Found Some Things Lacking

   Anniston, AIa.,Oct.25. - The war investigating commission began its session yesterday with Major Otto H. Falk on the stand. He was the chief quartermaster of the First division of the Third army corps while in Chickamauga Park, and he now occupies the position' of chief quartermaster for this army. He said in brief that there was a shortage in tents a!l the time: that transportation equipment was short; that there was too much "red tape;" that he had violated regulations in order to obtain what he wanted, but he got ifc Dr. C. M. Drake, also of Chickamauga Park, said the flood of sickness was impossible of anticipation, and consequently could not be met in the matter of tents, etc. The hospital corps was made of poor stuff. It spite of this there was nothing more occasioned the sick than discomfort. The ratio of deaths in the hospital were but one in ten, which was very low, and really the men on the average received better treatment than they would have had at home.

     Replying to charges made by a signal corps patient in the Chickamauga hospital Dr. Drake said he had seen maggots on one occasion in a box in the hospital, but never on patients. Often the men came there lousy, but they did not remain so.

    Major Joseph Heatwole, chief commissary of subsistence, said the quality of the rations had been excellent. As for the quantity, a man would have to be a gourmandizer to eat it.

     General Dodge read a letter from Dr. Seaman, of New York, who was before the commission in Washington, in which he corrected an error in his testimony. He stated that he had received only the regular army rations for the convalescents on the steamer "Obdam" from Porto Rico to New York. He says that such supplies as had been received up to the night previous to sailing had been received from the relief societies. "During the night," he continues, "the hospital ship 'Relief' arrived, and early the next morning I boarded the 'Relief' and personally secured without requisting the additional supplies enumerated in the receipt signed by me."

    Major David Vickars, who was inspector general for the Second division of the Third corps at Chickamauga, attributed the troubles in that camp to the shallowness of the sinks. He said also that some of the regimental officers Insisted on making poor selections of camp sites. Major Vickars also complained that the drinking water was poor. He thought the camp site unfit for so large an army. He said that at one time the beds of all the patients were on the floor and there were some cases in which some of them were on the ground.

   Lieutenant Colonel Bisbee, in command of the First infantry, told the story of the transportation of his regiment to Santiago briefly, and said that if he had been on shore the other fellow, with the facilities he had, wouldn't have got ashore at all. There was considerable difficulty in getting food while in front of Santiago, "but we had enough." The only deprivation had been in not having proper food for the sick. It had been impossible to secure medical supplies, said the witness. "And if we had them we could not have carried them." Speaking generally of the Cuban experience he expressed the opinion that the supplies had been liberal as could have been reasonably expected. He knew of no deprivation at Montauk Point.

   Other members of the two regiments of regulars stationed here who were examined were Captain Waring, of the First; Lieutenant Lutz, of the Second; Quartermaster Katz, cf the First; Private Feldus, of the First: Quartermaster Sergeant Stahl. of the Second. and Private Hounchell, of the Second. All testified that while there was difficulty in obtaining rations while the troops were in the trenches before Santiago, there was no real suffering on the part of the men on this account, for the rest they expressed themselves as satisfied that they received as good attention as they could have expected under the circumstances.

Colonel H. M. Seaman, of the Fourth Wisconsin, complained that the supplies his regiment had at Camp Douglass. Wisconsin --- including clothing, shoes and arms --- had been poor. He did not consider the men sufficiently well clad for the harsh weather and said they had suffered somewhat on account of the recent cold. Colonel James Pfyffe, of the Third Tennessee, whose regiment had been encamped at Chickamauga park at one time, said the park was a good site for a camp, but the water supply as it was arranged was bad. His regiment had a canteen and large quantities of beer were sold. He had nothing to say against the sale of beer in canteens; it militated against the indulgence of whisky.