The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1902-02-04

brought man on cot, into whose eyes they
had injected belladofna TO make him stare and
told the surgeon that he was paralyzed and
specimen OF hospital inattention and want Of &c.
coinmodaton, since he had been left out on tho
ground under the trees the night before beeaust
Of n crowded hospital"
Camp Wikoff, at Montauk Point is then taken
Up. The fact is stated that contracts for boring
wells, piping water lumber for tent floors aud
hospital and other supplies, were let on Aug. @
The first alarming dispatch from shnfter, ait.
nounclng the necessity OF immediate returfs'tc
avoid spread OF yellow fever, was received on
the Sd, whereupon Immediately on that day was
issued the order for the return OF the forces.
The Ground Robin" was received on the ith.
General Young arrived at Montauk Point on the
9th to take command Of the detention and con
ydlescent camp; work was pushed forward, aud
before soldier from Cuba arrived 10000 tents
had been erected and supplies Of all kinds weic
on the ground. On the 10Th General Wheeler
landed from Cuba, was directed to report in
Washington, and nc once returned to Montaul;
to "takc command Of the troops, and without
considering expense have the men taken care
Of" Then follows the account, in detail, Of tho
vast amount OF work so speedily done, and Of
the special orders directing issues Of commis.
sary and hospital supplies and the great quan.
tity supplied. tabulntion of quartcrmnster
stores, including new articles OF uniform, under.
wear, tents, blankets etc, shows 3i02i7 articles.
The author asks, in view OF these provisions for
the reception Of the returning troops, why there
were charges of gross negligence in providing
for their care and comfort? and states that
the widespread publication Of the Ground Rob.
n'' had "put the people of the United States
in frame Of mind to believe anything adverse,
with respect to the conditions and proper treat.
ment Of the soldiers. IL was not then known
that General Skaters telegram, preceding the
Round Robin was rs much a surprise TO the
G..H.
made known through the Round Robin and the
other letter, was 10 the country. Nor was it
then known, TINT within an hour after the re.
ceipt OF the alarming news respecting the con-
dition Of the Santiago troops, conveyed by
General Skaters cablcgran and before the re.
cept Of the Round Robin, that army was or
dcred to return TO the United States at once.
\ wave of indignation, caused by misapprc.
hension, swept over the United States, and every
act OF the War department was interpreted from
this distorted point OF view. In its psychological
aspects. this universal hystera was not unlike
other incidents in the history OF our country,
wherein public sentiment smothers reason and
loose opinion runs riot"
The records show that at this camp of ten
days preparation, at which 10000 men Were
received sick within thirty days. but 120 died,
and TINT predictions Of the spread Of a typhoid
or other epidemic, were unfulflled.
In returning to the camps OF mobilization and
instruction, an instance is cited Of one regiment
camping on the fair grounds in its own state,
which had in August COZ on the sick report,
2GO Of which cases were typhoid fever. With but
half as many volunteers Us regulars in the Fifth
corps with Shafter, the number OF deaths from
disease was about the same. The death rate per
1000 in the United States was, regulars TAB,
and volunteers 2G.G7.
The concluding chapter contains resume Of
the conditions OF unpreparedness, comparisons
with the outcome Of military expeditions OF Eu.
ropeans into the tropics in times past, and
closes as follows: "Dcspite the total lack OF
preparation; despite the failure OF the militia to
meet expectations in the matter OF equipments
despite the inertia Of the supply bureaus Of the
War department, resulting from thirty-threc
years OF peace; despite the necessity OF embark
ing an expedition to tropical islands of the At
lantic and Pacific, with no provisions at the
outset for doing Notwithstanding these
great and new problems, the line and
staff OF the regular army, and the eager
volunteers, accomplished what it is no vain
boast to claim, could not have been done by
any other nation on the face Of the earth, under
the same circumstances"