The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-10-21
FEMALE NURSES TESTIFY
SUBCOMMITTEE FOUND CAMP
SITE AT FERNANDINA GOOD.
LACKING IN Administrative ABILITY
Surgeon Pitchers Opinion Of Seventh Army
Corps Medical Staff, Red Cross Aid.
Hospital GIou9ds Unkept.
Incompetent Attendants.

Jacksonville, Fla. Oct. 20.-The war
investigating commission concluded 1t"
labors at Jacksonville tonight, ana
shortly after 10 O'Clock left for Atlanta,
Ga, expecting to take up business there
tomorrow.
The commissioners are generally
pleased with the result of their labors.
They have naturally met with com
plants. but they have generally dealt
with comparatively unimportant points,
and very few if any eases have Indicated
willful neglect or culpable mismanage-
ment. Generally one private or nom
commissioned officer from each reSl-
ment had been called. and in many cases
more than one. In the ease OF the en-
listed men they were selected at ran
dom, the commissioners merely asking
that men be sent to them without any
specification of the purpose for which
they were called. They have, without
exception, said that they We're receiving
enough to eat and wear. In some cases
deficiency of supplies at the beginning
of the camps history was shown, and
there has been more or less of tainted
meats received by the men; but 1T was
agreed by all the witnesses that the
first condition was due to the conges-
ton at Tampa and the latter to the eli
mate.
General McCook and Colonel SaXton
returned to-day from their investigation
of conditions at Tampa. They found
that the congestion which occurred at
that point at the beginning of the war
was due to the fact that cars were snip
ped from all over tire country without
being labelled and without forwarding
bills of lading.
THE CAMP AT FERNANDINA.
Gen. J. Wilson and G It. Howell, con
stitnting the subcommittee appointed to
visit and report upon the conditions OF
the camp at Fernandina, made their
report of the full commission to-day.
The following is the import of the docu-
ment:
'sYour committee has the honor to re-
port that in it's opinion the camp was
well selected, that probably the site was
equal in all respects to any other that
could have been found on the Florida
coast. That from the information 1T OBJ
tanned and what it saw it was far from
being a tropical jungle, that the certlh-
cate of the county clerk indicates that no
government official was interested In the
land; that the amount of work done
in clearing the underbrush was no great
er than might have been expected at
almost any locality in the South selected
for camping purposes; that the site was
well drained, the water for drinking and
cooking purposes good and the bathing
facilities at the sea beach excellent"
FEMALE NURSES TESTIFY.
The commission heard several of the
professional female nurses at the fore
noon session to-day, including Miss Cope
land, chief nurse at the Third division
hospital: Miss Robins, head nurse at the
First division hospital; Miss Hubbard,
head nurse at the Second division hos
pital and Misses Walker and Waters,
ward nurses.
Miss Copeland spoke in ccrumendation
of the conduct of the hospitals, and
she said that the nurses were well treat
ed and apparently much respected. She
said the nurses had their own tent quar-
ters where there was the privacy de-
manded by their sex.
Miss Copeland said that when the