Show OFFENSIVE TO SIGHT AND SMELL water furnished to convalescent soldiers on the concha evidence given before the board of investigation vesti gation of the conduct of the war mismanagement in the transporting of troops to cuba and the landing mistake made in sending up the army balloon siboney the filthiest city a witness had ever seen washington nov 2 the war investigation ti commission held a session today for the purpose dt hearing the tes tl toony of maj henry romeyne a re trad anay officer he said he had asked at the beginning of the war for a military assignment to go to the front lc his capacity as an officer but it was refused and then he went as a correspondent of a weekly newspaper ills testimony covered the of troops at tampa the bank of the canal was there covered with troops he had wanted to go over with the tenth infantry in which was his old regiment but no one could tell him where the regiment was to be found he asked a staff officer and several others for this information but none knew nor did any one appear to know on what vessel any particular troops were to embark there was a great contusion as a consequence of which a part of the would go on one vessel and a part on another and the regiments were irus separated from their stores he bad seen no order for the systematic embarkation of troops and hac had 1 eard it said that they were told to go aboard helter when asked to express an opinion aa tr the preparation for the embarkation ho witness hesitated saying that to do so would involve criticism of his superiors his superiors insisted upon a reply and mr romeyne replied that he did not think the preparations were sich si ch as they should have been there was he said a lack of surf boats and also of order and of preparation tor landing when the landing was undertaken the troops left the ships indiscriminately part going at one time and other parts at other almea ho told of the efforts to tow two over to cuba and said that one was lost and that it was tho general impression that it was lost on purpose tx cause it retarded the progress of the fleet in response to a question from gen mccook maj Rome nyne said that while it was difficult to land artillery he said wagons could have been landed as easily as the artillery he had been but one ambulance at the battle 0 el coney and it was not used for conveying the wounded to he rear speaking of this battle he said there was general surprise that an inflated balloon had been carried at the head of the attacking column thus indicating to the spanish the exact location of the troops but he did not know at choso whoso orders this had been done he eaid the town of siboney was without exception the dirtiest place he had ever seen in his life and that no effort was made to clean it up before the fever broke out there was a deficiency fici ency of proper food at the fever hospitals and the cooking was generally poor any one in this hospital was liable to contract yellow fever he had been a patient in the hospital and said there had been no neglect of patients by the medical attendants at this hospital or at the hospitals of the wounded he had known surgeons in the latter hospitals to work sixty hours without cessation why did you not have more surgeons asked col denby the witness said he could not answer mr romeyne said be had come north as a convalescent with many other convalescents on the transport concha and he criticized criticised the provisioning of the vessel in severe terms many of the men were compelled to sleep on board in bunks without blankets or pillows and with no covering at night except the cotton uniform which they wore during the day the water was offensive to both sight and smell she said and the food waa poor and scanty none being provided especially tor the consales enta the meat was canned and interior and much of the bard tack he also stated there was only one physician on board the vessel and that he was convalescent sixty men on the way up and maj romeyne expressed the opinion in response to a question from capt howell that with proper attention and good food the lives of some of these men could have been saved he said he was unable to place the responsibility for the neglect but that the captain of the vessel had stated that when he made application to go to jamaica tor fresh food and water before starting on the voyage from santiago the request was refused when asked why the quartermasters department could not furnish articles necessary for supplying the array gen sanger said the complex system of furnishing supplies to our army Is at fault it there was one department to supply all the wants of the army there would bo no clashes and these complications could not arise at chickamauga the control of my division hospital was taken from me and taken by the chief surgeon of the corps I 1 the general went into a discussion of the complex system of our war regulations ions taking away of regimental surgeons and mismanagement laid up to the overcrowding ot division hospitals and the great spread of typhoid aver uen sanger said be considered the weak point in camp thomas was its bad sanitary condition the men had plenty of clothing had plenty to eat it was in bad sanitary condition acre were over six hundred licensed hucksters who visited camp thomas much lemonade was served I 1 believe gen brooke tried to do all he could to bring the camp to a good sanitary condition but it was surrounded by a medical board which did not appreciate the serious condition of affairs |