The herald., 1898-11-21
Associated Press Special Wire

Associated Press Special Wire
WASHINGTON, Nov. 2O.-Surgeon Cen
eral George M. Sternberg has made his re-
port to the secretary OF war. 1t relates
mainly to the work OF the medical corps dur
ing the war. The following are the more
important features of the report:
The number OF medical officers, 1872, al
lowed by law to the army, is inadequate in
time of peace. The insutficiency in time OF
war was met by the assignment OF over $50
contract surgeons. The very small proper
tion of medical officers having experience
of a military character impaired the etfi-
cheney of the department at the outset, but
many of the staff surgeons from civil life
showed great aptitude for the service, and
speedily became of value as administrative
sanitary officers. No provision was made
for hospital corps men for the volunteer
troops except that which empowered the
secretary of war to enlist, as many privates
of the hospital corps as the service may re-
quire. The number of men enlisted and
transferred during the war was approx
mately 5000.
THE NEED OF N URSES
The want of sufficient body of trained
hospital corps men necessitated the detail OF
enlisted men from the regiments for hospital
duty in several of the camps and the employ
ment of trained nurses at the genral hos
pitals. Over 100 female nurses have been
employed, at first at the general hospitals,
and later at the field division hospitals, when
it became evident that the field service pur-
poses for which the latter had been organ
lied would have to give place to the impera-
tive need of caring for the many sick men
coming from the regmental camps.
Immediately upon the declaration of war,
April 81, steps were taken to obtain medical
supplies for the new volunteer army. Their
manufacture was expedited with the utmost
dispatch.
| On May 8, foreseeing that it would be i'm
possible to have ready for the issue to the
volunteer regiments as soon as they were
mustered in, the necessary articles of field
equipment, telegraphed the governors Of
the several states for authority to use the
medical equipment OF the National guard il
the service Of the state until our army medi
cal supplies were ready for issue. Most O.
the governors who had field equipment re
sponded promptly and satisfactorily, but
unfortunately many of the state medical de
partments had no such equipment. Mean
while the officers in charge of the medical
supply depots were directed to make ar
rangements SO that supplies could be imme
diately obtained for 100000 men for six
months.
Whenever notice was received from the
adjutant generals office that commands were
to be moved or camps formed, 1 endeavored
to anticipate the wants OF the troops by tele
graphing to the officer in charge of the near
est supply depot to forward supplies for the
stated number of men.
HASTE AND SICKNESS
In my opinion the reduction of the age
limit from q to l8 years, and the haste witt
which the volunteer regiments were organ
lied and mustered into service were respon
sible for much of the sickness which was re
ported in the early days of camp life. Al
military experience shows that young men
under 81 years, break down rapidly under thu
strain of war service, and every regiment hao
many Of these youths in its ranks. Medica
examiners were appointed to testify to the
physical conditions of each man before &C
ceptance, but, notwithstanding this, sc
many men were afterward found on the sick
lists of the camps, unfit for service, from
causes existing prior to enlistment, that
special arrangements had to be made fo
their discharge.
CAMP SICKNESS
Soon after the newly raised levies were
aggregated in large camps, sickness began tc
increase progressively from causes thai
were so general in their operation thai
scarcely regiment escaped their harmful
influence. These causes may largely be re
ferred to ignorance on the part of officers oi
the principles of camp sanitation, and theil
duties and responsibilities as regards to wei
fare of the enlisted men in their commands
The sites of certain of the camps have beer
linstanced in the newspapers as the cause O.
the sickness which was developed in them
but review of the whole situation shows
that it was not the site but the manner of ts
occupation which must be held responsible,
for the manner and spread of disease among
the troops. April 25, 1893, foreseeing the
likelihood of unsanitary conditions in the
camps, l issued Circular No. /, impressinl
upon medical officers their responsibility il
sanitary matters, and the necessity for
strict sanitary policy, particularly in the
care Of sinks and in the preservation of the
camp area from contamination. But the
necessity of the military population on tht
area of these contracted camps prevented
the possibility Of good sanitary conditions
Camps of this character may be occupied fol
a week or two at time without serious re
suits, as in the case of National guardsmer
out for ten days practice during the sum
mer, but their continued occupation will in
evitably result in the breaking down of the
command by diarrhoea, dysentery and
typhoid fever.
Practically nothing was done to make the
men comfortable or to remedy the unsani
tary conditions until these were brought tc
the attention of the secretary of war by in
spectors sent out from the war department
Then the camps held for so long were aban.
doned, but not before the manifestations Of
typhoid infection were rife in them. New
sites were carefully selected, regimentaI
camps were expanded, company tentage in
creased and board flooring provided. Then,
for the first time, the troops went into camps
suitable for continued occupation.
One prominent cause of the increase Of