The Topeka state journal., 1899-11-04
SICK ABUSED.
Kansas Soldiers Mistreated
While Coming Home.
Major Rafter, Surgeon, Criti-
cised In Official Report.
HIS SIDE OF STORY.
Says Sick Were Treated as
Well as Possible.
Ship OvercrOwded and Men
Forced to Sleep on Deck.
NO ROOM FOR SICK.
Hospital Accommodated But "a
of the Suffering.
Were Over 200 on Board the
Transport.
10 ROOM FOR SICK.
Hospital Accommodated But "A
of the Suffering.
Were Over 200 ON Board the
Transport.

Sensational stories of the mistreat-
ment of Kansas soldiers who came
home on the transport Tartar are pc
ing tod. The enlisted men blame the
officers and the officers charge the gov
ernment with the responsibility.
The following Associated Press dis
patch received today gives the stories
official verifcation:
San Francisco, Nov. 4-The Exam
fner saws that the most sensational re-
port of a military board of inquiry ever
sent to the war department from this
cftv was forwarded to Washington
from the headquarters of Major General
Shafter a. few days ago. The document
consists of nearly 100 typewritten pages
and contains the severest kind of critic
ism of the methods employed by officers
in charge of the sick soldiers who re
turned from the Philippines on the
transports Tartar and Newport on Oc-
tober 10.
Upon Major Rafter, the surgeon OF
the Twentieth Kansas volunteers who
came back on the Tartar. the heaviest
censure is laid. Col. Metcaf OF the
same regiment who commanded the
troop ship, is indirectly referred TO-
Gen Funston was only a passenger.
Many other officers are given hard
measure of criticism, but their names
are being withheld until the war de-
partment sees fit to make known the
details of the report The board of in
quiry which has so severely arraigned
the transport service was appointed by
,eE~ "a q
eestion of Col Alfred c. Girard, chief
surgeon in the general hospital at the
Presidio Col Girards desire for an
investigation was occasioned by the de-
pIorable condition in which he found
the sick men from the transports Tar
tar and Newport. There were about
forty of them and nearly all were suf-
fering from dysentery-
Three men who came on these trans
ports died few days after arrival
They were John Fabisak and John A.
Logan of the Fourth cavalry and Geo.
W. Mills of the Twentieth Kansas.
Major Rafter left Topeka Friday af-
ternoon for his home in Holton. and the
State Journal reached him there by
telephone today. He said he did not
know what charges of mistreatment
had been made. He said:
The troops on board the Tartar were
given every attention possible with the
facilities we had for taking care of
them. The ship was greatly over
crowded with no hospital room for the
sick.
The carrying capacity of the ship
was t9l- and there were 1.400 passengers
on board There We're places in the
hospital for "A sick men only. and we
had about 200 sick on board.
The bunk facilities We're not nearly
sufficient. and part of the men had to
sleep on the decks, while the sick had
TO sleep in their quarters below. They
had every attention and every care
that could be given them
DR.. Charles F. Huffman Of COlunn-
bus. was IN charge of them part of the
time, and DR. Henry d Smith part of
vision.
I knew that the board of survey
met IN san Francisco. but it was more
lo INQUIRE IN reference to the mess fur
nished the soldiers. knew nothing con
cerning the charges of mistreatment
of the sick"
Surgeon Raftsr Blamed.
Ed Sheard, son of T. E. Sheard. who
IiNes at 323 Western avenue. thinks that
tn discomforts of the sick men M
Sheard is just recovering from stor74ct
troubles which he has had for months
the Tartar va
Il don't like to criticise officers said
Mr- Sheard today. but NV experience
win MAJOR RafteT was not very Meas
ant At one time when I was nrstt1-
SICK and Dr. Smith did not seem TO have
the medicines to do me any good. I Went
10 MAJOR Rafter and asked him if he
couldn't do anything for me That was
Wh5le we We're in Manila He said ha
had a couple of doctors out with tba
men 70 look after them and that he
Haoh tlme 70 bother with il and couId
90 hothlng for me-that he had to look
4IleI the accounts and had smith and
ll f1uI.Inan TO look after the sick mon
WIN mat ne jumped into his carriage
go go l IoIe OF ana l didn't bother him
any more About the only medicine We
could get was quinine
was sick coming over but s+ax-s7
with the company. instead Of trv5ner 70
go TO the hospital Some of the bows
told me they only had rne5ic517,e
snousa TO last four or five davs out
W couldn't even get cough svrIIn Tbe
only Lhlng the stewards had were some
rslls The trouble was that Snrgso,7
lRafter neglected to provide me9ieines
before starting out Our vrats-. 80 -
good enough after we got up to Yolxo9
hama, where it did not lneed ice
scat know whether lionel Ietcalf