The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-01-17
The Army Medical staff.
From the World.

from Wc W OTCUs
The bill recently introduced in the Senate by
reorganization of the medical corps of the army
which ought never to become law. We give an
abstract of the section to which we refer:-
Section IA provides that the medical department
Of the army shall hereafter consist of surgeon.
general, with rank pay, and emoluments Of briga-
diergensral; one assistant surgeon general with the
rank, pay, and emoluments of colonel of cavalry;
five medical inspectors, with rank, pay, and emolu.
ments of a leutenantcolonel of cavalry; sixty five
surgeons, with rank, pav, and emOluments of majOrs
of cavary one hundred and forty assistant surgeons
with the rank, pay, and emolumentS of captains of
cavalry after three years service and with the rank
pay and emolUments OF first lieutenants OF cavalry
Tor the first three year of services and FIVE medical
storekeeDers, with the same compensation as is now
provided by law; and the vacancies hereby created
IN the gr de of surgeon and assistant surgeon shall
be filed by selection from among the staff and regi-
mental sUrgeons and assistant surgeons of volun.
and assistant surgeons who have served three years
IN the volunteer service shall be eligible for promo.
ton to the grade OF captain.
The maximum number OF surgeons of the
regular army, as now organized, is hfty. The
bill before u.s. therefore, proposes to increase the
number to siXty-hve, and the fifteen original
vacancies thus made are to be filed from uohtl-
teeTs alone. This is wrong. 1t is an unjust and
unreasoning discrimination against regulars,
and makes it misfortune tor a medical officer
to have entered the army twelve, or six, or
three months before the outbreak of the Rebel
lion, The true and Just plan would be not to
deserving. Let Congress provide rigid exami-
nation for all candidates, aud let him who passes
the ordeal best be the first on the list of fifteen
and so on to the end.
AS the law now stands, no assistant surgeon
can be surgeon in the regular army till he has
served five years, and not then unless there be
vacancy in the list of fifty surgeons. There
may be, for example, ten or fifteen assistant
surgeons who were commissioned few months
before the war who served on the frontier ann
have toiled and suffered throughout the war.
Ought they to be excluded from competitive
examination for the fifteen new appointments
proposed by Senator Wilson? Clearly not If
fifteen volunteers are by a rule OF unfair discri-
nation, appointed over the heads of these regu-
| lars who have seen more service than the volun-
teers, and are willing to submit to examination
| to test their relative requirements, the avenue
OF promotion in the corps of surgeons will be
more effectually blocked than it was before. In
| word the bill of Senator Wilson makes it a
| disadvantage to have thought enough of the
army medical staff to enter 1t before the wal
| came.
The bill before the Senate provides for the
creation OF the offices of surgeon-generals
assistant surgeon-general, and five medical in
| spectors, which exist under the act of April lG
1862, but which will all fall ant cease in that
| GLAD and welcome hour wherein Mr.. johnson
pronounceS the existing Rebellion" ended. But