The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-21
SURGEON GENERALS REPORT.
II RELATES MAINLY TO THE work
OF THE MEDICAL CORPS.

The Younger Men Breaking Down
Under the strain of War Service.
Lack of sanitation I'm the Camps.
Washington. Nov. 2O.-surgeon General
George M. Sternberg has made his report
to the Secretary Of War. 1t relates 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 inadequate in time of peace.
The insuficiency in time of war was met
by the assignment of over $50 contract
surgeons. The very small proportion of
medical officers having experience of
military character impaired the efficiency
of the department at the outset, but many
Of the staff surgeons from civil life show
ed great aptitude for the service, and
speedily became of value as administers
tive and sanitary officers.
No provisJn was made for hospital
corps men for the volunteer troops. except
that which empowered the Secretary of
War TO enlist as many privates of tho
hospital corps as the service may require.
The number of men enlisted and trans
ferred during the war was approximately
5000
The want of a sufficient body of trained
hospital corps men necessitated the de-
tail Of enlisted men from the regiments
for hospital duty IN several Of the camps
and the employment OF trained nurses at
the general hospitals. over 1,7OO female
nurses have been employed
Immediately upon the declaration OF
war, Aprl q, steps were taken TO obtain
medical supplies for the volunteer army
ana their manufacture was expedited with
the utmost dispatch. on May 3. fore
seeing that II would be impossible TO have
ready for issue to the volunteer regiments
as soon as they were mustered in the nee
essary articles of field equipment, 1 tele-
graphed the Governors of the several
states for authority to use medical eduip-
ment of the national guard in the servics
OF the state until our army medical sup.
plies were ready for issue.
Most OF the Governors who had field
equipments responded promptly and satis-
factorily, but, unfortunately, many OF the
states medical departments had no s,,ch
equipment Meanwhile, the officers IN
charge of the medical supplies depot wera
directed 70 make arrangements so that
supplies could be Immediately obtained for
100000 men for six months
whenever notice was received from tha
adjutant generals Office that comman,1a
were 70 De moved or camps formed. I en-
deavored 10 anticipate the wants OF tho
troops by telegraphng to the officer i'm
charge of the nearest supply depot to for
ward supplies for The stated number of
men.
In my opinion the reduction of the age
limit from q 10 1S years and the haste
with which the volunteer regiments were
organized and mustered into the service
We're responsible for much Of the sickness
reported in the early days of their camp
lie. All military experience shows that
young men under q years break down
readily under the strain of war service;
and every regiment had many of these
youths in its ranks.
Soon after the newly raised levles were
aggregated In large camps, sickness began
10 increase progressively from causes that
were so general In 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 respon-
sibilties as regards the welfare of the en-
listed men in their commands
The sites of certain of the camps have
been instanced i'm the newspapers as the
cause of the sickness which was develop
ed IN them; but a review of the whole sit
uation shows that it was not the site, but
the manner Of It's occupation which must
be held responsible for the general spread
of disease among the troops. April 25 1898,
foreseeing the likelihood of unsanitary
conditions in the camps / issued circular
No J., impressng upon medical officers
their responsibility In sanitary matters, and
the necessity for a strict sanitary police
particularly In the care of the sinks and
In the preservation of the camp area from
contamination. But the density of the mil
tary population Of the area of these con-
tracted camps prevented the possibility OF
good sanitary condition.
Practically nothing was done to make
the men comfortable or TO remedy the un-
sanitary conditions until these We're
brought to the attention of the Secretary
OF War by inspectors sent out from the
war department. Then the camps held
for 80 long were abandoned, but not before
the manifestations Of typhoid infection
were rife In them. New sites were care
fully selected, regimental camps were ex-
panded, camp tentage increased and board
flooring provided. Then for the first time
the troops went into camps suitable for
continued occupation.
one prominent cause of the increase in
sickness in the early camps has been COM
mented upon by only a few Of our medi-
cal officers. These cite the prevalence of
drunkenness and the venereal disease due
to the facilities and temptation afforded by
the proximity of cities to the larger
camps.
They hold that If the systems of the men
had not been weakened by dissipation, they
would not have succumbed so readily to the
other influence which affected them.
IL was typhoid fever which broke down
the strength Of the command generally the
outlook becoming distinctly manifest in
July. Sporadic cases appeared in most of
the regiments in May and June. these cas-
es having been brought in many Instances
from the state camps.
The possibility of its communication to
soldiers in camp through the agency OF
flies we're pointed out as a reason for in
slsting on sanitary police of the strict
est character.
Fifth Army Corps.-Long before this
CORPS embarked for Cuba it's field hospi-