The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-02-19
On the Commissions
Work
IN THE LATE WAR.
Sickness Was Inevitable
But Might Have Been Worse

Probably few men followed the
course of the recent war with Spain
with keener interest than did Gen. o.
O.. Howard who has been in the city
for the past two days and delivered the
principal address at the reunion of
the Sons and Daughters of Maine, ON
Friday evening.
Skilled and schooled as Gen. Howard
has been during the active years of his
long and honorable military career, he
has been a keen observer of every de-
tail in the forward movement in the
art of war. Prohibited by the law
from taking an active part in the con-
fiict, the general has been thoroughly
involved with the spirit within his
i power to aid in every way the cause
of his country. In his connection with
/ the army and navy Christian commits
sion he went down among the boys
who were fighting for their country,
and by his example and good counsel
encouraged and strengthened them as
no ordinary worker could have done.
In his work and the position he oc-
cupied he was enabled to make perhaps
as close and impartial study of the
actual sanitary conditions under which
our men provided for and went to bat
tie, as any other single man. Com
| pairing these conditions with those un
der which the civil war, in which he
played such a prominent part, was
! fought Gen. Howard has arrived
at conclusions of his own, which, based
as they are, upon actual experience and
keen investigation would doubtless
prove of value to the government in the
event of another outbreak of HOSTILE
ties with any foreign power.
The general is averse to discussing
for pubncation any subject which
might in any way bear upon the pres
ent strained relations between Secre-
tary Alger and Gen. Miles. He is a
warm personal friend of both gentle
men and positively refuses to make
any comment upon the conduct of
either that might tend to interrupt
those relations.
In conversation with The Sunday Spy
man yesterday, previous to his depar-
ture from the city, the general con-
scented, however, to express his opin-
ion of the sanitary measures adopted
in the late war and offered a sugges-
ton as to how much of the sickness in
the army could have been avoided.
Before this war; said the general,
THE American people and the physi-
clans included, thought it necessary to
get men acclimated by sending them
to some southern point like Tampa or
Mobile, and from there go forward into
Cuba. Whether they are still of that
opinion, l do not know, but l think that
today it is best to keep people in health
as long as possible. The demonstration
Of my theory is found in the navy.
Look at the naval reserves who were
stationed on the New Hampshire coast
until they were taken TO Guantanamo.
Then they were not i'll. To be sure,
they had some of the advantages that
, the soldiers who We're working in the
, trenches did not, but their health was
better when they began the conflict,
\ and they had a greater amount of re-
serve strength.
Then think of the conditions under
which our soldiers found themselves.
Digging in the trenches with that wet
| earth steaming around them; they
were obliged to lie down in their wet
clothes. 1t was terrible, but nobody
on earth could prevent it. Their little
} tents were absolutely no protection.
/ The earth ran with rivers of water
and our men We're wet to their skins.
! Then they went around in their wet
clothes That they had feyers is nat
ural, but when we undertook to do the
work, we had to do it. The wonder Is
that there was not more sickness when
we consider that only IN &c regiments
were there really serious cases of Ill
ness.
"A great many are inclined to put the