The Lakeland evening telegram., 1917-11-30
CHARGES HOSPITAL
ATTENDANTS At CAMP
WHEELER WITH NEGLECT
(Ocala Starr

(Ocala Starr
The Star is sorry to say that there
seems no doubt that the death of Ser
geant James Leitner of Company A.
in the hospital at Camp Wheeler, was
due to neglect.
Nobody who knew the strong, rug
ged young man and we'll trained SOL
der, who left here few weeks ago,
and hears from his sister the story Of
the pitiful condition she found him
in, can doubt that careful nursing at
the right time would have saved
him. His father and sister could have
saved his life if they had been sent
for at once. Comrades at the camp
couldt have saved him If they had
been allowed to do SO. There are
hundred of his personal friends in
Company A who would have cared
for him with tenderness and inter-
est that no stranger nurse could feel.
AS his life went, so, we doubt not,
others have gone, and so we fear
others will go.
A discharged soldier, man who
had to leave the service for a slight
Gefect, but who will probably be
needed before the war is over, was
in the Camp Wheeler hospital for a
few days several weeks ago. He was
not very sick, SO he did not suffer
n,uch, but he saw others that did
The story he tells of the conduct of
some of the hospital attendants is
enough to make mans blood boil.
He was in the hospital during. the
, October cold Spell and says the at,
: tendants in his ward would crowd
{ around the stove at night and pay
q little or no attention to the sick mer
> in their charge. They would not ey'
. en- bring them water, and he hat
Q seen sick, half-naked men arise from
a their cots and stagger barefootet
a"ross the cold floor to the water sup
ply in order to chtoin drink.
9 We wonder if the officer in com
+ mand at Camp Wheeler knew of this
!, and If he did, why didn't he hav'
J. the attendants flogged out Of tn
l. camp? Shooting them would no
[I 6ox D,1pioh
q nient. Talk about German frightful
s ness, but such two-legged skunks ar
worse than Germans.
This sort of business must be pun
:. isned and prevented If the country 1
=. to win the war. If there are man
- more such incidents, they will tax
- the heart out OF our people. w
/, can send our sons to the front. bea
" the agony of suspense Of their ah
scnce. bear the misery of KNOWN
they die or are wounded in doin
D. their duty. But If we begin to fee
II like it is equivalent to sentence Q
n death for one to be sent to a hospita
h We will lose heart, for its few Of ther
n, who will go through the war will
n out spending some time in hospitals
Is One of the saddest things abou
le conditions at the Camp Wheeler hos
le rital is the fact that all the relic
ID AMI comfort the men needed was nea
d anC could have been had for the ask
10 ing. Macon is a good-sized town an
al has thousands of the kindest-hearte
If people in the world. II any bunch q
g. its leading men-if one of its news
Is papers-had had the bravery to te
re of conditions at the hospital, and sal
TO to the people of the city, "Here. let
10 help these boys" the sick could hav
u had blankets and pillows in abunt
- ance for their cots-indeed. we b,
10 lieve Macon would have given the1
- GOOD beds-and careful nurses
= look after them, and help them
: get well. and delicacies to feed thel
:. while they were getting we'll So ia
- as that is concerned, all Georgl
a, would have helped If 1t had been al
,e pealed to. ss
"a These training camps are a nece'
is city, but we are afraid they are ruiz
II. ing large number of our people
Mt TO begin with, every city in th
n. country wants one, and will do any
he thing to obtain one. There has bee