Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1898-09-08
mot so VERY BAD.
Gen. Boynton's Report on Chica-
mauga Hospitals.
Result of His Investigations IL Given to
Secretary Alger-The Medical Service
Is Said to be Efficient, and there
is No Lack of Comforts for
the Sick Soldiers,

>
in the hospitals at Capm Thomas. The
| report is dated August 20.
The general says his instructions
were to report the number of sick,
| character of illness, number of tents,
floor space per patient. the adequacy
and suitability of attendants and
whether the medical officers have dis
charged their duties faithfully, and to
make any recommendation in the in
terest of all concerned. He says that
he visited all of the hospitals in the
camp, without giving notice of his
purpose. Says Gen. Boynton:
Believing the death list of this camp
to afford an excellent standard by
which to measure its conditions as to
health and hospital service, full re-
port was obtained OF all deaths in the
camp, and in its hospitals since its
establishment the middle of April last.
The result shows a total death list of
1913 up to the 22d of this month. when
the breaking up of this camp began.
Between these dates. including regu-
lars and volunteers, fully $4,000 troops
have been in camp in Chickamauga
park. The record of burialS in the ma
tional cemetery at Chattanooga shows
a total of 120 volunteers and two regu-
lar soldiers. One of these was killed
by falling from railroad train.
The report takes up in detail first
the two permanent spitals-Leiter
and Sternberg-and states the exact
accommodation afforded by each. The
first is at Crawfish Springs, under
charge of Maj. Carter, and was con-
verted from large summer resort
hotel into hospital, receiving the
worst typhoid cases from the camp.
Each patient has abundant room,
woven wire and hair mattresses and
abundant bed clothing. The ventila-
ton is perfect, plumbing entirely new
and bathing facilities ample. The
number of attendants, when all are
well, is entirely satismactory and at
tendants are on the way to take the
places of those who are broken down.
broken down.
Maj. Carter has secured a herd of
cows and pastures them without ex-
pense to the government. He has suf-
ficient money from the hospital fund
to buy whatever is wanted in the way
of milk. ice and other delicacies.
There has been at this hospital full
sUpplies of ice, milk, commissary
stores and delicacies. such as sick
ought to have.
The sewerage of the hospital is ex-
cellent, and, contrary to persistent
assertions, none of the sewage has
ever drained into the Chicllamauga
river or approached it at any point.
Taking up the Sternberg hospital.
in charge of Maj. Giffen, Gen. Boynton
shows that it is one of the most com
plete field hospitals ever seen, accord
ing to veterans of the civil war. All
the tents are closely fioored and they
are separate; at present only four men
are in any tent, and in addition to the
tents there are nine large board pa
vilions. Every tent and pavilion has
woven wire mattresses. iron bedsteads
and hair mattresses. There are espe-
cial diet cooks, five cold storage
rooms for delicacies, separate refrig-
orators for each row of tents and
every proper measure of sanitation is
observed with respect to the sinks.
The report states that in times
when the hospital was crowded there
was lack of nurses, the deficiency be-
ing supplied by details from the regi
mentS, which were not as satisfactory
as trained nurses.
Leaving the details about the hos
pitfalls the report proceeds to treat the
whole subject generally, as follows:
"In two of the hospitals opportuni-
ties occurred for discovery of what
undoubtedly originated many of the
sensational stories which have been
printed over the country to the effect
that patients in the hospitals lacked
sufficient food and in many cases
had been on the verge of starvation.
In the wards where the convaleScent
typhoid fever patients were found.
many of the men were constantly ask
ing for food and as matter of course.
were denied everything except the
lighter forms of food which can alone
be safely administered to recovering
typhoid patients. This refusal of food
throughout the hospitals, by which
care alone can the lives of typhoid con-
yalescents be saved. has been distorted
into the cry which has been spread
throughout the country that patients
were being starved in the government
hospitals. There has been no lack of
proper food in these hospitals, and
competent cooks for preparing it have
been present, and the only reason for
depriving the patients of what so
many of them have clamored for has
been the necessity of such dieting as
the disease demands.
so far from believing that medical
officers have been heartless or neglt-
gent, | believe that these officers and
hn hnrnital a+t tEbnla
have eXerted themselves to discharge
their duties faithfully. 1t would seem
as if this were sufficiently shown by
the fact that they have worked un-
ceasingly, until a quarter of the whole
force has itself been stricken by dis
ease resulting from their eXhausting
labors.''
The Olivette Sinks.
Fernandina, Fla, Sept. 1.-The hos
initial shin Oliyette which has bpan w.