New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-03-28
TIRE TWELFTH REGIMENTS TEACHL

TIE TWELFTH REGIMENTS 1hA'HiN"'
rho roturn Of the 18th Regiment from CUBAN
service in perfect health must he great relIei
IN tho class Of persons who have bo'h le'rlul
,bot orr troops could not stand tropcai cn
mates and also 10 those who have been leu 10
osk II orr National physique was degenerauhe
ia hath sets OF questoncrs the 18th gives al
o,,,bo,ic answer that American militameh
,ol,on from the counting rooms and workshops
oro No, inferior to their fathers who stood eA-
,,osure in the civil War and that a hot climate
& ondurablc and oven healthfu for men who
are we'll provided for ana VINO KNOW Ho" ~
take care Of themselves.
The state in which these men come bac;
from Natanzas is in decided contrast with mat
Of some Of our volunteers previously returning
from Cuba. and even from our home camps OF
mobilization At one time last summer camp
ing out seemed TO he fatal 10 the American Sol
der. " his sickness was TO be regarded as Il
necessary incident 10 hardening MN FOR arm!
no then there was certainly something wrong
with the fibre of the race. We had supposed
that camping out was p healthful occupation
which weary city men turned 10 N VACATION
Int II began 10 lOol. as If II would be danger
Gus 10 get up n fishing party OF mllitlamen' II
thev were no better suited 10 outdoor life Than
The hospital reports seemed TO indicate. But
the men Of the 10Th show that the young mon
Of the cities are not weaklings. and their OK
nerience furnishes the clew 10 the illness which
afflicted some others.
General Dodge. WHO visited them nj Chic&a-
manga. paid them high tribute for the clean
illness and order Of their camp. They kept
their quarters in most perfect sanitary con
dition and scrupulously obeyed all the regu-
lations prescribed for the preservation Of
health The result was seen in their immunity
from most of the sickness which afflicted mem
beers Of some other regiments in the same neigh
borhood IN Cuba the 10Th Regiment maintained
its good habits and was more fortunate in Sc
curing food than We're some OF the regiments
which preceded IL and came home in a cOndi-
ton of physical wreck. OF course the siege
Of Santiago put men of necessity 10 a trcmen-
dous strain which the members OF the 18th
Regiment going TO Cuba in December did not
encounter Yet the short ratiOns Of the battle
line and the exposure in the trenches do not
entirely account for the difference. The testi-
mony presented TO The Court of Inquiry shows
that even after the surrender In Santiago, with
full access to supplies. troops continued 20 fall
sick at an alarming rate, and IN Porto Rico too,
there was n great deal OF illness. though there
was little or no fighting. Perhaps some light
is thrown on the escape of the I'm from such
evils by the report that In Cuba its beef ration
WAS almost exclusively in the form OF live cat
tic. driven 10 the camps as needed. The nom
bers Of this regiment faced ma5rla ana other
tropical diseases. they ate mtlgoes ana ala
most Of the other things which We're accounted
n he the cause Of sickness Bur they were not
sick. while those Of v.her commands who were