The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 28, 1898, Page 1

The VOLUME LXXXIV.—NO 89. FIRST COMES @N " INVESTIGATION AT CAMP THOMAS Conditions at Chickamauga Not -Properly Regulated by the Sur- geons in ‘Why General Sternberg the Unheard-of Crowding of Troops Must Be NEW YORK, Aug Washington following: 2 tations as to department T other de , an investigatio been ordered. It is not yet as ge in its nature as it will be when more facts are brought to the attention of the administration, but a distinct order has been sent to Brigadier General H. h V. Boynton at Chickamauga, to find out what is the basis of the complaiit -there and who is to blame. Acting Sec- | ohn said to-day nents that have Thomas retary of War Meike “In view of the st been published about Camp ‘the surgeon general has requested that tion be made, and it has General Boynton has conducting the investigation all day, and as on as a report is com- pleted it will be forwarded to the Sec- ‘retary of War and will be made pub- Iw been ssured to-day by a high offi- War Department that some 1 officers at Camp Thomas were remiss in their duty, and if the report of Gene-al Boynton fixes the re- onsibility, the party or parties named ediately brought to trial by Speaking of this in- urgeon General Sternberg there had been more at Chickamauga than at ther camp. The investigation under General Boynton will | as the natural sur- roundi Chickamauga were such as is thought to be conduc to health. * Notwithstanding the practice during the Civil ¢ keeping men In camp | continuously only for about a week and of putting them together in number not to exceed a division, 40,000 men have | been crowded together in the Chicka- nearly three months. | proceed first upon this manga_came The inquiry w basis: { T6" discover ¢ the protest of Sur- | geon General Sternberg has not been forthcoming against such an unheard of - disposition of treops for so long a | time. The next line of investigation will be the hygienic details of the camp. | The investigation, ‘moreover, will rest | upon specific and perfectly authenticat- | _The percentage of fever cases will be | compared with those of other camps | and the number of nurses and doctors will be duly noted, and if not found to be suff t the finding will be em- | bodied in the report. For example, at | Camp Thoma where there were 40,-| 000 troops, according to General Stern- | berg’s statemer there were only thirty-eight nur: The doctors were in proportion. Complaints, therefore, from there have been so clear and pro- | nounced t! it is thought the root of - the evil may b st quickly found, as far as the volunteer camps are con- | cerned p investigating Camp Thomas it is expected other camps will be investi- gate But it will not stop in this count There will be a board ap- pointed to review the conditions and | treatment of the sick in Santiago, and | sensational findings are expected to re sult under the investigations of thi board. S T0 ALLEVIATE THE ; SUFFERING IN CAMPS WASHINGTON, Aug. 27.—Some state- ments made at the War Department to-day indicate that efforts are making to alleviate the suffering in the camps. The surgeon general reports that up to the 8th day of August there had been sent to Chickamauga Camp 3428 cots and bedsteads, 6536 gray blankets, 7399 cotton sheets and 3250 mosquito bars. Another statement shows the number of nurses which have been provided for the different camps where hospitals are established, as follows: Fort Myer, Fort McPherson, Ga., 10 en route, 46; Fort Thomas, Ky., § en route, Fort Monroe, Va., 38; hospital ship 61; hospital ship Hudson, 25; Rellef, hospital ship Missouri, 10; hospital train at large, 1; Key West, Fla. (3 ordered to Huntsville, Ala.,), 9; Santi- ago de Cuba, 179; Leiter, Chickamauga, 5 en route, 35; hospitals at Chicka- mauga other than Leiter, en route or on duty, 129; Sheridan Point, Va., 2; Fernandina , en route or on dpty, 20; Camp Alger, 10; Camp Wikoff, Mon- tauk Point, en route or on duty, 88; * Tampa, Fla., 11; Jacksonville, Fla., en - Toute or on duty, 59; FPorto Rico, 6; total, 878. In addition to the foregoing list there are over 6000 workers of the hospital corps whose services are available as nurses. PR 'NURSES NEEDED BY SICK ARTILLERYMEN COLUMBUS, Ohio, Aug. 27.—The fol- lowing telegram has been received by - the secretary of the Board of Trade from Surgeon H. M. W. Moore, Bat- tery H, First Ohic Volunteers, at Camp Thomas, Ga.: . “Can Columbus send two nurses at once to acompany sick men of Battery H home from camp? We change sta- * tion soon, and I am unwilling to leave them here and cannot take them on the troop trains. Government furnishes transportation and sleeping cars. No nurses available here.” Arrangements are now being made to send the nurses. CHATTANOOGA, Tenn, Aug. 31— |{fever. | The exact number of sick men in Bat- P Charge. Did Not Protest Against Explained. tery H, First Ohio Volunteer Light Ar- tillery, cannot be learned at this hour, | but it'is and has been for several days | rather large. The request of Surgeon | Moore of the battery for nurses from | Columbus and from Cleveland, in which | he states that none can be secured| here, meant none avalilable to accom- | pany the sick home. There are plenty | of nurses here, but none can be spared to make the long trip. ! MANY OF THE “SICK” ; SUFFERED FROM HUNGER NEW YORK, Aug. 27.—Some of the | nurses in the general hospital camp at | | Camp Wikoff are suffering from dys- | entery, and orders were issued to-day | that they be given more time to exer- | cise, bathe and rest. More nurses ar- | rived to-day, and ten more will soon | reach the camp, ready to take the places of those overworked. All that are needed are here. There are three male and three female nurses in each | ward during the daytime and two on duty at night. When the Eighth Ohio was landed nearly 300 men were reported sick and | sent to the hospital, but it developed | that 170 of the “sick” were only suffer- ing from hunger. When these men were fed they were able to leave the hospi- tal. They repeated stories of hardships | encountered coming up from Cuba, and | said it was almost impossible for them | to get food. One hundred and fifty men in the general hospital were allowed to 80 on sixty days’ furlough to-day, ns' they had improved. The Second Massachusetts, when it departed, left behind seven officers and 200 sick men in the hospitals. Alto= gether 560 men departed. As the men marched to the dock 100 men dropped | out of line, but were aided by their comrades and +vere thus able to con- | tinue until the boat was reached. The hospital report at Camp Wikoft to-day was as follows: Cases in the general hospltal, 1120, of which 125 are typhoid; cases in the detention hospi- tal, 430; diphtheria In the detention hospital, 4; in the general hospital, 1. Deaths: Edgar H. Train, Second Massachusetts, typhoid fever; Charles | Flynn, Company C, Twelfth United States Infantry, typhold fever. ONLY ARMY RATIONS FOR SICK SOLDIERS NEW YORK, Aug. 27.—When the| transport Yucatan reached the pier to- | day and began to discharge the six companies of the Seventh United States Infantry which she had ‘brought from | Sanitiago, it was learned that seven men had died on the passage and three | more had died last night while the | ship lay in the bay awalting her turn‘ to unload her human cargo. ! The Yucatan had 200 sick men on | board. It is alleged that the ship left | Santiago without a sufficient quantity | of proper food or supplies for the sick, and that she reached here without any food but army rations, which the sick | troopers were unable to eat. When | General Wheeler learaed of this state | of affairs he at once sent on board | some proper supplies. The sick men | are still on board the vessel, waiting | until there is room for them in the hospitals. —_—e— 1 PRESENT A SORRY | SPECTACLE INDEED | NBW LONDON, Conn., Aug. 27.—The sound steamer Block Island arrived at her glip in this city about 9:30 <’clock this morning from Montauk, bearing 350 members of the Second Massachu- setts Regiment, United States Volun- teers, from Camp Wikoff. The men as a rule presented a sorry spectacle. Some idea of their condition may be had from the statement of one of them that in ome company alone, Company B, but thirteen men were able to walk from their tents to the boat. Accom- panying the troops were thirteen offi- cers out of thirty-six who left Massa- chusetts when the regiment started for the front. PATIENTS BROUGHT ON THE CATANIA WASHINGTON, Aug. 27.—The sur- geon general of the army received a telegram this morning from Sergeant Ireland, at Montauk Point, saying that the steamship Catania arrived there yesterday from Santiago with 353 con- valescent patlents from the Siboney hospital and that nine deaths occurred on the trip. He also reports that Major McCreary, surgeon, U. S. A., died on the Catania on the morning of the 23d inst. from dysentery, following yellow fever, and was buried at sea. Major Me- Creery was a native of New York. e MANY FEVER CASES YET AT SANTIAGO WASHINGTON, Aug. 27.—The fol- lowing is the health report from Santi- ago to-day: “SANTIAGO, Aug. 27, via Haytl— Adjutant General, Washington: Total sick, 555; total fever cases, 427; new cases fever, 19; returned to duty, 24. “Deaths: Leopold Debend, a civilian packer, acute dysentery; Charles B. Vyberts, private, First Illinois, typhold WTON, Commanding.” PPOCOOOPOEOOOOOO® l \ I S]] ) I 2 N\ — A =7 RS SAN FRANCISCO, SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 1898—THIRTY-TWO PAGES PRICE FIVE CENTS. > NG ! \( DOOM IS FAST APPROACHING England Is Ready for the Parti- tioning of the Flowery Kingdom. LONDON, Aug. 27.—No one except the actual participators in the negotia- tions knows what is the latest phase of the international crisis which still ab- sorhs European attention. We are told to-day with equal emphasis two things which are of an exactly opposite tenor. One is that the Anglo-Russian rela- tions are more strained than ever and a rupture is close at hand. The other is that Great Britain and the Czar have reached a complete agreement and Lord Salisbury has abandoned the policy of the open door and China will be par- Britain dividing the lion’s share. There is a possibility that neither story is correct, but Lord Salisbury, be- coming convinced that it is no longer possible to maintain the integrity of the Chinese empire, is preparing to fore- stall his rivals by being the first to seize a share of the spoils. This pali- cy will probably yield the largest re- sults to Englishmen. It will be necessary at all events for the Washington Government to decide definitely and in detall what policy to pursue in case such action is takene¢by Great Britain or any other power. There will be no/time to formulate a policy after the moment of action comes. It will then be a question of hours, and the American voice, if it is to be heard at all, must speak clearly and emphati- cally if necessary in the European capi- titioned forthwith, Russia and Great | Conflicting Reports as to Whether She Will Act in Accord With or Antagonize Russia. tals, or American trade rights in Asia will be all but ignored. —— STRAINED TO THE POINT OF RUPTURE Such Is the Condition Authoritatively Said to Exirt Between Great Britain and Jiina. LONDON, Aug. 27.—An authoritative confirmation has been received from Peking by the Dalily Mail this morn- ing of the report asserting thaf the relations between the Tsung Li Yamen | and Sir Claude MacDonald, the British Minister to China, are strained to the point of a rupture, and that Sir Claude has intimated that Great Britain will ‘regard as a casus belli a failure on the part of China to observe her wishes. The Secretary says that the situation between Great Britain and China is acute, Sir Claude MacDonald strenu- ously insisting that China shall ob- serve her 'engagements with British syndicates and demanding satisfactory explanations with regard to the Pe- king-Hankow railway. If necessary the British squadron, now assembled at Wei-Hai-Wei, will support the Brit- ish Minister’s demands. Meanwhile, add the Foreign Office officials, the ne- gotiations that are being conducted by Sir Charles Scott, the British Ambas- sador to St. Petersburg, to define the respective British and Russian spheres of influence, are proceeding in a “per- fectly trlenqu spirit.” SIR CLAUDE MACDONALD, BRITISH MINISTER AT PEKING. GROSS MISMANAGEMENT OF THE CAMPS WHERE (CNOXO] (O] (C] @ ® @ @® @ ® ® SICK SOLDIERS SUFFER NEW YORK, Aug. 27.—A Camp Thomas, (Ga.) speclal to the Herald says: Major Parker of the Twelfth New York, acting inspector general of Camp Thomas, to-day reported offi- clally to General Breckinridge. by his order, on the sanitary conditions of the camp. The report, which is a complete statement of the conditions of the camp, and the causes leading up to the unusual death rate, advises the apan- donment of the camp. In the report Major Parker says: “The number of sick men in this camp increases each week by one- fourth. At this rate of progression, the sick will soon reach a number which, with the present facilities, it will be impracticable to handle. “This park, I think it can be shown, is not fitted to be a camping place for troops. The park is mainly a forest with occasional openings only. Such camps are not healthy. Being very NEW YORK, Aug. 27.—A Camp Alger, Va., special to the Herald says: Some startling facts as to the management and conduct of the First Division Hospital will likely be made public soon, unless report of Dr. Vaughn. Dr. Shakespeare and Dr. Reed, who constitute the board of visiting surgeons, is withheld. These physicians were instructed to make a thorough inspection of all the army camps. They began their labors at Camp Alger. There they found that for weeks a condition existed that can only be attributed to gross mismanagement, negligence, indifference and absolute disregard of all ideas of humanity. According to the statement of a regimental sur- geon who has in the past been on duty at division hospitals, the three physicians made a thorough inspec- jargely in the shade, the tents and tion and gleaned information that ground around them remain damp. caused one of them to remark: The sanitary action of sunlight on “There will be other linen to wash germ organism is shut off. The park e is incurably infected. Every breeze Deldes O sald: “An alarm. Cerries a stench. The sick report Ay lntore. % mounts up day by day. General ing state of affairs has existed for some time, and while things have improved since the visit of the three physicians, yet there is room for more. Prior to the visit carelessness and indifference were manifest— conditions that would not be toler- ated in a well-regulated and prop- erly governed hospital.” lassitude is apparent in the men and ofricers. The months in which typhoid fever and malaria are most common are at hand. The cases of typhoid fever have reached 500, and the whole situation presages a general epidemic. “Under the ecircumstances detailed above, no remedy exists except a gen- eral departure of the troops from this place.” @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ NEW YORK, Aug. 27.—The Wash- ington correspondent of the Herald telegraphs: As a result of Secre- tary Alger's visit to Camp Wikoff it has been decided to scatter the troops now assembled at Montauk Point as quickly as possible. I am informed on good authority that Secretary Alger 1s now con- vinced that the plan of making Camp Wikoff a permanent encamp- ment is impracticable, and that as rapidly as possible the regiments now here, not alone the volunteers, but regulars also, will be ordered away to different sections of the country. I am told that both President Mc- Kinley and Secretary Alger are of the opinion that a mistake was made in choosing Montauk Point as a camping ground for the Cuban army. They 4lso think now that the Peneral plan of bringing this great body of sick men together into one camp was another mistake. The plan now proposed is to order the regiments now there and re- leased from quarantine to other portions of the country, thus estab- lishing instead of one great army camp several regimental camps; where even with limited transporta- tion facilities 1000 men can be given the necessary food and attention to bring them back to health. [oXO] Ol RO R O A A A A SR O X X X o XX oXoRoXoXoRoXoRoX) MANY ANXIOUS TO HONOR CAPTAIN CLARK Now With His Brother in Michigan. BENTON HARBOR, Mich., Aug. 27.— Captain Clark of the battleship Oregon arrived here to-night, having left the United States hospital to join his wife and daughter, who have been spending the summer here, anxiously awaiting his arrival. Captain Lloyd Clark, who is in charge of the United States Government station here, will care for his brother un- til he is again able to return to his.du- ties. Special invitations are coming to- night from all over the State asking for the privilege of tendering receptions to the hero of the longest cruise on record. SPANISH GOVERNMENT IN Some of Her Best Statesmen Refuse to Accept Positions on the Peace Commission. York don Bennett. MADRID, Aug. 21.—The Government finds the utmost difficulty in obtaining members to form the Paris Peace Com- mission. The best men will not go to what they consider sure defeat, owing to what .is looked upon as the uncompro- mising attitude of the United States. SENATOR M’MILLAN FOR EMBESSADOR TO ENGLAND May Succeed Colonel Hay as Uncle Sam’s Representative at the Court of St. James. NEW YORK, . ug. 28.—The Washing- ton correspondent o. the Herald graphs: There is considerable talk here to-day about the appointment of Senator McMillan of Michigan as Embassador to Great Britain, to succeed Embassador Hay, who Is to become premier of the ad- | ministration on the 1th of September. As far as could be ascertained, no defin- its decision has been reached as to Hay's RECEIVING HOSPI’ AL AND DISINFECTING BOATS AT MONTAUK. This Is the Point at Which All Troops Bound for Camp Wikoff Are Landed From the Transports. A DIPLOMATIC QUANDARY | tele- | Hero of the TLongest Oruise on Record successor, and the most_that can be sai about Senator McMillan‘s chances 15 that his name s under consideration. Hls name has come more prominently to the front during the past two days because | Whitelaw Reid and Senator Hoar, both of i were serivusly considered in con- e appoin SutOE e e L &T8 Row CONTINUOUS FIGHTING IN PUERTO PRINCIPE Spanish and Hebels Not Yet Ob- serving the Terms of the Peacc Agreement. LONDON, Aug. 28.—The Madrid corre- spondent of the Sunday Times says: The Government has received a cipher dis- patch from Manila giving full details of the capitulation and condition of the island. The contents of the dispatch have not been made public. General Rios, Governor of Visayas Islands, reports fighting between the rebeis anfl Spanish troops at Cebu and Tloflo. A fiotilia has been ordered to pro- tect these islands from invasion by the rebels sent from Luzon by inaldo. General Rios has armed several battal- fons of militia. Telegrams from Cuba report continuous Sghting in the provinces of Puerto Prin- cipe and Santa Clara between the Spanish and rebels. The Canary squadron is now at Ferrol. CRITICAL SITUATION IN THE LADRONES Spaniards Petition for Permission to Flee to Manila for Safety. MADRID, Aug. 27.—Negotiations have been opened with Washington to obtain permission for the Spanish in the Ladrone Islands to go to Manila, as the situation in the Ladrones is extremely critical. _Great preparations are being made at Vigo and Pontevedra for the repatriated soldiers who are expected to arrive there shortly. All possible sanitary precautions are being taken. WASHINGTON, Aug. 27.—While Acting Secretary of State Moore sald to-night the State Department had no information from the Ladrones, it 1s learned“that the War Department has received advices confirming the Associated Press dispatch from Madrid. The officials refuse to dis- cuss the dispatch or reveal the nature of the trouble. BODIES CAST AWAY TO SAVE A BURIAL CAMP THOMAS, Aug. 27.—Brigadier General Boynton was out in the park to-day on an inspection tour. I : came upon four mounds which are thought to be where some of the many dead have been cast away to save the trouble of burying them. 4 For some time General Boynton has been hearing that bodies have been buried in the park, and he intends to search every spot to see what truth there is in the rumor. SPANISH SOLDIERS IN PITIABLE CONDITION Thirty Per Cent of Them Expected to Die While in Transit to Spain. SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Aug. 2I.—The transports San Augustine, Lenora and San Francisco will go for 6000 Spaniards at Guantanamo Bay. The Cheribon, a hospital ship, left to-day with 1000 sick Spaniards. The condition of all Spanish soldiers, who have left or are about to leave, is pitiful. Physicians say that 30 per cent of them will die before reach- ing Spain. Three thousand remain here. s “GUIDELESS WONDER'S” LAST RACE IS RUN CORTLAND, N. Y. Aug. 2..—Marion Mills, the guideless pacing mare, died to- The mare stumbled and fell on tne of the Cortland County Agricultural day. track jety here yesterday, sustaining con- fi:slog of thasbralm She was unable to move after falling. The mare had aaeq in the Western circuit races and o route to Bangor, Me. < ’ N 4