The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1898-11-21
THE SURGEON GENERAL
Presents His Report to the Secre-
tary of War.
TOO MANY BOYS WERE ENLISTED,

the Reduction of the Age Limit from
Twenty-one to Eighteen Years Was
the Cause of Much sickness.
Washington, Nov 21.-Surgeon Cen
eral George NJ. Sternberg has made his
report to the secretary of war. 1t re-
Iates mainly to the work of the medical
corps during the war. The following
are the more important features of the
report:
The number Of medical officers, 1872,
allowed by law to the army is made
quate in time Of peace. The insufii-
cheney in the time of war mas met by
the assignment of over $50 contract
surgeons The very small proportion
of medical officers having experience OF
a military character impaired the
efficiency of the department at the out
set, but MANY of the staff surgeons
from civil life showed great aptitude
for the service and speedily became OF
value as administrative and sanitary
officers.
No provision was made for hospital
corps men for the volunteer troops ex-
cept that which empowered the secre-
tary Of war to enlist as many privates
of the hospital corps as the service may
require The number of men enlisted
and transferred during the war was
approximately 5000
The want Of a sufficient body of train
ed hospital corps men necessitated the
detail OF enlisted men from the regi-
ments for hospital duty in several OF
the camps and the employment or
trained nurses at the general hospitals.
Over !, 700 female nurses have been en-
ployed, at first at the general hospitals
and later at the field division hospitals.
Immediately upon the declaration OF
war, April 81, steps were taken to OBJ
tain medical supplies for the new vol
unteer army. The manufacture was
expedited with the utmost dispatch On
May 3, foreseeing that 1t would be i'm
possible to have ready for Issue to the
volunteer regiments as soon as they
were mustered in the necessary articles
of field equipment I telegraphed the
governors of the several states for au-
thority to use the medical equipment
of the National Guard in the service
Of the state until our army medical
supplies were ready for issue. Most
of the governors who had field equip
ment responded promptly and satisfac-
torily, but unfortunately many of the
state medical departments had no such
equipment.
In my opinion the reduction Of the
| age limit from q to IS years and the
| haste with which the volunteer regi
1 ments were organized and mustered
into the service were responsible TO
| much of the sickness which was report
| ed in the early days of their caml
| life. All military experience show
| that young men under 81 years .breal
| down readily under the strain of wa
service, and every regiment had man!
| of these youths in its ranks.
Soon after the newly raised levie
were aggregated in large camps sick
ness began to increase progressively
from causes that were so general II
their operation that scarcely a regiment
escaped from their harmful influence
These causes may largely be referred
TO ignorance on the part of officers OF
the principles of camp sanitation and
of their duties and responsibilities as
| regards the welfare of the enlisted mer
| in their commands.
The sites of certain of the camps
have been instanced in the newspaper
as the cause of the sickness which wa
developed in them, but a review Of tn
whole situation shows that It was no
the site, but the manner of its occupa
tion which must be held responsible 70
the general spread of disease anon
the troops.
One prominent cause of the increas
OF sickness in the early camps has bee
commented upon by only few Of OF
medical officers. These cite the preVi
lence of drunkenness and Of vener
disease due to the facilities and II
temptations afforded by the proXimi'
of cities to the larger camps. The
hold that If the systems of the me
had not been weakened by dissipatic
| they would not have succumbed
| readily to the other influence whlC
| affected them.
1t was typhoid fever which brol
| down the strength of the command
! generally, the outbreak becoming di
| tinctly manifest in July. Sporadic cas-
| appeared in most of the regiments
May and June, these cases having be-
| brought in many instances from 4
! state camps. In fact some regiment
| as the Fifteenth Minnesota, suffer
| more from this disease at the sta
rendezvous than any of the regimen
in the large federal camps.
Long before the Fifth army cor
| embarked for Cuba it's field hospits
| were in condition for efficient serviC
| Subsequent events, however, render
valueless these preparations of Il
medical department When the cor
mand embarked on the transport We
sells the baggage wagons and null
were left behind. The ambulance trail
of all the divisions, with a large pa
of the outfit of each of the hospital
were also left behind. OF the pro
erty and supplies carried to cuba
| portion was not available for serVi
at the time it was most needed, whit
| the wounded from El Caney and So
Juan were coming from the front I
care and transport. This was becaus
In general no opportunity was afford
to land the medical property.
After the capitulaton of Santia
the troops at the front broke down ra
idly under the fatigues they had und'
gone and the malartal influences
which they were exposed; but by Il
time an ample supply of tents, fur
ture, bedding, clothing and medic
stores had reached Siboney, togetf
with a corps of trained nurses and
force of surgeons, those sent to duty
the yellow fever hospital being /
, mune to that disease. This was
emergency measure to relieve the h
! pitfalls at Siboney.
The transfer of troops from Santa
; TO Montauk Point, N Y, was also
emergency measure, and the great
sponsibility of excluding yellow fey
/ infection from every transport rest
on the medical officers who had char