The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1898-10-26
LAST CHAPTER.
War Investigators Finish rheil
Work at Jacksonville.
Female Nurses, Doctor, Red Cross
Agent and Others Tell About the
Conditions Prevailing at Camp
Cuba LIbre During the
Summer Months.

ONgo A~AOAO A1AAh8
Summer Months.
Jacksonville, Fla, Oct. 21.-The war
investigating commission heard sew
eral of the professional female nurses
at Thursdays session, including Miss
Copeland, chief nurse at the Third di-
vision hospitals; Miss Robbins, head
nurse at the First division hospital;
Miss Hubbardp head nurse at the
Second division hospital, and Misses
Walker and Waters, ward nurses.
Miss Copeland spoke in commenda-
ton of the conduct of the hospitals
and said the nurses were well treated
and apparently much respected. Miss
Copeland said that when the nurses
first came to the camp there was only
one nurse to each 40 or 60 patients, but
this condition had been steadily inn
proved. There was also in the begin
ming some scarcity of appliances for
the sick, such as hot water bottles,
which, while not a necessity, were
often comfort. She spoke of some
nurses who had made complaints, but
they were persons who are never sat-
isfied with any situation. One Phila-
delphia nurse had made severe crit
icisms, but she was of the kind of
women who would leave a patient to
whom she had just given bath to
attend to some other errand before
drying him.
DR.. J. E. Pitcher said that since the
early days of the camp there had been
no difficulty in securing an abundance
of medical supplies and that they were
much more plentiful and of greater
variety than was usual in the regular
army. In the first history of the camp
supplieswere ordered from Tampa and
it was difficult, sometimes impossible
to secure supplies. He thought the
medical staff here was efficient as ply
sicians, but they were without ad-
ministrative ability. Many of them
knew nothing of formulating requisi-
tions and were not disposed to learn.
To this DR.. Pitcher attributed the fact
that so much of relief supplies were
asked in preference to those furnished
by the government. He thought If
the physicians had understood this
line of their business they need not
have called upon the relief associa-
tions to such an extent. Still the relief
associations were supplied with ready
money and could supply all articles
required Immediately. Furthermore
there was no responsibility on the part
of the surgeons for the articles secur-
ed from outside sources as there was
for government supplies.
DR.. Connor pressed DR.. Pitcher close
ly on this point, saying to him that the
country was full of the report that
the medical department of the govern
ment was not capable of meeting the
demands made upon it and that but
for the aid of such relief societies
as the Red Cross, there would have
been actual suffering. To this DR..
Pitcher replied that such was not the
case.
Capt. ]. w. Swatlse, of Company L,
Second Illinois, complained that ON
two or three occasions the fresh meat
furnished his men had been poor, but
said that on all other occasions the
food had been good and ample.
Gen. Dodge told the captain that
there had been complaint from almost
every man in the company in regard to
their breakfasts and suppers. Capt.
Swatke replied that he had cate IN
the same food given the men and it
was satisfactory to him. He said,
however, that he did not ordinarily
inspect the meat Of the men.
Sergeant A. F. Lorenzon, of the
same company. admitted that there
was some complaint among the men,
but he thought it was due to the fact
that the men were homeSick.
Col. w. ]. Bryan was next called
He asked to be excused from testify.
ing, requesting that his lieutenant
colonel be examined in his stead
'You will, I have no doubt, under.
stand my reasons for the request
he said, 81 think the request very
proper and reasonable" responded
Gov. Beaver, and as the entire com.
mission assented to this concession
Col. Bryan was excused.
w. r. Durbin, of the Sixty-first In
diana, said there were few complaints
from the men and that they were gen
orally trivial. He spoke especially ot
the grounds of the Third division hos
pital, saying they had for time beer
very poorly kept.
Alexander Kent, pastor of the Peo
Piles church at Washington and fielt
agent at Jacksonville for the Rec
Cross, said he had heard many com
plants concerning misconduct at tn,
hospitals, but they had not generally
proved we'll founded when investi
gated. He said he thought it has
been very difficult to get medical mel
of sufficient administrative ability Il
manage such institutions as the di
vision hospitals. Before the female
nurses were secured the nurses, VIII,
were men of the hospital corps, wer,
not capable. They did not seem Il
regard it as Of consequence if file
were crawling in and out of a sicl
mans mouth with impunity, and HI
had seen as many as six cases of thi
kind at one time.
The war investigating commission
concluded its labors here last nigh
and left for Atlanta, expecting to TAX
| up business there. The commission
has spent four days here.
Rig Deal in Mexican Real Fatate.