OCR Text |
Show Uniform Is All Wool No Shoddy Except in Blankets and Overcoats. i WASHINGTON. Jan. 28. Senator Sutherland snid a negro preacher had told him that his son at amp Meade. Maryland, had been supplied with cast-off clothing of white soldiers and no woolen underclothing. Secretary iiauer said ne wouiu investigate uut declared there was no discrimination in the treatment of white and negro troops. Secretary Baker said tho idea had gotten abroad that the American army uniform is part shoddy. He declared it is all wool and that shoddy is put only in overcoats and blankets. "When we went Into the war," he said, "the standard of tho army uniform uni-form was 75 per cent wool and "25 per cent cotton. But that was changed and now every yard is of virgin wool with a large increase in its strength." Senatqr Frelinghuysen called Mr. Baker's attention t; testimony before tho committee by Colonel Lindsley, quartermaster's inspector at Philadelphia, Philadel-phia, that a contract for uniform cloth containing shoddy had been let. Three Suits of Underwear. Referring to conditions at (amp j Meade, the secretary read from a letter let-ter from Major-General Nicholson saying there had never been a time when each soldier had not had three suits of heavy underwear and sufficient heavy socks. He also reported that the food situation was adequate. . The secretary then look up discussion discus-sion of the weight of uniforms and overcoats. "Whether heavier cloth ought to be obtained has not been determined." he said. General Pershing has appointed experts to investigate and a report is to be made hefore February 1." Sickness at Camps. "The fact is." Mr. Baker said, "thai most of our sickness, contrary to ex pectations. has occurred at the camps.' (In contradistinction to cantonments. On a basis of eight men to each tent there was tentage enough on September Septem-ber 23 at Camp Bdwic to house 2G.09 men, the secretary told the commit' teo. At that time, however, there were only 17,000 men there." Testimonj previously presented to the committee commit-tee had tended to show there wa; groat overcrowding there- and mud sickness as a result. "What exactly happened," Mr. Bake: said, "was that we gathered men it uniform who had come from sparselj settled parts of the country and thei were not accustomed to communit living. They were attacked wltl measles, of which one of the ordinary results is penumonia," Secretary Baker admitted that ill ness at that camp was perhaps causct by too many men being housed in on tent together with a shortage of cloth lInK' |