The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-11-23
ROOSEVELT TESTIF|ES.
New York's Governor Elect Before
the War Investigators. .;spss
ROUGH RIDERS WERE WELL FED.

But 1t Was at Times the Result Of
Personal Expenditure by Their Com-
mander-Other Witnesses Testify to
Bad Conditions at Camp WikoT.
New York, Nov. 23.--Before the war
Investigating commission yesterday
Sidney Lowell. of Brooklyn. testified
that the conditions at Camp WikoH
were wretched. e."
ibid you hear any complaint from
the soldiers?" he was asked.
90 mo; they would not complain. hut
they could not hide their deplorabte
condition.
"''Did you notice any cruelty on the
part of any of the officers or Doctors"
mo. sir; there was no cruelty, but
saw men lying around sick in their
tents with no one to care for them.
without change of clothing and with
out sufficient coverings at night. But
that must have been the fault Of the
hospital authorities. for the men did
all they could for each other and the
officers treated their men as If they
were their brothers"
Miss Mary c. Lowell, daughter OF
Sidney Lowell. said she personally
talked to every man Of eight regiments
OF regulars.--HaIf~ of them were on the
sick report and many others were sick.
too sick to go to the doctors tent.
There was a great scarcity OF doctors
and Miss Lowell considered many OF
the contract doctors careless and in.
different to the men. She found one
man with a temperature Of i06 and re-
ported to DIR. Thomas. DIR. Thomas
said he would see to It. But when she
visited the man q hours later the
doctor had not seen him Miss Lowell
mentioned other dottors who she said
had neglected their duty. She said the
condition of affairs in the general hos
pital was shocking.
Rev. Henry Il. Bryan, OF the Garden
City cathedral, presented himself to
speak of the mani,cr in which the sol.
diers dying in hospitals were hurled.
Mr.. Bryan went to Camp Wkof on
Sept. 2. He said the publication Of Il
statement of Ma ior Brown that all the
bodies were decently buried had iu-
duced him to come forward to 'es-
tify He said: II saw the EaN"d bodies
OF soldiers placed in bar" pine collins
and the name Of the man and bis reei-
ment written on the lid of the coffin.
OF course, the damp earth quickly OBJ
liberated these marks, and no further
records were kept. Sometimes the
body was buried In Il nightshirt, but
they never took the trouble to button
the shirt"
Hilden Olin. first lieutenant of Com
pany |, SeventyGrst regiment. testified
that the men were somewhat crowded
on the transport ViCllancla going to
6iboney, and that the water aboard
was not good IN Cuba he was able to
get full raticns for his battalion. He
did not know that the other battalinnS
vent hungry, but he mad heard so.
"Was not the Seventy-hrst treated
As well as any other regiment on the
6cld?" asked General Wilson.
II think we were. see no reason for
complaint. We Jared very poorly for
eentagc after leaving the trenches. but
ether regiments were no better off"
George Wallace, It lawyer of E'reeport,
L L., who had Il son and a brother in
the war, testified that while at Camp
Wikoff looking for his son he saw
many soldiers struggling along the
roadway. apparently too weak to move.
Some Of them told him they had been
discharged from the hospitals AS cured.
Dir. Walace's son returned from Cuba
In a precarious condition. The doctor
ordered him special diet. hut he was
unable to get the food without paying
Is cents for each meal. He had no
money, but a friend OF M!. Wailace's
who was aboard advanced it to him.
Bald Mr. Wallace: "Thres Of my sons
comrades died on the BERKSHIRE. and 1
have often wondered If they died be-
cause they had no money to pay for
food"
Colonel Roosevelt next took the
stand, and in reply to a request from
General Wilson told of the equipment
and mastering in Of the First voun-
teer cavalry, known as the rough
riders.
"When we reached Tampa" Colonel
Roosevelt said, there was a condi-
tion of utter confusion. We were
dumped outside. mile away from our
camp. No one knew where the camp
vas. There was no one to tell lis where
10 go or what to do. After waiting 2l
honrS I took the law into my own
hands and bought food for the men
and horses. Later when we found our
camp. we were all right"
"Were you reimbursed for your out
isy?"
81 never asked 1t. 1t was a personal
matter entirely"
Colonel Roosevelt said a great con-
~
Nobody seemed to know anything. and
no arrangements were evident as to
what transport to be used
"Do you attribute all the confusion,"
asked General Wilson, ito lack of in
telligencc on the part of the men in
charge or to the natural overcruwdins
of work?'
Il was only a lieutenant colonel and
I rould not know whose the fault was"
Replying to other questions Colonel
Roosevelt said the food was ample
and with the exception of the canned
roast beef good. The beef was very
bad.
Colonel Roosevelt then told of the
conditions in Santiago. He said his
men had the regulation rations. but
partment refused to sell him tomatoes
and beans unless he would certify they
were foroflicers' consumption. stretch-
ed my conscience as far as I could"
be said, land then boarded a transport
and purchased about 500 pounds of
beans. The change did the men good.
II was too hot to eat nothing but the
regular rations."
Replying to questions Colonel Roose-
velt said other regiments at the front
suffered from lack Of supplies. One
man of the First Illinois regiment Wis
lted the rough riders camp and offered
81 for seven hardtacks. Two hundred
men of the regiment came into the
rough riders camp and ate the broken
hardtack The rough riders had
enough to eat, but 1t was the result of
Individual effort and individual ex-
penditure.