Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-11-17

CONDUCTED-THE WITNESS SAID
THAT MORO IMMUNE NURSES
SHOULD HAVE BEEN PROVIDED,
BUT THE YELLOW FEVER PROV
ED LESS FATAL THAN TYPHOID.
Washington, d. c., November TO-
Major La Garde continued his testi-
mony before the war investigating
commission to-day concerning the con-
duct of the war from medical point
of view. He spoke first of the yellow
fever hospital at Siboney, which was
under his charge in a general way. He
said, however, that his time had been
so fully occupied with other duties that
he had not visited the institution daily.
He was satisfied, however, that the
hospital was well conducted, and that
the supplies, on the whole, were ample.
He did not have the complete records
before him, but he was sure that the
mortality in this hospital did not ex-
coed per cent. There might, how
ever, have been some suffering in in
dividual cases on account of the in
suficiency of supplies and for want of
expert nursing.
DR.. Conner asked whether the con-
tingency of yellow fever could not have
been provided against, asking whether,
in his judgment, it should not have
been known by the surgeon general
that under the circumstances there
would be an outbreak of fever He
should have known that such were the
probabilities, ard everybody should
have known that such were the
chances in sending an army into in in
fected region in the summer season.
Evidently. the surgeon general did
foresee what would happen and his
words on this subject. written before
the expedition set out ard giving warn
ing against the invasion at the time it
was undertaken. read like prophecy"
The witness added that under these
circumstances he could not understand
why mere complete provision should
not have 5een made for supplying i'm
mune nurses, and ~ dill not know but
that the corps surgeon hal asked for
this assistance in advance: he knew
only that they had not been adequately
provided. Apparently, however. the
army depended upon the yellow fever
expert to say when yellow fever would
break out. However, it must be said
that the yellow fever was very mild,
and it came to be dreaded less than
typhoid. AS a consequence, the NOR
tality among the sick in Cuba WAS less
than among those left in the United
States.
Returning to the care of the hospit-
al for wounded soldiers, DR.. La Garde
said that between 1900 and 1,400
wounded men had been treated by tie
surgeons at this institution. There
were six operating tables, and more
could have been used TO advantage.
There were times when 40 or so men
were waiting outside for attention.
OF the wounded men there were about
a dozen deaths, or less than / per cent.
There had never before been a war
when the mortality record was so
small. This was due largely to the
use of the modern rife and the prompt
methods of rendering aid on the bat
tlefield to prevent blood poisoning
He thought that under the old condi-
lions the mortality would have been 20
per cent greater.
DR.. La Garde expressed the opinion
that if the soldiers had been fully
equipped there would have been less
sickness among theme, and be thought
that much of the trouble was due to
the fact that the soldiers were COM
PEELED to lie on the ground without
cover.
Col. w. J. Jacobs. who was chief
quartermaster of the Fifth corps, at
Tampa and in Cuba, testified that Gen.
Humphrey had been in charge Of the
embarkation of troops at Tampa and
that no order specifying what vessels
the different commands were to occu-
py had been issued. In reply to a
question from Gov. Beaver, he said the
embarkation had been a haphazard
affair" decidedly So" He also
thought there was a great deficiency
in the provisions for Decentralization,
as only two lighters were provided,
and one of those was lost on the way
over.
GOING TO GEORGIA.