The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1842-12-18

New ORDER FROM THE NAVY MEDICAL DEPART :
MEST.-We received the other day copy of a new
order from the Chief Of the Naval Medical Bureau.
1t is printed with type nearly inch long, and is
ushered to the world on brown wrapping paper. It's
external appearance is, therefore, like some speci
mems Of the human face divine" by no means
prepossessing. OF its intrinsic merits will now
allow the public an opportunity of judging-here
isl
| NAVY DEPARTMENT, BUREAU OF MEDICINE AND
| SURGERY.
Navy will hereafter be furnished by the Bureau of Med
cine and Surgery under the srictest accountability from
| the Surgeon, medical officer acting such.
Liquors to be medicinal ought to be genuine. and the
purest OF their kind Their cost will Of course be cens
derable to the Government and they will ALL in future,
be supplied in such proportions the Chief the Bureau
the interests of the sick require but by in
the unlimited and excessive quantity in which they have
ofore been required by the medical officers and fur
nshed in consequence. There part of medical sup
plies which, under the heretofore irregular and discre-
onary mode Of executing them, afforded, useessy,
procured for the sick. With whatever of for their
preservation and intended restriction the they
designed for medical officers may have practced
has been found impossible to keep lin nautical phrase
the run OF them" They were promiscuously slowed
boxes liquors belonging to of officers and have
too much, and too long, been considered stock from
which all felt at liberty to borrow-whether with the in
tention OF returning, not avas nothng-but with the
| positive result of general omission to do SO.
will be considered hereafter misdemeanor in the
deal officer having charga OF medicinal liquors. to lend
| even wneglass full. His medical judgment, and
the full discretion oexercng it, under the sole restraint
imposed by his official duty to the Government (con-
| scentiously exercised in this particular, will always
give him the power to relieve the sick by means which
| those at lesst not absolutely requiring liquors.
This state Of things cannot in future be permitted With
view avoid it, liquor like this have been adopt
ed the only ut and sure mode OF giving the medical OFF,
| Ger sole control OF this part of his charge.
Neither the the locks bottles to be cast
oil
| penditure. The medical officer will be charged with
them, at cost furnished FULL and credited with the
any surgeon of aysrd hospital to whom they may be
turned over after the return cruise by bringing proper
vodabe casualty and further credited the liquors. a
ter examination in this Bureau of the Liquor Expend
iture Book !" which will be provided by the Bureau in
such form to meet the views veyed the preceding
| remarks.
One further observation it is proper to make. The
dersgned the experience of years
practitioner in public and private life that the
cessy ofquors in the treatment of the sick is entirely
oYerrated. He therefore appeals in the spirit of med
cal the good and experience of his medical
brethren of the service, whether there may not be
wholesome reformation made in nautical and naval hospi
tai practice this point and he feels glad Of the oppor
tunity his present official duty gives him. of carrying out
this idea of reform by restricting the of liquors to the
few proper requiring their administration thus
restraining waste borrowing, and misrepresentation,
ference to an expensive item of medical supplies. Al.
thing but future fatal reaction from the high handed u
ira temperance cause inudciousy he believes
Panded beyond its rs and OF course belongs to no
temperance society, still the rational community is not
| entirely swallowed up in this mad vortex Hence the
moral aspect of the subject in unison with the pop
uar feeling of the udcious temperance advocates of the
present world, does not take any thing from the merits
| of a necessary reform.
| WILLIAM H BARTON
| Chief of the Bureau, sc.
From the Bureau Of Medicine and Surgery, Nov. "a,
| 1912.
| This IS certainly curious document. Most sweep
ing charges are here made against tine morality and
temperance OF the medical officers Of our navy.
The surgeons and assistant surgeons represented
having been in the practice OF guzzing liquor sto-
len from their patients Can all this be true 1t is
universally supposed, and on good grounds, in our
opinion that the medical officers Of the United
States Navy are incapable of such conduct II the
liquors for the use OF the sick have been, heretofore
carelessy slowed, the evil should be at once cor
rected but what necessity is there of stigmatiZng
en- masse the medical corps! The language en-
poyed by DR.. Barton in this official instrument is
| somewhat remarkable" the popular feeling of the
udcious temperance advocates Of the present ,oord
| is sentence whose meaning confess our inability
| to fathom. Perhaps the Doctor, who seems some
thing of eccentric entertains novel and peculiar
views relative to the nature of our future existence
We have heard of man who uniformly felt sick
on hearing the word rhubarb mentioned ; it may be
that the chief of the Medical Bureau has a some
what analogous idiosyncracy, and that when he
writes about liquor, his brains get fuddled.
ELEGANT LlrERATURE-THE ARrIsT.-The Janua-
ry number of the Artist" published by M. Quarre,
65 Reade street, is just out 1t the most beautiful
number we have yet seen-n letter press embellish-
ments, and in every point of view. In this days
paper, we have extracted beautiful poetic gem by
Mrs. Sigourney, and also capital Christmas tale by
Mrs. Seba Smith-the original Mrs Jack Downing,
of Downingyille, Maine.