The record-union., 1898-10-08

officers has made it necessary to employ
more than $50 contract surgeons. Most
of these doctors from civil life are do
ing good service, and many of them are
thoroughly we'll equipped physicians
and surgeons with ample hospital ex-
perience, but it has been impossible to
make a careful selection, owing to the
great pressure of business in the Sur
geon Generals office, and the urgency
has been so great that it has not been
practicable to have examining boards
to pass upon their qualifications. I
have endeavored, so far as possible, to
order professional Endorsement before
making a contract with an applicant.
The number of applications has been
SO great and the personal visits of ap-
plicants and their friends so numerous
as to constitute a serious embarrass-
ment in conducting the business Of my
office
In addition to this there have been
appointed by the President eight corps
surgeons with the rank of Lieutenant
Colonel tWenty-four division surgeons
with the rank of Major and eighty-six
brigade surgeons, also three medical
officers for each of the regiments of
United.States infantry, cavalry and en-
gineers. All volunteer regiments have
three medical officers appointed by the
Governors of the States.
The very small proportion Of ex-
perienced medical officers has seriously
embarrassed the efficiency Of the Medi-
cal Department, but many of the di-
vision and brigade surgeons from civil
life have shown great aptitude for the
service, and have already become valu-
able medical officers. The same is trSs
of many of the doctors employed under
contract
Referring to the alleged deficiency of
medical officers with the. Fifth Army
Corps at Santiago, I would say that
this corps upon leaving Tampa had
with it thirty-six regular medical Off
GERS, fifteen commissioned volunteer
medical officers and twenty contract
doctors. a total of seventX-one, or over
four per thousand of the strength Of the
command, which I was Informed was
about 10000 Additional medical as
sistance was sent by the hospital ship
Relief, which arrived at Siboney July
Ith with twenty doctors on board.
There was also some volunteer assist
ance by DR.. Lesser of the Red Cross
Society DR.. Rudberg of the Swedish
navy and several surgeons of the navy
from ships in the vicinity
1T has not been the expectation of
the Medical Department that every
wounded man would Immediately re-
ceive the attention of a surgeon. No
modern army makes provision for such
a large number of medical officers as
this would require But attached to our
army there is a corps of non-comb bat
ants known as the hospital corps, which
is the organized and authorized Red
Cross of the army. At the outbreak Of
thel war we had 800 hospitals corps men
in the service At present there are
more than 5000. These men wear a
brassart upon the left arm, bearing the
Red Cross of the Geneva Convention
Wei have done our best to instruct them
in giving first aid to the wounded, and
in majority Of cases a first aid dress
ing properly applied by one of these
men is all that is required All Of
the surgeons who have come from the
front have testified to the remarkable
results attained from the prompt app1i-
cation of dressings by our hospital
corps men, and by the soldiers them
selves or their comrades. The proper
application of the dressings contained
in the first aid packet, which is car
ried by every soldier, is under existing
regulations, a matter in which every
enlisted man has special instruction.
For some time past this instruction
has been given first by our medical
officers to the company officers, and by
them to the enlisted men,