Evening star., 1900-10-18
Annual Report of Surgeon General
Sternberg.
INTERESTING COMPARISONS MADE
Prevalence Of insanity Among the
Troops in the Philippines.
S T A tt S TICS CIV E n

Some interesting figures and comparisons
| in regard to the health of the army and the
| prevalence of insanity among the troops IN
| the Philippines are contained in the annual
| report of Surgeon General George M. Stern
| berg, made public today.
| The medical department consists at pres
| ent of 1872 officers, number of which bare
| ly sufdced, he says, for the needs OF the
| army before the outbreak of the late war
| with Spain, and which proved utterly mad
equate in number, notwithstanding the
earnest efforts of its members to form a
| satisfactory basis of organization for the
| large increase made to our military forces
| during the progress Of that war. Similarly
| since the close of the war, he says, 1t mas
| been Impossible for the medical department,
| without professional assistance from civil
| life. TO provide for the sanitary and medical
| work at the large number of new posts and
| stations that have been established at home
| for coast defense, in Cuba, Porto Rico and
| Hawaii for garrison duty, and for the mill
| tary operations in the Philippine Islands
| He says that excellent assistance has been
| obtained by contract with civil physicians,
| so far as concerns the professional care OF
| the sick and wounded, but much experience
| is required to fit these medical men for the
| sanitary work of their position and to ia
| miliarlZe them with army methods
Examined for Enlistment.
| The total number of men examined for en-
| listment in the regular army during the
| year 1899 was 7O,311, of whom 64,3O3 were
| white and COOS were coloTed. The number
| accepted was Al, 500, or 6S1A out of every
| 1000 examined. The ratio Of accepted men
| was 677.36 for the white and TEST for the
| colored. The rate of rejection on primary
| examination was 2736i among the White
| and 250.17 among the coiored candicates,
| giving a mean of 2I1.
rendered
| cellent service, but the surgeon general
| thinks the corps should be Increased. Ref
| erence Is made to the good work the army
nurse corps has performed.
The organization Of the army nurse
corps General Sternberg says, has been
steadily improved, and its adjustment TO
/ the army made more satisfactory in details
| The work of the nurses continues to be
| highly appreciated. and their services are
| in demand at almost all hospitals of i'm
| portance."
| Health Of the Army.
| In a general chapter on the health or
the army during 1889 General Sternbers
| says:
/ During the calendar year 1880 there were
229, SS5 admissions to sick report recorded
| in mean strength of 105, $40 regulars and
volunteers. This is equivalent to rate OF
| 217sO6 per 1000 of strength, as compared
| with 2,146.1S per LOO during the year 1888,
and with ~, the mean annual rate for
| the decade 1SSS-9I- Or the admission rate
| for the year, 714.9 was constituted by ma
larial diseases, 3s0.69 by darrhoeaI diseases
| and 1928 byrinjury, of which 2156 adm-s-
| sionS per LOCO men resulted from gunSnot.
| Typhoid fever contributed only 20.69 cases
/ per / 900 of strength. OF the admission rate
| for 1898, maiarial fevers constituted 6l1.1S,
| diarrhoeai diseases 3SS62, injuries 1iU.3S.
of which only 1892 resulted from gunshot.
! Typhoid fever contributed 141.59 cases per
/ LOCO of strength.
1.-The deaths In 1899 amounted to 1915.
| equal to a rate of 1S43 per 1000, as con-
/ trasted with 2T.33 during the year 1885 and
/ with $50. the mean of the preceding decade.
/ The principal causes Of death and the rates
per 1000 men contributed by them were:
/ Gunshot wounds, $40: other injuries, l5I:
! typhoid fever, 3.44 diarrhoeal diseases, = IA, ,
malarial diseases, 80, pneumonia, "a, and
variola, so The prominent causes OF death
! and the rates contributed by them in 1899
were: Typhoid fever. 14.S3; gunshot wounds,
204, other injuries, .sS; diarrhoeal diseases.
! Las; malarial infections, 81, and pneumo-
Il I..t-