The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-10-12
WHOLE SUBJECT LIKELY TO BE
THRESHED OVER AGAIN IN
NEXT SESSION
SURGEON GENERALS REPORT
FaVOrs the Post Exchange, While
Presbyterian Temperance Conn
mittee Will StrenuousIy
Oppose 1t.
HEALTH OF THE ARMY GOOD

WASHINGTON, Oct. n.-Surgeon Cen
eral Sternberg has made his annual re-
port to the secretary of war. He says
the health of the army has been unusu-
ally good during the calendar year 1890
The admission rate to hospitals for all
causes in the army, volunteers and regu-
lars, with 9. mean strength of 1O0,3S9 in
1900, was 2,311.S1 per thousand of strength,
as compared with 2,17S.06 in the previous
year, but during the year 1899 only 81, 2SO
men out OF a total of 105,546 were serving
in the Philippines, while during the past
year 66,SS2 of total of 1OO,3S9 were thus
serving.
In the Philippine islands, with a mean
strength of 66SS2, the admission rate was
2,621.96, as compared with 2,395.52 in the
previous year, this increase being mainly
due to disease among the volunteers, the
ratio for which rose from 1,S59H to
2i61.79 The regulars, on the other hand
showed a marked decrease in the ratio
of admission for disease, which fell from
2,545.l0 to 2,l07.73. Two-thirds of the ad-
missions for disease were caused by ma
larial fevers and diarrhoeal diseases. The
deaths from all causes amounted to 2S75
per thousand of strength, as compared
with SO.5S in the previous year. Disease
occasioned 20.26 deaths, the principal
cause of the fatalities being dysentery,
which, with other intestinal diseases
jury amounted to $40.
The death rate in China was large, 47.76
per thousand of strength-23.62 from dis
ease and 2414 from injury.
From the close of the calendar year
1900 to the latest reports the health of
the troops in the Philippines has been
steadily improving.
The health of the troops in Cuba during
the year was excellent. AS a result of
American occupation, nearly every city
and town has had its sanitary conditions
improved
LESS DRUNKENNESS.
Speaking of special diseases, Gen.
Sternberg says:
The steady decrease of late years in
the admissions for alcoholism among
the men of the regular army is a mat
ter for congratulatiOn. Military officers
may said to be unanimous in their opin-
ion that this is merely the result of the
establishment of the post exchange, or
canteen. at military posts. There is less
drunkenness among the troops in active
service than in a command doing garri-
son duty in the time of peace
Reporting upon the study of yellow fe-
yer by a board in Cuba, Gen. Sternberg
says:
YELLOW FEVER
The results obtained were especially
valuable, showing that the bacillus ic-
relation to yellow fever and that the
mosquito serves as an intermediate host
for the parasite OF this disease Fur
ther experiments of a most interesting
character demonstrated that yellow fe-
yer is transmitted to nGn-immunes by
the mosquito that has previously fed
upon the blood of those sick with the
disease; that yellow fever can also be
produced by the subcutaneous injection
of blood taken from the general circuIa-
ton during the first and second days of
the disease; that an attack of yellow
fever produced by the bite of a mos
quito confers immunity against the sub
sequent injection of infected blood: that
yellow fever is not conveyed by cloth
ing, bedding or merchandise soiled py
contact by those sick with the disease;
that a house may said to be infected
with yellow fever only when there are
present IN it mosquitoes capable of con-
Feylng the parasite of the disease, and
that the spread of yellow feyer can be
most eite>tually controlled by measures s
dn2"ted to the destruction of mosqui-
toes, and the protection of the sick
sick against the bites of The insects"
Gen. Sternberg says the results of the
investigation are of fsr-reaching i'm
portance, as the surgeons are now in
possession of knowledge which enables
them to stamp out yellow fever.