The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1917-12-01

jew and catching up my obligations
to my friends by writing them a few
lines of news and expressions of re-
gard.
The statements made in your paper
of recent date with regard to the
death of Sergeant Leitner are abso-
lutely without truth, and believe
that had you taken the precaution to
wire for facts to any disinterested
party, you would never have made
such statements. Now this is no per-
sonal matter with me; God knows all
was done that could be done by Co.
A for Leitner.
Leitner, as | suppose you know, at
the tame of his death was not mem.
Der of Co. A, but of the 106th Engi-
neer train, he having transferred to
that organization previous to his
having gone to the hospital. Never
theless, we looked upon him as our
man in a sense, he having been so
long identified with the organization,
and did the same for him in every
way we could, as though he still be-
longed to US, both in visiting him and
in caring for him in any way we
could Co. A officers visited him
whenever opportunity offered, and Co.
A men were with him when he died.
He was given more than the ordi-
nary care afforded by the hospital
staff; was given the privileges of a
ward of two patients only, such as
are sometimes used for patients who
are considered too seriously i'll for
ordinary treatment, or who have their
relatives in constant attendance upon
them, and are therefore accorded the
greater privacy of special ward to
themselves, until removed to the
pneumonia ward 1t is an unques-
toned fact that Leitner did receive
more than his share of busy doctors
time and attention, and while few
hospitals are all that could be desired,
one thing is absolutely sure, and that
is, that the doctor took more than an
ordinary interest in his case.
AS / have said, it is no personal
matter of mine, for Lord knows |
have never been accused of neglect
ing the health and welfare of my men,
but / do think it to be one of the
greatest injustices to the doctor, and
to the nurse, who gave him the best
they had both of their care and time.
The nurse, as far as investigation
shows, did her duty unremittingly up
to the time his sister came to be with
him herself, and to care for him, end
| the doctor to the end.
Yours as ever, Drake.
Captain Drake has somewhat mis-
understood the Star. No one has
blamed him or any other officer or
member of Company A for Sergeant
Leitner's sufferings. All the blame
has been laid on the hospital and its
management.
We have seen several of the mem
bers of Company A, home on fur
Tough, and have received letters from
several others, and not one of them
has complained of the company's
quarters and treatment, the regiment
or the camp. Almost all, in fact, have
spoken to the contrary. But as for
the hospital-well, the report of Sur
geon General Gorgas was enough,
without the great mass of other testi-
mony against it.
| We can very we'll understand that
Sergeant Leitner's sister, in her grief
at her brothers condition, and con-
fusion at being in a strange place
while in such trouble, may have blam-
ed some people who were not to
blame We have already stated that
Sergeant Leitner was in another reg
iment when he was taken sick, and
we have other information than that
of Captain Drake that the company
did all it could for him while he was
sick. We hardly needed to be told
that-it was something to be taken
for granted 1t is unanimously adj
mitted here that Captain Drake and
his lieutenants take personal inter
est in the welfare of their men, and
we think the same can be said of the
officers of the entire regiment. But
when a man is taken sick and has to
go to the hospital, his recovery de-
ponds on the hospital and not on his
company or regiment, the members
of which can do very little to help
him.
The Star doesn't believe in publish
ing sensational reports. Such reports
add both to the burden of the con-
scientious men who are trying to car
ry on the war and to the anxiety of
the people at home. We have done all
we could since the war began to re-
assure and cheer the people and up
hold the hands of the government.
However, there is one thing that must
be understood. A paper that remains
silent, or tries to gloss over every
thing, soon loses the confidence of the
people, and they won't believe it when
it is telling the plainest truth.
Captain Drake and all the other Of
fcers and soldiers in the army are
duty bound not to complain. To grin
and bear it is point of honor with
them. This is magnificent, but it
should be backed I'D by live civilian
conscience, and the conscience of the
civilians is always only too ready to
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