The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1920-03-13

+ intend to confine my remarke to the.
subject Of the inroads upon the health
Of the men who served during the
Spanish American war, brought about
by the condition of their service, con-
..ditions for which the government that
asked for that service is to blame. -
Number Not Large.
Most of us can remember the call
of 1898 and how the patriotic young
men from every walk Of life, from
every city. village and hamlet pre-
sented themselves to the recruiting
offices. The number called for. was
not large in proportion to those eli
gible for service, and as a consequence
the medical officers had much mater
ial to pick from, so much so, in fact,
that the physical standard set for
the volunteers of 1898 was the highest
of any army that has ever gone forth
in defense of nations honor in all
history.
And we'll that it was so. Without
that, high physical standard as a basis
the mortality among these men who
had. so gaNantly offered services to
the government would have been far
greater than it was, and heaven
knows it was high enough. Concen-
trated. in camps in the southern states
or sent to the tropical climes of Cuba,
clothed in woolen when the coolest of
linen, should have been worn, fed on
greasy bacon and hard tack when
fruits and vegetables should have been
the diet, it is no wonder that they
were an easy prey to dysentery and
o,>s1 liz n< n MO 14r
Mr.. speaker, that these men returned
to the northern rehabilitation camps
after that service mere physical
wrecks, with pinched and drawn
faces and with yellow skin drawn over
skeleton frames. No wonder, Mr..
Speaker, that this entire army regis
tered an average loss in weight of rs
pounds per man during their period
Of service.
Death Rate High.
Mr.. Speaker, the nation was startled
during the winter of 1917 by charges
of neglect and lack Of accommodation
in the hospitals at the training camps
throughout the country; but, sir, fig
ures prepared by Surgeon General
Gorgas show. that among the%approxi-
mately million and a half Regulars,
National Guardsmen,. and National
army who had been in camp for the
preceding five months. the deaths
from disease alone were at the rate
of 8 per 1000, while during the five
months Of the war with Spain. from
disease alone in the camps of the
United States, the death rate was rs
in every 1000.
1t is hard at this late day to say just
whether it was the jungles of Cuba,
the rice swamps Of the Philippines, or
the fever-stricken camps in the United
States that did more to destroy the
health Of the soldiers of that period,
but this I know, Mr.. Speaker, and so
does every man within the sound Of
my voice, that very very few came
back from that service in good health.
know, and all Of you know, that for
months and months after discharge
thousands of those men were unable
to. perform manual labor, and that
when at last their health was in a
measure restored they were still left
in such condition as to: be. an easy
prey to ailments. which normally
should have been shaken off.
Law too Severe.
Mr.. Speaker, the. pension. law as it
stands today requires thesessoldiers to
furnish absolute proof that the dis
ability under which they claim pen
sion Is Of service origin. EI state to
the house now, after my experience ON
TURN 70 NEXT PAGE