The San Francisco call., 1899-12-13
MORE SURGEONS
TO Be BROUGHT
INTO THE ARMY
Bill to Increase the
Medical Corps.
DRAWN BY GEN. STERNBERG

The headquarters of the medical corps
at Washington is working on bill to III
crease the force of surgeons in the army.
and a copy Of the proposed measure has
been sent out to Colonel Forwood, chief
medical officer OF this department and 10
several OF the army surgeons on duty oLt
here.
The bill provides for the appointment. of
four assistant surgeon generals Of the
rank of colonel; ten deputy surgeon gen
erals with the rank of lieutenant colonel;
thirty surgeons with the rank OF major.
and eighty assistant surgeons with the
rank OF first lieutenant. they to become
captains after five years service. All
vacancies 10 be created by the bill To be
filled by. the promotion Of those now in
the service.
1t is in the method of providing for the
appointment of the new assistant sur
geons that the bill is particularly inter-
for the position Of assistant surgeon shall
first be appointed acting assistant sur
geons for a probationary period OF six
months, during which time they will be
paid 800 month. II is provided that
they shall attend the army medical school
attached 10 the army medical museum at
Washington. and the faculty shall report
upon them. If the recommendation ue
favorable they will be commissioned as
sistant surgeons
The medical corps OF the army IS at
all rank. 400 contract surgeons. 10 yolun-
teer regimental surgeons and 22 volunteer
brigade surgeons, total of 659. The army
has now a strength of close TO a hundred
thousand men, and IL is clear that il Will
never go hack TO the skeleton formation
OF former times OF peace, even should Con-
geons is barely sufficient now, and II is
more than probable, therefore, that Gen.
eral Sternberg''s bill Will so through.
The tenor OF the bill for the acting as
ci nj Is n riv har ha
rights as volunteer medical officers VINO
hold commissions. At present they get
the pay and some of the courtesies due
a first lieutenant, but that is all If they
are sick and incapacitated from work
they are not paid so long as they are off
duty; If they are given leave they get
entitled TO communication of quarters.
which means that If there is no room for
them at a military post they must find
quarters for themselves and at their own
to the mileage or travel pay of the COM
missioned medical officer. and they are
! not entitled TO the one months gratuity
paid those who served during the war in
| this country nor the, two months paid
| those who served outside the country.
! What they want is to be commissioned as
| the volunteer medical officer is commits
! stoned. TO be discharged az the pleasure
OF the Government. but while in the
| service TO have all the rights and privi-
leges of an officer and particularly OF an
! The Forty-e!ghth Infantry will get
away from Angel Island on the Gran,
! on December 90. The regiment is now
| undergoing a thorough cleaning-a medi-
| cal cleaning-and tomorrow IL will be re-
! leased from detention. Friday the mer
will be paid and Saturday they will be
| ready TO leave.
II was at first an open question whether
| the Grant would be sent north TO load q
| cargo OF hay or over TO Angel Island &c
| take on the Forty-eighth, but II seem.
| to have been decided that the men ar,
| wanted more than the hay. II the Gram
! should be sent after the hay the only
transport left would be the Sheridan, anC
! she will not be ready for the return triI
until the 2ith II has been decided no
| to keep the regiment here that long 81
| the Sheridan will take the hay and tn,
! Grant will take the men.
A retiring board. consisting of Majol
| General Shefter. Colonel Alfred Mordecai
chief of ordnance; Lieutenant Colonel ]
| Il. Babcock. adjutant general; Colone
! William II. Forwood. chief surgeon
| Major Gibson, surgeon. and Captain d
J. RuSnbough OF the Third Artillery, re
cordeT met at headquarters yesterday I,
examine into the condition of Lieutenan
Colonel Edward Field of the Third Ar
tillery, formerly a major in the Secont
Artillery and Inspector of this depart
ment Colonel Fields mind collapse,
some months ago. and since then he ha
been in private asylum.
Captain Edgar w. Howe of the Seven
teenth Infantry reported for duty at tn
Preside yesterday.