The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-08-30
NO EPIDEMIC OF TYPHOID.
Officers Of tho Seventh CalifOr-
MIA Again Make an En-
phatic Denial.

Regarding the article published in yes
terday's Chronicle in relation to the in
crease of typhoid fever in the Seventh
California Regiment, and the statement
that Major Choate and his assistants were
diagnosing the cases as measles, when
they were fever, in order to SUPPRESS the
seriousness of the malady, Major Mat
thewS, surgeon IN charge of the division
hospital, makes the following statement:
At want to say once and for the last
time that no epidemic of typhoid fever
exists in the Seventh California Regiment.
The percentage of sickness in the reg1-
ment is small. We have here the health
est army corps in the United States ser
vice. There is no reason for the daily,
publication of the sensational articles
that have been appearing, for there is no
truth in them. The statement published.
by the Chronicle that the medical officers
Of this hospital said that the surgeons or
the Seventh Regiment Were diagnosing
cases as measles when they were FEVER is
not true, as that statement was not made
by myself or any of my officers. Let me
tell the public that there have been In the
Division Hospital two deaths from ty-
~ from pneumonia and a complication or
other diseases with typhoid fever. The
fact that the hospital is so crowded is be-
cause we are sending no patients away
now, and not that there is any alarming
increase in any disease. These are the
facts in the case and there is no cause
for such alarm as the sensational articles
now being published would indicate. /
have given the facts to The Call once be-
fore and I repeat them again so that the
public may know the TRUTH
Colonel Berry makes the following
statement: II want to say through the
columns of The Call for 1t is the paper
that has stood for decency and RELIABLE
ity ever since the war began, that these
articles that are being published In the
Chronicle, in which 1t is daily asserted
that my regiment is suffering from an
epidemic of typhoid fever and that my
medical officers are perjuring themselves
by diagnosing the cases as one thing
when they are another, is personal at
tack upon me. The report that the regf-
the men were dying of fever, simply for
the reason that we wanted to get away
to Honolulu and that the fact that FEVER
was raging in the command was kept a
secret from General Miller is absolutely
false. I myself, at the suggestion of
Miller and told him that II we were not
to be sent away the regiment should
be moved at once as there was some
fever among the men, and I thought that
it was due to some local trouble,
t'By no means all of the fever cases that
have been sent from the regiment are
typhoid; many of them are malarial with
typhoid symptoms, as will be borne out
by the reports Of the division hospital
surgeons Knowing that The Call has
been reliable in all of its statements and
that it has taken no notice of the yellow
sensations Of the camp but has simply
fold the truth, I make this statement
because I want the public to know the
facts.
than 10 per cent, while frequently 1t has
been the case that regiments have had
over 80 per cent of sickness. and not
much was thought of 1t.