NO LIABILITY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 46, 3 June 1910, Page 8

NO LIABILITY.

TAI'AXAKI TKRIUTOUIALS AND IHMIUID. CAUGHT AT THE KITCHEXEK GAiIP. To six of our local volunteers the net result of the recent "Kitchener Camp" at Johnsunville was uii attack 01 typhoid, with its attendant risks, inconvenience and loss of wages. They put in a claim foy reasonable compenastion. A reply was received from the Defence Department "that the Officer Commanding the District does not consider these men have any claim whatsoever upon the Department." That is the ultimatum. What are the facts? Only a little commons'ense need be exercised for one to be convinced that these men contracted typhoid at the encampment. The only 'typhoid patients in Xew Plymouth during March were these live men who had attended this encampment at Johnsonville. Tihey were not living together here. One came from Fitzroy, one from Te Henui, one from Westown, and so on. They wore not even members of the same volunteer corps; in fact one was a staff officer; so they did not even mess together. They were not comrades, s'o that the official suggestion from Wellington that the men may have got the typhoid bacilli from a certain ovster saloon was not convincing. When at home tliey did not draw their milk supplies from the same dajry, nor did anyone else obtain-] ing milk from the dairies tliev patron | ised contract typhoid fever. 'True, all five consumed 'water from the borough 1 water supply, but so did thousands of other people, and all but these five 1 escaped infection. There was a sixth .case, which hailed from Oanui. This man attended the camp, and had an attack of typhoid fever when he re-j turned home. It is pretty clear that all five New Plymouth men drank during the day from a small stream 011 the: north side of Mount Magee, about seven miles from camp. Some of them drank water from a disused tank, 'but medical opinion U' to the effect that the tank' water was hardly likelv to contain these germs. The tank received its water sup- 1 ply from the skies, and typhoid bacilli don't drop from the cloud*, or grow of their own accord, even in stagnant! water. Further up the aforementioned creek is a shepherd's hut, the ground about which would drain into the creek. This would be a far more likelv source of contagion. The typhoid was not contracted from' the camp water supply, for that was baetcnologically tested on the day be lore the men came into camp, and'all the water used was boiled. There is absolutely nothing to show that, the men got the typhoid at home. Tt if a fact that the men were badly provisioned. They started out on the 111aroll : ,t about half-past four o'clock in t.ie morning. Xo rations had been issued. The Tanniaki Battalion Quartermaster had applied on more than one occasion on the day previous for the days rations for his' men. He had a| pretty good idea that his men would be' on the move early, and wanted to have 1 them provisioned. The acting-Quarter-muster-Gencral was obdurate. There was no order that he knew of for the troop to be roused early, ami he .saw no need to alter the arrangements bv wlrcli the rations were issued ~t afloat i o'ciock each morning. The Tnrunaki battalion was thin sent to flight without food. That they were left to *0 'liimgry all day wa* not to the credit of the Department. Their own battalion officers nave up their horses to messengers, who went ahead to Porirua and purchased bread and cheese for the troops. ,

I pon their return to Xew Plymouth these men became ill. and were found to V suffering from typhoid. Three were treated in the public hospital. As mentioned earlier, they claimed compensation from the Department, on the groirad that their illness was contracted whilst carrying out their duties as citizen soldiers, and through no fault ofj their own. The Defence Department cannot see that they have a claim, but it is more than probable that those concorned will appeal against this decision. I