The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-02-21
PROMOTION FOR GoRGAS.
Because of His Work I'm Yellow
Fever Field.
BY r. NJ. Larnel

Washington. Feb. 2O.-A bill has just
passed both houses of Congress, giving
highly deserved promotion to one Of
the best known Southern men on the
roster of the United States army. This
is the bill which authorizes the Presi-
dent to appoint Maj. William Craw-
ford Gorgas, surgeon, to the rank of
assistant surgeon general, with the
rank of colonel. on account of the nota-
Bile services he rendered in Cuba.
This promotion was strongly urged
by Gen. Wood and the War Depart
ment officials. In his letter to Senator
Pettus, who is a member of the Mill
tary Affairs Committee. Gen. Wood
urges favorable consideration Ito the
recognition of the excellent work per-
formed by Maj. Gorgas as chief sani-
tary officer of the city of Havana,
work of inestimabe value. not only to
the inhabitants of the city and island,
but to the inhabitants of the Southern
states. Maj. Gorgas' work freed Ha-
vana from yellow fever, and in carry
ing ii out he mas applied the results of
the work of the late Mai. Waller
Reed, the discoverer of the method of
the transmission and the control of the
yellow fever.
The work of these officers. is little ap-
preciated by the general public but 1t
is safe to say that the results have
brought each year a saving of lives
equal in numbers to those lost during
the Spanish war, and in freeing COM
merce of the Interruptions incident to
yellow fever has resulted each year in
saving of money equal to the cost
of the war"
The surgeon general of the army
shows that as the result of the work
of Maj. Gorgas, following the discov-
cries of Maj. Reed. the number of yell
low fever cases in Havana, which
were over 1900 in 1900, dropped to
eighteen in 1901, and none in 1902
There has been no case of yellow fever
in Cuba, so far as known, since Sep
TENDER, 1901.
Mai Gorgas is a native of Alabama.
and member of one of the most
prominent families of that state. He
graduated from the University of the
| South. at SeWanee, i'm 1875, received
the degree from the Bellevue Hospital
Medical College in 1879. and was ap-
pointed assistant surgeon. with the
rank of first lieutenant i'm 1880 He
was a major and brigade surgeon of
volunteers In the war with Spain. and
is now a major surgeon in the regular
establishment From 1880 to 1884 he
WAS OH uuly IN the department OF
| Texas. serving through the epidemic of
yellow fever at Fort Brown. At that
time he suffered severe attack OF the
disease himself.
In 1897 he volunteered for service at
| Fort Barancas, Florida. during the
| epidemic of yellow fever al that post
and was commended by the surgeon
general for his fearless and skillful
| management of the epidemic" At the
| outbreak Of the war in Cuba he went
| TO the island. where he was in charge
of the reserve divisional hospital al
| Siboney, and of the yellow fever hos
| pital near Santiago during the cpl
| demic there, until he was stricken with
| typhoid fever. After his recovery he
volunteered for duty at Havana, where
| he filled highly important positions I'M
til May. 1900, when he was assigned to
duty as chief sanitary officer, posi-
ton he held until the end of the Ameri-
can occupation. The official record of
his service ON file at the War Depart
ment says
During the year 1901. while Mai.
Gorges was CHIEF sanitary officer, he
accomplished the magnificent and her.
culean task of completely graduating
yellow fever from Havana. which city
ID had scourged for 140 years-an
achievement without parallel in the
annals of medicine"