The evening times., 1900-01-19

1 loe secretary OF war, are followed out
General Otis says that the teeth of nearl!
every man in the islands are in bad stage:
of decay. and recommends that a numbe
OF dentists be sent from the United States
20 look after the molars and the grinder:
of the fighting men in the Philippines.
He states that after a careful investiga
tiOn. he finds that a year of life in the trop-
les. living on army rations. has almost
completely ruined nearly so per cent al
The teeth. while those OF the remaining
soldiers are in various bad stages of decay
Adjutant General Corbin has discovered
that there is no way by which dentists can
be sent to the Philippines to lc0k after the
! teeth of the men. unless Congress provides
Tor such appointments. They cannot be
! sent as medical surgeons. with the rank of
captain or major, because the law express
/ ly limits the number of surgeons and
. there are rot enough surgeons to supply
. the medical demand in the Philippines
I Adjutant General Corbin therefore recon-
mended that the matter be submitted to
! Surgeon General Sternberg of the United
/ States Army who has replied to Secretary
/ Root heartily endorsing the project to ap-
point dentists TO the army. one 10 be at
4 tached to every regiment, and perhaps
more. If necessary.
I am Of the opinion" writes Surgeon
General Sternberg that the appointment
I of competent dentists 10 the army is an alb
. solute necessity ] have long been of the
opinion that there should be some system
attic way by which the teeth of every en-
listed man could be inspected at least once
year and preferably once in six months
( There are few civilians who permit their
. teeth 10 be neglected Tor so long a period
as six months. The condition of the teeth
is reflected in the physical condition OF the
individual. If the teeth are bad ache
much. or do not perform their functions
properly in the mastication OF food tne
health of the soldier is seriously impaired
! strongly endorse the proposition. and
suggest that one dental surgeon. with the
rank of major be appointed for each regi-
ment"
\ bill has therefore been drawn by the
direction of the Secretary of War which il
is believed viii be passed by Congress
within a few weeks. possibly days. The
bill provides that the Surgeon General Of
the Army with the approval of the Secre-
tary of War. shall employ and appoint
dental surgeons 10 serve the officers and
enlisted men in the Regular and Nolunteeg
Army in the proportion OF one dental sur
Nt-Nu 10 every l.Ntt men III iiit Sdlu al ny
These dental surgeons shall be employed
as contract dental surgeons. under the
terms and conditions applicable TO army
contract surgeons and shall be graduates
OF standard medical or dental colleges
trained ia the several branches of dent
istry. Of good moral and professional char
acter and shall pass a satisfactory pro-
fessional examination. These examinations
viii be held in Boston. New York Wash
.,
co and possibly elsewhere as soon as the
proposed bill becomes a law. 1t will then
be possible 10 appoint the dental surgeons
Immediately. and they wiz be sent TO the
Philippines. where 50 much work awaits
them on the earliest available transports
or passenger ships.
There has been some discussion as to
what rank the dental surgeons should have
The accepted understanding is that they
viii gel the rank corresponding TO that of
the medical surgeons-that is for battalion
surgeon the rank of captain, and for regi-
mental surgeon the rank of major. There
are. however. surgeons attached to the bat
taliOns and regiments. while il is proposed
TO designate dental surgeons on a schedule
of one only for each regiment. That would
make him rank with the medical regmental
surgeon and he would therefore get COM
mission as major. The salary of major in
che regular army is approximately 5000
month or s. 400 a year. with quarters and
rations Il viii therefore be seen that
there viii soon be nearly four score fine
army billets 10 be at the disposal of the
War Department. for which only competent
dentists will be eligible.
This will be a good chance for some of
the struggling young dentists of the United
States Old established dentists OF course
make much more than the probable income
of an army dentist but there may be eN-
pected a rush for these coveted appoint
ments that will remind one of the rush TO
secure appointments in the volunteer ar
my when the war first broke out. Some
dentists will doubtless resent the imputa-
tion of being hired by the Government TO
keep so many teeth in good order every
month but professional ethics Will doubt
less be overcome by the prospect of travel
a commission in the army, and good sal
airy.
In General Otis mail report, the case of .
Walter Fitzgerald. Company G. Twenty
eighth Infantry. formerly of the Montana
Volunteers. is cited This young man.
twenty-three years old. has been in the
for year and seven months.
He was one of the first volunteers TO reach
Manila after Dewey's victory Nineteen
months in the tropics, subsisting on the
ratiOns OF the army, have resulted in the
loss of nearly every tooth in his mouth.
IL is not the climate alone which is respOn
sible. 1t is that which undermines the
roots of the teeth, while the tropical fever,
which has afflicted nearly every volunteer
now in the islands, affects the gums of
the mouth and lossens the teeth Grind
ing on army biscuits, and canned beef
doesn't improve the teeth. In
the case of Fitzgerald. the teeth did not
decay. but they dropped out one by one
This is a common alment in the Philip
pines, and the cause generally is the fever
The hospital surgeons are able to relieve
he condition of the patient TO some extent,
)ut constant care after the fever is neces-
,ary to save the teeth.
Consul Warner, at Leipsic. Germany,
eported nearly six months ago that the
German Emperor had been considering the
question Of appointing dentists TO the
army, to look after the teeth of the Ger
nan soldiers. In view of the large num-
Der OF troops under arms, and the fact
hat these troops have never been beyond
he German border in years, but have al
ways been near large cities. where dent
SITS are available nothing of a permanent !
lature has yet been done. though the Kai-
er and the German authorities agree that
lental surgeons ought TO be attached to