. The
First division extends from this eaat-
ward on plain HklrtlnF with ltf slnka
ON the neaward side Of the mems quar-.
ierH and We'll removed fnum them. Tac
Sucond division " on high rolling
ground overlooking the ocean. ana th6
cavalry division On th. rolling ground
In the interior between the ocean ami
large body ~ fresh water. a great
pond The camps are Kcpf ~ excellent
condition. all garbage II burned EXCEPT
some refuse which 10 more conveniently
disposed ~ by butylng. The sinks arc
deep well protected BY buildlngl. ana
also arc fully attended to 10 as
~ no Instance 10 constitute
camp are from twenty TO twenty .nve
teet wide. a. most OF the regiments are
small, In the cavalry division they are
wider as the camp areas arr larger
To awe space 90 the horses. Only Two
regiments, the Third and Twentieth
infantry, are IN any way crowded. The
tents Of an commands arr Wedgewau
tents, three men TO a tent. each tent
Wei spaced from It's neiEhhlr. In
few cases board floors have been laid
and the lumber IA being delivered 10
some regiments for this purpose, hut
speaking Ia genrral terms the men
sleep on bed sacks allied with straw
and hay. These. with their blankets.
are clean and are summed daily. Romg
recruits recently arrived are not yet
provided with bed sacks
In the Interior u many Of he tenta
there IL a lack of tldlness and solder
~ nfatneaa, due 20 the worn-0ut cnu-
dltion OF the men. The Tenth cavalry
was exceptionally good In this respect
every tent being notably clean and
new. The kitchens OF an the commands
are under tent iilea, all utensils clean
and waste burned. No suggestion VI a
complain, 40 10 the character Of the
food supply could be elected In any
OF the regiments. lee, milk, eggs.
melons, ETC., appeared 10 b. abundant
In every camp,
The water supply Of the camp and
hospital u taken from u well about
200 yards from the eastern margin u
the Fort Pond. A free supply II found
at a depth of forty feoi below the SUR
face, Two sheets ~ clay, one near the
surface, the other Al a depth of 20 feet,
separated the well water from surface
contamination, n h distributed by
about eight miles " pipe and Is on tap
In each OF the regiments. Two OF the
Infantry, are provided with pasiour NJ
tera In thelr company tents
The following tabulatinn shows the
result Of chemical examination of the
water by myself on ThurHday Sept \.
Immediately after the samples were
drawn.
water. water. weiar.
T SHso R1%oai, :. .c 3; .c % 90,
monia.. %. 49,. IS .0os .ooi
oxygen required .s55 .o,b .O'5
Nitratca ,ts go .ss, .,.,
The figures represent one part for ona
hundred thOuaandths Of the water.
The pond water Is unit for use a. q
potable water. The other samples are
orFanloally pure.
with this satisfactory water supply
and good sanitary condition prevail
Ing In the rrgimental camps, | have
no hesllnncy Ia saying that the troops
could stay on their present ground ln
winter quariera without any such out
break OF typhoid fgyer as has occurred
at Camp Alger and AZ Chickamauga
Park.
4 wen appointed hospital has been
establlahed Tor each ~ the divisions
under tho superlntendenco u Majors
Wood. Kllb0urne and Harris. Each
framed ana nuOred with cots for 100
patients. Mrs. willard OF Boston has
nr0vldcd sueslal diet kitchens Tor these
hospltals The first division hospital at
Inc qlme Of nay visit had no ambulance
,yaron and the cots ana bedding had
moi arrived. Tine second division hos
pit1i had two ambulance wagons avail !
able for service, ana about nifty |
patlsnts already under care. The cav
airy division and hospital was COM
niete In ia arrangements, Many OF the |
mi camps are now under treatment In |
these division hospitals