The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-12-24

Washington. Dec 23.-The war in
| vestigation commission today was re-
duced to two members. Chief of Engi-
neers General John NJ. Wilson and Col
onel DENLY. General Wilson has prac-
tically transferred mis- war department
office to the commissions quarters, and
Colonel DENLY today ofTiciated as in
terrogator, with General o. o. How
ard, retired, in the witness chair
General Howard told how disappoint-
| ed he had been in not securing assign
ment for active service during the war,
and how he had done the next best
thing for his country by accepting tn-
Office of visiting delegate for the ArmS
and Nav Christian commission anC
distributing tracts and other things
through the southern camps. He SAID
| these camps, as a rule, We're in goOC
condition, but he noticed confusion in
the railway arrangements at Tampa.
an inundation of beer in one cOlored
camp there, and plague of flies on his
! second visit to Mobile. He went at
( some length into the question of odors
! at Camp Thomas during July. where,
ne said. they were varied and repul-
sive. He had suggested chloride of
lime to General Brooke, who received
| the suggestion faVorably, and diStrib-
uted thirty-nine barrels of lime in one
day. The smells persisted. He said
the Army and Navy Christian commits
sion furnished hymn books and ice
water in appreciate quantities at
Camp Thomas, both being thankfully
( received. The Christian commission
had done an excellent work, he said,
and the soldiers had asked to have ii
! continued, having sent a contribution
of $500 from Cuba for that purpose.
Regarding General Lees command
at Jacksonville, General Howard said
he had not believed before that it was
possible for d camp to be kept in such
fine condition.
General Howard said he strongly op-
posed the bureaucracy, and ne thought
q commanding general should be in abb
solute control Of his camp or corps
General Wilson became Interested at
this. and asked if General Howard
thought the management of Camp
Thomas had been hammered by bu-
reaucracy. It took about fifteen miu-
utes to get a direct answer to this. -Ae
witness offering numerous illustrations
and examples of what he thought con-
Stituted bureaucracy. But on the third
repetition of the question. General
Howard said he thought there must
have been something of the sort in
connection with Camp Thomas.
AS to lessons of the war, General
Howard said he thought it had been
thoroughly proven thai troops could
not be acclimated in southern camps
for service in the more malariOus re-
-ions of the West Indies.
General Howard said ne had never
approved the law which prevented the
president from calling on retired army
officers for service in time of war His
experience confirmed this. and ne
thought there were many. experienced
retired officers who could have served
the government better than some Of the
young and inexperienced men who were
appointed from civil life. He thought
all officers not regulars should be ex
amined as to their fitness before pc
ing admitted to service.
General Howard said he had met the
SeSurance on her return from Santiago
and returned with her from TAMPA 20
New York. The men were in very
rundown condition, and thought they
had been badly treated. and were gen
orally "aGin' the government. But
after they had been fed and nursed 4
bit, they felt a good deal more kindly
toward the administration. lie thought
their first complaints were largely due
to distorted mental perspective, that
could largely be laid TO their recent
sickness.
The examination then adjourned I'M
til Tuesday next.