TRENTHAM CAMP" INQUIRY

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2529, 2 August 1915, Page 7

TRENTHAM CAMP" INQUIRY

<i,. ' VISIT TO THE CAMP SOLDIERS GIVE EVIDENCE A PREFERENCE FOR TENTS The Royal Commission (His Honour • Mr. Justice Hosking, Mr, ; W. Ferguson-, and Dr. A. A. Martin) to inquire into ■ Trentham Camp affairs motored to Trentham on Saturday, and held a sitting within the camp. Two men responded to tho general invitation, • which had been issued earlior in tho / week, for anyone to apjpoar aiid givo evidence. Several other- witnesses • were-sent for, and thoy, too, testified to what they -know. Then, in tho . . afternoon the secretary of the Commis- "■ sion i> - _as dispatched to 'obtaia tho aii- - thority- of tho Camp Commandant to bring in men from the highways and by- • ways of tho camp. The secretary returiied wit-ii four, all of whom wero : hoard. Private John Connor, of'A Company, ~-Second Battalion, Trentham Eegiment. • .who went into camp on May 2!), said that when- tho:Trenthams were admit-

■ >. ted'there was evidently an insufficiency ; of underclothing. Tho quartermaster and his staff did not seem to ,bo pre'■pared for the meni',. There was much undue delay in getting their, kits. • He -got his at eleven o'clock /at night'. The" mein did not'have time to examine their kits. . He felt that if ho had waited .' to ' ecd that he .had got, everything he would have been fired out-. Howover, . . ho missed nothing, oxcept ,liis second issue of underclothing. Ho knew that some of the huts " were considerably s; overcrowded, and if ono went in at -•: night they wore liable to fall over someone sleeping under a table. ' AVhon this occurred, tho person stumbled on did not. uso polito language, ! : •••His- Honour:. Naturally- . -Private Connor added that in one hut -• ■' a. whole platoon was'quartered; that ' meant seventy men in a. hut built for fifty. ■ " - ; Road-making and Digging.

' ; ;, Another coihx)laiiit ;this ,witness made was that ho reckoned tho fatiguo work •. excessive for soldiers. ■ His Honour: What kind of fatigue? '■■"■Private Connor: Roid-making . and ditch digging. Some of ,the mea had •■■ : '- ; iemarked that they: had como into camp to'bo soldiers, not to make roads. ; ,;0n one occasion; when it was raining. .' witileSs;'and other men were instructed to work in a pit which.lifid a good deal • of 'water m it. ■! As they .only.' had ono ■ pair ot boots,the men did not relish tho r idoa. and endeavoured to bail the place out before getting luto it.- While thoy wore thus hesitating, three officers came along; Tho Major of tho party said to the captain: "Well, how aro those boys going to'get on? -They have only, one .pair of boots, of coursel" Tho captain) fjrunted,- and 1 that was all the sat- . isfaction - tho men. got. .Witue-ss ; thought that this indicated that the'men did not get much satisfaction from, tho - officers, who had' to know such things. ■ , From'things in genoral,.Pnvato Connor proceeded, it -.was clear that tho ■ Trentham: Regiment''haid .been brought in before tho camp was ready for them. . • As to the ditch-digging m the rain, ho had f heard men who had earned their livings at draining swamps say that it ' was mud fever which had l laid up many of the men His Honour: You think you should have been spending your time drilling '. and learning to.handle, the rifle? ••. • : ~ Private Connor: Yes His Honour: -That does not make up - a soldier's equipment nowadays; a man has to be'as good a digger as a shooter now.

:*"'Dr. Martin.: - You • don't think you ought to have to do any digging?. I want to get at what your, complaint is. -•'Private Connor: Well,' if it comes to digging, why 'weren't wo < put on dig- 1 ging trenches? -. ■ Private Connor said -that when he was ill in Wellington Hospital he was well treated,' and he thought • that Kai--warra Convalescents' Hospital was well managed. However, in camp, ho had seen sick men lying in. hutments,: excused from duty; .

. ) Death of Private Ernest Smith. : Trooper Lauronco, Going said that when lie was sick ho. was put in a v marqueo,: whore ho .laj;- for three days • ..without a doctor • visiting him.; Twice ; ■ t-lie measles marqueo blew down, and ..thoso measles cases who- could ; turned . out to put it up again. There was no trench aug around the' marquee,' water got and the; straw was damp; , Afterwards he was removed to a loosebox on the racecourse. . Tho food was . better at . the racecourse than in .tlie marquee, but the meal hours were very, ■ irregular.Dr. Martin: Why? Trooper Going: Recause they did not have..enough orderlies, v ; . . .This witness said, also, that ho was a,- brother oh. Private Charles Joseph Going, who died recently in Wellington •Hospital, and he; complained that his late brother was ;no]t allowed off duty i immediately ho announced- that he was .• siok, and afterwards was eenfc to Kai- • warra-in a draughty motor-car, , and - .when.' his:temperature'was 108 he: was transferred from Ka'warra to Welling+/vn TTncmt.nl- i •

. Dr. . Crawford, a captain in tho. Med- • - ical Corps, was called'to give evidence I ; respecting the illness and death of the . late Private" Ernest-Smith, of Christ- • church. He stated that, on : July 7, '■ when ho was stationed in camp,' an urgent' message was received that somev ■ one had taken : suddenly: ill.. He answered the call, and 1 found Private •-.<Sinitb.in a stato of collapse. Private I Smitli had been' under treatment by ■ • Captain Ferguson, 'but" witness went to his assistance as he was disengaged at ■'■tlie time:-"Witness also followed up the ■;case. Private Smitli was placed in tlio meningitis ward, arid on tho following • day lie : developed double bronchial . pneumonia. It was not correct to say that Private Smith was not proporly .dressed while.in bed. J"/}- yaft.".Skerrett stated 'that-farther.in-, . ..formation in the case of the lato Pri- ' ;vate Smith was bein<i sought. ' Dr. Martin remarked that 1 there wore two diagnoses of this case. ; The ; Sick Parade. Private Sidney Weldon, of . tho Sixth l Reinforcements, deposed that some time .-"after going into camp ho reported liim- , -.. self sick, and attended siclc' parade. .The treatment of the sick" who'paraded \ was "no good to anyone," and he had •mot reported sinco. : A commissioner: ,Why? 1 , Private-Weldon: They don't want | -feick. men. there. :Asked in what way the sick parade . .was unsatisfactory, witness said that : . there was no pulse folt, no tomporaturo ■ -taken, and 110 tongue examined. . A ■ -doctor just gave him a prescription, and told him to tako it to the dispenser. 'Rather than report sick again witness ■ had worked with- his sickness on him I for six weeks. He thought tho huts y.wero unsatisfactory. in charge of tho in- ' deposed that when ho ,was ill the measles marqueo it blew . down; but he did'not have to go out- • '(side to help to put it up. ' His Honour: Did you have to go outside to put it up? ■ ■ _i ;•. Witness: No, we helped the ordorlies ''from inside. . . Witness; said that the .marquee blew J again next morning, and the in- " jjyalids inside were calling out for about ( Bn'ihouiriiofora camoi. to

put it up. - Subsequently lie -was moved to Kanvarra. His Honour: What kind of treatment did you get at ICaiwarra? ■Witness: Wo got tho best .treatment tliero after Dr. Valiutino came. - Mr. Ferguson: Did tho marquee blow down.altogether? : .Witness: No; only one end of it. "Tents Every Time." Sergeant Alexander George Buchanan, 0110 of the'witnesses picked haphazard by tho secretary of the Commission, stated that Ho had had experience of both lints and tents and much preferred touts! '• His Honour : For what reason ? Sergeant Buchanan: Well, there,are fifty m -a hut, and' only eight in a tent. His Honour: Then, you prefer tho tents because they are more social ? Sergeant Buchanan: Yes. Tho. tents,-witness added, wero the better in dry weather, and the -lints were the bettor in wet weather, The huts wore'".very'cold'on frosty nights, and by comparison tho tents .were not cold at all. Private Geo. Del), tho second of the secretary's witnesses, was asked whether lie preferred huts or tents. He spoke in favour of the tents for social reasons, and said, too, that men. seemed to need more blankets in the huts. . ■ His .Honour: How. many blankets have' you? • V Pfivate Dell: Three. l ■ You can put your coat over you too if it is dryr'—"Yes." ' Do you find tho Irnt draughty ?—"I cannot say it is draughty ; but it seems very fresh in" the morning." Do you find it stuffy at all?—"No; they axe not stuffy." , .'ft. Has the food in camp been good?— "Pretty good. 'Sometimes it was not up to tho mark." ' ' ■ Have you any grievance?—" Only that when I went on sick parade I had to wait .for: over two hours in a, slight .drizzle." - ,'' ' s ■ •• Lance-Corporal Michael' Ellison, also brought forward by tho secretary, was asked which housing he preferred. "Teiit every time," he answered. Why? '-. . ' : ._ ' - ■ Because they were more- social, warmer; less noisy, and in them it'was njoro easy to keep one's belongings in order. : ..'• . His ,-Horiour • If you miss > anything you only have seven men to question instead of fifty? •Private' Ellison: Yes. Thcyi don't borrow. tilings so. easily. £• ' ' : - "■■■• ■' : .'.•' ' ■•;■■■ "'.V. , . The Measles' Marquee. Pte. Frederick William Owens, the last of the secretary's witnesses/and the" only one of all the witnesses (among/the men) who had not been in hospital, said that his- only, complaint was that mess' orderlies were kept waiting often - for twenty minutes in fine or rain before the cookhouse staff served out the food.-'. . His Honoiir: This does ilot iccur every day,! suppose? , * '" Pte. Owens: No; but nine times out of ten. Anid ,if ,you_ are two or three minutes'late they crime you. Pte. 'Allan Dorset, of B Company, Sixth Reinforcement's, who was in the measles 'marquee when it was blown down,' said. that it was not correct to •say that":there was no orderly in the marquee at the time, nor was. it correct to state that patients had to go outside to help to put up the tent.-.'Ho did not-think - that tho patients' bedding got wet, and he reckoned it wrongj to give evidkice to the effect that patients were calling for help for an hour after the marquee was blown down. Pte. Francis Davidson, Sixth Reinforcements, stated that when the measles marquee was blown down one , night ;.some of- the beds; got somewhat damp, but .the :orderlios "fixed tho marquee up without much delay, and 110 one suftcred undue inconvenience. When the marquee came down- next morning •tho orderlies were on thei spit re-estab-lishing, it, within five 'ininuteSf' . _ Mr." Skerrett: One witness said the patients were calling for help for an hour.; Is that so? - / Pte. Davidson: No, sir. ;*■ * •» <1. was in that end of the tent, i ' Mr. Ferguson: Did every man in.that marquee have a mattress? Pte. Davidson: Yes. • : '.Mr.- Ferguson: No "man was sleeping on straw? '■ - • ■ ■.

Pto. Davidson: No. > There were mattresses to snare. • His Honour: Have you anything to complain of at all? Pte. Davidson: No, sir. •His Honour :, Can-yon tell us of any grievance others may be, suffering from? Pte. Davidson: No ; sir. • •' The Commission will resume in .Wellington at 10.15.this morning. ■ MILITARY HOSPITALS . REDUCTION IN SICKNESS, t Tlie following is the daily-bulletin up to Saturday of the sick in the military hospitals:-—. • Wellington.—Of the serious cases: No improvement in three'; improvement in two; no new serious cases admitted'; four minor cases admitted; also one appendicitis; which, may, require ail operation; fivis discharged. Kaiwarra.—Discharged, -17-; remaining, 31; orie : case of fractured rib admitted,"but not serious. •. :• - ' , "•» Palmerston (30).—N0 serious cases. Total, 71,; comprising appendicitis .1, measles 5-1, medical 16; discharged, 3. Waikanae—Admitted; 1, discharged 4.. Of tho total, cases in the lospital, 51 convalescent;' 17. measles, two minor surgicaL 0110 observation. All favourable. .Levin patients have all been transferred to Waikanae. / ; . Tauhcrinikau.—Measles 15, sore throat 3, minor surgical 7, intercostal,neuralgia 1, rheumatism. 1, lumbago 1, bronchial asthma 1, lymphangitis 1, varicocele 1, varicose veins l ;'no serious cases. .. Trentham.—Of the serious cases, no improvement 3, improving 15, better 1,. dangerously ill 1, under observation 1. The numbor of cases of all kinds, in the hospitals on Saturday was 382. \ i DEFENCE MINISTER'S REPORT. Tlie Defence Minister gives tho following details showing the diminution of sicluess-at the'eamps:— ■ Total number of cases of all kinds in the hospitals:—Tuesday last, 514; Wednesday, 481; Thursday, 401; Friday, 389. TELEPHONE COMMUNICATIONS. The Postmaster-General' announces that.telophone communication with all military camps and hospitals can now bo obtained at any time from Wellington, Sundays as well as week days. The camp at Rangiotu is in direot communication with Palmerston North; comicction with Wellington is obtained through Palmerston North. The Tauhcrinikau Hospital is in direct communication with Feathorston, which in turn is in touch with Wellington. The Tauherinikau camp, also, is in direct com>munication with Wellington. After the Featherston offico closes it is neccssary tj send a messenger from tho camp to the hospital, a distance of about two miles. ' A new line to provide direct communication with the Trentham Hospital From Wellington is being erected from Lower Hutt to Trentham for Government purposes. The Golf Club (Herctaunga) Hospital is 'in communication with Upper Hutt, which is in direct communication with Wellington between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Communication is obtained between that hospital and Wellington direct .between 8 p.m. and 8 A-m. . . ~ The hospital at Waikanae is in direct communication with Wellington.