The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1898-11-23
GEN. STERNBERG REPORTS.
The Surgeon General of the Army
Tells of Medical Work in the
War with Spain.
GIVES CAUSE FOR so MUCH SICKNESS.
Reduction of the Age Limit, Haste I'm
Organization and Ignorance of
Officers Were I'm Great Measure
Respons ibIe-SuppIies Were Al
Ways Ready.

Washington, Nov 21.-The report of
Surgeon General Sternberg on the work
of the medical department during the
Spanish war says:
Immediately upon the declaration OF
war April q. officers in charge of the med
Zeal supply depotS were directed to make
arrangements so that supplies could be
Immediately obtained for 100000 men for
six months. Requests from the medical
officers for supplies were always granted.
INN opinion the reduction of the age
limit from Il 10 Is years, and the haste with
which the volunteer regiments were or
ganized and mustered into the service
were responsible for much of the sickness
which was reported in the early days of
their camp life. All military experience
shows that men under q years break down
easily under the strain Of war service, and
every regiment had many of these youths
IN its ranks.
sickness Increased.
"Soon after the newly raised levies were
aggregated in large camps sickness began
TO increase progressively from causes that
were so general in their operation that
scarcely a regiment escaped from their
harmful influence. These causes may
be largely referred to ignorance on the
part of officers of the principles of camp
sanitation. and of their duties and re-
sponsbilities as regards the welfare or
the enlisted men in their commands. Med
zeal officers, as a rule, were also with
out experience in the sanitation of camps
and the prevention of disease among troops.
The few who knew what should be done
were insufficient TO control the sanitary
situation in the large aggregations of men
hastily gathered together
A Prominent Cause.
zone prominent cause of the increase of
sickness in the early camps has been COM
mented upon by only "A few of our medical
officers. These cite the prevalence or drunk
enncss and of Venereal disease due to the
facilities and temptations afforded by the
proximity of cities to the larger camps
They hold that If the systems OF our men
had not been weakened by dissipation they
would not have succumbed so readily to
the other influences which affected them.
Malaria fever added TO the sick lists of
camps in Florida and Of southern regi-
ments in the camps of Georgia and Nlr-
ginia.
at was. however, typhoid fever which
broke down the strength of the commands
generally, the outbreak becoming distinct
ly manifest in July. The sanitary condi-
tions affecting the commands in the va
rous camps have been studied in connec-
ton with the prevalence Of typhoid fever
among the men by board OF medical on-
GERS but the results Of the investigation
of this board have not as yet been reported
I'm full. II appears to me, however, from
general review of the sanitary reports al
ready filed, that the prevalence of the dis
ease was proportional 10 the unsanitary
camp conditions which ! have referred 10.
The santiago Campaign.
"Long before the Fifth army corps en-
harked for Santiago its field hospitals were
I'm condition for efficient service. Suisse
quent events, however, rendered valueless
these preparations of the medical depart
ment When the command embarked on
the TRANSPORT vessels the baggage wagons
and mules were left behind. The ambu-
lance trains of all the divisions, with
large part of the outfit of each of the hos
pitals were also left behind. OF the prop
erty and supplies carried TO Cuba. por-
ton was not available for service at the
time it was needed, but all the hospitals
were we'll supplied for surgical work.
after the capitulation of Santiago the
troops at the front broke down rapidly
under the fatigues they had undergone
and the malarial influences 20 which they
were exposed.
Transfer to MoEtauk Point.
"The transfer OF troops from Santiago
TO Montauk Point, y. Y, was an emer-
gencv measure and the great responsible
ity Of excluding yellow fever infection from
every transport rested on the medlcdl ON
GERS who had charge OF the embarkatloh'
Had they failed i'm this duty the effect
would have been disastrous during the
VOYAGE TO the men confined on shipboard,
and the risk of importing the disease into
this country would have been greatly in
creased.
1T is needless to refer at this time to
the complaints of starvation which APP
peared almost daily i'm the newspapers dur
ing the occupation OF Camp Wtkof, Tor
II is now generally understood that the
weakness, prostration, anaemia and ema-
citation of so many of the troops were the
results of malarial, typhoid and yellow
fever"